A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er's eyes widened. She understood that the Marshal was planning to sacrifice herself. This was the same as when he had asked his three biological daughters to marry Marshal Zhang.

Guier now feels a little regretful for not listening to Sha Lili's advice and finding a partner for herself, even if it is a fake one, at least she can use it as an excuse to get away with it. What should she do now?

"I don't agree. I told you, Gui'er wants to marry me, father. I'm not kidding you."

The Marshal's originally smiling face turned cold in an instant. "It's New Year's Day, don't say such a dampener. I know you can't bear to let your sister go and think it's risky for her to marry into the Duanmu family. But in this era, it doesn't matter who you marry. You have been in charge of the army for quite a while, and you should know that our own strength can't resist the well-equipped army of the Japanese garrison in Shanghai. The central government and the friendly forces around us can only shout slogans of unity against foreign aggression. In fact, they want to swallow up our territory. We can only save ourselves by playing both sides. Your sister has to suffer some grievances, but she has enjoyed a lot of wealth and glory in the Marshal's Mansion over the years. She should contribute a little to the mansion. Yiman, Erfeng, and Sanmei are still my biological daughters. You can marry whoever you want. Without the sacrifice of the three of them, could you have taken Fengcheng?"

Sha Yanxiao opened his mouth, his eyes were red, but he couldn't say anything. However, one hand was clenched into a fist, and the other hand was tightly holding Gui'er.

"Okay, let's celebrate the New Year happily today. Others are coming to pay their New Year's greetings. You look so dusty and dirty that it's not a festive look. Go away." The Marshal glanced at him and said with a cold face.

Sha Yanxiao had no choice but to pull Guier out.

As soon as I walked out of the main courtyard, I saw other concubines bringing their children to wish the Marshal a happy new year.

Gui'er suddenly had an idea and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, let's go to Mother and wish her a happy new year. Let's also tell Big Brother about this. This matter will have a huge impact on Big Brother. I don't think either Mother or Big Brother will agree."

Sha Yanxiao thought about it and said, "Okay, let's go."

Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao arrived at the main courtyard. As soon as they entered, they greeted the lady with a big smile on their faces: "Happy New Year, mother! I wish you good health and everything goes well in the new year."

The lady smiled and asked them to sit down. She gave each of them a red envelope. Suddenly, she looked at their expressions and realized that something seemed to be wrong. She asked, "You two came here today, but you look a little strange. Did you come from your father's place? Did you get scolded there?"

Gui'er looked at Sha Yanxiao, took a deep breath, and mustered her courage to speak: "Mother, we just went to pay New Year's greetings to Father, and he actually said that just in case, if we can't defeat the Japanese in the future, we can surrender to them. He wants to marry me to Duanmu Heng as a way to form a partnership with the Duanmu family. You know, this is a very serious matter. My brother and I have already tried to persuade him for a long time, but he still drove us out."

After hearing this, the lady's smile instantly disappeared and her mouth opened in surprise: "What? The Marshal actually has such a plan? Then how will our Yan Yao cope with it? What should we do?"

Sha Yanxiao continued, "Mother, think about it. The Duanmu family has ill intentions. Gui'er will suffer if she marries them. Furthermore, the situation is complicated right now. If word gets out about father's actions, our Marshal's Mansion's reputation will be ruined, and it will also have a significant impact on my eldest brother's career in the central government."

Sha Yanyao, who had been watching the two people wishing each other a happy new year, was shocked when he heard the news, his brows furrowed tightly. "How could my father do such a foolish thing? I work for the central government. If my father defected to the Japanese, I would lose my job and might even be held accountable."

When the lady heard this, she immediately became anxious and hurriedly pulled the eldest young master over: "No, we have to go and persuade the Marshal and not let him make this kind of mistake." As they spoke, the two of them hurriedly walked towards the main courtyard.

Gui'er looked at their departing backs with full anticipation, silently praying in her heart that the lady and the eldest young master could convince the Marshal.

However, Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao had just returned to their courtyard when they heard a rapid, heavy sound of footsteps. Then, the Marshal stormed in, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

As soon as the Marshal entered, he pointed at Gui'er and scolded her, "You ungrateful girl! I've raised you in the Marshal's Mansion for so many years, and now I'm asking you to contribute to the family, but you're so reluctant. I made this decision for the livelihood of everyone in the Marshal's Mansion, and you actually ran to ask for help and complained to your eldest brother and your mother. Have you lost your conscience?"

Afterwards, the Marshal pointed his spearhead at Sha Yanxiao and shouted angrily: "And you, you bastard! You act like a soft-hearted woman all day long and have no decisiveness at all. As the young marshal, don't you understand the current situation? You have to drag your feet on such matters. You are really a hopeless case! I tell you, Gui'er is definitely going to marry Duanmu Heng. You all be honest and don't do these tricks to me anymore, otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!" After the Marshal finished scolding, he shook his sleeves, turned around and left angrily, leaving the servants in the yard with terrified faces, at a loss.

Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao stood there, watching the Marshal's departing back, their hearts filled with helplessness and anger.

Gui'er's eyes were red, and her voice was trembling: "Brother, what should we do? Father won't listen to my advice at all."

Sha Yanxiao gritted his teeth, his eyes firm, "Gui'er, don't be afraid. I won't let you marry Duanmu Heng. Even if father insists on doing it, I will find a way to stop it."

After all, this incident happened on the first day of the Lunar New Year, in front of so many people, so it quickly spread throughout the Marshal's Mansion.

Taohua came over to comfort Guier, but before she could say anything, she burst into tears. Guier had no choice but to comfort her, saying, "It's just an engagement now, and we haven't gotten married yet. You can still cancel the engagement."

Taohua wiped her tears and said, "What can we do? You are not the Marshal's biological daughter. Even if he was, he would not show mercy. Look at Sanmei, it's a good ending." As she spoke, she suddenly looked around and whispered in Gui'er's ear, "How about we run away and find our two elder brothers? They have bought land in their hometown anyway. If we go back, they won't be able to find us."

Gui'er was shocked. She didn't expect Taohua to be so bold all of a sudden. She thought about it carefully, shook her head and said, "No, the land we bought in our hometown is only enough for food. Besides, my second and third brothers' furniture stores are doing so well now. Are we going to give them up for nothing? We are adults, and it doesn't matter if we suffer a little. But my second sister-in-law has a child, and she is pregnant." In fact, she also had to worry about Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu. If she just left, they would definitely be implicated.