A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After staying with Jinbao in the third concubine's courtyard for a long time, Jinbao left reluctantly.

After leaving the Third Concubine's courtyard, Jin Bao said to Gui Er, "Guier, thank you. Just now, when I saw Cheng Gang being so close to you, I knew you had taken good care of him. I already knew who the Third Concubine was. She only wanted him for money. There was nothing I could do. Now I can't take her back, so I can only try to please her first."

Gui Er had no choice but to comfort her, saying, "Intrigues are inevitable in wealthy and powerful families, but Cheng Gang is the Marshal's grandson, and the first grandson. No matter how cunning the people in the mansion are, they dare not neglect him. You can rest assured."

Jinbao felt a little relieved after hearing this.

After the two parted, Guier returned to her own yard.

Sha Yanxiao had already returned to the courtyard, and Gui'er hurriedly asked him, "Brother, what did the eldest brother say?" She knew that Sha Yanxiao was giving gifts and lowering his posture, actually just to win the support of the eldest wife. After all, Zhao Yingwu was the illegitimate son of the Marshal. If the Marshal wanted to promote him, he might come back to divide the family property. At this time, it would be much easier to make an ally.

Sha Yanxiao chuckled and said, "Big Brother isn't stupid. Judging from his tone, he's definitely leaning towards us. After all, Zhao Yingwu suddenly appeared, and they're not very familiar with him. But it's hard to say. If Zhao Yingwu could offer better chips than me, maybe they would also turn to his side. But at the moment, he can't compare to me."

After Sha Yanyao came back, all the Marshal's children gathered together, and a banquet was inevitable. As soon as the Marshal announced the news of the banquet, the eighth concubine jumped out and said that she was now bloated and would be laughed at by others when she met the guests, so she didn't want to attend the banquet.

The Marshal was so worried about her because she was pregnant that he agreed without a second thought, "Then let's not have a big party. Let's just invite some of our friends, all of whom you know, to come over and have a gathering at our house."

On the day of the banquet, Guier had no choice but to ask for leave from work.

Although it was a small-scale event held in the Marshal's Mansion, there were actually quite a few people coming. It should be said that anyone who had a connection with the Marshal's Mansion would be honored to receive an invitation to attend the banquet.

On the day of the banquet, Gui'er was just thinking about what to wear when Dingxiang came running over and said, "Miss, I heard from the servants in the main courtyard that the mansion has brought their band from the Paramount to play for our banquet."

Guier knew it was a Western-style banquet, so she changed into a pearl white dress, put on a pearl necklace and earrings, and looked very charming.

She had originally wanted to wait for Sha Yanxiao to go together, but Sha Yanxiao happened to be delayed. He said he would be back later, and Sha Lili kept urging him, so she had no choice but to go to the banquet first.

By this time, the banquet had already begun. It was said that the dishes for the banquet were all chosen according to the Eighth Concubine's preferences. On the long gilded table, Western-style silver plates were stacked layer upon layer. The top layer held a chilled Boston lobster, its claws adorned with tiny silver rings. Next to it, a crystal bowl held escargot baked in cream. Steam rose from the porcelain spoon as it scooped it apart, and the aroma of garlic wafted far into the air. In the middle layer, pan-seared foie gras sat on crispy toasted bread slices, its edges drizzled with a deep-brown red wine sauce. There was also a small mountain of cold cuts: salami, ham, and smoked beef were neatly arranged, accompanied by pickles and yellow mustard sauce.

Most of the guests wore three-piece suits with starched bow ties or neckties. Occasionally, there were a few elderly men, whose long robes and jackets looked out of place among the knives, forks and champagne glasses around them, but they also held their glasses to socialize with polite smiles on their faces.

A band played jazz in the corner, and amid the saxophone melody, a uniformed aide-de-camp poured wine for the marshal in the main seat, his shiny leather boots clacking silently on the carpet. Suddenly, someone knocked over a goblet, the sound of shattering crystal mixed with laughter. The women in dresses hurriedly stood up, their diamond hairpins dangling so brightly that they could not open their eyes.

The Marshal held a cigarette in his mouth, looking at the lively and prosperous scene in front of him, then turned to look at his children and three grandchildren, feeling a little proud. The eighth concubine was wearing a European modern style tassel dress, which seemed to be the most luxurious dress in the whole venue.

The lady was wearing a peacock blue Yuanbaoling Xiaofengxian cheongsam, a jade necklace with very fine water content around her neck, bracelets and rings on both hands, and even a ruby ​​collar button the size of a pigeon egg on her collar. It was obvious that she was dressed up carefully, but her outfit was really a bit out of place with today's Western-style banquet. Only the conservative people in the venue who were still wearing long robes would come forward to praise her.

Everyone knows that the Eighth Concubine is now in favor with the Marshal. The Madam lives in Nanjing with her son all year round, so even if they want to have a good relationship with her, it will be out of reach. Everyone knows this very well, so they all gather around the Eighth Concubine to flatter her. The Madam just makes a brief appearance and gives her a compliment or two.

Although the lady appeared calm and elegant on the surface, she was probably furious inside.

Gui'er knew that Sha Yanxiao needed help from the eldest wife, so as soon as she arrived at the banquet hall, she took the initiative to walk up to the lady and pay her respects, and then paid her respects to the third and fourth concubines in turn, and finally to the eighth concubine. The eighth concubine was unhappy and a little indifferent, but the lady was very satisfied with Gui'er's greetings in order of seniority.

She said to Gui'er kindly, "Why hasn't your brother come yet?"

Guier quickly smiled and said, "My brother said he had something to do in the military camp and would be back a little later, so he specifically asked me and mother to apologize."

The lady nodded and said, "He must take care of his health since he is so busy every day."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, mother. I will definitely tell my brother."

At this time, the Song family also arrived, but this time, Song Tingting was tactful and did not come to the banquet. Only Mrs. Song, Mr. Song, and Song Xichen were present. Mrs. Song was very graceful and first went to the Marshal to express her concern, then went to greet the wife. After that, she went to chat with other wealthy ladies.

None of the other concubines in the Marshal's Mansion blamed anyone, except the Eighth Concubine, whose expression looked unusually ugly. The Madam saw this and her expression actually looked a little better.

Gui'er nodded to Song Xichen as a greeting. Now she worked in the hospital, so whenever Song Xichen needed to find her for something, he could just go directly to the hospital. Therefore, the two of them did not need to take the risk of meeting secretly at this banquet.

"Miss Gui'er, do you actually know Young Master Song?" A voice came from behind Gui'er, startling her.

Turning around, it turned out to be Zhao Yingwu.

"Yes, every time we have a banquet, someone from the Song family comes over. We become familiar with each other after coming once or twice." Of course, Gui'er couldn't tell him the truth, so she just found an excuse to get away with it.