A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

When Butler He heard this, he was afraid that he would have to pay the money to the Zhao family himself, so he hurriedly said, "No, I can't do this. Uh, Second Young Master, it's not that I don't want to, but I have some work to do in the main house. I have to go back and report to the Madam and the eldest young master. I'll be leaving first. Goodbye, goodbye, thank you all for your trouble." He bowed and slipped away.

Sha Yanxiao frowned and glanced at Steward He's back, then turned to Dali and said, "Go back to the courtyard and ask the steward for 100 silver dollars as funeral expenses for Zhao Zongguan and resettlement expenses. Also, ask Wu Mingqiang to drive a cart to the mansion and transport this coffin to Steward He's house. It's too embarrassing to carry it out."

When Gui'er heard this, her heart was in her throat. She was worried that Wu Mingqiang would reveal his intentions and let Sha Yanxiao discover the plan to transport Lao Meng.

Sha Yanxiao turned around and saw that she looked pale. Thinking she was frightened, he quickly called out to someone, "What are you still standing there for? Nail the coffin lid shut."

Then he turned to Gui'er and said, "Go back to the yard first."

Gui'er was afraid that something might go wrong if Wu Mingqiang came over, so she wanted to be there to at least handle the situation. So she said, "Brother, are you going to take Steward Zhao's coffin back to his home? I'll come with you. After all, Steward Zhao is an old man in the mansion and is considered half our elder."

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay."

At that time, Dali came back with a small cloth bag, which was heavy and must be silver dollars.

The servants of the main house all nodded when they saw this. The older servant who came to report said with emotion: "Second Young Master, it's a good thing that you are the young commander. There is still hope for the Marshal's Mansion."

Sha Yanxiao glanced at him and said, "What's your name? I see you often, so you must be an old man in the Marshal's Mansion."

The servant bowed and said, "Master Meng, please remember that I am Wang Wu, the eldest disciple of the Zhao general manager. I have been with him for more than 20 years."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "Now that Steward Zhao is gone, the main courtyard needs to be managed. You have the most seniority here, right? I'll tell Mother later and have you take over Steward Zhao's position. For now, you'll be in charge temporarily. There's no need to tell Father about Steward Zhao's passing, so as not to alarm him. If you need money as usual, just go to the main house and withdraw it."

Wang Wu was surprised to hear this and bowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you very much for your support, young master. I will do my best to take care of you, Marshal."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and nodded, then instructed Dali, "Go to Butler Zhao's house first to inform him, so as not to scare his family." Guier knew that this was to let Butler Zhao and his family be prepared for what to do.

At this time, the guards of the Marshal's Mansion ran in and said, "Young Marshal, Wu Mingqiang has arrived in his car."

Gui'er hurried out, and just as she walked out of the gate of the main house, she saw Wu Mingqiang driving a large truck towards her.

He parked the car and jumped out. He quickly walked to Gui'er, bowed, and said, "Hello, young lady."

Gui'er whispered to him, "The housekeeper Zhao in the mansion is gone. The most important thing now is to send his coffin back home. Don't worry about anything else for now." She was actually hinting to Wu Mingqiang not to mention the matter of transporting goods for Boss Zhou Tong.

Wu Mingqiang, a man of great tact, understood immediately and nodded, saying, "Okay."

As he was speaking, Dali had already asked people to carry the coffin to the car. Wu Mingqiang turned the car around and drove out of the house again.

Sha Yanxiao said to Gui'er, "Wait here for me. I'll go back to our courtyard and drive over to pick you up."

Gui'er nodded. After Sha Yanxiao left, she stood outside the main courtyard gate. The servants in the courtyard thought they had all left, so they started talking in low voices.

"I didn't expect Manager Zhao to pass away like this. Do you think he really committed suicide? There's blood coming out of his mouth and nose. It's too weird. He would commit suicide out of nowhere."

"It's possible. After all, his son is so outstanding. He has always been very proud of him and said that he is counting on him for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly involved in a scandal in the mansion and was silenced by his wife. What do you think of this?"

"I don't think that's actually a scandal. Zhao Yingwu really relied on the Marshal's trust in him, and he's young and hot-blooded, but he actually dared to seduce the Marshal's women. I heard that the Eighth Concubine is pregnant with his children. In such a matter, not to mention the Madam, even the Marshal would show no mercy. It's a pity that Old Zhao worked diligently all his life, but in the end he ended up like this."

"I heard that Old Zhao still has a daughter? It's said that she was born in her old age and is not even 16 years old yet. If he died, how could the girl and his wife, a widow and a mother, support the family? I'm afraid they would be living on the streets soon. If I were him, I would never commit suicide. At worst, I could find a live-in son-in-law for the girl."

"It wasn't suicide. When Wang Wu opened the door, I took a look. The way he died was horrific. His face was all wrinkled up. I think he was poisoned."

"Oh, don't say such horrible things."

"Why should I be afraid? Think about it yourself, isn't this true? Zhao Yingwu was beaten to death by the Madam and the Young Master because of this incident. Then, Manager Zhao went to retrieve him and was injured. I heard from the two guards in the dungeon that the Young Master asked him to hand over the account book. At first, Manager Zhao was unwilling to hand it over, but it was the Second Young Master who mediated and persuaded Manager Zhao to stop. With the temperament of this Madam in our mansion, with her vengeful character, how could she let Manager Zhao go? If the Marshal was still in charge in the past, there would definitely be no problem. But now, isn't the Marshal confused? There is no one to take care of us anymore."

"You all know that the Marshal is confused now and there's no one to look after us. So why are you still talking nonsense here? Are you trying to save your life?"

"Master Wang Wu, oh, we haven't congratulated you yet. Congratulations, you've become the chief steward."

"Bullshit! This is totally unfounded. Don't talk nonsense. I haven't lived enough."

"Don't worry, Marshal. We can't take care of things now. Sooner or later, the young marshal will take over this family. Even the madam and the eldest young master will have to return to Nanjing. The second young master is kind and decent. If this family business is handed over to him, it may be better than when the marshal was in charge."

Gui'er was listening intently when Sha Yanxiao drove over and asked her to get in.

She hurried over and got in the car. Sha Yanxiao asked, "What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought."

Gui Er smiled and said, "I heard the servants in the main house talking about my brother. They all believed in him and said that he would become a good general in the future."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "They are quite sensible. They know that my father won't be here for long."

Guier's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She always felt that something was wrong. Generally speaking, even if someone has Alzheimer's disease, it doesn't mean that he won't have much time left.