A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er slipped away early the next morning. Yesterday, when she was having dinner with the Marshal, Duanmu Heng asked her to meet him the next day. The Eighth Concubine was fanning the flames, and she didn't dare to refuse. She smiled hesitantly and dealt with it. However, she really didn't want to go on a date with this Master Duanmu, so she ran to Zhenxiufang early this morning.

After telling this to Zhang, the shopkeeper was very indignant. He touched Gui'er's head and said, "If only we had adopted you when you were still little, there wouldn't be so many problems. Now you've grown up and become a beautiful young lady. Because you're the daughter of a general, things have become complicated."

Guier smiled and comforted her, "It's okay, I'm just hiding now, right? And Brother Yanxiao supports me in hiding too."

As the two were chatting, a familiar figure walked in, "Gui'er, you are here as expected."

Gui'er turned her head in shock. It was Duanmu Heng. She glanced at the shopkeeper Zhang, quickly stood up and said, "Mr. Duanmu, how do you know this place?" Gui'er went to be an apprentice in a pharmacy. Many people in the Marshal's Mansion knew about it, but there were dozens of pharmacies of all sizes in Jiangcheng. The people in the Marshal's Mansion had their own doctors, and if they had any serious illnesses, they would go directly to the hospital with foreign doctors. She had never told anyone where she went to be an apprentice in a pharmacy, except Taohua and Sha Yanxiao, but they were unlikely to tell anyone, so the people in the Marshal's Mansion should not know that she was here.

"Of course it was the people in the mansion who said that. I didn't expect that you had the ambition to save the world. It makes me admire you even more." Duanmu Heng said with a smile.

"Sir, are you here to sell embroidery pieces?" Shopkeeper Liu came over. Just now, because his pharmacy was busy, Gui'er and Shopkeeper Zhang had not had time to explain to him.

Gui'er's heart was in her throat. Shopkeeper Zhang said calmly, "Where? Look at this noble young man, how could he be selling embroidery pieces? This is the blind date that Gui'er's family found for him, Master Duanmu, who is from Shanghai."

Shopkeeper Liu suddenly understood what was going on and said with a polite smile, "Oh, you look quite a handsome young man. Your last name is quite unique."

Duanmu Heng explained gently, "Indeed, many people say that, but we are native Chinese." Then he put his hands behind his back, looked around the Zhenxiu Workshop, and said to Zhang, smiling, "I heard that Gui'er studied medicine. How did she come here?"

Shopkeeper Zhang quickly smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Liu and I are husband and wife, and we run the shop together. Gui'er used to help out at the pharmacy, even preparing and pounding the medicine, but isn't she getting older now? After all, she's a young lady, so we thought of having her stay with me. After my husband finishes seeing patients, he'll come over and talk to her. This way, her family won't think she's showing off."

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Heng exclaimed in praise, "Good, good, good. Manager Liu and his wife really care about Guier." After saying that, he leaned over to look towards the pharmacy.

Gui'er was afraid he would notice something. After all, those guys weren't as sophisticated as Shopkeepers Liu and Zhang, so she quickly said, "Master Duanmu, I'm so sorry. I forgot what we agreed to do. I suddenly feel a little hungry. Why don't we go to Wing On Department Store for dinner?"

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "Okay, but we can only have dessert, because the Eighth Concubine asked me to take you back to the Marshal's Mansion for lunch."

Gui'er just wanted to leave and nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, the two came to the restaurant on the second floor of Wing On Department Store. Duanmu Heng chose a high-end dessert shop. Pushing open the carved glass door, the warm yellow chandelier cast a gentle halo on the cream-colored wall. The mint green velvet sofa was matched with a light wooden round table, and the air was filled with the aroma of caramel and milk.

As Gui'er sat down, Duanmu Heng considerately pulled out his chair and handed over a gold-plated menu. After gently inquiring about Gui'er's preferences, Duanmu Heng ordered a Rose Lychee Mille-feuille for her—pink and white petals nestled between a thin, cicada-wing crust, adorned with shimmering lychee flesh. He also ordered a pot of peach oolong tea, a light amber tea served in a bone china cup, adorned with a few slices of fresh peach flesh. For himself, he ordered a classic tiramisu, layered with cocoa powder and mascarpone cheese, sprinkled with chocolate chips. Paired with a cup of black coffee, it was an elegant and stylish affair.

Gui'er took a sip of her peach oolong tea. She thought this might be a good time to get to know Duanmu Heng, so she smiled and said, "Mr. Duanmu, I heard that your family and the family of Mr. Liang, the Eighth Concubine's adoptive father, are old friends. I guess they visit often. But why don't I remember seeing you and your parents in Jiangcheng's social circles?"

Although Gui'er is not particularly keen on socializing, because she lives in the Shuai Mansion, which is at the top of the pyramid of the wealthy families in Jiangcheng, only the wealthy people in Jiangcheng have the opportunity to appear in the Shuai Mansion. Even if she has never really greeted them, she has become familiar with them over the years.

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "My father and Boss Liang have indeed known each other for many years, but we only moved to Shanghai from Northeast China last year. Before that, we only kept in touch through letters and only met occasionally when he came to Shanghai."

Gui'er's heart became alert. She said calmly, "So your family has moved to Shanghai? How could you bear to leave after running a business in the Northeast for so many years? I heard from the Eighth Concubine that your parents are doing very well in their careers."

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "My eldest brother is actually still there. My family is in charge of mining for the local government. But I heard that Jiangcheng also has two large mines, which are very good. This time my parents came here, firstly, to see you, and secondly, to see if there is any possibility of cooperation. Our family is definitely good at the mining industry."

Gui Er blurted out, "I'm afraid it's difficult. My father has run these two mines for many years and they already have excellent managers. They are doing a good job and will not be replaced easily."

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. Our family's mineral resources in the Northeast weren't originally ours. It's just a matter of negotiation. We'll give it to whoever offers the best conditions. I don't believe anyone would have a problem with money."

Gui'er smiled. Duanmu Heng was not too shrewd and Gui'er tricked him into saying something. The Northeast had already fallen, and if he could get the mining development rights at this time, he must be a traitor. However, in this era, all kinds of thoughts existed in China, and some people did not feel ashamed of being traitors. However, the Duanmu family was introduced to the Marshal by Boss Liang and the Eighth Concubine, which fully proved that Boss Liang and the Eighth Concubine also had the tendency to surrender to the enemy. However, Gui'er had heard before that Boss Liang had relatives in the Northeast, so it was not surprising.

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "Oh, so your father and mother came to Jiangcheng for the mines. Then why didn't they just settle down in Jiangcheng? My father always liked to have his children around."