A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er returned to her room and Dingxiang was making her bed. Seeing her come in, she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

Gui'er said to Dingxiang, "Do you know something?"

Ding Xiang said, "I dare not lie to you, young lady. After you and Miss Taohua left, Butler Zhao suddenly rushed to our courtyard with people looking for you. Just then, the second young master came back, so Butler Zhao took him to the main courtyard. Although we don't know what happened, we can sense that something is unusual. Young lady, are you okay?"

Gui'er sighed, "You've been by my side for many years, so it's okay to tell you the truth. My father was about to do something bad to Taohua, and I caught him. In desperation, I hit him on the head with an ashtray."

Ding Xiang covered her mouth with her hands in fear when she heard this: "What should I do? The Marshal will never let this go."

Gui'er thought about it. The Marshal was injured now and should not be able to do anything. As for the people in the Marshal's Mansion, the third concubine was timid and afraid of trouble. The fourth concubine was good friends with Sha Yanxiao, and her two children's marriages were already arranged, so she should not want to cause trouble. The fifth and sixth concubines were ordinary people with little influence and could not do anything. Since the seventh concubine could inform her, she would not add insult to injury.

What we have to worry about now are the first wife and the eighth concubine, the lady and Sha Yanyao. As spouses and eldest sons, the Marshal was injured, and they are likely to want to hold someone responsible. The eighth concubine is the Marshal's favorite person now. Will she want to interfere and vent his anger?

Gui'er thought for a moment, then said to Dingxiang, "Dingxiang, I want to know what the eldest wife and the eighth concubine are doing. I wonder if they know about this matter and what they think about it. Can you contact the sisters there to find out for me?"

Ding Xiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go right away."

After Dingxiang left, Guier lay down. She was really tired that night. She didn't want to think about anything now. She just wanted to have a good sleep first.

Suddenly, there was a slight knock on the door, and Guier's nerves were tensed again. She stared at the door nervously, hesitating whether to open it.

"Guier, it's me." It was Sha Yanxiao's voice.

Guier breathed a sigh of relief, put on her nightgown, walked over and opened the door.

Sha Yanxiao saw Gui'er wearing silk pajamas and a thick silk cotton robe. Her face was a little red from covering it. He smiled and said, "Are you asleep already?"

Gui'er actually still wanted to talk to Sha Yanxiao alone, so she quickly said, "No, I just lay down. Brother, come in and sit down."

Sha Yanxiao then walked into the room and sat down.

Gui'er also sat down on the sofa next to her and asked, "Brother, is everything okay in Fengcheng?"

"Oh, nothing's going on over there, just a routine inspection."

Gui'er pursed her lips, but still asked the question that concerned her most: "When will Dad be discharged from the hospital? He's sixteen this year, and his engagement day is coming up in a few days."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I knew you'd be worried about all these random things. Father's current condition gives me a good chance to talk to them and postpone the engagement. It would be even better if we could just postpone it."

Gui'er didn't think that the Duanmu family would agree so easily, but at the moment, it seemed that not having to get engaged to Duanmu Heng for the time being might not be such a bad news.

"Father always insists that everyone just does what he wants. He must be very angry after what I did this time."

"I don't know if he's angry or not, but you don't have to worry. Most people in the Marshal's Mansion are still on your side. When the Madam heard that you hit him because he wanted to ruin his peach blossom, she was so angry that she cursed him on the spot, saying that his old habits had come back and he only targeted those around him. He had no shame at his age. She even scolded the Third Concubine, saying that she was not doing anything in order to marry off her daughter. Big Brother didn't say anything, but you can rest assured. This is not a glorious thing. The concubines in the Marshal's Mansion don't want another person to share their favor. If you stop it like this, even if they say you shouldn't be so cruel, they might actually thank you in their hearts."

Gui'er didn't dare harbor such a wonderful fantasy. She sighed and said, "I believe that mother really doesn't want father to take another concubine, but she probably doesn't want anything to happen to him either. As for the others, they may be doing it for your sake, but I'm very worried that this matter will cause a rift between father and you."

Sha Yanxiao smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, it won't happen."

Guier smiled, but she was still worried. Even in modern times, many irresponsible parents would not care about their children's life or death, let alone this semi-feudal and semi-colonial era where one could marry many wives.

The next day, Gui'er got up early in the morning and went to the third concubine's room to take Taohua to pay her respects to the lady.

Arriving at the main room, the steward came out and said with a smile, "You two ladies are here so early. Madam hasn't gotten up yet. How about you two go back first?"

Taohua looked at Guier with a little anxiety.

Gui Er knew that Madam was a Buddhist and would get up early in the morning to chant sutras, so how could she not have gotten up? She was clearly putting on airs.

She pretended to be surprised and said, "Mom hasn't gotten up yet. She usually gets up early to do her homework. I was thinking of coming over earlier to accompany her in her morning lessons. Is she feeling unwell? How about asking her personal nurse to check on her?"

The housekeeper was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond. After a few seconds, he smiled and said, "You're right. I'll ask the maid next to her to go and see her."

After a while, the lady came out of the room, holding her forehead. It was unclear whether she was really feeling unwell or just pretending. Gui'er ran over to support her and said, "Mother, do you have a headache? You look very tired. Housekeeper, please call the doctor quickly."

The lady finally released her hand from her forehead and said, "You're here!" Then she turned to the housekeeper and the maidservant beside her and said, "You two can go down first. Let's talk."

The housekeeper and the maid retreated.

"Crack, snap."

The lady suddenly slapped Gui'er and Taohua in the face. Taohua was stunned and stood there in a daze. Gui'er was also a little surprised, but she reacted in a second. She knelt down quickly and pulled Taohua to kneel beside her, moving back a little bit.

"When the second brother brought you two back, I didn't agree. If you keep them by your side, they're not your biological children, it's bound to cause trouble sooner or later. See what's happening now?"

Gui'er felt a little dissatisfied after hearing this, because when she and Taohua entered the mansion, the Seventh Concubine had already been taken in by the Marshal. She just knew her husband's bad character and was afraid that he would never change his bad habits. It was the Marshal's problem, what did it have to do with her?