A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 127 Three Miss Zhangs Want to Marry the Young Marshal

Ever since Ji Zhongqing came to propose marriage, Miss Ji has been running to the Sha Mansion every day. This was unheard of in that era. Even if a lady from a prominent family was engaged, her fiancé would come to her house to find her, otherwise it would be a loss of face. However, Miss Ji seemed to not care about all this at all.

She was also very good at socializing. The first time she came, she brought a cart half loaded with gifts. Everyone in the Sha family got a share, and each one was unique. She gave Gui'er a wool felt hat with a round brim studded with pearls—real pearls, of course—that looked lovely and luxurious. Sha Yanxiao even praised how beautiful it was when he saw Gui'er wearing it.

Even the servants received red envelopes, about a few dozen coins each, which was considered very generous, so he quickly won the hearts of everyone in the Sha family.

Sha Yanxiao watched the wind direction change, and although he felt helpless, he could only accept it reluctantly.

After that, Miss Ji and Sha Yanxiao went out together all day long. No matter where Sha Yanxiao went, she would follow him. Even when Sha Yanxiao took Guier to the zoo, she followed him and took the initiative to hold Sha Yanxiao's hand, leaving Guier far behind.

There was no other way, Sha Yanxiao had to let Dali take Guier out for a walk.

The New Year is almost over, and the Marshal notified everyone to pack up and prepare to return to Jiangcheng. Song Xichen had already gone back, and Tong Yujun also told Guier that her family planned to set off in the next two days, and asked Guier to go to the Xinshi Company to buy some souvenirs.

Guier happily agreed, as she also wanted to buy some things that were not available in Jiangcheng.

Tong Yujun said, "I really don't want to leave Shanghai. There are so many things here, and they're so cheap. There are so many theaters and department stores. It's nothing like my hometown. There's only one Wing On Department Store, and it doesn't have a complete range of products."

Guier nodded and said, "Yes." But she thought it was a bargain because Tong Yujun's family was rich. This time, she also came into contact with the lives of ordinary people in Shanghai, which was actually very difficult.

The rent alone is several times more expensive than a small city like Jiangcheng. Most people cannot afford to buy a house and most of them rent one. Most Shanghai landlords like to rent to dancers, foreign company employees, and people with slightly higher incomes. Ordinary families live there with their whole family, so they only care about the size of the house. There is no way to be picky about the location and decoration. If you can rent a house in Shanghai, you are considered middle class and you can live a very comfortable life. But you have to be careful not to be targeted by gangs and scammers.

Sha Yanxiao originally wanted to return to Jiangcheng early, but Miss Ji refused to agree. The gang boss Ji Zhongqing visited the Marshal's residence again and asked the two to get engaged first. Sha Yanxiao wanted to refuse, but Ji Zhongqing proposed to give two opium dens to Marshal Sha. Marshal Sha didn't care about Sha Yanxiao at all and agreed directly.

So before going back, they hurriedly held an engagement party. Time was tight, and many friends who had come to Shanghai for the New Year had left, so there were only people from the two families, plus the friends who were still in Shanghai who could be invited. However, the Ji family's newspaper publicized it widely and published a photo of the two of them. Gui'er was a little worried that Miss Rong would be sad when she saw it, after all, it was not long after all. When she told Sha Yanxiao about it, he just sighed and said nothing.

A few days after the engagement, the atmosphere in the mansion became tense. Whenever the three Zhang sisters saw Gui'er, they seemed hesitant to speak. Sha Yanxiao constantly urged Dali to take Gui'er to various parks and attractions, saying it was a rare trip to Shanghai, and several things had delayed their fun, so they needed to see everything before leaving. Consequently, Gui'er and the three Zhang sisters didn't interact much.

That day, Gui'er was taken out by Dali to play for the whole day before returning home. When she returned to the Marshal's Mansion, she felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange. Everyone seemed to be in a state of panic. The servants who were usually a bit lazy were looking for things to do everywhere.

Gui'er returned to her room. As soon as she entered, Dingxiang came over with a basin of hot water, saying it was for her to wash up. However, Gui'er didn't usually do this, so she asked, "Dingxiang, what's wrong? Why do I feel like something's wrong in the mansion these past two days?"

Ding Xiang then said to her nervously and mysteriously, "Miss, you don't know yet, do you? It's because Marshal Zhang's three daughters went to negotiate with him, saying they don't want to marry him, but our Second Young Master."

Gui'er was startled and asked, "Is it true?"

Ding Xiang patted her chest and said, "How dare I lie to you about something like this?"

Gui'er thought about it and said to Dingxiang, "Tell me more details."

Dingxiang was excited when she heard this. She pulled a stool and sat in front of Gui'er and said, "The thing is, the second Miss Zhang went to the Marshal and told him that the reason she was willing to follow the second young master here was because he said that Marshal Zhang would marry them off to unbearable men in the future, just like Miss Zhang's bandit husband. It would be better for them to marry into the Marshal's mansion. So the three Miss Zhangs thought they were marrying the second young master, so they agreed."

Gui'er found it amazing that there were such twists and turns in the story, so she asked Dingxiang, "So what's going on now?"

Ding Xiang said, "I don't know either. The Marshal must be in a bad mood. No one dares to slack off these days, for fear of being caught and taken out on. Miss, you should also be careful and don't get too close to the Marshal."

Guier nodded and said, "I understand."

She then went to Sha Yanxiao's room. Sha Yanxiao was arranging work with two adjutants, so he asked Guier to wait for him.

After a while, when both lieutenants had left, Sha Yanxiao walked up to Gui'er and asked, "How was your trip to the park today?"

Guier said, "It's OK. Dali took me on a yacht ride."

Sha Yanxiao pinched Gui'er's face and said, "This is so fun. I should have gone too if I had known earlier."

"Second brother, are you hiding something from me?"

"What am I hiding from you?"

"I feel like the atmosphere at home has been weird these past two days."

Sha Yanxiao sighed and said, "It's not a good thing for a girl to be too smart. I asked Dali to take you out to play because I didn't want you to get involved in these things."

"Is the matter resolved now? How will the three Miss Zhangs be accommodated? Did you deceive them?"

"What did I lie to them about?"

"Did you tell her from the beginning that she was marrying you when she came to the Sha Mansion, so she was willing to follow you? Otherwise, what young girl would be willing to marry a 50-year-old man like your father?"

Sha Yanxiao couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He said, "It's true that I didn't say who I was going to marry at the beginning, but I'm not married yet, so it's impossible for me to take a concubine. Instead of saying I broke my promise, it's better to say that the three Miss Zhangs are too proud. Now that they see I'm engaged, they've asked my father to marry me."

"Will Father agree to that? Wouldn't that be like slapping him in the face?"

"Father doesn't mind this. As long as the three Miss Zhangs marry into our Sha Mansion, that's all that matters. Only then can we legitimately manage Marshal Zhang's territory."

"Did father agree?" Gui'er was quite surprised by this.

"Father likes young and beautiful women. The three Miss Zhangs, although young, are not beautiful."

"Oh, then this means that now you will be the one taking over the three Miss Zhangs."

Sha Yanxiao sighed and said, "I don't mind, but Ji Yiru disagrees."

"Miss Ji? That's normal. They haven't even married yet, and their future husband's family already has three concubines. No one would be happy. Second brother, can't you find a good family for the three Miss Zhangs and let them be the principal wives? That would be a good thing and our family would have a good reputation."

"You think it's easy. Marshal Zhang only has four daughters. If these three of his daughters marry someone else, that person can claim to be the legal heir to Marshal Zhang's territory and raise the flag to rebel against us. How can I give up the territory I fought so hard to regain?"