A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After Marshal Zhang's funeral, the New Year holiday was almost over, so Guier started packing her luggage and prepared to return to Nanjing to go to school.

However, she had not yet received any notification from her wife about when she would leave, so she took the opportunity to go to Zhenxiufang again. She first gave the souvenirs she bought in Shanghai to Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu, and then asked Shopkeeper Zhang to pass on the gift Taohua bought for Wu Dafu to him.

On the way back to the Marshal's Mansion after visiting the Zhenxiufang that day, Gui'er suddenly remembered that her fountain pen had run out of ink, so she said to Ah Cheng, "Brother Ah Cheng, let's go to Yong'an Department Store. I want to buy a bottle of fountain pen ink."

Ah Cheng nodded and said to the rickshaw driver, "Go to Wing On Department Store."

I arrived at Wing On Department Store, picked out some ink, paid, and was about to leave when I suddenly saw two familiar figures getting on and off the escalator.

Gui'er thought that Sha Lili and Tang Yaozu had just come down from the restaurant upstairs after dinner, and was hesitating whether to say hello when she suddenly saw Tang Yaozu's hand on Sha Lili's waist. Sha Lili tried to shake it off several times but couldn't.

Gui'er felt something was wrong and walked over to greet them with a smile: "Lily, Mr. Tang, have you just finished your meal?"

Tang Yaozu saw Gui'er was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes."

Sha Lili once again used her hand to slap away Tang Yaozu's hand on her waist, and this time she finally shook it off.

Gui'er felt something was wrong, so she said to Sha Lili, "Why don't we take a rickshaw back together? My rickshaw can accommodate two people."

Tang Yaozu said, "No need, we drove here."

Sha Lili smiled and said, "It's too stuffy in the car. I want to get some fresh air. Mr. Tang, you don't have to send me off."

Then he quickly walked to Guier's rickshaw and sat down.

Guier noticed something was wrong and asked her, "What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

Sha Lili looked flustered and stammered, "No, it's okay."

After returning to the Marshal's Mansion, Sha Lili ran back to the Fourth Concubine's courtyard without saying a word.

Although Gui'er felt something was wrong, it was not convenient for her to ask, so she could only let her go.

Back at Sha Yanxiao's courtyard, she still felt that what had just happened was very strange. Could it be that Tang Yaozu had taken advantage of Sha Lili? However, Sha Lili's personality was like that of the fourth concubine. She was not the kind of person who would swallow her anger when being bullied.

Seeing her tilt her head, Sha Yanxiao asked her with a smile, "What's wrong? You have so much on your mind about lawsuits. Did something happen?"

Gui'er thought about how Sha Yanxiao was Sha Lili's biological brother, and even though they were separated by their mother, he was still closer than she was. So, she said directly, "On my way back just now, I stopped by Wing On Department Store to buy some things. I ran into Tang Yaozu and Lili coming down from upstairs. They looked very unnatural, so I suggested that Lili and I take the same car, and she agreed. Actually, I don't know what happened either. She wouldn't tell me when I asked, so it can't be anything serious."

Sha Yanxiao paused for a moment and said, "It's hard for her to sacrifice so much for the family's benefit at such a young age."

Gui'er was shocked. Could it be that Sha Yanxiao also knew the plans of the fourth concubine and her family?

She asked Sha Yanxiao: "Why pay so much?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Tang Yaozu wants to marry Lily as a concubine, and my father wants shares in his tea company. The two sides are currently negotiating."

Gui'er felt that something was wrong. She had heard before that the fourth concubine asked Sha Lili to get close to Tang Yaozu in order to gain benefits and get shares in a company opened in Hong Kong. Now why did it become the Marshal's side that wanted Tang Yaozu's shares?

Gui'er didn't know whether she should tell Sha Yanxiao what Sha Lili had told her before, that the fourth branch approached Tang Yaozu in order to get shares in the Hong Kong company.

After much thought, I decided to go to the fourth room to find out the situation first.

When they arrived at the fourth concubine's courtyard, the fourth concubine and her servants were still very enthusiastic towards Gui'er. After all, they were good friends with Sha Yanxiao.

As soon as Gui'er walked into the room, she smelled a faint sweet smell and knew that Sha Yanwen was smoking opium again.

Seeing her coming, Sha Lili smiled and took her hand and said, "You're here? Come on, go sit in my room."

Guier followed Sally to her room. As soon as they entered the room, Sally began to wipe her tears. Guier looked at her suspiciously. It was not that she didn't want to believe her, but she had been taken advantage of too many times.

Guier asked, "What's the matter?"

Sha Lili said, "Tang Yaozu tried to take advantage of me. He said he was going to dinner, but he deliberately drank two bottles of red wine while we were eating. Then, using the excuse of being drunk, he booked a room at the Yong'an Hotel and tried to drag me in. I didn't want to, but he actually tried to force me."

Gui'er was actually not surprised at all. Based on her impression of Tang Yaozu, he was just that kind of person.

She felt neither indignant nor sympathetic towards Sha Lili now. After all, it was she who wanted to approach Tang Yaozu.

She calmly asked Sha Lili, "So what are you going to do now?"

Sha Lili said, "After this incident, I know that even if I marry Tang Yaozu, he won't respect me. However, I can't go against the wishes of the elders. What should I do?"

Gui'er said, "If you don't talk to Father, he will definitely not forgive Tang Yaozu."

Sha Lili wiped her tears and said painfully, "Originally, my mother and uncles had agreed to jointly invest with Tang Yaozu to open a shop in Hong Kong, but my father later found out and directly asked Tang Yaozu for shares in the tea company. Tang Yaozu saw the disunity within our family and began to look down on me. He now sees me as a mere appendage exchanged for family interests. I can't stand this."

Gui'er sighed: "So what are you going to do?"

Sha Lili grabbed Gui'er's hand and said, "Can you please ask my second brother to stop this marriage? He loves you the most."

Gui'er sympathized with her, but this time it was obvious that he just wanted to use Gui'er to get Sha Yanxiao's support.

Gui'er hesitated for a moment. Although Sha Lili might really want to borrow Sha Yanxiao's power this time, it was understandable. After all, no one wanted to marry a greasy and dirty man.

Gui'er said to Sha Lili, "Then I'll go back and ask my second brother what to do first."

Back at Sha Yanxiao's courtyard, Gui'er told him about Sha Lili's situation. Sha Yanxiao asked, "Do you want me to take care of this matter?"

Gui Er sighed and said, "Actually, I've always known that the Fourth Concubine wouldn't do anything without a profit. She only has a relationship with us because of your status, brother."