A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The group got in the car and headed for the Marshal's villa in Shanghai. It was already around seven or eight in the evening, and the streets were still brightly lit. Guier looked out the window and saw many high-rise Western-style buildings, which made her feel as if she was closer to the era she had traveled through.

This time, thanks to the proper arrangement made by Butler Liu, Sha Lili didn't have to squeeze in the same car with them. However, no one was willing to ride in the same car with the Second Young Lady, so Erfeng still sat with them. Sha Yanxiao was a little dissatisfied with this. It was not that he disliked the Second Young Lady, but he felt that everyone was throwing the hot potato to him, and that they thought he was easy to bully. Gui'er didn't care. She even specially asked one of the young lady's maids to sit in the car so that she could take care of her more conveniently.

Hearing that the Marshal's villa was near the Bund and close to the concession, Guier thought it was one of the famous residential courtyards in Shanghai that she had heard of before. As a result, the car turned into a small alley. The alley was very narrow and the car could hardly turn around inside.

Finally, the convoy stopped in front of this door, and everyone got out of the car. In front of them was a Western-style villa with a courtyard, red brick exterior walls, European-style door and window frames, Baroque-style table corner corbels under the cement balcony, and arched brick decorations on the window frames on the ground floor. The whole thing was in Western style.

What surprised Gui'er was its size. The villa was two stories high. The ground floor housed the main hall, reception room, dining room, study, office, kitchen, and several servants' quarters. On the second floor, apart from two suites with living rooms, dressing rooms, bathrooms, and bedrooms, the rest were small, single rooms with toilets and bathrooms. Each room contained a bed, a desk, and a few cabinets—nothing else. The entire courtyard was roughly the same size as Sha Yanxiao's yard in the Marshal's residence.

For ordinary people, it was more than enough and luxurious, but compared to the Marshal's Mansion, it was still a bit child's play. However, Gui'er thought about it and realized that Shanghai was a land of high value after all, and there were countless important figures. Someone who dominated a small place would be just a small figure here.

As expected, the two large suites were for the Marshal, his wife and the eldest young master. Unexpectedly, the one next to the Marshal's suite was given to Sha Yanwen. The previous one was Sha Yanxiao. Then Butler Liu wanted to arrange the fifth and sixth concubines next to Sha Yanxiao, but Sha Yanxiao said that his sister Gui'er was alone without a mother to look after her and had no relatives here, so he asked Butler Liu to arrange her next to him. Butler Liu hesitated but agreed. Then it was Sha Lili and the fifth and sixth concubines.

Basically, it was like staying in a hotel, a hotel-style vacation. Butler Liu also told everyone that unless the Marshal took everyone out for dinner or had other plans, they would eat at these times every day.

Gui'er felt it was okay. After all, the small room she lived in at the Song family was not as nice as here now. But Sha Lili was not used to it. She lived next door to Gui'er and complained to Gui'er as soon as the room was arranged: "This room is just like a servant's room. How can we live here?" Gui'er smiled and said nothing.

The fifth and sixth concubines each lived in a room with their two children. They were actually not used to it, but they didn't dare to say anything. The second young lady lived on the outermost side. Because of her special situation, a maid was arranged to live with her. The Marshal also asked the butler Liu to arrange for a doctor to come to the hospital to see her, so she was okay.

The rooms were arranged, and everyone was sitting in the living room drinking tea and chatting when the luggage and servants arrived, causing another flurry of activity. Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao, who didn't have much stuff, were quickly arranged. The others generally had two or three boxes, the wife had five large boxes, and Sha Lili had four. They were all busy checking the quantity and placement of the items with their personal maids.

Sha Lili's small room really couldn't hold the four large suitcases. She sat there like a deflated ball and turned to Sha Yanwen and said, "Brother, why don't we stay at my uncle's house?"

Sha Yanwen said nothing.

The Marshal and his wife also heard it. The Marshal said, "You can go to your uncle's house, but I have to visit him tomorrow and get his consent." Sha Lili agreed immediately and told her maid not to open the box, but to lock it first and move directly to her uncle's house when the time comes.

This was the first time that Guier heard the Marshal speak to Sha Lili so kindly. From what she had seen along the way, she knew that even if they were the Marshal's biological children, those whose mothers had a good family background would still be given more attention.

While watching the excitement, Juxiang quietly came to Guier and said, "Miss, you have finished packing your things. Can I discuss something with you?"

Seeing her hesitant, Gui'er was very surprised and asked, "What's the matter?"

Juxiang said, "The servants' room is too crowded. Can I sleep in the same room with you? The second young lady also has a maid accompanying her."

Before Gui'er could say anything, Sha Yanxiao heard her and walked over to her and said, "No, that's not right."

Juxiang was startled, tears welled up in her eyes, and she said in a trembling voice, "Yes," and then she stepped back.

Sha Yanxiao sighed, patted Gui'er's head and said, "You're still young, but you have to learn how to handle things. Otherwise, the servants will think you're easy to talk to and bully. What will happen then?"

The kitchen had already prepared food, but it was already eight or nine o'clock, so they only had some snacks. Sha Yanxiao saw that there was no milk, so he said to the steward Liu, "Housekeeper Liu, prepare a glass of milk for Gui'er. She drinks it every night before going to bed."

Butler Liu said, "Okay."

After finishing their snacks, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Sha Yanxiao came over to check the doors and windows. Before leaving, he said to Guier, "Now that everyone is living together, there are so many people and eyes. You have to be more careful."

Gui'er nodded and agreed. She felt that Sha Yanxiao was really like her elder brother now. Especially on the way to Shanghai, he took care of her in everything, which made her very touched. If she had gone out on her own, she would probably have suffered a lot.

The next morning, the Marshal announced during breakfast that he would go to visit Sha Lili's uncle, and would only bring his wife, the eldest son, the second son, the third son, Sha Lili and Gui'er. Although Gui'er was unhappy when she saw the fifth and sixth concubines, she did not dare to say anything.

After breakfast, they were ready to leave. Sha Lili even ran back to the house to dress up, but the Marshal didn't say anything.

This time, they split into three cars: the Marshal, his wife, and the eldest son in one, the second son and Sha Lili in one, and Sha Yanxiao and Guier in another. Dali was driving. Only then did Guier dare to ask, "Why do you feel that the Marshal's attitude towards Lili has become much better since coming to Shanghai?"

Sha Yanxiao chuckled and said, "It's all because of her uncle's family. His maternal grandfather was an aide to the former president. He might not be high-ranking, but he has a wide network of contacts. Otherwise, the fourth concubine wouldn't be so arrogant in the mansion. I heard that two of her uncles are now working in the government. Although they're not high-ranking officials, they might know those high-ranking officials and know some connections that others don't know."

Gui'er suddenly understood.