A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After dinner, Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er and Taohua to the Marshal's Mansion by car.

It turned out that the Marshal's Mansion was built on the highest mountain in the city. As the car drove up the winding mountain road, Guier could actually see most of the city through the car window. She could see the bustling street where Yong'an Department Store was located, the police station, the school, and even vaguely make out the approximate locations of the Song and Tong families. There was only one winding mountain road, making it an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack place.

The car slowly arrived at the gate of the Marshal's Mansion. Gui'er and Taohua were both shocked by the palace-like mansion in front of them. They saw that the gate of the Marshal's Mansion was spacious and tall, consisting of a huge mahogany carved door, and the courtyard wall was more than two meters high, just like a solid castle.

The two rows of guards guarding the door saw that it was the Marshal's car and saluted in unison. Then the gate slowly opened and the car drove straight in.

The car didn't stop after entering the mansion, but drove on for about five minutes, passing through courtyards covered in green grass and adorned with flowers. Along the roadside, we could see one majestic European classical-style building after another. Some were two-story, others four or five stories high, and some were surrounded by walls, like independent courtyards. Only then did Guier realize that this mansion was built on the terrain of this hill.

At this moment, the car arrived in front of a courtyard. The driver honked twice, and the people inside hurriedly opened the gate. The car drove into the courtyard and stopped. A middle-aged man who looked like a butler led five or six servants to greet them at the gate. Sha Yanxiao got out of the car and pointed at Gui'er and said to him, "This is Miss Wu. She's been assigned to live in the room next to mine. Someone will take her to the Virgin Mary Girls' School every day. This is... What's your name?"

"My name is Taohua." Taohua said timidly.

"You should assign some work to Taohua. She is young, so just assign her some light work." Sha Yanxiao took Guier's hand and walked into the house without looking back.

As soon as Sha Yanxiao entered the hall, he sat down on the sofa with his legs crossed. The housekeeper brought the brewed tea and Guier quickly got up to help pour the tea.

The housekeeper waved his hand and said, "Miss Wu, you can't do that."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "It's okay, just let her come. Let her do whatever she wants to do in the future."

The steward said respectfully, "I understand, Master."

Sha Yanxiao took a sip of tea and waved to those people. The housekeeper took the servants and Taohua downstairs.

Gui'er felt vaguely uneasy. When she arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, she felt that the atmosphere here was a bit like entering a wealthy family and being trapped in a deep sea. What if something happened? It was impossible for her to escape from here. Moreover, she didn't understand why Sha Yanxiao introduced her as Miss Wu to the housekeeper when he clearly asked her to be a personal maid?

But now it has come to this point, and I have no choice but to try my best to adapt and protect myself first.

Sha Yanxiao watched Gui'er's subtle changes in expression and found them very interesting. He patted the sofa next to him and said, "Sit down."

Gui'er sat down a little nervously, and Sha Yanxiao said straight to the point, "Do you still remember the storage room in your school?"

Gui'er was shocked. Although she had suspected it a long time ago and confirmed that it was definitely the same person, Sha Yanxiao's own admission was still completely beyond her expectations. She couldn't guess Sha Yanxiao's thoughts and didn't know how to answer to satisfy Sha Yanxiao.

Sha Yanxiao saw her nervous and defensive look and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid. I know you've figured out it was me a long time ago."

Gui'er thought that she couldn't escape it anyway, so she nodded and said, "Yes, but I can't understand why a young marshal like you would become a bandit? You don't look like a bad person."

Sha Yanxiao frowned, then smiled and said, "Where should I begin? Let's start with this Marshal's Mansion. My father, Marshal Sha, has been managing this area for decades. When he was young, he met a wealthy young lady. She was already engaged, but her husband didn't like her. So she confided in my father, then a junior officer, and they eventually fell in love, and I was born."

Gui'er was stunned by what she heard. It was just like the plot of those melodramatic dramas, but she didn't dare to say anything.

Sha Yanxiao went on, "Because we each had our own families, my father entrusted me to the care of one of his brothers. This brother later became the leader of Qingfeng Village. However, my adoptive father was also a soldier. He was forced to become a bandit, so he sent me away to study since I was young. I only recently returned and found that my adoptive father had been murdered by others in the village. I planned to take revenge, so I had to follow the advice of others in the village and kidnap your young lady and you. As a result, it attracted Director Song's bandit suppression, and the bandits were defeated. My father, Marshal Sha, heard about it and sent people to bring me back. That's how I became the young marshal."

Gui'er's eyes widened. She hadn't expected the story to be so complicated. After a long moment, she smiled and said, "No wonder I didn't feel scared when I first met you. Every time I see you since, I don't sense any malice in you. I know you're a kind and good person."

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for a moment, and felt very comforted in his heart. Ever since he saw her in the church, this little girl has been lingering in his mind for some reason. He couldn't explain what his feelings towards her were, but he was not sure now whether he could return her to Song Xichen when he came back.

Guier said cautiously, "I'm going to live here for a while, and there are some things I want to confirm with you first."

Sha Yanxiao said in a good mood: "What's the matter?"

Gui'er said seriously, "What should I call you from now on?" In fact, what she wanted to ask was what her status was in the Marshal's Mansion.

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for a moment, then said mischievously, "You can call me Yanxiao or Brother Yanxiao."

"What kind of greasy, overbearing CEO's statement is this?" Gui'er couldn't help but complain in her heart, but on the surface she pretended to be rather apprehensive and said, "I'm afraid this isn't appropriate. Besides, you're so much older than me. I can call you Uncle or Young Marshal, right?"

"Uncle?" Sha Yanxiao's face instantly fell, and he said hurtly, "I'm not that old."

"Because I call you Young Marshal." Guier said quickly.

Sha Yanxiao said helplessly, "Okay then."

Seeing that Sha Yanxiao was cheerful and outgoing, and seemed to be talking to her, Gui'er felt relieved a little.

She recalled the situation when she first entered the Song Mansion and said to Sha Yanxiao, "I have come here so rashly to disturb you. Even if I am reporting back as a servant, shouldn't I tell the Marshal?"

Sha Yanxiao chuckled and said nonchalantly, "No need. My father brings people home all the time and marries a new concubine every ten days or half a month. He doesn't care about these things."

Gui'er was stunned by what she heard, but that was how the powerful and wealthy people in the old society were. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Young Marshal, could you tell me about the situation in the mansion? I need to be able to walk around in the mansion in the future, and knowing something will help me avoid making mistakes."

Seeing her being so cautious, Sha Yanxiao couldn't help but feel a little distressed. He touched her head and said, "You're tired today too. Go and rest first. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Then he took her to the second floor, stopped at the door of a room and said, "This will be your room from now on."

At this time, two servants came out of the room, bowed to Sha Yanxiao and said, "Master, the room has been tidied and the bedding is ready."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said to Gui'er, "Okay, go and rest."

Gui'er was shocked when she walked into the room. This room was as luxurious as Miss Song Tingting's boudoir. The whole room was covered with carpets, the bed was a European-style solid wood bed, and there was a terrace by the window from which she could see the scenery in the courtyard. Gui'er hurriedly retreated and was about to ask for clarification when she found that the servant was gone and Sha Yanxiao had returned to his room.

I had no choice but to go to bed feeling uneasy.