A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The Marshal listened, but he wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "That being said, being related to Boss Liang doesn't really bring any financial benefits, but it does bring a lot of connections. He has a distant cousin who's doing well with the Japanese in Manchuria. His uncle, though old, seems to have some influence with the top brass in Nanjing. Otherwise, with his few small pawnshops in Jiangcheng, who would trust him?"

The lady heard this and said, "You mean if we marry into the Liang family, then maybe we can have connections with both sides. No matter how the war goes in the future, we will have a way out?"

The Marshal nodded, and the other concubines present, the third concubine, the fifth concubine, the sixth concubine, and the seventh concubine, all agreed that this was a good marriage, completely forgetting that the protagonist of this matter was Gui'er.

"But, but, that man's character is not good. I heard that he likes to have sex with his father's concubine."

The restaurant suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Taohua, who was usually silent, who spoke.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What use is it for a woman like you, who lives in seclusion, to listen to these rumors without any basis?" the Marshal said unhappily.

Taohua wanted to argue, but Gui'er quickly shook her head. Sanmei also said, "Father, don't mind it. Actually, after the birthday banquet, the whole city was talking about it. Everyone was laughing at that Young Master Liang, so the servants would bring back a few words when they went out to buy things."

The Marshal's eyes widened, and he turned to look at Sanmei, "A housewife should take care of her husband and children. How can she listen to those messy rumors?"

"Master, don't be angry. I will go back and discipline them. You two are so blind. I will teach you a lesson for talking nonsense." The third concubine ran over and started beating Taohua and Sanmei without any reason.

Taohua and Sanmei did not dare to resist. The Marshal looked impatient and said, "Well, this matter has not been concluded yet, you can all go away."

Seeing that the Marshal was angry, everyone quickly slipped away.

Gui'er was worried about Taohua, so when she returned to Sha Yanxiao's yard, she asked Dingxiang to take two cans of malted milk that Sha Yanxiao bought for her and brought them to the third concubine's yard.

When the third concubine saw Gui'er, she initially ignored her.

Guier quickly took out two cans of malted milk and placed them on the table. She said to the Third Aunt, "Third Aunt, I see my little nephew is getting bigger and bigger and needs nutrition. I brought these two cans of malted milk specifically for him to drink."

As the saying goes, one shouldn't hit the person who gave the gift. When the Third Wife saw this, a smile immediately appeared on her face. She said with a smile, "Guier, you don't have to worry too much. After all, the Marshal still likes you very much and often praises you. Do you think any other daughter in our family can be praised by him like this? I think he will still care about you. Even if you really want to marry Young Master Liang, both of these families are respectable families in Jiangcheng. He won't do anything to you. If our Third Beauty could marry into such a family, I would laugh in my dreams. There would be no need to become a widow at such a young age."

Gui Er listened to her hypocritical words and sneered in her heart, but she had to sympathize with her face and said, "It's pitiful for my sister San Mei. Fortunately, she still has a son. When Master Zhang grows up, he will be able to set up his own household. Even if father is just doing it for show, he should at least give him a share of the family property so that he can be independent. Otherwise, it will not sound good if others tell others about it. So sister San Mei still has someone to rely on."

The Third Concubine was very happy to hear this and said with a smile, "You see, Gui'er is the one who thinks about it, that's why you didn't refuse just now. Your sister Taohua is such a fool, she dared to get involved. I just scolded her and she's crying in her room. Why don't you go and see her?"

Guier nodded and came to Taohua's room.

Taohua was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Guier walked in and called out, "Taohua."

Taohua turned her head, and Guier could see clearly that there was a red slap mark on both cheeks. Needless to say, it must have been hit by the third concubine.

Gui'er was very angry and quickly stepped forward to ask, "Does your face hurt? If I had known, I wouldn't have given her malted milk. It would have been better to feed it to the dog than to give it to her."

Taohua said, "I don't mind. It's always like this. I'm worried about you. I heard that Master Liang, besides having affairs with his father's concubine, also abused the maids under his command. I heard he even forced a young maid in his mother's room to death. How can you marry such a man?"

Gui'er looked at Taohua's face distressedly and said, "It's okay, I can handle it myself. I don't want to marry him, but my father is a very proud person. You know that, so why did you refute him to his face? I was so worried that he would get furious."

Taohua heard this and said, "I know everyone is afraid of him, so no one will refute him, but what are you going to do? Are you going to just marry him like this?"

Guier smiled and said, "What are you thinking? This is definitely impossible. I will find a way."

Taohua suddenly said worriedly, "Gui'er, father is already considering your marriage. What should I do when it's my turn? We are born in the same year."

Gui Er said, "I think it's very likely that Young Master Liang was behind this incident. I beat him up and made him lose face in Jiangcheng. I just didn't expect his family to have such connections. No wonder Boss Liang, who only owns one or two pawnshops, can become a guest of honor at the Song and Marshal's residences."

Taohua became even more worried when she heard this: "Then you must not marry him. If you really marry him, he will definitely take revenge on you. How can he treat you well? You will have to serve his family for the rest of your life."

Gui Er smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. I will find a way myself. I was just worried that you would be upset and that the Third Wife would cause trouble for you, so I came here. I didn't expect to be beaten again. This old hag was so harsh. I'll give you some medicine to rub on later."

Taohua smiled and said, "Third Concubine looks timid, but in fact, she has a very bad temper in private. I have been like this for all these years with her. But she even beats her own daughter like this, so it goes without saying that she would beat me. You just sent something over, I think she must be happy and will not bother me for the time being."

Seeing that she had become cheerful, Gui'er left with peace of mind. After returning to Sha Yanxiao's courtyard, she immediately took out some pain-relieving and bruise-removing ointments that Manager Liu had helped to prepare from her room, and asked Dingxiang to get some fruits from the kitchen and send them to the third concubine. She specifically told her to give the medicine secretly to Taohua and not let the third concubine know.