A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao crossed his arms, thought for a moment, and said, "Lily is my sister after all. I don't want her to fall into the fire pit, but father and the fourth concubine will probably not let Tang Yaozu, this piece of fat meat in their mouths, slip away. If it's not with her, then if it's someone else, like you, then wouldn't that be even worse?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She was only thinking about helping others and didn't think about this at all. If this was really the case, she would rather her fellow Taoist die than herself.

Sha Yanxiao glanced at Gui'er's expression and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't allow it."

Gui'er nodded with some relief.

In the next few days, Gui'er still went to Zhenxiufang every day and did not look for Sha Lili again to avoid getting herself into trouble.

After breakfast that day, Sha Yanxiao suddenly said to Guier, "I'll pick you up at the Zhenxiufang this afternoon."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment and said, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" She tried her best to remain calm on the surface, but she was actually a little panicked inside. After all, it was not long since Director Zhou asked to increase the efforts to suppress bandits.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Director Wang is getting married to Yulan in a few days. She will be moving out of our residence, so I'm taking you with me to pick out a gift for her."

Gui'er finally felt relieved. She thought: No wonder Sha Yanxiao is so popular. He really does everything he can, and he's generous. The jade bracelets he gave Yulan last time were already valuable enough, and now he's giving her another one on her wedding day. I'm afraid no one else would be so generous. She smiled and said, "Okay."

Around evening time, Sha Yanxiao came to pick up Guier and take them to Wing On Department Store. The set of jade jewelry he had given to Yulan before was luxurious enough, so Sha Yanxiao said there was no need to buy jewelry, and they could see if they could buy something else.

As soon as they arrived, they headed straight for the imported goods section. Sha Yanxiao was still in his military uniform, and some people at Wing On Department Store had already recognized him. A man in a suit who looked like a manager hurried over and asked enthusiastically, "Do you have anything you're interested in?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "We want to choose a special wedding gift for a young lady."

The manager hurriedly introduced: "Here we have Western clocks and watches, as well as jewelry made by local masters."

When Guier heard the word "clock", she almost laughed out loud. Who would give a clock to someone as a gift? Isn't that a final farewell?

The manager glanced at Gui'er and suddenly realized that he had said the wrong thing. Looking at Sha Yanxiao's nervousness and helplessness, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Sha Yanxiao looked at him and smiled without saying anything.

Guier saw a fur area in the distance and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Can we give Sister Yulan a fur coat? It's something that will make her look good."

Sha Yanxiao nodded, and the manager hurriedly led the way to the fur area as if he had been pardoned.

In the fur area, there are many fur products hanging, including fox skin, mink skin, sheepskin, raccoon skin, and various colors and patterns.

The manager introduced enthusiastically. Gui'er thought to herself, since Yulan is marrying Director Wang, Director Wang is not short of money. Giving him a low-end gift will make people unhappy, and then the favor will be in vain. She should give him a mid- to high-end gift.

After looking around, he pointed at a black mink coat and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, how are you doing lately? I think it's okay."

Sha Yanxiao looked at the manager, and the manager immediately asked someone to bring it over. Guier touched it and found it felt very good and very comfortable. Moreover, it was made of a whole piece of leather, with a uniform color and no color cast.

The manager said, "This is made from premium leather carefully selected from the north, crafted by skilled craftsmen. The quality is absolutely top-notch."

Sha Yanxiao picked it up and compared it to Gui'er and said, "If you like it, take this one, but you'll need to have it altered since you're small."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "I meant to give it to Sister Yulan."

Sha Yanxiao slapped his forehead and said with an awkward smile, "When you mentioned it, I thought you liked it. I forgot about it." He turned to the manager and said, "Let's take this one."

The manager's eyes narrowed into slits with joy. He quickly asked the clerk to pack the coat and put it in a box, and he went to issue the invoice himself.

Sha Yanxiao touched Gui'er's face and asked, "Are the clothes I bought for you enough? Do you want to buy another mink coat?"

Gui'er quickly waved her hand and said, "No need. Some of the clothes you bought for me are made of silk and cotton, and some have fur inside. They are warm enough, really." She was telling the truth, and she was a little worried that if she got a fur coat and followed the eldest wife back to Nanjing to study, people would think that Sha Yanxiao gave her a lot of money, and then the lady might do something stupid.

Sha Yanxiao touched her head again and said, "You don't have a fur scarf yet. It's really cold with your neck exposed. Let me buy you one."

Gui'er thought about it and decided that a scarf was okay, so she nodded. Sha Yanxiao looked left and right, and finally chose a gray fox fur scarf, took it and put it around Gui'er's neck. Gui'er was wearing an ordinary cheongsam with a fur lining today, and once she put on this scarf, she immediately looked more classy.

Sha Yanxiao nodded in satisfaction and said, "It looks good. Let's just surround it like this."

The manager came over with the bill, and Sha Yanxiao just picked up a pen and signed it. Guier took a look and saw that there was a total of 400 yuan, 100 of which was for the gray fox scarf. Her eyes widened.

After returning to the Marshal's Mansion, Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er took their mink coats and went to the courtyard of the main house to find Director Wang and Yulan.

After explaining her purpose, Yulan politely said, "Second brother, you're really taking the trouble." As she opened the box, her eyes lit up when she saw the mink coat, its fur color and quality both excellent. She happily took the coat out and put it on herself, turning back to Director Wang and saying, "My dear, does it look good?"

Director Wang smiled and said, "You look good in anything you wear." Then he turned to Sha Yanxiao and said, "I've heard that the young commander is a man of great etiquette. His reputation is well-deserved. Thank you very much."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Director Wang, what are you talking about? Big Brother and his family are all under your protection. We should be the ones thanking you. As the saying goes, at home, we rely on our family; away from home, we rely on our friends. With a mentor and helpful friend like you, our family is relieved in Jiangcheng."

Originally, Madam, Song Tingting, and Sha Yanyao were all standing by and watching. Madam pouted and Song Tingting had a sullen face. After hearing these words, Madam's expression immediately brightened up, but Song Tingting's expression remained unchanged. Gui'er even noticed that she secretly spat, which was discovered by Sha Yanyao. Sha Yanyao frowned and shook his head, and she lowered her head.