A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 782: The 8th Concubine Has an Affair with the Marshal’s Guard

Gui'er was stunned. "Reed flowers? Who is that? The maid from Fourth Aunt's room?"

Sha Lili smiled and said, "There's a young cook in my mother's courtyard. She's probably about the same age as Dingxiang next to you, but she's very useful. She cooks delicious dishes and can make all kinds of snacks. You see, a housewife must have some skills, but I don't know how to cook, and I don't want to learn, so my mother made her my maid."

"That's understandable, but what are you thinking about letting her be your concubine? You and your husband have only been married for a short time."

"Hey, that's just how it is with men, especially those who travel the country doing business. It's inevitable that they'll have mistresses or casual affairs. Look at our father, he's had more than a dozen mistresses, right? Not to mention his mistresses. After all, she knows everything about them, and her family is here, so they can't cause any big trouble. It's much better than letting a man go out and find a mistress on his own, right?"

"Besides, my family gave her parents 50 yuan, which is quite a lot. It's enough for them to buy a few acres of land in the countryside. If it weren't for her youth and usefulness, my mother wouldn't have been willing to spend so much. And even if they betrothed her to someone else, they would only find some long-term worker or tenant farmer. It wouldn't be a good marriage. Although she has to cook now, she is still mine and I will love her. I don't plan to make her a concubine, but her current life is worthy of half a concubine, much better than those maids and old women."

After Sha Lili said this, Gui'er didn't know how to tell her about the Eighth Concubine teasing her husband.

Sha Lili leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Are you trying to tell me that that slutty Eighth Concubine is seducing my husband? I'm telling you, I knew she would do it. And not just my husband, but any man in this house, anyone who wants can have sex with her, even the servants."

Gui'er's eyes widened in shock. She thought Sha Lili had discovered that the Eighth Concubine had seduced her husband and was saying this out of anger. She smiled and said, "Oh, don't say that. If it gets to father's ears, it will become like you are being unreasonable. After all, she is the elder."

Sha Lili sneered and said, "I thought you had made progress, but why are you still like this? I just came back half a day ago and I found out about this, but you've been back for so long and you still don't know it?"

"What's the matter?" Gui'er looked puzzled.

"In order to win over Butler Zhao, that slut actually had an affair with his son. Don't tell me you don't know? It wouldn't be surprising if she announced her pregnancy to the public after a while, but it's definitely not the father's child." Sha Lili said with a sneer.

"Zhao, the son of General Manager Zhao?" Gui'er tried hard to recall, and suddenly remembered the young man with a rather tall appearance who took her to see the Marshal that day.

"That Zhao Yingwu? But my father would never tolerate such things. Do they dare?"

"Why would you dare to do that? I even suspect that father condoned it. I've heard mother say that before he became the Grand Marshal, he was a playboy. He used to play with several officers and one woman. Later, when he became the Grand Marshal, he had to act like a decent man, so he restrained himself. Now that his health is failing, everything has been handed over to my second brother. Maybe he'll go back to his old ways with more free time." Sha Lili said, giving Gui'er an ambiguous look. "You've grown up a lot in the past two years. You have to be careful of father. He doesn't care about empty reputations."

Gui'er hadn't recovered from her shock yet and nodded subconsciously.

Back in her own courtyard, Gui'er's mind was still in a mess. Dingxiang came over and asked with concern, "Miss, what's wrong with you? You seem strange after coming back from dinner."

"Lilac, do you know Luxiang?"

"Oh, you mean the cook in the concubine's room, right? I know her, but she's a little older than us. Her mother was also a cook. It's said that she got pregnant by the young master in the previous owner's house and was then kicked out. Alas, it's quite pitiful. If Luxiang hadn't been unlucky, she should have been a young lady. It's a pity that the young master of that family has no shortage of children, and she's a daughter, so he doesn't like her at all, so he simply didn't acknowledge her and kicked her out. When she was wandering on the streets, it happened that Butler Zhao went out to buy a servant. In order to have something to eat, she followed Butler Zhao into the Marshal's Mansion for free. Later, the child she gave birth to became a servant of the Marshal's Mansion. She learned cooking from her mother since she was a child. You should have seen her mother too. She's the cook in the lady's room."

Gui'er suddenly remembered that among the servants that her ladyship had brought to Nanjing, there was indeed a cook with good cooking skills. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, and was taciturn, but she had good cooking skills. She was the one who cooked all the dishes for the government banquets.

"Lily asked her husband to take Luhua in as his wife. Does her mother agree?"

"Luhua was a family child, so her mother had no say in her marriage. Of course, the master had the final say. Besides, Luhua had learned cooking from her mother since she was young, and her cooking skills were quite good. Wasn't the Fourth Concubine favored by her? So she acted coquettishly and got the Marshal to agree to let Luhua come to her courtyard and cook for her. The Madam was quite angry about this at the time, but she didn't expect Luhua to go with the young lady to her husband's house as part of the dowry."

"Are you on good terms with Luhua? Do you know if she's willing?"

"Hey, miss, you are kind-hearted, but this kind of thing is not related to our courtyard, so you can't interfere. Luhua's current situation sounds quite glorious, but she still has to work in the kitchen. Moreover, Miss Lily's personality is the same as that of the fourth concubine. She is not easy to serve at all. The fate of us servants depends on the master." As she spoke, a trace of sadness flashed across Dingxiang's face.

Gui'er quickly comforted her, "Don't worry. I may or may not get married in the future, and even if I do, I will never force you to bring a dowry, let alone become my concubine. If you like any of the servants in the mansion, you can tell me and my brother. As long as they agree, we will do our best to help you."

Dingxiang listened calmly and said, "I've come to terms with it now. Actually, there's nothing good about getting married. In this era, women's lives are more fragile than paper. I've seen my parents before. They urged me to get married quickly, but they just wanted to use my betrothal gift to find a wife for my brother. But young lady, you are a wealthy and powerful person. You can always turn danger into safety, and you are also considerate of your servants. Dingxiang is willing to stay by your side and serve you. At least we can have a stable life."