A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After hearing this, Gui'er hesitated for a moment and said to Ah Cheng, "Alas, there's no better way right now. This is the only way. But we have to be careful and don't let him find out, otherwise he'll probably take revenge on us like a mad dog."

Ah Cheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss, this is my strong point."

Afterwards, they returned to the Sha Mansion. They were a little late because they had spent some time at the bookstore. Madam said, "A respectable girl should at least let us know if she wants to go to a friend's house after school. Our mansion isn't a hotel; you can't come back whenever you want."

Gui Er said embarrassedly, "I'm so sorry, Mother. I wanted to go to the bookstore on my way home from school, but I ran into Mr. Liang in the bookstore and talked to him for a while, which delayed me a bit."

When the lady heard it was Young Master Liang, she immediately smiled and said, "Oh, so that's the case. That's not a big deal. You two are still in contact, so you should get closer. Have you invited him to your house?"

Gui'er said, "We didn't make an appointment to meet, we just bumped into each other by chance. We talked for a while and then he left."

The wife was very disappointed when she heard this. Sha Yanyao interrupted and said, "Is your classmate Zhou Huifang hooking up with Liang Guowei? Her father knows about it and is very happy. After all, this Young Master Liang has a powerful background. Now that his father is in the government, many people want to establish a relationship with him."

Gui Er was very surprised. This secret service was so sensitive. She said, "Liang Guowei did pursue Zhou Huifang, but it seemed like he was just playing around and wasn't serious. I tried to persuade Zhou Huifang, but she didn't listen."

The lady said sarcastically, "Look, your classmate is much smarter than you. He knows this is a good family. No matter if there is a chance or not, he should talk to her first. If he can marry into the family, wouldn't that be a win? This is great. With your classmate here, it's no wonder that Master Liang hasn't come to our house recently. He must be fascinated by your classmate now."

Gui'er sighed. After all, the lady was not her biological mother. She thought this way only out of her own interests. If Gui'er could marry Liang Guowei, the Marshal's Mansion or she herself would definitely be proud. But whether Gui'er could really marry him or just be taken advantage of by others, it would not be a loss for her.

Gui'er came back late and everyone in the house had already eaten. She forgot to eat on the way and was scolded by the lady. She returned to her room with an empty stomach.

After a while, Dingxiang pushed the door open and came in, holding a lunch box. She said to Guier, "Miss, you haven't eaten yet, have you? There's nothing left in the kitchen from dinner, but I asked the cook to steam two buns for tomorrow morning and also made you a bowl of porridge."

Guier smiled and said, "Okay, by the way, Brother Cheng hasn't eaten yet, so you can help him get something to eat."

Ding Xiang said, "Miss, don't worry about him. He told me that the servants all knew that Brother Cheng was a capable man, so they treated him very well. Even if they didn't leave dinner for you, they would leave it for him."

Gui Er smiled and said, "That's true, Brother Cheng has traveled extensively before, and he's knowledgeable and skilled."

Ding Xiang said sourly after hearing this: "That's right, those maids all think that Brother Cheng has a bright future and are rushing to get involved."

Guier noticed that Dingxiang seemed to still be interested in Acheng, but she had already mentioned it to her once before, and she knew that she didn't have that intention, so it was not a good idea to force her.

A few days later, Ah Cheng said to Gui Er, "Miss, it's settled."

Gui'er said happily, "Really? What's going on?"

Ah Cheng said with some pride, "I noticed the brothel that Young Master Liang often went to, so I went to investigate in disguise. I found that Young Master Liang often boasted to the prostitutes about how rich his family was and how powerful his background was. But because that brothel was considered to be a bit high-end, the prostitutes there usually came into contact with dignitaries, playboys, and white gangs. So when they saw him talking about not spending money, no one took him seriously, and no one paid any attention to him. I saw the right opportunity and found a prostitute who had a lover. Her lover was also in the gang. I pretended to be a customer and inadvertently revealed Young Master Liang's background to her. The prostitute's eyes lit up when she heard it. I believe there will be a good show soon. I have been keeping a close eye on it these days. You can say hello to Boss Xu and ask him to introduce some tabloid reporters, because I don't have many connections in this area."

Gui'er thought about it and it made sense. It was impossible for Ah Cheng to have such connections. So she took advantage of the excuse of going to the printing room to get some information while she was at school, and ran to the printing room to find Xu Wenjie, asking him to help find a tabloid reporter who could expose the news.

Just as Gui'er was telling Xu Wenjie about the progress of the matter Ah Cheng had told him, Miss Shen walked in. Gui'er was startled and was thinking about how to find a better explanation for this matter. Xu Wenjie said, "Don't be nervous, Gui'er. Now your teacher Shen is also our comrade."

Gui Er said happily, "Really? That's great! This is truly what it means when a husband and wife are of one mind, they can overcome any obstacle."

Miss Shen smiled and said, "I admire you, Gui'er. I didn't expect you to join our team so early. You're my junior."

Guier smiled embarrassedly.

Miss Shen said, "Old Xu mentioned this plan to me before. I think it's feasible. Although we can't be 100% certain that the Liang family is helping certain high-ranking officials collude with the Japanese in order to treason, we still need to be vigilant. I don't think their business dealings are normal, so they're definitely not good. Furthermore, this could help my students escape the Liangs' clutches, which is fantastic."

"However, my mother also knows Mr. Liang. He has been operating in Nanjing for many years and has extensive connections. He knows people in every department. We still have to be careful and don't expose ourselves."

Gui'er said, "You can rest assured about this. Ah Cheng is very meticulous in his work. He approached the prostitute in disguise as a client, and even pretended to accidentally reveal the identity of Young Master Liang. Mr. Xu might have to use some tricks when trying to find the tabloid reporter. Otherwise, once the news appears in the newspaper, I'm afraid the Liang family will easily find you through the newspaper."

Xu Wenjie nodded and said, "Your concerns are valid. Let me think about it. Some tabloid reporters, especially those covering this kind of scandalous news, might not dare to report on the scandals of high-ranking officials and nobles. They might write an article, visit them, and then ask the wealthy to pay them to keep their mouths shut. This way, we won't achieve our goal."