A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao came back two days later. It was said that the process went smoothly. The Marshal was very happy and held a banquet at home in the evening. Although no outsiders were invited, his wife was also in attendance. The food was obviously carefully prepared. The main dish was Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and others included shark fin, bear paw, etc. When Gui'er found out that it was bear paw, she was shocked. Sha Lili even laughed at her for being naive.

Halfway through the meal, the Marshal suddenly stood up and said, "This incident is all thanks to Gui'er. I never thought a little girl like you would take the bullet with your own body. You are truly loyal and brave. I admire people like that. My wife said you are also very good at studying and have great potential. You are an orphan, right? How about this? I will adopt you as my daughter, and from now on, you will be the daughter of my Marshal's Mansion."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate commotion, but no one dared to say anything. They just looked at Gui'er to see how she would react.

Gui'er was startled. She turned to look at Sha Yanxiao. His expression was also surprised, which showed that he had no prior knowledge of the situation.

The Marshal and his wife looked at her with smiles on their faces.

Gui'er would definitely not agree. This old man could do such a ridiculous thing as marrying his three daughters to another old man as concubines. Now he takes her in as his adopted daughter, probably just to have his own daughters marry to others in exchange for benefits in the future.

Gui'er took a deep breath, bowed to the Marshal, and said, "I will never be able to repay the Marshal's kindness. However, I must explain that I am not an orphan. I have a father and brothers in the countryside. It's just that they are struggling to make a living, so I am temporarily living away from home and cannot reunite with them."

The Marshal was stunned for a moment and said, "So that's how it is. I only heard Yan Xiao say that you were sold to a brothel and rescued by someone. I thought you were an orphan. But it's not a big deal. Since your family is struggling, I will send someone to send 100 yuan to your family. It will be considered as adopting you to me. How do you do that?"

Gui'er glanced at Sha Yanxiao secretly, and he gestured for Gui'er to nod in agreement.

But Gui'er was still reluctant. She was still thinking about leaving the Marshal's Mansion, which was a dangerous place.

She thought for a moment, then knelt down and said to the Marshal, "Marshal, your kindness is beyond my ability even if I cultivate for ten lifetimes, so I really shouldn't refuse. But I have a sworn sister, Taohua, who has been with me through life and death many times. We swore to share joys and sorrows, happiness and joys together. I really can't let myself become a rich lady and leave her as a servant." No matter what the reason was, she was going to give it a try.

Marshal Sha looked at Gui'er in disbelief and said, "How could anyone in this world give up the chance to become a leader just for a promise?"

At this time, Sha Yanyao interrupted and said, "Father, she is just a child, how can she understand these principles?"

Marshal Sha nodded and asked, "Who is Taohua? Where is she now?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "She's in my courtyard. I'll send someone to find her right away."

After a while, Butler Zhang brought Taohua over. Guier was secretly surprised when she saw Taohua's clothes.

She was not wearing the usual clothes of the servants in the mansion, but the high-end cheongsam that Sha Yanxiao bought for them at Yong'an Department Store when he took them back to the Marshal's Mansion that day. Taohua was originally prettier than Guier. Her round and plump little face, fair and rosy skin, and the high-end cheongsam made her look like a pretty little beauty.

Taohua walked up to the Marshal and his wives, bowed, and said, "Hello, Marshal, hello, ladies."

The Marshal and his wife were stunned when they saw Taohua. The Marshal smiled and said, "This child is so cute, like a porcelain doll. Okay, I'll take you both in as my adopted daughters."

Gui'er was still hesitating, but Taohua had already knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, and said, "Thank you, Marshal. No, thank you, foster father."

Gui'er had no choice but to kneel down and kowtow three times, saying, "Daughter greets father and mother."

The Marshal laughed heartily and said, "Come here, prepare the golden bowls and chopsticks. You two can sit down and eat first. After you finish eating, we will formally salute you."

Gui'er pulled Taohua to sit at the young lady's table to eat.

Sha Lili chuckled and said to Taohua, "Your name is Taohua, right? Gui'er was adopted as their adopted daughter because she sacrificed her life to save my father and brother. You're amazing! Just relying on your looks alone, you've made my parents take a special liking to you and adopted you as their adopted daughter."

Taohua smiled innocently and said nothing. Guier just felt a headache. She knew that Taohua was not the kind of person with deep scheming. Maybe the person who delivered the message said something to her, and it was not convenient to ask here.

After the meal, everyone went to the hall. Gui'er and Taohua offered tea to the Marshal and his wife respectively. The Marshal gave each of them a set of golden bowls and chopsticks.

At this time, the third concubine suddenly said: "Since the two girls have been adopted by the Marshal as his daughters, they will need someone to take care of them. Why not let them move in with me? It just so happens that the three beauties are married off, and I am quite lonely on my own."

The fourth concubine said, "Why don't you move in with me? Lily is about the same age as them, so we can play together."

Several other concubines expressed their desire for Gui'er and Taohua to move in and live with them.

Gui'er didn't know them at all and was definitely unwilling to do so. Just as she was about to refuse, Taohua suddenly said, "Thank you very much, Third Auntie."

The lady and the other concubines didn't say anything.

Gui'er was a little hesitant. She was afraid that Taohua would suffer if she went to live with the third concubine alone, but she didn't want to live with the third concubine, whom she was not familiar with, so she couldn't help but look at Sha Yanxiao.

Sha Yanxiao raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Forget it, if Taohua likes to live with Third Aunt, then go ahead. Gui'er's injury hasn't healed yet, so it's more convenient for her to live with me."

The fourth concubine smiled and said, "Yan Xiao, how can a grown man like you take care of a little girl? Why don't you move in with me? Look how much Gui'er and Lili have been having fun these past two days."

"Guier, do you want to move in with me?" the lady suddenly asked.

The Marshal clapped his hands and laughed heartily, saying, "Gui'er, look, the Madam is so impressed with you that she wants to teach you herself."

Guier smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam, for your kindness. However, I've been living here with Brother Yanxiao for a long time. I'm young and naughty, so I'm afraid I'll disturb your peace. But I think you're very kind, and I'd like to visit you from time to time to pay my respects. Is that possible?"

The lady said with a smile: "What a sensible child. Come over whenever you want."

Things were finally settled here, and the Marshal went back to rest. Everyone went back to their rooms. Taohua followed Sha Yanxiao and Guier back to pack their luggage. Actually, there was nothing much to pack, but Guier wanted to talk to her alone to find out what was going on. Since they had moved away, they probably wouldn't have the chance to meet alone.

Back in the courtyard, Sha Yanxiao and housekeeper Zhang went back to their rooms. Guier followed Taohua to her room on the pretext of helping her pack her luggage.

As soon as they entered the room, Taohua pulled Gui'er to sit down and asked, "Guier, will you blame me? The messenger told me that the Marshal and his wife wanted to adopt you as their daughter. I wish I were as lucky as you. No matter where I go, people like you. When you were in the Song family, the eldest young master took care of you. When you came to the Marshal's Mansion, the young master treated you like a guest. You know how much I envy you. I'm really used to this kind of fearful life. After the young lady bought me my first cheongsam, I didn't want to wear homespun clothes anymore. As the Marshal's adopted daughter, I can have food and clothes, and I don't have to work, I don't have to wander, and I won't be sold."

Taohua started crying as she spoke, and Guier quickly hugged her. She was right, Taohua was just a child under 10 years old, she would follow whoever could give her a stable living environment, there was no way she would consider so many things.

Gui'er sighed and asked, "I won't blame you, but the Marshal is marrying his three biological daughters to a 50-year-old man all at once. Who knows if he will treat us the same way when we grow up?"

Taohua said, "It's just being a concubine, isn't it? Look at all the Marshal's concubines. Every one of them has food, clothes, and servants to serve them. It may sound bad, but they still live better than us."

Gui'er didn't expect Taohua to say this. It seems that experiencing these things has also had an impact on her thinking.

She asked Taohua: "Why did you think of being with the third concubine? We don't know her well."

Taohua said, "That's because you go to school every day, and I don't have much to do at home. The concubines have already found out everything. The third concubine's family doesn't have much power, and she's not favored, but she has a gentle personality. I heard from the servants in her room that she never beats or scolds them."

Gui'er knew that it was useless to say all this now. Seeing that Taohua didn't have many decent clothes, she gave her the cheongsam that Sha Yanxiao bought for her and Taohua at Yong'an Department Store so that she could have a replacement. She also repeatedly told her to come to her immediately if anything happened.

Just after they finished cleaning up, the old maid from the third concubine's courtyard came over to pick someone up, and Gui'er had no choice but to let Taohua go with her.