A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

"It's all this old pervert's fault. He didn't get sick earlier or later, but chose this time to harm me. Isn't it? I asked him to take me back to my roots, but he was unwilling. I am his son. Why can't I get a penny of the family property and I have to be a servant?" Zhao Yingwu said indignantly.

"Keep your voice down! Are you trying to save your life? If the young masters of the Marshal's Mansion knew that you were the Marshal's biological son and that you wanted to share the family fortune, they would kill you. Don't think they are kind people."

"Hmph! My identity has long been known throughout the mansion. After all, they are well-known celebrities, so they should at least consider their dignity. Look at Sha Yanxiao, he hates me with all his might, but he still hasn't touched a hair on my head."

"That's because you haven't reached the stage where he's worthy of your action. Do you really think the Marshal loves you? My son, you grew up in an honest family. You think too naively. The Marshal has fathered countless men and women with those wild women outside. He can bring them back anytime he wants. But in all these years, he has only brought back the Second Young Master. Haven't you ever thought about why?"

"That's easy. Marshal Song's mistress would try to flirt with him from time to time. He had feelings for that woman, so naturally he thought of her son. Coincidentally, that son had a bandit army, so if he could add that son to his own army, he could increase his manpower."

"My son, you came to my house less than ten days after you were born. At that time, your mother had given birth to a son who happened to be left unraised. She was so shocked that she went crazy. I simply told her that the child was not dead. She did not doubt and directly treated you as her own son. Over the years, I have always treated you as my own son. There are some things I have never said to protect you. Your biological mother is indeed of humble origins, but she is also a female student. She was snatched from the street and raped by the Marshal. She was locked up by the Marshal until she gave birth to you and finally relaxed her supervision, and she ran away. I thought the Marshal would take you into the mansion, but the Marshal said that how could the son born by a woman of unknown origin be his heir, so he asked me to take you home. Don't have any illusions about the Marshal anymore. Live a good and down-to-earth life, okay?"

"...I see. But Father, I never had high hopes for the Marshal. I already knew his methods, but he wants to keep me by his side. Do you think I can live peacefully without fighting? Don't be so naive. Didn't the eldest wife call you over today just to win you over? How did the talks go?"

"I dare not agree. Madam and the young master asked me to hand over the housekeeper's keys and account books. If the Marshal was sober, would he agree? Madam is his first wife, and the young master is his legitimate son. Of course, they will be fine, but my life is in danger."

"Father, don't you think we can take advantage of this opportunity to gain some benefits for ourselves?"

"What are you trying to gain? Do you think the concubines, young masters and young ladies in the mansion are so easy to fool? Our family is in great danger this time. We are lucky to be able to escape unscathed. If the Marshal can get better now, it will be in our best interest. You must keep a close eye on him and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Father..."

"Stop talking and go back. If you go back too late, the people in the main courtyard will get suspicious. Aren't all the parties sending so many people there just to keep an eye on us? Let's go."

Then the sound of footsteps walking away was heard.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief, feeling extremely complicated. Seeing the two people walking away, she was ready to come out of the rockery and return to her own yard.

"Hey, come out."

Gui'er was startled. It was a woman's voice, but she couldn't tell who it was. She quickly stood still.

"You scared me. Why did you scream so suddenly?"

"I felt like someone walked into the rockery just now. Maybe she also heard what Manager Zhao said to his son."

"No, you must have seen it wrong. I didn't see anyone walk in."

"I'll go check it out."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard footsteps coming towards the rockery.

Gui'er's heart was in her throat. She knew that these two people were probably servants of the Marshal's Mansion and would not dare to do anything to her, but she couldn't say for sure about the master behind them, so she continued to hide.

"Is there anyone? Is there anyone?"

"I'm not watching this right now. Ouch."

"What happened?"

"I kicked a rock and it hurt like hell."

"Don't bother. If you go back late, you'll be scolded for delaying your work. Let's go now."

When the man was about to reach Gui'er, he finally turned around and went back. Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

She pricked up her ears and listened, confirming that there was no one outside, then slowly leaned out and walked out. At this time, it was completely dark. In this era, even wealthy families like the Marshal's Mansion did not have street lights. She walked in the dark, looking left and right to see if there was anyone around, and finally returned to her own yard.

"Where have you been? Why do you come back so distraught after going out?"

As soon as Sha Yanxiao entered the room, he noticed that something was wrong with Guier.

Gui'er looked around and saw no one, so she said with relief, "I had gone out to find out about the various rooms, but it was getting late, so I hurried back. Just now, when I passed by the rockery, I overheard the conversation between Butler Zhao and Zhao Yingwu. It turns out that Zhao Yingwu's biological mother was forcibly taken away by the Marshal and has already run away. Also, my wife and eldest brother are now asking Butler Zhao to hand over the warehouse keys and account books. Butler Zhao dared not give them, fearing that the Marshal would hold him responsible when he recovered."

Sha Yanxiao snorted softly and said, "I knew they would do this."

Gui'er asked quickly, "Then what should we do? Should we just let them do what they want?"

Sha Yanxiao touched Gui'er's face and said with a smile, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Gui'er didn't know why he was still in the mood to joke at this time, but when she thought about it, she realized that there was really nothing she could do.

"Oh, right, when they were talking on the rockery just now, someone heard me. I was almost discovered by those two people. I don't know which courtyard they were from. It was too dark to see clearly."

Sha Yanxiao turned serious: "Did those two people notice you?"

Gui'er shook her head. "Probably not. They almost found me, but they left before they could find where I was hiding."

Sha Yanxiao nodded in satisfaction. "Try not to get involved in this matter. It will be very complicated and troublesome. Just let me handle everything."