A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Mr. Song said to his daughter a little embarrassedly, "Isn't your son feeling unwell? He just took the medicine. You should go and take care of him. Why are you running outside to get caught in the wind?" Then he turned around and warmly invited Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er into the house.

Gui'er followed Sha Yanxiao into the Song Mansion and found that some places had been renovated, but most of them were still as magnificent as before.

Although it was a banquet, there were not many people. In addition to the people from the Song Mansion, there were some people wearing Zhongshan suits who were very respectful to Sha Yanxiao and called themselves his subordinates. Gui'er had some impression of them, but she didn't feel familiar with them.

There was still some time before dinner, so the people from the Song Mansion invited them to have tea in the reception room. Mr. Song and the guests naturally flattered Sha Yanxiao. Gui'er hated to hear such words the most, so she found an excuse and said that she felt bored and wanted to go for a walk in the garden.

Mrs. Song immediately said considerately, "Oh, then let Xichen accompany the young lady. You two are acquaintances, so it will be easier for you to talk."

Song Xichen brought Gui'er to the courtyard. He smiled and said, "When we were little, you and Taohua often sneaked in here to chat. Do you remember?"

Guier smiled shyly and said, "So you knew everything." She glanced around and saw no one else, so she said to him, "How's our plan going?"

"The comrades all agreed to ship out Old Meng and the supplies soon. By the way, do you want to go with Old Meng?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment and said, "What?"

Song Xichen lowered his head and thought for a few seconds. Then he raised his head and frowned as he said, "Actually, I have spies in the Marshal's Mansion. I heard about the Marshal bullying you. In such an environment, I think it's only a matter of time before you get hurt. Although Lao Meng hasn't had much contact with you, he actually knows quite a lot about your affairs. He admires your abilities. After he sends the personnel and supplies to their proper places and settles them down, he will return to the base. He needs someone to be his assistant. Do you want to give it a try?"

For a long time, Gui'er had been thinking about being independent, but she found that it was not so easy. In this cannibalistic era, it was difficult for a young girl like her to gain a foothold without the support of family and background. Now was an opportunity. Maybe she could join the revolution and leave the Marshal's Mansion, a place full of disputes and intrigues. Of course, she was happy and was about to agree.

"Gui'er, so you are here, Young Master Song, thank you for accompanying my sister. The dinner is about to start, let's go in." Sha Yanxiao suddenly appeared and interrupted their conversation.

Song Xichen smiled and said, "Thank you for coming out to inform us. Gui'er, let's go."

The three of them returned to the banquet, which was naturally very lively with toasts being made. Gui'er was absent-minded the whole time. Her mind suddenly became confused. When Song Xichen first proposed it, she immediately realized that this was a great opportunity, but when Sha Yanxiao appeared, she hesitated. She knew very well that she was reluctant to part with Sha Yanxiao.

Sha Yanxiao noticed that Gui'er was not feeling well after coming back from strolling in the garden, and glared at Song Xichen sideways. However, due to the large number of guests, he reluctantly accepted the socializing.

Seeing that Gui'er was in a bad mood, Sha Yanxiao said goodbye early and took her back home, leaving the guests there in panic and at a loss.

"Song Xichen, what did I just say to you? Why are you so depressed after coming back from the garden?"

"Nothing, I just felt a little sentimental when I was walking around the courtyard and recalled the time I spent in the Song residence when I was a child."

"Is it really that simple?" Sha Yanxiao asked worriedly, holding her hand.

"Of course, brother, you really love to worry."

Sha Yanxiao finally felt relieved: "I'm glad you're not unhappy." He reached out and touched Gui'er's cheek and said, "It seems you don't really like this kind of socializing. I'll spend more time with you in the mansion from now on."

"Brother, why did you think of entertaining people from the Song Mansion? And I see that many of the people who came today are people I have never seen before."

"They are the top leaders of various government departments. Don't you want to take control of the finances? I'll just let them deal with it superficially. As for the Song family, I can hand over the mine to you, but not the technology and people. I don't believe you can handle it."

Gui'er was stunned. She didn't expect that Sha Yanxiao, who always seemed to be suppressed by the Marshal, actually had the final say in Jiangcheng.

As Sha Yanxiao drove, he reached out and took Gui'er's small hand in his own, pulling it against his chest and saying, "Guier, you've been wronged in the past. I promise you that I will give you a good life in the future. I won't let you live in fear. I won't let you have to rely on anyone, okay?"

Gui'er felt very warm in her heart. She smiled and said, "Thank you, brother. I know you've always tried your best to protect me, but there are many things you can't do."

Later, Gui'er also found that the Marshal's Mansion was changing. Compared with the bustling former residence, the Marshal's main courtyard was now deserted like an ice cave. Even on the days when people went to the main courtyard for dinner, many people made excuses not to go. The Marshal was becoming more and more confused. Sometimes he couldn't even recognize which one was his wife. Once, he even pulled a good-looking maid who came with the fourth concubine to serve, called the seventh concubine's name, touched her, and even kissed her, making everyone in the room extremely embarrassed.

The concubines who have daughters now treat the Marshal like a thief, and will let their daughters go first at the slightest sign of trouble.

On the contrary, the main courtyard is much more lively now, because the lady is in charge of the expenses of the Marshal's Mansion now. Those concubines and even the housekeepers of each room are trying their best to curry favor with her. However, everyone soon finds that currying favor with the lady is in vain. She is even more stingy than when the Marshal was in power. It was said before that the main courtyard would take six, Sha Yanxiao would take three, and the remaining share would be divided equally among the concubines of each mansion, but only Sha Yanxiao got it. The lady did not distribute the property of the other rooms, but kept it in her own hands, saying that the Marshal was just sick and not dead, and only gave the original share every month. She even found various reasons to deduct it.

Since Sha Yanxiao has already received his share of the property, it means that he has separated from the family and will be responsible for his own profits and losses in the future. The Marshal's Mansion will no longer provide any subsidies. Of course, he can still live in the courtyard of the Marshal's Mansion.

Sha Yanxiao didn't care. He had already taken the Marshal's treasury, and with the extra income on the few pages of the account, what he had was actually no less than what the eldest wife had. He said to Gui'er, "This is good. In the future, we can have fewer interactions with various parties, and you can save yourself the trouble."