A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Soon, the date of the banquet was set. This banquet became a popular event in both Jiangcheng and Fengcheng. People with some money and status in the area were scrambling to get an invitation.

Sha Yanxiao was indifferent to the banquet. He shook his head and sighed, "Instead of spending the money on such a lavish banquet, it would be better to expand the military and build fortifications. They will always be useful in the future."

Gui'er smiled and said, "Brother, you're wrong to think so. I don't know about others, but the Eighth Concubine must have made money from this banquet. Do you remember the roster? I heard that if the girls on the roster want to attend this banquet or want to have more contact with you, their families have to give money to the Eighth Concubine."

Sha Yanxiao's face darkened immediately after hearing this. He asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Gui'er nodded and said, "Why would I lie to you? It's spread all over the servants in the mansion."

Sha Yanxiao turned around and walked out. Seeing that he was full of anger and walking towards the front, Gui'er knew that he was definitely going to find the Marshal. She didn't dare to follow him. If the Marshal knew that it was her who said it, he would involve her and she would be scolded again. No matter what, Sha Yanxiao was his biological son and there was no overnight grudge between him and the Marshal. But it was different for her.

But she was still worried, so she quickly asked Dingxiang to find out.

After a while, Sha Yanxiao came back, and Guier hurried forward to ask, "How is my brother?"

Sha Yanxiao said calmly: "It's nothing, I just told my father not to do this." Then he left.

Gui'er didn't dare to ask too much, so she had to wait for Dingxiang to come back before asking her what the conversation was about.

Ding Xiang described it vividly, "I heard from the sisters in the main courtyard that the Second Young Master first went to the Marshal's study. I don't know what the two of them talked about in there. Then the Marshal sent for the Eighth Concubine to come over. After the Eighth Concubine arrived, soft crying could be heard from inside the room. Then I thought I heard the Eighth Concubine's voice saying something like, 'You're too concerned and you're confused.' And then I heard the Marshal say, 'Okay, okay,' or something like that."

"and then?"

"Then the second young master came out and said he didn't look well. He sighed and left."

When Gui'er heard this description, she felt as if the Marshal did not reprimand the Eighth Concubine, but instead the Eighth Concubine pretended to be weak and got away with it.

No wonder Sha Yanxiao didn't look happy when he came back. Gui'er asked Dingxiang, "Where is my brother now?"

"The young master just went to the small courtyard where the young mistress used to live. He said he was going to practice shooting."

Gui'er hurried over to the small courtyard. Since Ji Yiru left, the small courtyard had been empty again. Now the courtyard had returned to its original state of overgrown weeds.

Sha Yanxiao placed an old long table at one end of the yard, which was filled with glass bottles and broken porcelain bowls. He stood casually with his gun in one hand and aimed and shot at them one by one.

"Bang, bang, bang" Each gunshot was accompanied by the crisp sound of glass and porcelain shards breaking, and every shot hit the target.

"Brother is so awesome." Guier clapped her hands as she stepped over the threshold and walked in.

Sha Yanxiao looked back at her, smiled slightly, and said, "Why are you here?"

Gui'er said, "I heard you came here to practice shooting. I haven't fired a gun in a long time, and I never practiced much before. How about you teach me?"

Sha Yanxiao looked at Gui'er, a hint of doting flashed in his eyes, and he nodded gently, "That's right, I told you how to shoot before. You haven't been trained yet. Come, I'll teach you." As he said that, he put down the gun in his hand and walked to Gui'er.

Sha Yanxiao picked up another gun and explained the structure and usage of the gun in detail to Guier. His voice was low and magnetic, and his warm breath gently brushed past Guier's ears, making her blush slightly. She was almost unable to listen to what Sha Yanxiao said.

After his explanation, Sha Yanxiao stood behind Gui'er, wrapped his arms around her body, and gently grasped the hand holding the gun. Gui'er could clearly feel Sha Yanxiao's solid chest pressed against her back, his strong arms wrapped around her. An electric current instantly ran through her body, causing her heart rate to accelerate sharply.

"It's been a while since you last fired a gun, right? Don't be nervous, relax," Sha Yanxiao said softly. His voice seemed to have a magical effect, soothing Gui'er's already tense nerves. He guided Gui'er to raise her gun and aim at the glass bottle in front of her. "Keep your eyes on the target, hold your breath, and don't hesitate when you pull the trigger."

Guier tried her best to do as he said, but her hands were still shaking slightly because she was too nervous.

"It's okay, it's just practice." Sha Yanxiao's voice sounded softly in his ears.

With his encouragement, Gui'er took a deep breath and slowly pulled the trigger. With a bang, the glass bottle shattered. Gui'er excitedly turned her head, her eyes meeting Sha Yanxiao's. Their faces were so close, so close they could feel each other's breath. At that moment, time seemed to freeze. As their eyes met, a subtle and ambiguous feeling quietly permeated the air.

"Young Master, Wu Mingqiang is here." Dali suddenly ran in.

Both of them were frightened and stunned for a moment. Guier quickly lowered her head and pretended to organize the magazine.

Sha Yanxiao looked up at Dali with a bit of displeasure, and said, "I know, I'll be right there." Then he turned and left.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she remember that she had heard from Dingxiang that Sha Yanxiao's complaint to the Marshal was unsuccessful, and she wanted to come and comfort Sha Yanxiao.

After standing there blankly for two seconds, Guier came to her senses: Wu Mingqiang is here, what's the matter?

She hurried back.

When they returned to the courtyard, not seeing Sha Yanxiao and Wu Mingqiang, Guier asked, "Where's my brother?"

The servants said, "The young marshal is in the study."

Guier came to the door of the study and knocked: "Brother. It's me."

"Come in."

Guier walked into the study and found that in addition to Sha Yanxiao, Wu Mingqiang and Dali were also there.

Wu Mingqiang said to Sha Yanxiao, "We've investigated thoroughly. That group of spies claimed to be running a trading company in Jiangcheng, but they were actually investigating the Revolutionary Party. They were also monitoring Jiangcheng's political leaders and military to see if they had any collusion with the Revolutionary Party. It's said that similar spy agencies were set up among the other warlords."

"Did they find out anything? What happened to following Gui'er earlier?"

"It's likely they haven't found anything. They might be following the young lady because she was unfortunately involved in a case in Nanjing. But Nanjing had already investigated at the time, and there was no solid evidence. But hasn't the young lady returned from Nanjing now? Maybe Nanjing asked them to keep an eye on her to see if she had any contact with the revolutionaries in Jiangcheng."