A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The group spent the whole day out and about, and the Bund was still bustling with activity. There were even more foreigners, making it seem more upscale. Some wealthy families even went to places where there were many foreigners to take photos, specifically telling the photographer, "Make sure to include the foreigner in the back."

Sincerely, the Sincerely Department Store was also crowded with people, as if the numerous crises before them no longer existed. It was also as if everyone knew that a disaster was about to come, so they were willing to go all out and indulge in luxury at the last moment.

When they returned to the villa, the third concubine took out a lot of bags from the car. God knows why she bought so many things that the trunk was full and still couldn't hold all the things. She had to carry them herself. Except for the driver, everyone else in the car had to help her carry the gifts.

Wu Mingqiang paid for it. Guier whispered to him, "Brother Wu, how much did the Third Concubine spend? I'll tell my second brother when the time comes and have him return the money to you."

Gui'er originally wanted to pay for it herself, but when she saw that she bought so many things, some of which were imported, she felt that she might not be able to afford it, so she had to let Sha Yanxiao pay for it.

Wu Mingqiang waved his hand and said, "As long as the young lady is happy, this small amount of money is nothing to worry about."

Gui'er knew, of course, that this was just a polite remark, and that Wu Mingqiang was Sha Yanxiao's subordinate, so he was just taking advantage of the situation.

When the Third Wife heard this, she hurried over to Wu Mingqiang and said, "Are you working for the Second Young Master? Why are you so generous? What are you responsible for? My brother has a son, why don't you ask him to work for you?"

Wu Mingqiang smiled faintly and said, "I mainly help kill people. People like us don't know what will happen tomorrow, so we spend money as soon as we have it. Third Wife, if your nephew wants to come over, that would be great. I lost a few brothers a while ago, and now I'm short of manpower."

When the Third Concubine and the Third Beauty heard this, they were so frightened that they opened their mouths wide and could not make a sound. After a long while, they said, "This is none of your business. Let's go now."

Gui Er knew that Wu Mingqiang was just trying to bluff her, so she suppressed her laughter and said to Wu Mingqiang, "Thanks for your hard work today. Go back and rest. I'll talk to my second brother about this."

Wu Mingqiang bowed, got into the car and drove away.

Gui'er turned around and prepared to go back to the house, but the third concubine stopped her and said, "Guier, is he really here to do your brother's dirty work? Don't let him come here again, it's scary."

Gui Er also learned from Wu Mingqiang and said, "Third Aunt, this is probably difficult. If he didn't do all these jobs, where would he get so much money? He got his money from killing that man. Look, you bought so many things today. When you paid, I saw blood on one of the silver dollars."

The third concubine was stunned. She looked down at the pile of things she had bought, feeling a little overwhelmed.

Gui'er was too lazy to pay attention to her and turned into the house.

On the fifth day of the New Year, the lady invited several rich ladies to her house to play mahjong. They played mahjong for the whole morning. After lunch, Gui'er wanted to take a nap, but they showed no sign of stopping. Gui'er had to go back to her room and take a nap with her head covered.

It was not known how long it had been before Guier suddenly heard Sanmei crying. Sanmei was a person with very little presence in the Marshal's Mansion. She usually seemed to try her best to keep a low profile and not be noticed by others. It was really strange that she burst into tears now.

Guier quickly got up, quietly opened the door a little and peeked out. The corridor was quiet. Guier walked to the edge of the pole and looked down. The table where the lady and the other wives played mahjong was empty and no one was there.

At this time, the crying of Sanmei was heard again. Guier and Sha Yanxiao lived on the first floor of the third floor, and the third and seventh concubines lived on the fourth floor.

Gui'er tiptoed up the stairs to the fourth floor and found that the corridor on the fourth floor was also empty. She knew that if something really happened, the servants would definitely come out to ask if there was anything needed. Now no one showed up to explain, and everyone avoided her.

She thought about it and decided not to cause trouble, so she moved away and turned around to go downstairs and return to her room.

It was not until Dingxiang came into the room with snacks and afternoon tea when she woke up from her usual nap that Guier asked what was going on with Sanmei.

Ding Xiang made an exaggerated expression and said, "The Third Concubine's family in Jiangcheng called and said they heard a rumor that Marshal Zhang has been dead for two days. Our Marshal asked us to keep the news a secret. We'll talk about it when we get back in a few days."

Gui'er was a little confused. Marshal Zhang was not good to Sanmei and might even have tortured her. Why should she cry about his death?

Ding Xiang gossiped nearby, "I heard that Fengcheng is already stable, and they've been looking forward to Marshal Zhang's death for a long time. Now that he's dead, it's good, but we don't know whether his son will stay. Miss Sanmei is afraid that the Marshal won't want to keep the young master."

Gui'er suddenly realized that she was worried about her son. She said to Dingxiang, "Don't tell anyone about this nonsense. If they investigate, we will suffer the consequences."

Ding Xiang nodded and said with a smile: "Miss, don't worry, I just told you."

Two days later, it was already the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and the Marshal finally notified everyone to pack up and return to Jiangcheng.

Gui'er didn't have much luggage, and she didn't plan to take the books she bought with her, so she left them in the villa so that she could continue to use them next time she came. She just needed to pack up the rest of the things.

This time, because Sha Yanxiao was not at home, the housekeeper arranged Gui'er and the seventh concubine in the same suite. It was said that the seventh concubine had been a brothel girl and a dancer in the past, and she did it herself. Although she had been married to the Marshal for several years, she had no children. She was a favored person in the mansion but had little say, so Gui'er didn't have much contact with her normally.

Unexpectedly, the seventh concubine was very enthusiastic. She handed snacks to Gui'er and asked her if she was tired from sitting, which made Gui'er feel a little embarrassed.

The Seventh Concubine smiled and said, "Guier, we are considered mother and daughter in terms of affection, but we are more like sisters in terms of age. The Second Young Master and I are the same age."

Gui'er didn't know what her purpose was in saying this, so she didn't dare to say anything and could only smile.

The Seventh Concubine continued to talk to herself, "I've heard a bit about your story. You were both sold to brothels by your families. You were rescued, taken in by a kind and wealthy man, and sent to school. Even if you had a falling out, you could still be adopted by an even richer and more powerful general. But I suffered in brothels for several years before I finally met a patron who redeemed me. I wanted to marry him, but his wife couldn't tolerate it. In the end, I had to work as a dancer in a nightclub. I was married to the Marshal at the age of 19, and after all these years, I still have no children. What a miserable life it is."