A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier smiled and said, "Does the Song family also have the habit of going to Shanghai every year to celebrate the New Year?"

Song Xichen smiled, but Gui'er could sense a hint of sadness between his brows. He said, "No, I don't know why, but Mom kept talking about wanting to go to Shanghai for the New Year this year, and several of Dad's business partners also wanted to go, so Dad decided to go."

Guier said, "Are you going too? Can the Chief of Police leave?"

Song Xichen said, "I might go late and come back early. Shanghai is different from here. There are many gangs, and the police and foreigners are all very complicated. Be careful when you go there first. This is my address. You can come to me if you need anything. Also..." He took out a small paper bag from his pocket and handed it to Gui'er, saying, "Here are three gold bars. There is a concession in Shanghai. The things there are very expensive. Large denominations are basically paid for with gold bars. You should keep them for emergencies."

Gui'er quickly declined, saying, "No, although I'm living under someone else's roof, I'm still the Marshal's adopted daughter, and I get a monthly allowance." She knew that although Song Xichen was the chief of police, he was also a working class person, and the gold bars were a considerable sum of money for him.

Song Xichen smiled and said, "Just accept it. I've taken over part of the family business now, so I'm relatively well-off. Besides, haven't you made plans for the future?"

Song Xichen's words really touched Gui'er's heart. It was too early to tell her about her plans, but she was really moved. Gui'er sighed and said, "Master, how can I repay you?"

Song Xichen smiled and said, "I used to joke about letting you be my concubine. Now you are the daughter of a general, and I am no longer able to marry you. When you grow up, you will definitely find a handsome, young and outstanding man."

Gui'er suddenly felt a little sad. As a modern person, her concept of marriage and family was completely different from that here. She had never thought about these things. Since arriving here, all she had been thinking about was how to survive. So she smiled and said, "I'm not grown up yet, so I don't want to think about these things. Master, are you suddenly saying this because you're going to get married?"

Song Xichen gave a helpless smile.

Gui'er was a little surprised, and her curiosity instantly ignited as she asked, "Really? Which family is she from?"

Song Xichen said calmly: "Tong family, her sister is your classmate."

Isn't that the eldest daughter of the Tong family? Gui'er remembered seeing her once before when the Marshal married his eighth concubine. She didn't seem as lively and cheerful as Tong Yujun, and had a colder air. However, she was prettier than Tong Yujun and was about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Gui Er said to Song Xichen, "I've met the eldest daughter of the Tong family once before. Wasn't she a student? Will she agree to marry me?"

Song Xichen sighed and said, "I don't agree, but my mother always said that it was my cousin who introduced her. I can't refuse him, so I had to agree to go to Shanghai to see her during the Chinese New Year. We'll talk about it then."

Isn't Mrs. Song's relative the cousin of the eldest wife who attended the Song Mansion dinner with the young marshal? Logically speaking, Boss Tong's sister married the marshal as the eighth concubine, and was in great favor. What right did he have to introduce Boss Tong's daughter to others? Thinking of this, Gui'er immediately guessed that this must have been the marshal's instruction.

What kind of a scheme was this? He married his aunt and then let his mistress's son marry his daughter? Gui'er felt a little disgusted, but she couldn't explain it.

Seeing her scratching her head and cheeks, Song Xichen didn't know she was anxious, but found it quite interesting. He looked at her with a smile on his face and suddenly found that he was most peaceful when he was with Gui Erjiang.

After Gui'er left, he felt empty every day when he returned home. His parents had a business marriage. His father already had a lover, and he married his mother for the sake of the family. After giving birth to him, he ran away to reunite with his white moonlight. His mother also took him back to her parents' home in anger. He was too young at that time, but he had already started to remember things. He witnessed his mother having an affair with the officer brought by his cousin, giving birth to a child and sending it away. The adults in the family thought he was a child who didn't understand, but in fact, his subconscious already knew that it was not a good thing, so he sealed that memory deeply in his mind.

A few years later, my father came back and my maternal grandparents sent my mother to her husband's family again. At that time, my father had already married his sweetheart as his second wife and had a boy. So, even though he was the eldest son, his father didn't pay much attention to him. Later, my maternal grandparents' cousin was promoted and my maternal grandparents' business grew bigger and bigger. My father was a little afraid, so he reconciled with my mother and gave birth to my sister. My mother was resentful and kept trying to suppress the second wife, but he was tired of all this, so he buried his head in study and eventually left his hometown to study. Until a few years ago, he entered the police station through the introduction of his classmates. Because he repeatedly solved strange cases, he became the director and finally got the attention of his parents.

At this time, he didn't care anymore, because he had witnessed his parents' marriage and was disgusted and tired of his family. He didn't want to take over the family business. It was not until his father told him some time ago that he was unable to do it, so he was forced to take over the family business. As a result, he went out of town to inspect the family factory. When he came back, he found that the little girl who was waiting for him to go home every day was gone. After learning what had happened, he turned against his mother on the spot. Later, he learned that the little girl was safe and even entered the Marshal's Mansion as an adopted daughter, and he finally felt relieved.

But once Song Xichen investigated the affairs of the Marshal's residence, his worries were rekindled. Although the Marshal was a powerful official, his personal conduct was extremely corrupt. Many scandals were circulating in the city, and some of his wives and concubines had mysteriously died, and the higher-ups were suppressing the investigation. He didn't have that much power, so he could only find relatives of Zhang Ma to pass on information and occasionally see her to check on her well-being.

Song Xichen said to Gui'er, "You're all alone in such a complicated Marshal's Mansion. You must be extremely careful. I'm afraid you don't know this already? The three daughters of Marshal Zhang's family were married. The eldest daughter, who is pregnant, inexplicably took the wrong medicine and lost her child. The second daughter is said to have gone insane and will be sent back to the Marshal's Mansion soon."

Gui'er was shocked and asked, "When did this happen? I have no idea."

Song Xichen said, "I just received the news these past few days, so I quickly asked Shopkeeper Zhang to arrange a meeting with you. If you want to find me in the future, you can also go through Shopkeeper Zhang. She belongs to me."

Gui'er felt a little surprised, but it seemed reasonable. She looked at the time and realized that she had been sitting for half an hour without realizing it. She quickly stood up and said goodbye.

Back at the Marshal's Mansion, Sha Yanxiao was already sitting in the hall reading the newspaper. Seeing Gui'er come back, he smiled and said, "Why are you back so late today?"

Guier said, "I went to Wing On Department Store to buy stationery today."