A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

A few days later, Dingxiang brought Guier a piece of bombshell gossip: Sha Yanyao was going to get engaged to Song Tingting.

Gui'er was stunned and asked Dingxiang, "Did you hear that? It's the daughter of the Song family, the same family that's the richest in Jiangcheng?"

Ding Xiang said, "How could it be false? It was the Madam's personal maid who told me."

Gui'er had thought Sha Yanyao would never be interested in Song Tingting, but when they were having dinner together that evening, the Marshal announced the news to everyone. He was obviously quite happy, saying, "The girl is young and beautiful, and has a lot of money. When the time comes, she'll have to bring a few shops and factories with her as a dowry. She'll be a capable and virtuous wife for Sha Yanyao."

But the lady's face was not very good, and Gui'er was a little puzzled. The next day when she went to pay her respects, Gui'er deliberately congratulated her, saying, "Congratulations, mother. My eldest brother's marriage is finally settled. You can rest assured now."

The lady curled her lips and said, "What nonsense! That Miss Song was obviously abducted by bandits. She has a bad reputation and can't get married. Her mother has a bad reputation too, she's a playboy. My son is actually going to marry such a woman. It's really a misfortune for our family."

Gui'er suddenly realized that the lady probably knew about the affair between the Marshal and Mrs. Song, but she was not sure whether the lady knew that Sha Yanxiao was the illegitimate son of the Marshal and Mrs. Song. If she knew, she would be furious to death because Mrs. Song's illegitimate son had taken away Sha Yanyao's original position as the young marshal, and his daughter was going to marry his own son.

Gui'er also discovered that Sha Yanxiao didn't seem too happy about Song Tingting marrying Sha Yanyao. After hearing the news, he returned to the courtyard and was in a bad mood.

Gui'er thought that he was depressed because his half-brother married his half-sister. She wanted to comfort him, but she felt that such a thing should not be brought up openly.

Sha Yanxiao spoke first: "Father has given the management rights of one of our mines to the Song family because my eldest brother married their daughter."

Gui Er was very surprised. She hadn't expected that the Marshal, who was so willing to take advantage of others, would be so generous. She could only comfort him, saying, "It's okay. Isn't the other mine firmly controlled by Wu Mingqiang?"

Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er's hand and played with it in his palm, saying, "Guier, after this incident of fleeing Fengcheng, I've learned a lesson: you must firmly control power and money in your own hands. Otherwise, even father, son, and brother cannot be relied upon."

Gui'er didn't quite understand what was going on. Dali, who was standing nearby, glanced around and said, "Right now, eighty to ninety percent of the officers in the army support the young marshal. If the marshal wants to change his successor, it won't be that easy. If we can get our hands on the marshal's purse, it'll be a sure thing."

Gui'er finally understood. She hadn't expected Sha Yanxiao to have such great prestige in the army. She happily said to him, "If that's the case, when the Japanese invaders come in a few years, the army will listen to you. Wouldn't that increase our chances of victory?"

Sha Yanxiao and Dali were both stunned for a moment. Sha Yanxiao smiled bitterly and said, "During the 128 Incident, I observed the Japanese army's equipment and individual combat capabilities. To be honest, the disparity in strength is too great."

"It's not that we can't defeat them, it's that our equipment is too poor. I want to buy a few more cannons, but they have planes, and the fighter planes can cooperate with the ground forces. We can't compare with them in this regard. It would be much better if we could have more advanced equipment and air force support. Big Brother went to the Military and Political Department, and maybe it would be helpful, so we have to build a good relationship with Big Brother."

Gui'er also agreed very much, so she went to the first room more frequently. At this time, Director Wang had already left. He had originally taken the opportunity of passing through Jiangcheng on a business trip to come here to fool around, and he could not delay any longer.

As soon as Director Wang left, Gui'er felt more at ease going to the main courtyard. Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "Sister, are you reluctant to leave? If you're used to living here, you can move back."

Guier smiled sweetly and said, "I won't go back and forth anymore. I'm just used to living with big brother, so I'll be reluctant to leave. I'll just come over more often."

Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "That's right. After the holiday, we'll go back to Nanjing together anyway."

Guier nodded and said, "Yes, brother, congratulations on your successful blind date. When will you marry your future sister-in-law?"

Sha Yanyao was stunned for a moment, then smiled bleakly and said, "We are just making do with each other. We are both unwanted people."

Gui'er didn't expect him to say that, and quickly said, "Brother, don't think that way. You're very capable. As for Miss Song, I met her when I was a child. She has traditional ideas and should be able to get along with Mother."

Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "Oh, yes, you stayed at his house for a while when you were a child. Do you still remember her brother Song Xichen?"

"Remember, Director Song is a good man."

Sha Yanyao nodded and said, "Indeed, but there is also a rumor that he is a revolutionary."

Gui'er was stunned. She felt her scalp tingling and her body seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. She knew too well the danger of exposing one's identity when doing revolutionary work. In an instant, countless stories of the sacrifices of revolutionary predecessors flashed through her mind.

After a few seconds, Gui'er tried her best to control her emotions and said in a normal tone, "He's the police chief. I haven't heard of him having any other part-time jobs."

Sha Yanyao touched Gui'er's head and said, "You are still young and don't understand these things."

Gui'er nodded obediently, and chatted with Sha Yanyao in a normal tone for a while before leaving.

As soon as she returned to Sha Yanxiao's yard, Gui'er immediately went back to her room and locked the door. She found that her heart was beating very fast. It was almost evening now, and if she went out rashly at this time, she would definitely be suspected.

She decided to tell Manager Zhang as soon as she arrived at Zhenxiufang tomorrow.

Afterward, Gui'er didn't sleep well all night, repeatedly thinking about how Sha Yanyao had suspected Song Xichen. Had he been exposed? If so, would Zhenxiufang also be exposed? The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. Could it be that Sha Yanyao was actually testing her?

The next morning, Gui'er finished her breakfast in a few seconds and was about to go to the Zhenxiu Workshop. Sha Yanxiao suddenly stopped her and said, "Why do you look so listless today? You didn't sleep well last night, and you're still not feeling well."

Gui'er was under great psychological pressure. She almost couldn't help but tell Sha Yanxiao and ask him to help save Song Xichen. However, reason told her not to act rashly. After all, Sha Yanxiao's identity was actually hostile to Song Xichen.