A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao looked at the Fourth Concubine and said, "Fourth Concubine, things have come to this point. Don't get too angry. Lily's marriage may still turn around."

The fourth concubine thanked Sha Yanxiao again before leaving.

Two days later, Gui'er still went to Zhenxiufang every day. Tang Yaozu stayed at Shayanxiao, saying that he was treating him as a guest, but in fact, he only had one steamed bun and a bowl of porridge a day, and that was for two people.

In less than a day, Tang Yaozu was so hungry that he saw stars, and his follower could only drink two mouthfuls of porridge every day.

Tang Yaozu was free to move around the courtyard but not to leave. When he saw Gui'er, he said to her, "Miss Gui'er, are you going out? I heard Jiangcheng has a lot of local specialties. I've been here for so long, but I haven't tried any yet. If it's convenient for you, please bring me a few to try."

Guier smiled and nodded, then turned around and told Sha Yanxiao about it.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Don't buy it for him. What if he gets so comfortable sitting there that he doesn't want to leave?"

Gui'er smiled and said, "How is that possible? He's the head of a wealthy family, how can he be used to living in a servant's room? And will the people behind him come after us later?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "No, we've already settled the matter peacefully. But I do want to see who's behind him."

That day, Gui'er returned from the Zhenxiufang. Sha Yanxiao wasn't home, so she went back to her room to read the newspaper. Dingxiang came up to her mysteriously and said, "Miss, there's big news today. Mr. Tang, who lives in our compound, sent a large box of gold from Shanghai."

Gui'er thought that Tang Yaozu had finally given in, so she asked, "How is he now?"

"He left. Someone picked him up."

"Oh, did his family come to pick him up?"

"I don't think he's from his family. He was the one who came here last time. I heard he's your classmate's uncle."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment: "Are you talking about Director Zhou?" She didn't expect that Director Zhou was behind Tang Yaozu.

"It's a huge box full of gold! I've never seen so much gold in my life. No wonder Fourth Wife is crying."

Gui'er was puzzled: "Why is she crying?"

"It is said that the box of gold was given to the Fourth Concubine as a break-up payment, but the Marshal had just sent someone over to take it over as soon as the gold was delivered here."

Gui'er was shocked and asked quickly, "What did Second Brother say?"

"Isn't our young master away? He hasn't returned from the military camp and doesn't know anything about this."

Gui'er didn't believe that Sha Yanxiao didn't know about it, but Tang Yaozu was released while he was away. It was very likely that Director Zhou discussed it directly with the Marshal, and then the Marshal took the money away. Sha Yanxiao knew that this matter was very tricky, so he deliberately avoided it.

At this time, Gui'er heard a noise downstairs and knew that Sha Yanxiao had returned, so she hurried downstairs.

Sure enough, Sha Yanxiao was sitting on the sofa. Gui'er walked over and was about to tell Sha Yanxiao that the gold had been taken away by the Marshal, but before she could open her mouth, the Fourth Concubine rushed in from the doorway, grabbed Sha Yanxiao's hand, and said, "Yanxiao, you must find a way to deal with this matter. This is your sister's life-saving money."

It was only then that Guier realized that Sha Lili had also followed her in, and her expression was extremely embarrassed.

Sha Yanxiao pulled the fourth concubine's hand away and said, "I didn't expect Tang Yaozu's backer was Director Zhou. He came directly to see my father, and I was helpless."

The fourth concubine said to him anxiously, "How can you be helpless? Your father is not short of money at all, but I want to use this money to arrange the marriages of your brother and sister. You can't just watch them get delayed day by day like this." As she spoke, she turned around and pushed Sha Lili towards her, saying to her, "Lili, come and beg your brother too. This is your last hope."

Sha Lili walked up to Sha Yanxiao, plopped down on her knees, and cried, "Second brother, please help me."

Gui'er was shocked. She didn't expect that such a proud person like Sha Lili would be willing to kneel down. She wanted Sha Yanxiao to help her, but she was afraid that Sha Yanxiao would be embarrassed.

Sha Yanxiao sighed and said, "Lily, don't be like this. I'll go ask my father."

When the fourth concubine heard this, she said happily, "Then go right away. Lily, go too and speak nicely to your father." Then she came over and pulled Guier, wanting her to go with her.

Sha Yanxiao glanced at Gui'er, sighed, and took her hand.

Arriving at the Marshal's main courtyard, the housekeeper smiled and said, as if he knew they were coming, "The Marshal is in the study. Everyone, please follow me."

When they arrived at the study, the Marshal was sitting at the desk reading documents. This was a rare sight for Guier to see him working.

The Marshal was a little surprised to see them. He smiled slightly and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Why did you bring so many people here?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled. "It seems Father knew we were coming. I haven't even counted the 600 gold bars Boss Tang gave me, and you've already asked the housekeeper to take them away."

The Marshal smiled and said, "I wasn't afraid that you weren't in the courtyard. It was such a large sum of money, and there were too many people around, so I took it first."

The fourth concubine stepped forward and said, "Marshal, that's what I'm going to use to cancel Yanwen and Lili's engagement. Don't you like everyone living together for a lively time? Since this family isn't suitable, I'll return the money and find another girl for Yanwen."

The Marshal glanced at her, snorted, and said, "Old Four, you haven't been here for a long time. It seems that I am also old and despised by others."

Gui'er was a little stunned after hearing this. She had a feeling that the Marshal did this because the Fourth Concubine had been cold to him recently.

When the fourth concubine heard this, she stepped forward quickly and patted his shoulders while saying, "Look at what you said. I've been worried about breaking off the engagement with the third brother and couldn't sleep recently. Look at my dark circles. I know you'll be disgusted when you see me, so I don't dare to show up in front of you. I just want to get this matter over with as soon as possible. Then I can help them find someone else and have time to serve you." As she spoke, her other hand reached into his coat and rubbed his chest through his shirt.

She said delicately, "I haven't been around you for a while, you've lost weight. I'll ask the kitchen to make you some lean meat soup later. It's really good for replenishing your energy."

Gui'er was stunned. She usually seemed so arrogant, but she was very humble in front of the Marshal, and she did so without any psychological burden in front of her juniors.

The Marshal was obviously very pleased with this. He took her hand in his, rubbed it, kissed her and said, "It's hard for you, but you also know that the war is about to start. As a local official, I can't ignore the people..."

Before he could finish, the Fourth Concubine held his face and said, "They are still your children. How can you bear to see them in such a state of misery?"

The Marshal paused and said, "Okay, I'll give you 300 gold bars. That should be enough to handle it."

The fourth concubine thought about it, and perhaps knowing that there would be no more, she smiled and kissed the Marshal on the forehead, then turned to Sha Lili and said, "Why don't you thank your father quickly?"

Sha Lili quickly stepped forward and said, "Thank you, father. You are so kind to your daughter."