A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the eldest wife and Gui'er were about to set off back to Nanjing, but because the Marshal was injured, the eldest wife did not dare to ask to leave and had to postpone it again.

Miss Shen even called Guier from Nanjing, posing as a teacher, to ask what was going on. School was about to start, and she still hadn't seen her.

Gui'er was afraid that her phone might be monitored, and it was inconvenient for her to explain to her, so she had to say that her father was injured and she couldn't leave, so she might have to take a leave for a while. At the same time, she asked Teacher Shen to register for her at the school and she would remit the tuition to her later.

Miss Shen smiled and said, "You don't need to pay for tuition. Your second brother has already remitted it for you. He just didn't tell me why you were delayed, so I was worried, so I called to ask."

Gui'er was very touched when she heard this. As soon as Sha Yanxiao came back, she went up to him and thanked him.

Sha Yanxiao looked exhausted as he sat on the sofa, his eyes closed as he said, "It's okay, you don't have to worry about the money."

Guier noticed something was wrong and asked, "Brother, why do you look so tired today? Is something going wrong at work?"

Dali frowned and said, "For some reason, these past few days, those veterans and key members of the army who followed the Marshal in his early years have suddenly jumped out to oppose the Young Master. Because they've been in the army for a long time and have some prestige, and they're also considered the Marshal's people, it's hard to be too tough with them, so we've been very busy these past few days."

Gui'er's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She looked around and saw no servants around. Then she whispered, "Could this be Father's order? I think he's quite angry, but he didn't say anything. It's not like his usual character."

Sha Yanxiao and Dali were stunned for a moment, and both turned around to look at Guier.

Seeing their big reaction, Gui'er quickly said, "I was just guessing, but I don't think it's that serious. After all, we are family."

Sha Yanxiao and Dali both frowned and said nothing more.

Several days passed like this and Gui'er stayed in the house every day. She was afraid of running into Duanmu Heng when she went to the pharmacy to help, which made her feel bored.

Later, she stewed medicinal food and sent it to the Marshal several times, but the Marshal did not show up. Butler Zhao took it and asked Dingxiang to investigate. Without exception, they were all thrown away. Only when Sha Yanxiao took her to pay her respects did the Marshal show up, but his attitude was also very stiff.

Sha Yanxiao reported the situation in the military camp as usual, as if nothing had happened, and his attitude was as respectful as before.

But the attitudes of the people in the Marshal's Mansion were quietly changing. The first to be affected were the Fifth and Sixth Concubines. They had somehow found out the whole story, and at a dinner table with the Marshal, they openly said, "Whatever the reason, it's unlawful for a son to disobey his father. Gui'er's behavior should have been expelled from the family. The Second Young Master actually rushed to get her back, making a big fuss about it, and pampered her like a treasure. Isn't this just a slap in the face of the Marshal?"

Then, when Gui'er went to stroll over to the Eighth Concubine's place as usual, the Eighth Concubine had a servant stop her and said, "The Eighth Concubine said that Miss Gui'er is still young and it's not appropriate for her to get involved in things like playing mahjong and pai gow too early. She should go back and learn embroidery or something so that she can prepare to marry Master Duanmu."

Gui'er felt that she and Sha Yanxiao were isolated in the Marshal's Mansion. She felt depressed and couldn't help but go out for a walk. Just as she got off the car and was about to walk into Wing On Department Store, she ran into He Ruizhu.

As soon as He Ruizhu saw her, she pulled her to a corner and asked quietly, "Did something happen in your mansion?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment: "Did you hear any rumors?"

"There have been rumors circulating lately that our Marshal has had his old troubles again and tried to rape one of his adopted daughters. He was beaten and the girl ran away, but was later recaptured with great fanfare. I immediately thought of you and was worried, but it was difficult to go look for you. Could it be you?"

Gui'er then realized that the news had already spread outside, but it was just speculation. She quickly smiled and said, "Of course it wasn't me, but something did happen. Alas, it's not convenient for me to tell you this. If people in the mansion find out and I spread the news, I won't get any good results. Thank you for worrying about me."

He Ruizhu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, but don't blame me for being nosy. One-third of the students in our class are already engaged. Although I got married early, some of my classmates have started families in the past two years. You might want to consider it."

"Because we're all so close, I dare to speak frankly. In Jiangcheng, everyone actually respects the Marshal. At least for the past ten years, he's been guarding the area and keeping it peaceful. It's much better than those places where there are always wars, bandits, and hooligans running rampant. But everyone knows that he has a lustful problem. In the past, I heard from time to time that he had set his sights on some girl and wanted to force her to marry him. I used to just listen to it as gossip, which was also a fun thing. But if it really happened to my friend, I still couldn't bear it. As for you, although you usually don't show off and are extremely low-key, your classmates all agree that you and Sha Lili are a pair of beautiful people. Now that you've grown up, you should find a way out and leave as soon as possible."

Gui'er hadn't expected He Ruizhu to say such things to her. She was indeed thinking of her. It would be easier for her to go alone, but what about Taohua? She had already tried running away, but it didn't work. Besides, if she wasn't careful, not only the Marshal would be offended, but Sha Yanxiao as well.

She smiled and said to He Ruizhu, "I've been thinking about it too, but how can a girl like me, who lives in seclusion, go to meet people? The Marshal isn't in good health right now, so it's even more difficult to discuss this matter."

He Ruizhu said in surprise: "Is the Marshal seriously injured?"

"Not really, but he needs to rest for a while. Besides, he's old after all..."

"Then who is in charge now? The country cannot be without a king for a day. If other warlords find out, will they take the opportunity to attack us?" He Ruizhu said worriedly.

"What are you thinking? Have you forgotten that the Marshal has three sons? The eldest son is my eldest brother, who brought me to Nanjing to study. He works in the Nanjing government, a central government official. The second son is in charge of military affairs and also helps manage government affairs here. He has done a pretty good job in recent years. Although the third son is a commoner, he is also a man with his own ideas. He won't cause any trouble."

When Gui'er said this, she was actually spreading public opinion. She was really worried about the Marshal's current attitude towards her and Sha Yanxiao. She didn't care, but it would be dangerous if Sha Yanxiao's power was seized by the Marshal. The Marshal would definitely find an heir to replace him, and then it would be another life-and-death battle.