A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier saw that the Marshal was about to agree to this marriage and said quickly, "Father, if this can help my family, I would certainly do it without hesitation. But their family has such deep ties with the Japanese, and their eldest son is even helping the Japanese manage the mines in Northeast China. If they really marry into our family, I don't think they will give up their ambitions. Are you planning to give them our mines? Besides, I think the Japanese will go to war sooner or later. If the Marshal's family has a relative so close to the Japanese, what will the central government think of us?"

After hearing this, the Marshal remained silent, but his smile gradually faded. For the first time, Guier discovered that the Marshal, who was not laughing, actually had a very ferocious and terrifying face.

The living room was so quiet that even the sound of a mosquito flying by was extremely piercing. Dashuai, with one eye open and the other half-closed, leaned forward, stared into Gui'er's eyes and asked, "So, you don't want to do it anymore?"

It was the first time that Gui'er saw the Marshal like this, and she was a little nervous. She always knew that the Marshal was not a good person, but on the surface, the Marshal had been very kind to her over the years. Gui'er had witnessed with her own eyes that the Marshal married his three biological daughters to a frail old man over fifty years old without asking any questions and directly issued a notice.

In fact, the Marshal could have made the decision directly without asking her opinion this time. It is possible that he really admired her, or it is possible that he did so out of consideration for Sha Yanxiao's feelings. He did not expect Gui'er to reject his face.

Given the Marshal's previous temper, he would definitely turn hostile immediately. Gui'er wondered whether she should agree first to avoid his attack and then sabotage him like Young Master Liang did last time, or whether she should just reject him head-on. She was at a loss for a moment.

"Father, please don't force Gui'er. Actually, I don't agree either. I have always wanted to marry her after she finishes her studies." Sha Yanxiao suddenly said.

This was like a bolt of thunder from the blue! Gui'er and the Marshal were both stunned.

Gui'er was shocked, but she immediately thought that Sha Yanxiao might have said that on purpose in order to help her and not to have a conflict with the Marshal.

The Marshal was first surprised, then suspicious. "You're interested in Gui'er? You're kidding me, aren't you? This girl grew up by your side, you see her every day. If you were interested in her, why would you marry that Ji?"

"It's Ji Yiru, Father. I didn't have these feelings for Gui'er when she was little, but she's grown up now, hasn't she? You always praise her for being smart and clever, and she's really pretty. It's no wonder I'm attracted to her, right?"

The Marshal looked at Sha Yanxiao, then turned to look at Gui'er. He suddenly smiled and pointed at the two of them and said, "You two are in collusion. You don't want to marry that Duanmu, so you put on this show for me."

Sha Yanxiao said calmly, "I'm telling the truth, father. My late wife has been gone for several years. Although I've paid attention to her over the past two years, I haven't been happy with her. Now the situation is pressing. A warlord who wants to fight the Japanese head-on is no longer so popular, so I can't get any good things. I think Gui'er is doing well."

Gui'er tried her best to remain calm. Looking at Sha Yanxiao and Dashuai, her palms were actually sweating. She quickly clenched her fists. She really couldn't understand the current situation. She even didn't want to face it. She had an urge to get up and run away, but she held back. The trust built over the years made her feel that Sha Yanxiao would not harm her. She silently told herself to stay calm.

"Son, you've been single for so many years. It's my negligence that I haven't found another one. But Gui'er, she's your sister. It won't sound good if it gets out."

"What's the big deal? She's not your biological sister. Seventh Concubine was your daughter back then. You didn't even praise her for being well-behaved and cute in front of so many prominent people in Jiangcheng, and now you're taking her in as your concubine."

Gui'er's eyes widened, and she thought, "It's over."

"bang"

As soon as Sha Yanxiao finished speaking, the Marshal took a step forward and punched Sha Yanxiao in the face.

Sha Yanxiao tilted his head slightly, probably avoiding most of the force, but a red mark was still left on his face.

"You bastard, you unfilial son." Several blue veins bulged out on the Marshal's shiny bald head. He gasped for breath and reached for his waist.

Seeing the situation was bad, Gui'er quickly stood in front of Sha Yanxiao and said, "Father, calm down, calm down. I have a plan. We can trick the Duanmu family. If they can help us get those antiques back, you can marry your daughter to the mine. Once we get the antiques, you can find an excuse to turn it down."

After hearing this, the Marshal stopped what he was doing and his eyes swept across Guier's face.

Gui'er stood between Sha Yanxiao and Dashuai. She had never been so close to Dashuai before. Before, she thought that his health had deteriorated after smoking opium, but now she felt that Dashuai was like an angry brown bear, huge and terrifying.

Sha Yanxiao gently pulled Guier from behind and asked her to sit next to him.

Gui'er turned around and saw Sha Yanxiao's calm face. Knowing that he was confident, she obediently sat next to him. She was still a little frightened.

"Father, Gui'er is right. We can deceive them. He is just a traitor anyway. There is no need to keep our word with him." Sha Yanxiao said as he wiped the place on his face where he was beaten with his hand. He immediately took a deep breath. It must still be very painful.

The Marshal slowly sat back on the sofa, but the anger on his face remained.

Gui'er felt that the Marshal's anger was no longer because she refused to cooperate in marrying Duanmu, but because Sha Yanxiao had exposed his scars.

Over the years, although the Marshal acted arrogantly in the mansion, no one dared to say a word to him, even when he killed the former eighth concubine. It was obvious that he could not accept that his son would speak out about the disrespectful and dirty things he had done.

"Ahem, ahem, Gui'er, what you said makes sense. Let's do it this way. During this period of time, if Master Duanmu asks you to go out, just deal with it briefly." The Marshal cleared his throat and said.

"Okay, Father, I will do as you say." Guier agreed quickly.

The Marshal looked at Sha Yanxiao again, then walked away.

Gui'er didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she could no longer see the Marshal. She quickly walked over to Sha Yanxiao and sat down, saying worriedly, "Brother, Father seems very angry."

Sha Yanxiao patted Gui'er's shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, it's okay. I'm here. If you don't want to pay attention to Duanmu Heng, you can just ignore him. We can find other ways to get the things back."

Gui'er was still in shock and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, you too, you clearly knew our father's temper, so why did you insist on confronting him?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said nothing. Gui'er felt strange. Sha Yanxiao was usually very calm and composed, so why would he use such a simple and crude method to fight back this time?