A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er returned to the house, racking her brains to figure out how to see Song Xichen. Suddenly, Dingxiang knocked on the door and said, "Miss, please come down to the first floor hall quickly. Miss Tian is here to see you."

Gui'er found it quite novel. She and Miss Tian were not very close. Could it be that she was bored staying in the Marshal's Mansion and came to play with her?

So they went to the first floor. Miss Tian had brought some cake and was sitting in the living room chatting with Sha Yanxiao. The two of them had a very pleasant conversation. Sha Yanxiao thanked Miss Tian for the cake and for taking care of Guier in Nanjing.

Miss Tian praised Sha Yanxiao highly for his outstanding achievements in governing Jiangcheng.

Gui'er felt that Miss Tian was very different from the rich girls she had known before, and she couldn't guess what she was thinking.

When she saw Gui'er go down, she smiled and said to her, "Sister, I haven't seen you for a few days. Why don't you come to play with me?"

Guier smiled and said, "I'm so sorry, sister-in-law. I've only been back for two days and have been busy meeting up with classmates and friends, so it's hard to bring you along. Have you visited any of the nearby attractions these days? The parks here are pretty good, not worse than those in Nanjing."

Miss Tian smiled and said, "I've been touring around with your brother and Jinbao these past two days. Although this city is small, it has beautiful scenery and is very suitable for living. I like it very much."

Miss Tian still spoke so politely. Gui'er suddenly thought that she could take advantage of the opportunity when Miss Tian took her out to meet Song Xichen. Even if Sha Yanyao knew about it, he and Song Xichen were classmates and good friends, so he shouldn't be as repulsive as Sha Yanxiao.

Having made up her mind, Gui'er said to Miss Tian affectionately, "Actually, there are some pretty good local snacks in Jiangcheng. If you don't mind, I can take you there to eat."

Miss Tian said happily when she heard this: "That's great. I'm going to have dinner with the Marshal tonight. Let's go tomorrow."

Guier happily agreed.

After Miss Tian left, Sha Yanxiao said to Gui'er, "This Miss Tian is no ordinary person. I've never met such a woman who is so good at dancing. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing for Big Brother to marry her."

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, Mother really likes this marriage. Because of this marriage, my brother will go straight from being a clerk under Director Wang to being Director Tian's deputy."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "That's right. And this marriage was actually arranged by my father. When he found out that Director Tian had replaced Director Zhou, he took advantage of Director Tian's friendship with him and started making arrangements. Tonight's dinner was specially arranged for Director Tian and his nephew."

Gui'er suddenly realized that it was no wonder that a man like Director Tian would find a divorced man for his unmarried niece. Although Sha Yanyao had a good appearance and temperament, he had been married twice after all.

At around five or six in the evening, Sha Yanxiao brought Gui'er to the restaurant in the main courtyard. Only then did she see the fifth and sixth concubines and their children. The children had grown up a little, but they were timid when they saw Gui'er.

The fifth and sixth concubines were originally sitting at the table with their children waiting for dinner. When they saw Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er, they quickly stood up to greet them, saying with a smile, "Guier, are you back? Your sister misses you so much. She keeps asking, 'Sister Gui'er, when will you be back?' I said it would be soon, but every two days she keeps asking again, 'I miss you so much.' Hey, you guys, hurry over and say hello to your sister Gui'er."

The children said timidly, "Hello, Sister Gui'er."

Gui'er nodded, forced a smile and said, "Sit down."

They sat back down as if relieved.

Gui'er actually knew that they were being so polite to her now only because of Sha Yanxiao. They were pitiful, indeed. The fifth and sixth concubines had not given birth to a son, but two daughters each. The Marshal was a playboy. They came from ordinary families, and were either sent to him by their parents as a tool to curry favor with the rich and powerful, or they were favored by the Marshal and their parents did not dare to resist, so they became his concubines. They were usually humble and obedient, but when Sha Yanxiao lost power and fled to Fengcheng, they brought their children and ran to Sha Yanxiao's yard to occupy space, and even wanted to take over the things left by Miss Ji.

As a result, Sha Yanxiao came back and drove them out not long after. The yard they lived in was quite dilapidated. After being driven out by Sha Yanxiao, the commotion was probably a bit too big, and the Marshal found out about it, so he finally found someone to repair their tiled houses.

They were now well behaved, but Dingxiang told Guier, "The Fifth and Sixth Concubines have been telling others privately that they're afraid the Second Young Master will chase them away once the Marshal is gone."

Gui Er smiled bitterly and said, "For the past few years, people have been saying that the Japanese are going to attack us. If they really do, everyone in this mansion will have to flee. Do they still want to stay here to the death?"

Ding Xiang was surprised to hear this and said, "Even if they attack, the Marshal and the Young Marshal will protect us. Are all the people in the mansion going to seek refuge somewhere else? Even though this place is so strong, it can't stop them?"

This time it was Gui'er's turn to be surprised. She didn't expect that the Marshal and Sha Yanxiao were trusted so deeply. But it was true. In this era of division among the great powers and warlords, the two small places of Jiangcheng and Fengcheng had been relatively stable for many years. The people naturally felt from the bottom of their hearts that the Marshal and Sha Yanxiao were capable of protecting one side. Besides, where else could they go if they left here?

While Gui'er was lost in thought, the third and fourth concubines arrived one after another. Sha Lili ran up to Gui'er and said, "I heard Director Tian from Nanjing is coming to see his niece. My father plans to get all the famous and wealthy people in Jiangcheng to come along and have another party at the Yong'an Hotel tomorrow."

Gui'er was moved when she heard this. The Song family was one of the richest families in Jiangcheng, so they would definitely attend the banquet tomorrow. Maybe she could meet Song Xichen.

Soon, the Marshal and his wife, as well as Director Tian and Miss Tian arrived. The Marshal enthusiastically took Director Tian's hand and called him Brother Tian, and Director Tian also enthusiastically patted the Marshal on the back and called him Brother Sha.

The Marshal even specially called Sha Yanxiao over to introduce him to Director Tian.

Director Tian's eyes lit up when he saw Sha Yanxiao, a handsome man in military uniform. He said, "Brother Sha, I didn't know you had such an outstanding little son. Whose wife gave birth to him?"

The Marshal smiled and said, "He had a bad fate. His mother died young outside. He only came back to me after graduating from college, but it's been many years."

Director Tian was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I think this second young master is the one who looks most like a brother to you. He will definitely have a bright future."