A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 316: Madam Gives Bracelet to Young Master and He Prepares to Go to Nanjing

After that, Guier found an opportunity and told Miss Shen when they were alone together that she met Xu Wenjie on the way to Zhenxiufang. He was passing by Jiangcheng and was planning to go to Shanghai. He heard about the changes in Miss Shen's family and asked her to convey his regards.

Miss Shen was very excited when she heard this. She held Gui'er's hand and kept asking, "How is he now? Is he doing well? What is he doing?"

Gui'er couldn't tell her that Xu Wenjie had joined the revolution, so she said, "We just met on the street and chatted for a while. He didn't say what he was doing now, but he showed great concern for you and asked me to pass on his regards."

Miss Shen's eyes reddened upon hearing this, but she restrained herself and said with a bitter smile, "It's rare for him to be so thoughtful. I wonder if he's married yet?"

Gui'er then remembered that she didn't seem to ask Song Xichen whether Xu Wenjie was married. However, seeing Miss Shen's reaction, Gui'er was glad that she didn't give the letter to her.

Then the days passed by in a very dull manner. Miss Shen seemed to have found a chance to breathe because she went to school to teach, and she argued less with Sha Yanyao.

Mrs. Shen returned to her home in Nanjing, claiming to have bought some land and property, having spent all the money Sha Yanyao had given her. So, she started asking him for money all day long, using various excuses. This only made Mrs. Shen even more upset, but now she was no longer shy about it. She was openly teasing Mrs. Shen, but Mrs. Shen didn't get angry. She acted like she was spending her family's money, and it was none of her business. Mrs. Shen couldn't do anything about it.

Gui'er knew that the Marshal's Mansion was not actually that generous. Gui'er originally thought that only the monthly interest she received was a few silver dollars. Later, she found that even the third and fourth concubines, as well as biological children like Sally, were given the same amount. The three sons would give more money, but there was a limit.

I don’t know if it’s because Mrs. Shen came that the lady started to like Gui’er more. Sometimes when she went to greet her, the lady would chat with her about family matters.

The lady said, "When your second brother's wife passed away, they left you a portion of their inheritance, but you were too young to take it. Although the property we took from the Ji family went into the family treasury, almost all of it was used as a betrothal gift when we married your eldest sister-in-law. If you had taken a portion back then, this Mrs. Shen wouldn't be complaining about you eating and drinking for free in the main house all the time."

Gui'er only realized the truth after hearing this. However, the lady told her this matter not because she wanted to let her know the truth, but to hint to her that Mrs. Shen disliked her eating and drinking for free in the big house.

Gui'er didn't want to be used as a pawn, so she smiled and said, "I'm living with the eldest wife now, and I've indeed caused trouble for my brother and sister-in-law. Fortunately, my brother and sister-in-law are tolerant. My sister-in-law has comforted me many times and told me not to mind what Mrs. Shen said."

After hearing Gui'er's words, the lady was a little angry at her for not fighting back, but she was helpless and could only smile bitterly and said, "You are obviously smart and brave, why are you so soft-hearted?"

Gui Er quickly complimented him, "I'm in the General's Mansion, and everyone in the mansion has been very kind to me, especially my parents. They've provided me with food and clothing, and I can go to school and learn talents. There's nothing for me to compete with, so I should be content."

The lady was very pleased with Gui'er's compliments. Although she did not achieve her goal, she was still very happy. She gave her an old silver bracelet and said, "This is what I wore when I was a daughter. The style was more youthful. Now that I am old, this bracelet is too fancy, so I will give it to you."

Gui'er looked at the silver bracelet, which was white and stained. Gui'er herself had several jewelry bracelets custom-made for her by Sha Yanxiao, but she usually didn't wear them because she wanted to be low-key.

She didn't really want such a bracelet, but then she thought, it was given to her by the lady. If she wore it and other people in the mansion saw it, it might serve as a banner to show off her status.

She smiled and said, "Thank you so much, mother. You really love Guier." Then she took it home, washed it with soap and put it on.

Sure enough, some older servants recognized her first, and then the news quickly spread throughout the mansion. After that, even the servants in other courtyards treated Gui'er with great respect. Dingxiang happily said to Gui'er, "Now everyone in the mansion says that Madam treats the young lady as her own daughter. The young lady will definitely have a good future."

Guier knew that the future she was talking about was the family she would marry into, but she just wanted to solve her current dilemma.

Later, even Sha Lili said to Gui'er, "My mother told me to learn more from you. You're quite capable if your aunt's family treats you as their own. I was worried about your future before, but it seems I was worrying too much."

Guier smiled bitterly and said, "It's just a bracelet, why is it so exaggerated?"

Sha Lili said with an exaggerated expression, "Do you think it's just about a bracelet? It's because you actually got a bracelet from such a stingy woman that she gave it to you voluntarily that everyone thinks she really treats you differently. Look at all the children in our family. Apart from her biological eldest brother, who else has ever received anything from her?"

The Marshal was quite happy to know this and said with a smile, "This Gui'er is indeed lovable. She is smart, sensible and simple. No wonder your mother likes her."

Gui'er quickly said, "That's because my parents are so good to me. I'm just grateful."

Sha Yanyao also said: "My sister is so sensible, I can go out without worry."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment and said, "Brother is going out? Where are you going?"

When I turned around, I saw that Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen also looked surprised, which showed that they didn't know about it before.

Sha Yanyao said with a smile on his face, "Didn't I meet some leaders from Nanjing when I was in Shanghai? They asked me to come over and hang out. I think they were hinting that I should go over and do some research, maybe I could get a job."

The fourth concubine said sharply, "That's great! This way, our family will have connections in Nanjing. That's a great fortune that most people can't ask for in their entire lives."

Mrs. Shen curled her lips and said, "Isn't that because of the introduction by our old Mr. Shen? Those central government officials he introduced to you, ordinary young people would not pay any attention to them."

Sha Yanyao smiled reluctantly and said, "Yes, yes, yes, thanks to my father-in-law's introduction."

At this time, the Marshal said, "The Double Ninth Festival is coming in a few days. When your second brother comes back and the family has finished their meal, you can set off again, right?"

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, but Sha Yanyao's expression was quite calm. He nodded and said, "Okay."

Gui'er was very surprised. She told Acheng about it after school the next day and asked him to go to Wu Mingqiang and talk to him, asking him to contact Sha Yanxiao and ask if he knew about this.