A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er said, "Then I'll give you a small shawl later. It will just cover your face."

Although Taohua felt embarrassed, she nodded, and then said to Gui'er a little shyly: "Guier, when you come back this time, can you arrange for me and your brother to meet? Because you asked us not to meet last time, so we haven't seen each other for a long time."

Gui'er said readily, "Okay, it's not a difficult thing. Tomorrow we can say we're going out shopping, and then go to the Zhenxiu Shop and ask Shopkeeper Zhang to call my brother over so you can meet him."

Taohua was so happy when she heard this that she couldn't stop smiling.

The next day, Gui'er told Sha Yanxiao early in the morning that she wanted to take Taohua shopping. Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "It's your duty. You usually live in Nanjing, so I'm afraid your financial situation isn't very good. Take this pocket money and buy whatever you want. Don't be frugal. If it's not enough, just ask Acheng to come back and get it." Then he handed over ten silver dollars.

Gui'er was a little embarrassed, but she still took it and said happily, "Thank you, Brother Yanxiao."

Then she asked Acheng to drive her to the third concubine's place to pick up Taohua.

The moment Taohua walked out of the house, everyone in the yard, including Acheng, was stunned.

Taohua put on the Suzhou embroidery buttoned pearl-studded cheongsam that she had given her yesterday. The close-fitting cut made her figure look graceful and well-proportioned. The cheongsam perfectly outlined her curves. Coupled with her beautiful face, she truly had the face of an angel and the figure of a devil.

Gui Er knew that she had put on this dress specifically to meet Wu Dafu, and she said happily, "Hurry up and get in the car, Brother Cheng, drive."

Only then did Acheng come to his senses and slowly started the car.

When they arrived at the gate of the Marshal's mansion, the Marshal just got out of the car and walked inside. Acheng stopped the car and let him go in first.

Dashuai glanced at Guier's car and suddenly his gaze stopped. Guier found that he was staring at Taohua blankly. Taohua was so scared that she lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

Gui'er quickly stepped forward to block his view of Taohua and said to him with a smile, "Father, let's go shopping."

The Marshal finally came to his senses: "Oh, shopping, okay, go ahead."

Guier quickly patted Acheng's seat to signal him to drive quickly. Acheng stepped on the accelerator and drove away, but Guier found through the rearview mirror that Dashuai was still there watching them.

Peach Blossom remained silent.

Arriving at Wing On Department Store, Gui'er and Taohua walked into the mall. Ah Cheng did not follow them in. At this time, Gui'er asked Taohua: "You told me earlier that your father seemed to have some bad intentions towards you. Has he stopped recently?"

Taohua frowned and said, "I've always been cautious, so I've been fine these past few months. Didn't you tell me to wear a cheongsam? Actually, it's not that I don't want to wear one, it's that I don't dare. One time, I changed into a cheongsam and just as I put it on and walked out of the room, the Third Wife scolded me, saying I was trying to seduce men. Since then, I've been wearing this kind of large coat that doesn't show off my waist to avoid these rumors."

Gui'er held Taohua's hand and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. That's just her own feudal thinking. But when I'm not here, you should try to avoid wearing this cheongsam. I just saw that there's something wrong with my father."

Taohua nodded and agreed.

Gui'er took her to the clothing counter and bought her a small shawl, which she put on on the spot. Although she didn't wear any expensive jewelry, Taohua's beauty was really eye-catching. Even the cashiers in the mall came over and surrounded her to praise her, thinking she was some rich girl. This made her blush and she kept looking at Gui'er, at a loss.

Gui'er quickly paid the bill, then took her to buy some malted milk, biscuits, and peach cakes, buying two of each, one for Shopkeeper Zhang and Shopkeeper Liu, and the other for Wu Dafu to take home.

After finishing the shopping, Gui'er said to Ah Cheng, "Since we're all out now, why don't you take us to Shopkeeper Zhang and Shopkeeper Liu's place? Then you can go back for a stroll and come back in half a day. We haven't seen each other for such a long time, I'm afraid we should talk for a while."

Acheng agreed and drove them to the entrance of the alley where Manager Zhang and Manager Liu's shop was located. The car could not drive in, so Guier usually walked in by herself. However, this time, Acheng insisted on taking them to the shop of Manager Zhang and Manager Liu, saying that it was not safe.

When they arrived at Zhenxiufang, Manager Zhang and Manager Liu were very happy. After Ah Cheng left, Guier explained her purpose to Manager Zhang and asked her to call Wu Dafu over.

Shopkeeper Zhang readily agreed. Knowing that time was running out, he quickly called a rickshaw and rushed to Wu Dafu and Wu Dahua's furniture workshop to call for help.

When Shopkeeper Liu asked about Liang Guowei, Gui'er told him that Liang Guowei had been murdered in Nanjing. Shopkeeper Liu was very surprised, but he said, "This young man surnamed Liang was extravagant and ostentatious. It's not surprising that he would end up like this. Fortunately, he didn't implicate you."

Soon, Wu Dafu arrived. He left Manager Zhang far behind and rushed into Zhenxiufang with sweat all over his forehead. Taohua saw him and hurried forward to wipe the sweat off his face.

When he saw Taohua wearing the cheongsam, his face turned red, and he kept scratching his head and grinning.

Guier coughed, and then he came to his senses and said to Guier, "Sister is back. Wow, you've grown taller again." Then he walked over and touched Guier's head.

Guier took out the things she had bought for him and said, "This is for you. How is my little nephew now?"

Wu Dafu said, "She's become even more naughty now, jumping up and down all day long, making trouble. Oh, and my second sister-in-law is pregnant again."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She couldn't say anything. People in this era didn't have any contraceptive measures. No matter how rich or poor they were, as long as they could have children, they would keep getting pregnant.

She asked Wu Dafu, "Can our family still afford it?"

Wu Dafu sighed and said, "It's just one more mouth to feed. We two brothers just need to find ways to get more things done."

At this time, Zhang, the shopkeeper, finally returned. She panted and laughed as she said, "When Dafu heard that he could see peach blossoms, he ran away like crazy. I had to chase him away."

Wu Dafu blushed with embarrassment.

Gui'er said to Taohua and Doctor Wu, "It's been so long since we last met. Why don't you just chat here? I'll go over and help Shopkeepers Liu and Zhang with their work. We'll go back to the Marshal's Mansion together shortly."

Back at Liu's Pharmacy, Manager Liu said, "Don't rush to help just now."

Gui'er looked around and saw that the pharmacy was empty, so she said, "No, I wanted to tell you something. Director Shen had a batch of antiques that disappeared after he was killed in the explosion. Sha Yanxiao recently found their whereabouts, and I'm going to follow him to Shanghai to investigate in a couple of days."