A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Ding Xiang said quickly, "How could that be? I know that Miss is a well-educated, gentle, virtuous, and thoughtful person. The way of survival that Miss Jinbao talked about is right for uneducated women like them. Miss, you are different. You can do whatever you want."

Gui'er sighed and said, "Jinbao actually did have some education. She fell into prostitution because her family fell on hard times. But the path she chose today is probably the best one in her opinion. She's probably very satisfied with it, so that's why she encouraged me to do the same."

Ding Xiang swallowed her saliva and said cautiously, "How should I put it? Miss, you have been with the Second Young Master for so many years. I think at the beginning, you two were indeed very good siblings, but in the past two years, the way the Second Young Master has looked at you has become different from before. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Madam He and Madam Li in the kitchen also said that it would be great if you two could become closer relatives. If Miss Ji came in, they wouldn't be able to tolerate a mistress like that."

Gui'er said shyly, "What are you thinking about? Don't say such nonsense again. If your brother hears about it, he'll punish you."

In the evening, after Sha Yanxiao came back, Guier told him that Jinbao had come to act as a lobbyist during the day.

Sha Yanxiao sneered and said, "He has no ability, yet he still wants me to help him. Am I that stupid? I'm lucky I didn't cause him any trouble. Letting him take more than he deserves, and still asking for more, is outrageous."

Gui'er said, "Brother, you're planning to ignore him. Will that offend my eldest brother? I think mother is the mistress after all, so we still have to maintain a polite appearance."

Sha Yanxiao tapped Gui'er's nose affectionately and said with a smile, "I understand what you mean. You just love to worry. Okay, I'll show him what it means to pretend to obey while secretly disobeying. If I don't let him try, he won't know his own limitations. He thinks he can control the Jiangcheng officialdom just because he's an ordinary person."

Gui'er smiled, but when she caught a glimpse of the servants in the room out of the corner of her eye, she quickly put away her smile, leaving Sha Yanxiao confused.

Two days later, Sha Yanxiao took Sha Yanyao to get acquainted with the people in Jiangcheng's political circles. It was said that the Ministry of Finance was also very cooperative. His wife and Sha Yanyao were very satisfied. His wife then asked the Song family to hand over the two mines, and the Song family immediately did so. For a while, the mother and son were very proud and felt that they had won a great victory. They were very satisfied with Sha Yanxiao, and even sent people to deliver food and clothes from time to time, acting out a drama of a loving mother and a filial son with Sha Yanxiao.

Of course Sha Yanxiao cooperated very well. Seeing that the mother and son had no intention of harming him, he agreed to let Guier go back to work in the hospital.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief, and then acted coquettishly to ask Sha Yanxiao to agree not to let Acheng follow her in the hospital. She felt that Sha Yanyao and his wife would not do anything to her, after all, she helped them persuade Sha Yanxiao.

The next morning, she returned to the hospital early. The head nurse, who didn't know what she had heard, treated her much better. She even said with a smile, "Nurse Sha, I heard that you have some family matters. There's no need to rush to come to work. You can deal with family matters after you finish your work. You're new to the job, so there must be a lot of things you're not used to. If you feel tired, just tell me and I'll take over for you."

Gui'er was confused and asked quietly, "Manager Liu, what's going on? Has she changed her personality?"

Shopkeeper Liu smiled and said, "You haven't been here these past few days, and she's been clamoring to fire you. But the dean warned her that not only can she not fire you, but you can fire her in a matter of minutes. She probably guessed something, so now she's here to curry favor with you and make amends. By the way, how is the situation at the Marshal's Mansion now? Has it stabilized?"

Gui'er nodded. "Two people died, Zhao Yingwu and Manager Zhao. The two brothers have reached an agreement. On the surface, the eldest branch has gained the upper hand, but in reality, Sha Yanxiao has secretly diverted a large sum of funds. However, there are still some unresolved matters. The eldest branch still wants to control Jiangcheng's finances and the income from the two mines. I'm afraid there will be more fighting. By the way, how is Lao Meng's plan going?"

Shopkeeper Liu said, "We've already had Wu Mingqiang's fleet make several deliveries as planned. Initially, Wu Mingqiang was very cautious and even secretly inspected the cargo. However, the items we asked him to transport were in-demand black market goods, such as Western medicine. I have to say, this guy is quite capable. To get to know us, he even had someone investigate the origins of the goods. We did, however, have someone buy them on the black market. After checking twice and finding nothing unusual, he felt much more reassured. Now, we're cooperating well with him. Some of our comrades have even suggested using his fleet to transport supplies and personnel for us in the future."

Gui Er frowned and shook her head. "It's fine for a short time, but if it goes on for too long, not only Sha Yanyao, but even Sha Yanxiao will notice. That would be a huge problem. We should quickly transport Lao Meng and the others and their supplies, and then observe them later."

Shopkeeper Liu nodded and said, "Director Song will be here soon, and we'll discuss this later."

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside the ward. Guier thought it was a patient and hurried over to open the door.

Standing at the door was Song Xichen. Shopkeeper Liu quickly said, "Oh, you're here! I was just wondering. We had an appointment for a massage today. Why haven't you arrived yet?"

Song Xichen smiled and said, "I'm here now, aren't I? I can only come here after I finish the things I have on hand. Is your assistant finally at work? I haven't seen him for several days."

Shopkeeper Liu looked at the person outside and said with a smile, "She has had some family matters these days. By the way, she also learned the cupping technique from me. How about letting her try it on you today?" Then he closed the door.

Song Xichen listened for a while beside the door before walking over and taking off his shirt with confidence.

Shopkeeper Liu skillfully picked up the canister and the alcohol lamp, and while guiding Gui'er in the operation, he said, "We were just talking about you. Gui'er suggested that we move forward with our plan as quickly as possible."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Yes, while the two brothers are still fighting, we should arrange for someone to transport Lao Meng and the others over as soon as possible. Otherwise, it won't be so easy when Sha Yanyao is free."

Song Xichen pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go back and discuss this with Lao Meng and the others to see if we should make any arrangements in advance. Actually, we've been keeping a close eye on the situation these past two days, and the comrades escorting the train have reported seeing people secretly following us. I wonder what group they're from."