A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Seeing that Gui'er was not only late today but also looked unhappy at the Zhenxiu Workshop, Zhang asked her, "Guier, what's wrong with you? Could it be that Duanmu Heng is bullying you?"

Gui'er shook her head and said, "No, how dare he bully me?"

As they were talking, Duanmu Heng unexpectedly walked in, greeted Gui'er with a smile, and said, "Guier, why do you seem to be late today?"

Gui'er quickly smiled and said, "Mr. Duanmu, I overslept today. You came at the perfect time."

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "I have good news for you. My father has contacted Mr. Mitsui and has made an appointment with him to go to Shanghai to discuss the matter entrusted by the Marshal."

Gui'er said happily, "Really? That's great. Mr. Duanmu, do you think this matter is certain?"

Duanmu Heng said with some pride: "Mr. Sanjing and my father have known each other for more than ten years. We have established a deep trust with each other. I believe there shouldn't be any major problems."

Although Gui'er didn't know whether what he said was true, she finally saw hope and felt very relieved. However, now she had to start thinking of a way to get out of this situation.

She asked Duanmu Heng, "Mr. Duanmu mentioned earlier that he was looking for a job at St. Mary's Girls' School. I wonder how it's going."

Duanmu Heng smiled and said, "It's already been agreed. I'll be teaching foreign languages ​​there when the spring semester starts."

Gui'er smiled and said, "That's really cause for celebration." At the same time, she was worried that it would be great if this person was like the dandy young man, Mr. Liang, from last time. But as he is now, he doesn't have any flaws, so how can she find fault with him and break off the engagement?

When returning to the Marshal's Mansion from the Zhenxiu Workshop in the afternoon, he said to Ah Cheng who came to pick him up, "Brother Ah Cheng, could you help me check the Duanmu family who have been in contact with our Marshal's Mansion recently? Their address in the city, the places they go in and out, and who they have contact with."

Ah Cheng asked curiously: "Miss, you can find out about these things by just telling the young marshal. Why do you have to arrange for me to investigate separately?"

Gui'er said, "Brother is busy, and I always feel that the timing of Duanmu Heng's meetings with me is strange. Is he spying on me? You'd better not do it yourself and find some hooligans who don't know our background to investigate. Now our family is still interacting with them. If they find out, it will be embarrassing."

Ah Cheng nodded and agreed.

Back at the Marshal's residence, it was the day to have dinner with the Marshal, and the Duanmu family also came, saying that the Marshal had invited them over for a simple meal. Mrs. Duanmu also gave Guier a scarf.

The people present had different expressions on their faces, all speculating about what was going on. Sha Yanxiao appeared calm on the surface, but it was different from usual. Everyone in the mansion could feel that he was very unhappy.

Sha Lili said to Gui'er in a teasing tone, "Mrs. Duanmu is from Shanghai, so the things she gave must be imported goods. Gui'er, quickly open the box and let everyone see it."

Gui'er didn't want to do this out of politeness, but she noticed an unnatural expression on Mrs. Duanmu's face, and she smiled and said to Sha Lili, "Since you are curious, I will let you see it."

As she said this, she opened the box with a smile, and the other concubines and young ladies all stretched their necks.

It turned out to be an ordinary hand-knitted wool scarf, which was earthy blue in color and had no crocheted pattern on it. It was not exquisite at all. It would probably cost very little to buy it at Wing On Department Store.

The concubines and daughters of the Marshal's mansion had different amounts of food, clothing, and daily necessities, but they all had one or two pieces of clothing, such as fur neckwear and silk scarves. These were the kind of things that ordinary people used in their homes and usually used privately, but they were not presentable as gifts. The restaurant suddenly fell silent, and the Marshal turned his head to take a look, but said nothing.

Gui'er was secretly happy. She just wanted to let the Marshal know that the other party was not a good person, so that there would be no pressure to tear up the engagement agreement or reject the engagement.

But now she still has to consider the Duanmu family's face, otherwise she is afraid that they will go back on their word and not help the Marshal's Mansion recover those antiques.

So he quickly smiled and said to Mrs. Duanmu: "This scarf... feels very soft. It must be very comfortable to wear. Thank you, Mrs. Duanmu."

Mrs. Duanmu was a little embarrassed at first, but she immediately took the step from Gui'er and praised with a smile: "Miss Gui'er is indeed a lady from a noble family, approachable and sensible."

Sha Lili whispered in Gui'er's ear, "Oh my god, the Duanmu family is a business family, so they should be quite rich. Why are they so stingy? Why don't you just marry my brother? If you marry into their family, I think you'll be living in poverty in the future."

After finishing her meal, Gui'er returned to her yard and threw the scarf away without caring about it anymore.

Sha Yanxiao saw her from behind and said with a smile, "I heard that Duanmu Heng comes to the pharmacy to look for you every day. Is that true?"

Gui'er nodded and said, "That's true. He told me today that he has already made an appointment with Mitsui. Master Duanmu will go to Shanghai in person to discuss how to get those things back."

Sha Yanxiao opened his eyes wide and asked, "Is this true? Strange, why didn't father tell me?" Then he turned around and walked outside.

Gui'er guessed that he was going to find the Marshal, but Sha Yanxiao had just had a conflict with the Marshal recently. The Marshal was a very proud person, so Sha Yanxiao lowered his posture, but the Marshal did not accept it. Gui'er was a little worried, so she quickly followed him to the Marshal's main courtyard.

Sha Yanxiao asked the housekeeper: "Where is my father?"

The steward said, "The Marshal and the Young Master are discussing something in the study."

Sha Yanxiao dragged Gui'er to the study. Before they even entered, they heard the Marshal's voice: "I, Sha Maitian, was a wise man all my life, but what a sin I committed! None of my children are useful; they are all cowards."

"Father, this is an extraordinary time. If people outside knew what you did, they would think you were defecting to the enemy."

It was Sha Yanyao's voice.

Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er walked in. Sure enough, Sha Yanyao was in the study with the Marshal. The Marshal looked unhappy. Seeing Sha Yanxiao, he stiffened his neck and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "I heard from Gui'er that the Duanmu family is going to Shanghai to negotiate with Mitsui. Should we send someone to go with them? That way, they won't interfere."

Sha Yanyao's eyes widened. He said, "Are you really planning to use this traitor? If Director Tian knew about this, I don't know if he would label us as traitors or collaborators."