A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er smiled and said, "But where can we run to? We can't go back to Jiangcheng, can we? If father asks about it, are we going to tell him that we abandoned Mother and Big Brother and ran away? You have to remember, I'm just an adopted daughter. If he gets angry and kicks me out of the Marshal's Mansion, we'll be left with nowhere to go."

Ding Xiang obviously hadn't thought of this. She said anxiously, "Then at least the Second Young Master wouldn't be so cruel. After all, he loves you so much. Look at how much he brought you this time."

Gui'er sighed and said, "You are also a servant of the Marshal's Mansion. You should know who is the boss. Of course it is father. What good would it do if my second brother angered father in order to protect me?"

"Of course, you're worried that Director Zhou will arrest me as well. I've considered that as well. I figured that even if they did catch me, getting arrested again wouldn't be a big deal. I'm just a little girl, and you're just a servant. We have nothing to do with this matter, so we shouldn't be bothered."

When Dingxiang heard this, she became anxious and said, "That's because you, Miss, have never been arrested. At that time, we..." Then she suddenly stopped talking with red eyes.

Gui'er wondered if they had been tortured or punished, and asked hurriedly, "What happened to you then?"

Dingxiang sighed and said, "We were actually fine back then. They said it was because they wanted to give face to the Marshal, so apart from a few servants being beaten and then starving for two days, things weren't so good for us. But the people in the cell next to us weren't so lucky. First, they were tortured and then subjected to whips, tiger benches, and electric shocks. In that cell where we lived, a few people would die and be dragged away every day. The cell was dark and damp. Aunt Agui in the kitchen, you may not know her, young lady, she came with us from Jiangcheng and was our cook. Her foot was kicked by the secret agents on the day she was arrested. She struggled a little and was kicked. She didn't get treatment in time, and she stayed in the cell for so many days, so she got a root of the disease and it hasn't healed yet. She limps every day. The lady was kind enough to give her money and leave so that she could go to the clinic, but it didn't get better."

"Also, there's only a urine bucket in that cell. Although men and women have separate cells, you can definitely see them when they go to the bathroom. Miss, I really don't want to go to a place like this again."

Gui'er hadn't thought of this. Although she was caught last time, she stayed there for a very short time and didn't actually witness the torture inside. Even if ordinary people didn't suffer torture, they would probably be scared just by watching.

She could only comfort Ding Xiang and said, "Don't think too much. They weren't monitoring us that closely before, but they eventually lifted it. This time it should be about the same."

Dingxiang was still very worried, but there was no other way, so she nodded and left in a depressed mood.

Guier came to the window and looked out quietly. The window of her room looked out to the back of the house. She saw a circle of small vendors selling goods around the back door, including roasted sweet potatoes, snacks, powder, ointment and cosmetics. This back alley was a relatively quiet one, and the presence of so many vendors was very abrupt. Some people who passed by were a little surprised. People who didn't usually walk this way didn't pay much attention. Occasionally there would be someone who went over to buy something, but most of them were nearby neighbors. They all had some money, and some even worked in government departments. Seeing this situation, they all took a detour.

Gui'er counted the number of people under surveillance and found that there were more than last time. It seemed that Director Zhou was very suspicious of the Sha family. She didn't know whether Wu Mingqiang had found the black market boss before the spies.

Thinking of what Dingxiang said, Guier couldn't help but feel a little worried, and fell asleep in anxiety.

The next morning, the first thing Gui'er did when she woke up was to run to the window and observe the people who were monitoring her. She found that they had changed shifts, but they were still monitoring her.

If they don't take any action, does that mean Director Zhou still hasn't found the evidence?

Gui'er quickly got dressed, washed up, and went to the restaurant on the first floor. Madam, Sha Yanyao, Song Tingting, and Jinbao were all there. As soon as Jinbao saw her, he smiled and greeted her, "Sister Gui'er, you just came down. Come and have breakfast."

Gui'er nodded. Now Jinbao was the only cheerful person in the whole room, while everyone else was gloomy.

After breakfast, Gui'er prepared to go to school. Jinbao walked her to the door and said to her with a smile, "I've had a wonderful time these past few days. I have no worries about food and drink, and I can read books. These are simply the best days since my father died. Even if these are my last days, it's worth it."

Gui'er was startled and quickly said to her, "Why are you thinking about such an unlucky thing? This will pass. When the time comes, I will find a place for you to go. Maybe you can go to school or become an apprentice. I will definitely not go back to your original place, so don't worry."

She thought that if Xu Wenjie and Chen Zhongyu were unable to find a place for Jinbao, she would take her back to Jiangcheng and place her in the shop of Shopkeepers Song and Liu as an apprentice. Shopkeeper Liu had a broken leg, so it would be good to have one more hand in the shop. Shopkeepers Song and Liu had lost their child, and Jinbao was about the same age as her and was smart. Maybe she could bring them spiritual comfort and learn a skill, which would make her future life more secure.

There was no movement for the next two days, but Director Zhou did go to Sha Mansion, mainly to collect the money, and he was very direct in his words.

He said to Sha Yanyao, "Actually, some things are well known to everyone. Just because I can't find evidence doesn't mean I don't know who did it. Those daring people always think they are extremely smart, but they have long been my turtles."

Madam and Sha Yanyao prepared the meal timidly and asked Jinbao to accompany Director Zhou. Director Zhou was not as impatient as Director Wang. He just took advantage of Director Zhou and did not take any further action. However, the surveillance on the Sha family became more and more strict.

Guier is in school now. Every time before she goes out, someone comes over and asks her where she is going. Then Ah Cheng smiles and says, "Going to school." Then he tells her which school she is going to, and only then does he let her go reluctantly.

Sha Yanyao was not so lucky. When the spies were in a good mood, they would let him go. But when they were in a bad mood, they would keep making things difficult for him. No matter how much nice words he said, it was useless. In the end, he had no choice but to stuff money into his mouth. Copper coins and paper money would not work. He had to give silver dollars and silver dollars to every spy on duty. In total, he had to give more than ten or twenty silver dollars each time. He had to give them out and distribute them to everyone. They would only let him go after everyone received some.