A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

When she arrived at school, Guier told Tong Yujun about how the eighth concubine had escaped danger.

Tong Yujun was very happy and kept holding Gui'er's hand to thank her. Gui'er was a little embarrassed and said shyly, "I know that the young marshal actually embezzled a lot of things from your family."

Tong Yujun sighed and said, "My father said there's nothing we can do about it. Dealing with government officials or warlords is like following a tiger's tail. It's dangerous, but it's definitely profitable."

Gui'er didn't know what to say after hearing this. She just felt that everyone benefited from this incident, except Tong Yujun's aunt who was the most pitiful.

Tong Yujun said happily, "I'll go home after school and tell my father to prepare some gifts for my aunt."

Gui'er listened thoughtfully and said, "You could send some thicker knee pads. Your aunt stood in the water for two days after giving birth. I'm worried she might get sick."

Tong Yujun was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then said to Gui'er seriously, "Okay, I understand, Gui'er, thank you so much. Others only help out for profit, but you are the only one who truly wants to help our family."

Gui'er smiled bitterly and said, "I can't really help much. Even though I'm the adopted daughter of the Marshal's Mansion, and it sounds glamorous, it's actually just like that." She was speaking from the heart. She was no freer now than when she was in the Song Mansion, and the family fights here made her even more frightened.

Tong Yujun sighed softly and said, "If you need any help from me, please feel free to tell me. My father also said that we were wrong not to lend you a hand before. I didn't expect you to be such a good person. If there is anything we can do for you in the future, please feel free to ask."

Guier smiled and nodded. She didn't know whether what Mr. Tong said was true, but Tong Yujun was definitely sincere.

After school, I took the bus back to the Marshal's Mansion. As soon as I arrived at the gate, I saw a constant stream of people coming in and out. Gui'er asked curiously, "What are these people doing?"

Dali said, "Our Marshal has few male offspring, and now he has a new son. Those gifts are from people at all levels of government and business. I heard that some of them gave him valuable things. They just hope that the Marshal will notice their gifts."

Gui'er couldn't help but laugh: "With so many people, I have to look through the gift list from time to time to know who gave what."

Dali also smiled and said, "It doesn't matter who gave what. What matters is who didn't give anything to the Marshal. He will definitely know."

Gui'er was stunned. That's right, this era is darker than the modern era.

As soon as they entered the yard, Sha Yanxiao came out. Gui'er was surprised: "Why are you back so early today?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "Let's go buy some gifts."

So he turned around and drove out again. Guier was very curious about what kind of things were given to newborns in this era.

The car drove straight to a gold shop and stopped. As Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er walked into the shop, the shopkeeper greeted them warmly and said, "Young Marshal, you're here. We've finally finished the longevity lock you ordered."

Then he invited them to sit down and asked the waiter to serve tea. Sha Yanxiao crossed his legs and drank tea. The shopkeeper stood beside him, half bowed and said many congratulatory and auspicious words.

After a while, an older guy came out with a box. The box was very luxurious and wrapped in satin. When he opened the box, he found a pure gold and kingfisher feather inlaid longevity locket. It was so exquisite that it could be put in a museum in modern times.

Gui'er was looking at the longevity lock in amazement, and Sha Yanxiao said, "By the way, your longevity lock was broken last time. Do you want to make a new one?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment before she remembered that he was talking about the time when she blocked a bullet. The longevity lock was extremely exquisitely made and was even more beautiful than the one in front of her. Although the bullet inside was later pried out, it could not be restored. Gui'er then put it in a box and put it away.

She shook her head and said, "No, I'm not a child, I don't want to wear a longevity lock."

When she said this, everyone present laughed. In their eyes, she was just a child.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Then take a look for yourself to see if there's anything you like. I'll buy it for you so you can take it to the full moon banquet."

When the shopkeeper heard that there was still business, he quickly and enthusiastically asked the shop assistants to take out the latest and most exquisite jewelry they had and put them in front of Guier for her to choose. There were exquisite bracelets, bangles, necklaces, earrings, collars, and pendants. The craftsmanship of these jewelry was also very delicate, with jadeite, filigree, gilding, and filigree. Guier was dazzled by the sight and couldn't make a decision for a while.

Suddenly, a small heart-shaped necklace caught her attention. The small heart was engraved with delicate patterns. Guier couldn't help but pick it up and take a look. She found that the heart of the necklace could be opened. After opening it, she found that it was empty inside.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss, you have good taste. This one is made to imitate the most fashionable French style. You can put a small photo inside.

Sha Yanxiao took it, took a look at it and said, "Then take this one. Also, find me a fine Dongzhu necklace that fits her neck."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Okay, okay." Then he took out a large, lustrous, round pearl necklace and hung it around Gui'er's neck. While asking the clerk to hold a mirror for Gui'er to see, he slowly adjusted the length and asked Sha Yanxiao, "Do you think this length is okay?"

Sha Yanxiao took a look, nodded and said, "Okay, let's do this."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Okay, please wait." After a while, he adjusted the size of the necklace, packed it, and handed it to Dali. Sha Yanxiao did not pay, but just signed the bill and that was it.

After returning to the mansion, Sha Yanxiao asked Dali to drive directly to the eighth concubine's yard.

This was the first time that Gui'er came to the residence of the Eighth Concubine. She saw that this courtyard was simply a smaller version of the Tong family courtyard, with the same architectural style and the same furnishings inside the house. It seemed that the Marshal still attached great importance to the Eighth Concubine.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, a servant went to announce it. A person who looked like a housekeeper came out and said to Sha Yanxiao respectfully, "Welcome, Second Young Master. Please come in for tea."

Sha Yanxiao pulled Gui'er to the living room. As soon as they entered, Gui'er was stunned by the scene in front of her. The entire living room was filled with a dazzling array of gifts, from gold and silver jewelry and silks to baby cradles, small shoes and hats.

The housekeeper said apologetically, "Too many people came to give gifts today. We don't have enough staff in the courtyard, and the things haven't been sorted out yet. We can only register them first and put them in order later. Please take a seat, young master." As she said that, she let Sha Yanxiao sit in the master seat and invited Gui'er to the seat below Sha Yanxiao.

Sha Yanxiao asked: "How is your grandmother's health?"

The housekeeper smiled and said, "Thanks to the Second Master, the young lady's health has improved a lot. It's just that she soaked in the water for too long, so she's still a little weak."

Sha Yanxiao said, "Oh, I've prepared some wild ginseng to replenish your energy. My little brother is one month old, and as his older brother, I don't have anything good to give him, so I made him a longevity lock. Since I'm a man, it's convenient for me to visit him in person in the inner chamber, so I'll have my sister Guier go on my behalf."

The housekeeper smiled and said quickly, "Second Master, you are welcome. I am deeply grateful for your generous help this time. Miss Gui'er, please come this way."

Gui'er took the longevity lock and a box of wild ginseng handed to her by Dali, followed the nanny, went up to the second floor, and came to a luxurious master bedroom. She saw the eighth concubine sitting on the bed in a Western-style nightgown, with a little maid serving her meal. There was a baby crib next to the big bed, and the eighth concubine's son was sleeping in it, with a wet nurse watching over him.

The housekeeper went in and said to the Eighth Concubine, "The Second Young Master and Miss Guier came to visit and gave her a longevity lock and a box of wild ginseng."

Guier walked forward and said with a smile, "Eighth Concubine, are you feeling well?"

When the Eighth Concubine heard that it was the Second Young Master, she sat up straight and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to bother you. I'm still recovering."

Gui'er opened all the gift boxes, looked at them in front of Eighth Auntie, and said, "A little gift chosen by Brother Yanxiao." Then she handed it to the housekeeper.

The eighth concubine said politely, "You're so kind."

It was then that Guier noticed that the housekeeper had placed the gifts on a long table next to the bedroom. The long table was already piled with gifts, mainly gold, silver and jewelry. Under each gift was a piece of paper with the words "Madam", "Third Concubine", "Fourth Concubine", "Five Concubine", etc. written on it. It turned out that all the gifts from the people in the mansion were placed in this room, and the gifts from other people were placed in the hall outside. Guier saw that the gift from the fourth concubine was a big golden peach almost the same size as the real thing, with a longevity character engraved on it, which was quite generous.

But the fourth concubine was clearly sent to the hospital for swallowing gold. Could she have recovered so quickly?

When the Eighth Concubine saw Gui'er looking at the Fourth Concubine's gift, she smiled and said, "This was sent by someone in Fourth Sister's room. I wonder how Fourth Sister is doing now?"

Gui'er didn't know if she was just chatting or trying to get information from her, so she smiled and said, "I don't know. My brother picked me up right after school to get a gift, so I haven't seen anyone from their compound all day."

The eighth concubine smiled and said nothing.

Seeing that they had finished chatting, Gui'er wanted to take a look at the child before leaving, so she smiled and said, "How is my little brother? I think he has had his milk by now."

As she spoke, she walked over to the crib and took a look. She found that the baby was not as rosy as other newborn babies, but was yellow all over. Gui'er felt that it was jaundice, but she was not sure. She smiled and said, "The little brother looks a little weak. I'm afraid he needs more sun exposure."

The Eighth Concubine sighed and said, "Maybe he was in that dungeon with me for too long and got irritated by it."

Guier said, "If that's the case, why not take him to the hospital to see a doctor?"

The eighth concubine smiled and said, "The Marshal said there is a doctor in the mansion. There is no need to bother. He has already prescribed medicine."

Giving Chinese medicine to a newborn baby? Guier didn't dare to think about it, but she couldn't say anything, so she smiled and said, "That's good. People in my hometown say that if a baby is weak after birth, it is good for the yang energy to be exposed to the sun more. I won't disturb your rest then." Then she left.