ebookland Chapter 642: The 4th Concubine and Gui'er's Relationship
Chapter 642: The 4th Concubine and Gui'er's Relationship
Guier smiled. She knew that no one would be happier than Taohua when something happened to the Marshal, which meant that she was safe.
Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "What exactly is going on here? I wanted to ask other people in the mansion, but I don't think they would tell me the truth."
Taohua curled her lips and said, "Who cares? But after you left, I was worried all day, afraid that the Marshal would come looking for me. Fortunately, that didn't happen. But I heard that the Eighth Concubine often invited the Marshal to her room, which made the Fifth and Sixth Concubines very unhappy because they were still old enough to get pregnant. They also wanted to have a boy so that they would have someone to rely on for the rest of their lives."
Gui Er hesitated for a moment, then spoke awkwardly, "What I mean is, I had already beaten the Marshal so badly at that time, and he still had a head wound that shouldn't have healed so quickly. How did he end up in the Eighth Concubine's room... and do that?"
Taohua understood what she meant, coughed, and said, "I don't know about this either, but I did hear something privately. It's that the Marshal seems to be secretly taking those aphrodisiac drugs. The third concubine overheard a servant in our courtyard who was on good terms with Housekeeper Zhao say that the Marshal was not satisfied with his current sons and wanted to work harder to have more sons. The third concubine found out and told me specifically that she accepted the gift from the second brother and couldn't help but work, but if the Marshal really went crazy, she wouldn't be able to do anything, and reminded me not to go out. So I stayed in the house almost every day for a few days, for fear of running into the Marshal. I have a lot of embroidery pieces piled up on my hands, can you help me sell them?"
It seems that Taohua really doesn't care about the Marshal, but is happy and relaxed.
Gui'er agreed and took her embroidery piece back to Sha Yanxiao's courtyard.
Sha Yanxiao was very busy this time. They only met yesterday when he picked them up, and he didn't see him at other times.
Gui'er asked the housekeeper, "Second Young Master, where have you been?"
The housekeeper said, "Well, it's because the Marshal has fallen ill. Some of the Marshal's former subordinates in the army are still very concerned about this matter. Since the Marshal's accident, the young master has almost stayed in the barracks, saying that it is to prevent any unusual movements."
This is true. Although Sha Yanxiao has taken over most of the government affairs and military command in Jiangcheng and Fengcheng in recent years, those people in the army obey him because he is the son of the Marshal. Now that the Marshal is in trouble, it is certain that the morale of the army is unsettled.
After much thought, Gui'er came to the fourth concubine's courtyard.
The Fourth Concubine was as enthusiastic as ever. As soon as she saw her, she hurriedly greeted her, "Guier, are you here? You must be exhausted after traveling all day yesterday. Have something to eat. This is imported chocolate that my uncle sent from Shanghai."
Sha Lili and Sha Yanwen both came out of the house to chat with Guier.
Gui'er was very surprised. This was not just enthusiasm, but extremely, extremely enthusiastic.
She smiled foolishly, a bit bewildered, and said to the Fourth Concubine, "Fourth Concubine, what's wrong? We usually visit each other often, so why are you being so polite today?"
The fourth concubine was stunned for a moment, feeling that what she did was too obvious. She smiled awkwardly and said, "No, it's not true. In fact, our two courtyards are usually very close. You know this."
Guier smiled and said, "Of course. So, you shouldn't be so polite."
Sha Lili spread her hands and smiled, "To be honest, given the current situation, and with eldest brother going to Nanjing, we feel that sooner or later, second brother will be the one to take charge of the family. If anything happens, we'll need second brother to take care of us."
So that was the reason. Gui Er smiled bitterly and said, "What's the big deal? Our two courtyards have always been close, so it's natural. But after this incident, Second Brother has been busy trying to calm people down these past two days. I saw him yesterday and haven't seen him all day today. I guess it's not going to be easy. Maybe he'll need Fourth Concubine's help when the time comes."
The fourth concubine smiled and said, "The Second Young Master has been in Jiangcheng for so many years, always following the Marshal in carrying out government and military affairs. The generals, big and small, have long recognized him. It's just a little transition period. I believe there will be no problem at all."
Guier smiled and said, "It would be great if that were the case."
Seeing Gui'er frowning, the Fourth Concubine patted her head and said, "Oh, you're worried, child. Your brother really loves you. But don't worry, Madam will support him. Think about it, the eldest young master's leg is like that, so he has no chance of inheriting the position of Marshal. If he wants to go further in the political arena, the support of a warlord will definitely be a great help. Madam will support him for the sake of her own son."
Gui'er thought about it and it seemed to make sense. She still wanted to find out more information, so she said, "I still hope that my father is safe. He was fine when we returned to Nanjing. How did he suddenly become like this?"
The fourth concubine said, "Your father is old, and in recent years he has been acting stubbornly and refusing to admit his age. There's nothing we can do about it." Then she coughed and said to the servants standing around, "The weather has been dry these past few days, and it seems your throat is sore. I've made some citrus tea. Go get it and make a pot for everyone."
After everyone left, the fourth concubine lowered her voice and said to Gui'er, "Guier, I know what happened before you left. Isn't it better now?"
Gui'er was shocked when she heard this. She guessed that the Fourth Concubine was referring to the fact that the Marshal had poisoned her and Sha Yanxiao. She didn't expect that the Fourth Concubine even knew this.
Sha Lili said from the side, "Don't be so surprised. Ever since you mentioned that you were eating pangolin soup, which was different from our pheasant soup, I guessed it. Do you know why I wouldn't deliberately get close to my father even though I'm as talented and beautiful as you? It's because I'm afraid. The second concubine had a similar experience when I was young. She was also lucky, just like you, but once there is a second chance, she chose to commit suicide to save her two daughters. But you know what happened next. Yiman and Erfeng ended up in the same situation. The fact that my father had this incident this time is really good for everyone."
Gui'er hadn't expected such a past. So, the Marshal was the kind of man who would assault his own family, even his own children. Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine. She and Sha Yanxiao were truly lucky to have survived. If Sha Yanxiao hadn't been out that day, and she hadn't been so embarrassed to drink so much soup, wouldn't that have been the end of her? And from what Sha Lili had said, if it didn't work once, there was always a second time. So, it seemed like this was indeed the best possible outcome.