A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er smiled and said to Sha Yanxiao, "I was reading a book last night, a little late."

Sha Yanxiao pinched her nose and said, "Don't do this again."

Gui'er nodded obediently, then got on the car arranged by Sha Yanxiao and came to Zhenxiufang.

When she arrived at Zhenxiufang, Guier greeted the shopkeepers Zhang and Liu as usual, while observing whether there was anything unusual in the shop.

Suddenly I remembered the spy movies where the spies would assign people to monitor the surrounding area if they found an underground base. So I took the opportunity of taking out the trash to walk outside the store and observe the surrounding houses and corners. I found that everything was the same as usual and there was nothing unusual.

Only then did Gui'er feel relieved. After careful consideration, she decided to tell Manager Zhang about the matter.

Shopkeeper Zhang's expression grew serious after hearing this, and he said to her seriously, "Are you telling the truth? Did Sha Yanyao really say that?"

Gui'er said anxiously, "It's true, absolutely true. What should I do now? Should I tell Brother Xichen?"

Shopkeeper Zhang shook his head and said, "No, if he's already under suspicion, then everywhere he goes will be monitored, but we still have to find a way to notify him."

At this time, Shopkeeper Liu also came over. Shopkeeper Zhang told him the situation. Shopkeeper Liu said to Shopkeeper Zhang and Gui'er, "No matter what, we have to spread the news first. I'll go hang up the inventory sign at the door of the shop to warn the comrades who come to take over." Then he turned to Shopkeeper Zhang and said, "You also hang up the closed sign at the door of Zhenxiufang. Then we will destroy the information here and go to the countryside for shelter."

Shopkeeper Liu said as he walked up to Gui'er and said to her, "Guier, do you think you are safe in the Marshal's Mansion? Do you want to evacuate with us?"

Gui'er never thought that things would develop to such a serious level. She was very hesitant. She had been in the Marshal's Mansion for so many years. Although she was disgusted by the many intrigues in the Mansion, because of the existence of Taohua and Sha Yanxiao, she sometimes felt that the Mansion was her home.

She thought for a moment and said, "I won't leave. If I leave, it will be too obvious. Taohua is still in the Marshal's Mansion. Besides, if I just leave, Sha Yanxiao and Sha Yanyao will find my two brothers soon. If something really happened, I'm still young, so I should be able to get away with it by pretending to be a child."

Shopkeeper Liu patted her shoulder and said, "You have a point. You should be more careful."

Gui'er asked anxiously, "What will happen to Brother Xichen after you leave?"

Shopkeeper Zhang comforted her, saying, "We've already put up a sign announcing we're taking inventory and closing the shop. We've told everyone that something happened back home in the countryside and we need to rush back. Actually, we've already agreed on a second contact point, and Director Song will meet us there as soon as he sees the sign."

"Then how can I contact you?" Gui'er was so anxious that she was about to cry.

Shopkeeper Liu patted her head and said, "Guier, be strong. We all know where you are. If we are okay, we will definitely come to find you. Don't come here before we find you. Tell others that we have something urgent to do back home."

Gui'er suddenly realized that this might be a farewell. She tried hard to hold back her tears, nodded, and said, "Please be careful."

After Manager Liu, Manager Zhang and Gui'er burned all the relevant documents and things in the store, they pretended to have something to do, packed a bag, and went out, first asking Acheng to send Gui'er back to the Marshal's Mansion.

Then, the two of them pretended to be in a hurry and hurried out of the city.

After returning to the Marshal's Mansion, Gui'er told Sha Yanxiao that something happened in the hometown of Manager Zhang and Manager Liu, and they had to go back to deal with it, so they didn't have to be apprentices for the time being.

Sha Yanxiao didn't react much after hearing this, and said, "Then just stay home. If you want to go somewhere, tell me and I'll take you there."

Guier nodded. In fact, she was not in any mood at all. Instead, she felt a little anxious and frightened.

She didn't dare to contact Song Xichen, for fear of being noticed by Sha Yanyao.

She had been staying indoors all day, feeling extremely irritable. When Sha Yanxiao came back that night, he came up to her and said, "They said you haven't left the house all day. Why are you so bored? Didn't you like running outside in the past? I had them level the barren areas in the yard, replant flowers and plants, and build you a swing. You can go swing on it when you have nothing to do. Don't be so depressed, okay?"

Gui'er then realized how obvious her behavior was, and quickly said with a smile, "Brother, don't worry, I was just bored and panicked. I was reading books all day in the house today."

Sha Yanxiao patted her head lovingly and said, "You should be moderate in everything you do. It's not appropriate for someone as smart and lively as you to be a nerd."

The next day, Guier adjusted her emotions and gradually calmed down.

She tried hard to recall Sha Yanyao's tone, eyes, movements, and expressions when he spoke to him. It seemed that he was just speaking casually. Maybe he was not very sure, or even if he knew the inside story, he did not intend to do anything. After all, she had read some information. During the Republic of China period, many people in the National Government turned a blind eye to someone even if they knew that he was suspected of collaborating with the Communist Party.

In order to find out which type of person Sha Yanyao was, she decided to go to the big house more often to see if she could get any clues.

The next day, when they first arrived at the main courtyard, they greeted their wives. Then, Guier said, "I'm going to ask my elder brother for advice on my studies, and then I want to slip away."

The lady said, "You don't have to go look for him. Director Wang has called him to Shanghai temporarily. You don't have to go to that place to work as a doctor for the next two days."

Guier said, "I'm an apprentice in a pharmacy. My master had something to do back home, so he went back to his hometown."

"Oh, that's perfect. I've been busy preparing things for your eldest brother's engagement these past two days. Come with me and go shopping. I'll help you pick some things out."

Gui'er felt a little relieved when she heard that Sha Yanyao was not there. At least they should not take action now.

But she didn't want to stay with the lady for a long time, but since she had already said that she didn't need to be an apprentice, she had no excuse to refuse and had to agree.

Because Miss Song is a local, all the rules must be followed according to the wedding customs of Jiangcheng, so it is naturally much more grand than Miss Shen's time.

First, a matchmaker was asked to propose marriage. After that, the boy's parents came to visit the family, which was considered a formal proposal. I don't know why, when the formal proposal was made, only the lady came with Guier.

The wife complained, "I wonder what your father is busy doing all day? Your brother is not home, and he still won't go to propose marriage."

Gui'er felt a little strange, and later asked Dingxiang to find out. It turned out that when she and her wife went to the Song Mansion to propose marriage, the Marshal ran to the main courtyard and stayed there for several hours. Only Yulan was there at that time, and even a fool could tell what he was doing.