A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Ever since the eldest wife came to the eldest young master's yard, Guier found herself eating in the servants' canteen, and there was meat at every meal.

She was very puzzled and saw that no one else had done the same thing, so she found an opportunity and quietly asked Aunt Zhang.

Aunt Zhang smiled mysteriously and said, "The eldest young master values you, and you're still growing, so isn't it normal for you to eat some meat? But don't tell anyone else."

Gui'er looked at her expression and felt that she seemed to know what had happened before, so she pretended not to understand and said, "Auntie Zhang, why are you like this all of a sudden?"

Aunt Zhang smiled, touched her head and said, "You'll understand when you grow up. Remember Aunt Zhang then."

Gui'er was now certain that Aunt Zhang knew about the previous conversation between Song Xichen and the first wife. She couldn't help but feel that Aunt Zhang, the kitchen manager, was indeed not an ordinary person and was very well-informed.

Anyway, it was better to eat, and Gui'er was happy, so she didn't say anything else. Pretending to be innocent and understanding, she nodded and said with a smile, "I understand. Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

Song Xichen never mentioned the matter of having a concubine again after that incident, but he treated Gui'er even better. Sometimes he would even check her homework. Fortunately, in order to cope with it, Gui'er would just leave one or two mistakes in case others got suspicious.

However, the eldest wife didn't seem to give up. She would occasionally send Xiaolian to bring food, drinks, or other things, and specifically asked her to hand them over to the eldest young master personally. Every time Song Xichen went to receive them, Xiaolian would look at him lovingly. Because they were all unimportant things, Song Xichen became more and more impatient. In the end, he didn't even look up and said directly, "Just put it there."

Xiaolian felt like she was being bullied, and she always left the young master's yard feeling aggrieved.

As time went on, Butler Zhang also heard the rumors and realized that the eldest wife intended to make Xiaolian the eldest young master's concubine. He wisely said to Wu Ma, "My useless son is really not worthy of someone as good as Xiaolian. Why don't we just call it quits?"

Who knew that Wu Ma was so shrewd and cunning, afraid that Song Xichen would not accept Xiaolian in the end, and that his daughter would be left without a place to stay again, so she played dumb and said, "What are you talking about, Housekeeper Zhang? Our two families are well-matched, and the children are a perfect match. It was arranged by the master and the mistress, so there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's just that the children are still young now. In a few years, when they are older, we will arrange for them."

This was what Zhang Ma secretly told Gui'er. Gui'er also found that Zhang Ma was indeed well-informed and knew everything that was going on in the mansion. So she decided to get along well with Zhang Ma so that she could get some information from her.

That day, Aunt Zhang whispered to Gui'er, "The master and his wife have found another blind date for the young lady."

Gui'er perked up when she heard this and asked quickly, "Really? Which family is this young master from?"

Aunt Zhang smiled ambiguously and said, "Ever since the last banquet we held in our mansion, it's said that several of the masters and mistresses who attended the banquet have taken a liking to our young lady, saying that she is dignified and virtuous, and has the demeanor of a noble family. Now the masters and mistresses are worried about which family to choose."

Gui'er said, "Then our young lady is quite popular."

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Of course, this is the eldest daughter of the Song family, the richest family in Jiangcheng. I heard that because there are several families involved, some in politics, some in business, and some with military influence, the master and the mistress can't make up their minds. In a few days, our city will hold a charity auction, which is actually a time for those wealthy families to show off their wealth. The mistress decided to bring the young lady to attend, and then she can choose which family she likes."

Gui'er was so curious that she asked Tong Yujun about the charity auction when she returned to school.

Tong Yujun said, "Oh, that charity auction you mentioned? Actually, we hold one every year. We also participate. It's no big deal. Each family donates some of their belongings for everyone to auction. The money goes to orphanages and refugee relief organizations."

Guier asked curiously, "What are these things? They must be very valuable."

Tong Yujun laughed and said, "My mother donated a traditional Chinese painting last year, but it was so bad that no one bought it. So my father spent 500 yuan to buy it back."

Gui'er suddenly understood. No wonder Aunt Zhang said that it was to show the financial strength of each family.

Tong Yujun asked, "This year's charity auction will be held in a few days. Will you go?"

Gui'er really wanted to go and see the excitement, but she had no money to buy anything. Tong Yujun said, "What's the big deal? Just come with me when the time comes."

Gui'er smiled and said, "Then I have to ask our young master first."

When Song Xichen heard that Gui'er was going to a charity auction with her classmates, he was a little surprised and asked, "Do you want to go?"

Gui Er said sheepishly, "I heard that the wealthy families in the city would donate valuable items for auction, and I want to go and see the world."

Song Xichen wanted to ask, so he said, "Then I'll take you there. My mom is going to the auction anyway."

On the day of the auction, Song Xichen brought Gui'er to the restaurant on the second floor of Wing On Department Store. Only then did Gui'er know that this place was temporarily used as the venue for the auction.

The auction was divided into two parts. The first part was a buffet. Gui'er and Song Xichen met the master and his three wives and daughters, and even the second young master came.

When Song Xilun saw Song Xichen, he was quite surprised and said, "Brother, why are you here too? Don't you hate this kind of occasion the most?"

Song Xichen said calmly, "I just came here to see the excitement."

Taohua also came with the young lady. Guier was even happier to see her companion. The two were chatting animatedly when Tong Yujun came over to greet Guier. It turned out that she came with her mother and sister.

Tong Yujun's sister Tong Yulan is the young lady's classmate. The two met and started chatting familiarly. Guier then realized that the people participating in the auction today were either rich or noble. It was like an exchange meeting for the entire upper class. The clothes everyone wore, if taken to the pawnshop, would be enough for a poor family to eat for at least half a year.

Even the clothes worn by personal maids like Gui'er and Taohua were worth dozens of dollars.

Turning around to look at the homeless person outside the window, Guier really felt a sense of guilt.

When the buffet was almost over, a host asked everyone to take a seat, then displayed the items donated by each family and auctioned them one by one. The starting price of each item was 100 silver dollars.

Just as Tong Yujun said, her mother donated another painting this time, which was also bought by her father for 500 yuan.

At the Song Mansion, both the first and second wives made donations. The second wife donated a painting, which was bought by the master for 500 yuan. The first wife looked unhappy at the time.

The first wife donated a carved white marble bracelet inlaid with gold, but for some reason it was ranked behind the second wife's during the auction, and the master only bid 300 yuan, and no one else bid after that.

Seeing that the eldest wife's face was getting uglier and uglier, Song Xichen raised a sign and said, "800 yuan." There was a small commotion in the venue.

The eldest wife glanced at Song Xichen, her face lit up and her eyebrows were beaming with joy.

After all the items were auctioned off, the auction staff would contact the auctioneer to reconcile the accounts. Song Xichen directly gave him a silver note, and the auction staff delivered the bracelet.

The eldest wife came over and said with a smile, "My son, Xichen, you are so filial."

Song Xichen smiled and said, "It's my duty." Then he turned around, took Gui'er's hand and put the bracelet on her little hand.

The eldest wife was stunned.

There was another commotion in the venue.

Gui Er thought to herself, "I'm such a jerk. I came here to watch the fun for no reason, and now I'm the one who's doing it."