A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 778: The Young Marshal’s Thoughts

Because she was so tired, Guier fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.

After a while, when I was half asleep and half awake, I suddenly heard a slight knock on the door.

"Gui'er, Gui'er."

It sounded like Sha Yanxiao's voice, but not loud. Strange, why would he come here at this hour? It should be midnight now. Was I dreaming?

Guier's eyelids were very heavy and she wanted to get up, but her body was unwilling to move. After a while, the door opened with a click.

"Gui'er, are you asleep? Why is the light still on in the room?"

Oh, it turns out I was too tired just now and didn’t turn off the lights before going to bed?

Gui'er was not fully awake at this time, and her body was very tired. She wanted to get up and continued to lie there half asleep and half awake. Sha Yanxiao should have turned off the lights and left.

She heard Sha Yanxiao's footsteps coming towards her and stopping in front of the desk.

"Little guy, it turns out you were so tired from making sachets for me that you forgot to turn off the lights." Sha Yanxiao chuckled and talked to himself, his voice full of pampering.

Guier could feel that he was happy, and she felt very happy too.

Then, Sha Yanxiao walked to the bed, and Guier suddenly became a little nervous.

Sha Yanxiao wanted to reach out and touch her head, but was afraid of waking her up, so he slowly half-knelt down and looked at her sleeping face.

After a long while, Gui'er was wondering why there was no sound?

Sha Yanxiao suddenly spoke: "Gui'er, do you know? Ever since you were little, I took you into the mansion because I felt we had a connection. You, such a young girl, actually wanted to help me, which touched me deeply. I have always wanted to take care of you like a daughter, but for some reason, this feeling has slowly deteriorated. I seem to have developed a possessive desire for you. I don't like every man who comes into contact with you. From outsiders' perspective, I am the young marshal, with unlimited glory, but along the way, I have caused you a lot of grievances. I can't tell you about this feeling because I am really unsure of the future. Now my father has handed over the mine I have to the Song family. He no longer trusts me. What should I do? How can I protect you and Jiangcheng..."

After saying these words, Sha Yanxiao stood at the head of Guier's bed, stayed there for a few seconds, reached out his hand to touch her face, but was afraid that she would wake up. Finally, he sighed lightly, turned around and left, turning off the lights before leaving.

Gui'er seldom stayed up late, but this time she was really exhausted and wanted to get up, but her body felt like it was trapped in a fog. She was very sleepy, but her mind was only half awake. She felt like she had received too much information at once, and her heart was very confused, mixed with a hint of sweetness. After the room quieted down, she slowly fell into sleep again.

When she woke up, it was already past 9 o'clock, almost 10 o'clock. Gui'er quickly got dressed and went to the first floor. Dingxiang came out and said to her with a smile, "Miss, you've been enjoying sleeping in lately. But the young master didn't blame us. He even told us not to wake you up. He also asked the kitchen to keep some cakes hot so you can eat them when you get up. By the way, what do you want to eat?"

Gui'er had just woken up and was still a little confused. It was already so late. She thought it was not good to eat too much, so she said, "I want some shengjian (a type of fried dumpling) and a glass of milk."

Ding Xiang said, "Okay, I'll get it for you right away."

Breakfast was brought up soon. Ding Xiang excitedly set the breakfast for her and said, "Miss, do you know I heard some great news? Miss Lily is coming back."

After hearing this, Gui'er said happily, "Is this true? When will you be back?"

Ding Xiang said, "Is this true? I heard the maids in the fourth room talking about it in the courtyard. They said that the Third Young Master would be back soon. Since the Marshal is now in good health, the mansion will hold a big banquet to celebrate."

Gui'er was feeling bored in Wu's house, and now that Sha Lili was back, she finally had someone to talk to.

After breakfast, Gui'er didn't know what to do. Because of the spies, she didn't dare to go to Zhenxiufang and had to stay in the house.

She took a newspaper and turned on the radio, but she could neither read nor hear anything. Gui'er recalled what Sha Yanxiao said last night.

She felt it was so unreal that she even suspected she was dreaming. She recalled the situation again and again and slowly sorted out her thoughts.

Sha Yanxiao's current situation must be quite difficult. The Marshal's health has almost recovered. Like any feudal monarch or patriarch, he wants to hold on to power as long as he lives. So, he started to fight for power with his son.

Sha Yanxiao's long-standing source of funds and wallet - the mine, was transferred to the Song family by the Marshal. Does that mean that Sha Yanxiao doesn't have much money to spend now? Therefore, he turned a blind eye to Wu Mingqiang opening a casino, because after all, he has to pay military salaries and prepare for war, which is very expensive.

But these were just Guier's guesses, and she didn't dare to confirm it with Sha Yanxiao, because that would be tantamount to telling him that she was pretending to be asleep and that he had heard everything he said. Then how should the two of them get along? Guier had not yet figured out how to deal with this problem.

Another way is to ask Song Xichen for confirmation. Originally, he should have met with him to report the situation in Nanjing as soon as he returned to Jiangcheng. However, after knowing that the man he met in Liu's Pharmacy was a spy, he did not dare to meet him. It would be bad if the spy's attention was already on Song Xichen.

However, there is one last way. If Sha Lili and Sha Yanwen come back and hold a banquet, the Song family, as the richest family in Jiangcheng, will definitely attend. Then Song Xichen will also come. Then she just needs to contact him at the banquet. When Gui'er thought of this, she finally had an idea.

Guier quickly put away the newspaper and went to the Fourth Concubine's courtyard. She wanted to find out when Sha Lili would be back. She didn't want her to come in ten days or half a month.

"Guier, how come you have time to come to me?" The fourth concubine greeted her familiarly.

"Hello, Fourth Auntie. I heard rumors that Third Brother and Lily are coming back. I'm very happy, so I came over to ask if it's true."

The fourth concubine smiled and said, "You are so thoughtful, of course it is true."

Gui'er quickly asked, "When will they come back?"

The fourth concubine said, "It's just a matter of two days. The third child may come back first. Lily will wait until her husband returns from out of town before coming together. Why are you so anxious?"

Guier quickly said, "The main reason is that when Lily got married, we were in Nanjing and my mother told us not to come back, so I didn't attend Lily's wedding. It's quite a pity."

The Fourth Concubine heard this and said with emotion and indignation, "Guier, you are a good child. But after what has happened, you should know that the people in this mansion are hard-hearted. Even though I have been in the mansion for many years, I still have to spend a lot of effort to finally find a good marriage for my children."

"Do you think anyone has made plans for your second brother and you? I'm a concubine and have no right to interfere, but the Madam and the Marshal have both left it alone. So you must take my advice to heart. If the opportunity arises, it would be a great opportunity for you two to be together. It would also be more stable for the second brother, better than him looking for someone with unknown backgrounds outside. I heard that the Marshal's recovery banquet this time was actually a blind date for your second brother."