A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

As soon as Liang Guowei left, Sha Yanyao said to his wife, "Mother, this guy is a second-rate person with bad intentions. He has such a bad reputation. If he really bullies Gui'er, not only Gui'er, but also the rest of us will be embarrassed."

The lady picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said slowly: "Do you think I'm that stupid? If he wants to marry Gui'er, then I support it with both hands. If it's just for fun, no way."

Her idea was that she was willing to marry into the Liang family, but she couldn't let him take advantage of her.

Gui'er said nothing and went upstairs silently.

She had just returned upstairs and entered the room when Dingxiang came in with tea in her hand. She said indignantly, "Miss, the madam and the others are too much. They knew that Master Liang was such a person, but they still wanted you to marry him."

Gui'er sighed. She was safe for the time being. Besides, her marriage was such a big thing that it must be approved by the Marshal and Sha Yanxiao, the Madam and Sha Yanyao, and Miss Tian had no say. So there was still room for things to turn around, but she had to think of a way.

Gui'er said to Dingxiang, "It's alright. My wife has no say in my marriage anyway, unless the Marshal agrees to let me marry."

Ding Xiang said anxiously, "Miss, don't be so naive as to think that the Marshal would think of you. Wasn't Miss Erfeng given to Marshal Zhang as a concubine by the Marshal like a piece of shit? You can't imagine what kind of life Miss Erfeng and Miss Yiman lived every day. In fact, they wrote back to the Marshal's residence several times, saying that they couldn't survive in the Zhang Mansion and wanted the Marshal to take them back, but the Marshal ignored them. Later, when they wrote so many times, he even sent an adjutant to reprimand them and told them to stay in the Zhang Mansion until they gave birth to an heir."

"In fact, Marshal Zhang was very wary of the three young ladies at the time. He tortured them. Miss Yiman became pregnant with Marshal Zhang's child, but then she and her child disappeared inexplicably. After that, Miss Sanmei developed a red rash all over her body. It looked very scary, so Marshal Zhang didn't sleep with her. He only tortured Miss Erfeng. Soon, Miss Erfeng went crazy. At that time, everyone said that Marshal Zhang was going to attack Jiangcheng. I followed Miss Erfeng there and was scared all day because the other servants said that if a war broke out, Marshal Zhang would kill those of us who went from Marshal Sha's mansion first. Fortunately, it was the Second Young Master who took action first, and we were saved."

It was the first time that Guier heard Dingxiang talk about what happened at that time. She had asked about it before, but Dingxiang refused to say. Listening to it now was indeed thrilling.

"Wait a minute, you said Sanmei's body was covered in rashes, so the Marshal later let her go. Then how could she have a child? And when we went to Marshal Zhang's mansion, her belly was quite big."

When Dingxiang heard this, her face turned pale and she stammered, unable to say a word for a long time.

Seeing her like this, Gui'er said, "It's okay. If you don't want to say anything, you don't have to. When you first came to me, I was still young and naive. Now you're all grown up, and even if I knew something, I wouldn't tell anyone. Besides, this is already in the past, and it's better not to mention it. Look, Sister Yiman has been gone for so many years, and father hasn't said anything about bringing her back to build a grave for her. It's really father's fault."

When Dingxiang heard her say this, she suddenly burst into tears and said, "Miss, you are smart and courageous. I follow you now and have a reputation among the servants. It doesn't hurt to tell you the truth. Miss Yiman was put in a bag by Marshal Zhang and thrown into the river. Her body has never been found. When Miss Yiman became pregnant, she thought that she would be able to enjoy the status of a mother and no longer suffer torture, so she hurried to tell Marshal Zhang. At that time, Marshal Zhang was drinking. When he heard this, he cursed and said that Marshal Sha was ambitious and wanted to dominate his territory, and he would never let him succeed. Then he ordered people to put Miss Yiman in a sack and throw her into the river. When she sobered up, she cried and said that she was drunk and confused. I don't think he was confused at all. He also ordered us to declare to the public that she died by taking the wrong medicine, otherwise he would kill us too. Miss, I thought I was dead at that time."

Gui Er patted her shoulder, asked her to sit down, and comforted her, saying, "It's hard for you. Fortunately, you are out of danger now. By the way, I think we didn't see Sister Er Feng the last time we went to Shanghai."

Dingxiang tearfully said, "I've inquired about it. Madam was dissatisfied with her monthly expenses there, saying that Shanghai was expensive and it wouldn't look good for guests to see a fool in the house. So she sent someone to send her to a convent run by foreigners. No one knows what happened to her after that."

She said excitedly: "So, young lady, please don't think that the Marshal and his wife are your parents and won't throw you into the fire pit. They are capable of anything."

After listening to Dingxiang's story, Guier was also filled with emotion. If she was still a child a few years ago, she might feel scared, but now she is a big girl. She sees that some shops and foreign companies have girls of her age working there. She is not like Jinbao who can't stand hardship. If the Marshal's Mansion really wants to marry her to Liang Guowei, she can just leave. However, she must not tell these thoughts to Dingxiang.

She smiled and said to Ding Xiang, "Don't worry, I'm an adult now. I'm not like a child anymore. I have friends outside. They can't force me to marry them."

Dingxiang wanted to say something when there was a knock on the door. Dingxiang quickly wiped away her tears. Guier nodded, and she got up to open the door.

The person who came was Jinbao. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. Guier knew from her expression that she must have come to complain. She sighed and said to Dingxiang, "You go down first."

Jinbao walked in, sat down on a stool, and began to cry while wiping his tears: "Guier, you saw what happened today, didn't you? How can I live like this?"

Gui'er sighed and said, "Jinbao, in the Marshal's Mansion, my father's concubines and his wife could beat and scold them at will. Now Miss Tian just said a few harsh words, which is nothing."

"But I'm pregnant now. She's a hen that can't lay eggs. Even if she's the legal wife, the child will be your brother's only child in the future. How dare she treat the child's biological mother like this?"

Gui Er frowned and said, "You can say this to me, but don't say it in front of her. I don't think she is someone who can be bullied easily."

Gui'er could see that Jinbao felt that Miss Tian was infertile, so all of Sha Yanyao's children must be his own. Even if they were not his wife or even his concubine, they would still have a status in the mansion in the future.