A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

With the holiday just a few days away, even Guier heard from her classmates that senior teacher Zhang seemed to be getting married during the winter vacation. It seemed that this was a foregone conclusion.

After the lady found out the news from someone, she stopped worrying about it and started preparing to return to Jiangcheng to celebrate the New Year?

Because the marriage did not work out, although Yulan was still flirting with Director Wang, she was indeed not as useful as Mrs. Wang, so the lady took back all the jewelry she had given to Yulan.

Considering that the Marshal seemed to have coveted Yulan when they were in Jiangcheng before, he didn't want to take her back, so he said to her, "Why don't you stay here and look after the house? You're originally from Nanjing anyway. We left the house empty last year. Although we left the door open, I'm afraid it won't be safe for outsiders."

Yulan was horrified when she heard this. She fell to her knees with a thud and begged the lady, "Yulan has received mother's kindness and doesn't want to leave her for a moment. Even if you let me go to Jiangcheng and be a maid, I will be willing."

Seeing her like this, the lady was somewhat moved and said nothing more.

Gui'er felt strange. If it were someone else, she would be looking forward to it. It was a good opportunity for her to visit her old friends and relatives.

So when Yulan went to Guier's room to play with her, Guier expressed this doubt.

Yulan gave a wry smile and said sadly, "How can you and I be the same? You have a second brother and an eldest brother who truly love you. They've watched you grow up and have real feelings for you. I'm only useful to my eldest brother's career, so Mother brought me back. I must go back with her because I'm afraid."

"Now Director Wang is going to marry someone else. I can't be Mrs. Wang anymore, and my usefulness will decrease in the future. What if Madam thinks I'm useless and sells me off? I'd rather be a maid than a prostitute. I'll go back to Jiangcheng with Madam. At least for the sake of the Marshal's Mansion, she won't sell me off easily."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She really hadn't thought of this. Yulan was indeed in a difficult situation. She was desperate, even ignoring moral condemnation, to marry Director Wang because she was afraid that if she failed, the lady would sell her again.

Gui'er sighed and said to Yulan, "Sister Yulan, our classmates are already saying that Teacher Zhang is getting married soon. I'm afraid this is a done deal. What are your plans?"

Yulan sighed and said, "What can I plan? What can I plan? Director Wang is about to get married, and I shamelessly invited him over for a tryst. I know that even the servants in the house look down on me now, but I really have no choice. I don't want to live the same life again. It will really kill me. Didn't I tell you before about a sister from the past? The other day I ran into another sister on the street who had changed her ways and got married. She said she had died of an illness and the madam hadn't paid for her treatment."

"If Director Wang is still willing to come, maybe Madam will consider him and not sell me out. Now I can only do my best to achieve this."

Gui'er felt as if something was blocking her chest, making it hard to breathe. After a moment's thought, she said to Yulan, "Sister Yulan, why don't you go? Take the money Director Wang gave you and my jade jewelry, find a place where no one knows you, and start over. That jade jewelry should be worth a considerable sum, enough to live on for a while."

Yulan was stunned for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "I'm afraid I can't do it. I can't read, so I can't be a shop assistant, accountant, or secretary. As for working in a factory, I haven't done much work since I was a child. A sister of mine once secretly saved some money and ran away. As a result, she couldn't continue working in the factory because she was too slow. She ended up becoming a dancer. Many people go to those brothels, but she was quickly recognized and taken back. She didn't want to receive customers anymore, so she was tortured to death."

Gui'er was so frightened after hearing this that it took her a while to calm down. She sighed and said, "Well, there's nothing I can do to help you. You should make your own plans."

Yulan touched Guier's head and said, "Don't blame them for loving you. You are indeed a kind, upright, and brave child."

The next day, Gui'er returned from school and noticed that everyone in the Sha Mansion looked a little strange. When Dingxiang brought tea over, she asked, "What's wrong with the people in the mansion? They all seem uneasy and flustered."

Dingxiang said mysteriously, "Miss Yulan has disappeared. She said she had an appointment with Director Wang after breakfast this morning, but she still hasn't returned since lunchtime. I called the young master to ask Director Wang, and he said they separated early in the morning. Madam sent several servants to look for her in the places she usually hangs out, but they found nothing. Madam suspects she's run away, and she was furious at noon. Miss, you'd better be careful."

After hearing this, Gui'er wondered if it was because of her conversation yesterday that she had considered running away after all? That was fine, she hoped she could escape successfully and start a new life.

After dinner, Yulan suddenly returned, looking rather disheveled and panic-stricken. The lady approached her and asked, "Where have you been all day? I had to send people everywhere to look for you."

Yulan forced a smile and said, "After parting with Director Wang, I was thinking of buying some souvenirs to take back to Jiangcheng. Unexpectedly, because I was carrying jewelry, someone targeted me and tried to rob me. To avoid it, I ran into a small alley, but I got lost and scared. A lady who lived there let me into her house for shelter. Seeing that hiding wasn't going to work, she asked someone to take me to the main road and then take a rickshaw back."

After hearing this, Gui'er asked, "Sister Yulan, are you okay?"

Yulan said, "Luckily, no one was hurt."

When the lady saw her wearing Gui'er's jade jewelry, she said, "Such a valuable item, yet you insisted on wearing it out to show off. Now you've got yourself into trouble. Be careful next time. It doesn't matter if you get into trouble, but if someone steals a set of jade jewelry for nothing, it's a huge loss."

Yulan nodded and said, "I understand. I won't wear it outside anymore." Then she went upstairs to her room. The lady didn't ask the servants to bring her any food.

Gui'er asked Dingxiang to go to the kitchen to find some food and bring it to her. Dingxiang went out for a while and came back and said, "There's not much food left in the kitchen. I brought her a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns."

Guier nodded and said, "It's okay, just don't be hungry." Then she went back to her room.

I had just been reading the newspaper in the room for a while when Yulan came over. She thanked Guier and asked Dingxiang to bring her some food.

Guier smiled and said, "It's only natural for us to take care of each other when we live under the same roof."