A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 796: The Marshal and Manager Zhao each have their own agenda

Guier frowned and said, "Then what should I do?"

Song Xichen pondered for a moment and said, "Last time, after you told me about the issue of the Marshal's Mansion's funds, I sent someone to secretly investigate and discovered that it was Butler Zhao who was in charge of the funds. Of course, he also obeyed the Marshal's orders. I sent people to secretly monitor him and found that he had secretly transferred large sums of funds to HSBC in Hong Kong through various means. Moreover, the Marshal had also purchased property in Hong Kong."

"Didn't you go to Shanghai to search for the valuables left behind by Director Shen? You did find them, but those antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold and silver jewelry, banknotes, and gold bars didn't return to Jiangcheng. Instead, they were secretly transferred to Hong Kong. But I don't know where they were transferred to in Hong Kong."

After hearing what Song Xichen said, Gui'er suddenly remembered the incident and said, "Oh, that's right. There's no follow-up on this matter. Because I'm an adopted daughter, I didn't dare ask about it. I almost forgot about it. If there was such a large amount of property, Sha Yanxiao shouldn't be so worried about it. But why did the Marshal transfer the property to Hong Kong? Or if this was the personal behavior of Butler Zhao, he was so bold as to try to embezzle the Marshal's money. With his character, the Marshal will not let him off."

Song Xichen shook his head and said, "No, we've checked all our people in the bank. He transferred the funds in the Marshal's name. Now that you mentioned that Zhao Yingwu is the Marshal's illegitimate son and had an affair with the Eighth Concubine, I have some ideas."

Gui'er suddenly realized, "You mean the Marshal wants to escape, while Chief Steward Zhao wants to support Zhao Yingwu?"

Song Xichen smiled and said, "Gui'er, you are such a smart child."

Gui'er's mind suddenly felt confused. This situation was a bit complicated. "Then what should we do?"

Song Xichen consoled him, "Don't worry. Although the Marshal strictly controls funds, he still leaves some money for military expenses. Now that the war is getting closer, perhaps he wants to leave himself a way out."

"As for Zhao Yingwu, if he wants to seize power, it will definitely cause political turmoil in Jiangcheng and Fengcheng. We should try our best to avoid this. You must monitor him closely. If anything goes wrong, notify me immediately."

Gui'er nodded and said, "I heard from Shopkeeper Liu that there's hope for a job at the hospital. I'll tell Sha Yanxiao about it then. I'll also work as a nurse at the hospital and continue my medical studies as an apprentice. That way, I can easily go in and out and deliver intelligence. I wonder how things are going over there, Shopkeeper Liu?"

Shopkeeper Zhang interrupted, "I've asked him to hurry up on that matter, too. I've already given his friend a 10-yuan bribe. He said he'd introduce you to the boss soon, so it should be soon. It's just that you've grown up now, and the young marshal has been getting even stricter with you. It's hard to get out, and I don't know how to find you."

Gui'er's eyes rolled, and after a moment's thought, she said, "Sha Yanxiao once told me he wanted to find you a position in the General's Mansion. I saw you already had a job as a kitchen helper, so I declined. Now, I think I can use this opportunity to ask you to come to the mansion and teach me embroidery. What do you think of this reason?"

Shopkeeper Zhang chuckled and said, "Is this okay? You've never liked sewing since you were little. It would be more reasonable if you asked me to teach Taohua."

Gui Er blushed and said coquettishly, "Then I'll just say that I'm of marriageable age and need to learn some housework. Anyway, the concubines in the Marshal's Mansion have all mentioned my marriage, but they've only talked about it."

Song Xichen nodded and said, "That's a good reason. It's also best not to go there every day. Go once every few days. That way, it won't arouse suspicion from the people in the mansion."

Shopkeeper Zhang nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

After Gui'er communicated with Song Xichen, they finally had a direction. When she returned to the Marshal's Mansion, she told Sha Yanxiao that she wanted to invite Manager Zhang to teach her needlework.

Sha Yanxiao was very surprised and said, "You've never really liked doing these women's jobs. Why did you suddenly change?"

Gui'er smiled and said, "When you suggested asking her to come over to keep me company, I thought about it. If she came to chat with me, I wouldn't be bored. It would also be good for her to learn some needlework. It would also save her face. I think their living conditions are really bad. An extra monthly income would be good for them. Besides, she doesn't come every day, just every few days. If she wants to do other work, it won't interfere."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "Okay then. I'll go talk to the housekeeper and have him give her a badge. Even though she only comes every few days, since she's your mistress, I can't treat her badly. I'll give her three silver dollars a month, as per the rules for a head maid. What do you think?"

Gui'er said, "That's great, thank you, brother."

I returned to my room and just closed the door when Dingxiang walked in.

"Miss, I've found out some of the things you asked me to pay attention to last time."

Gui Er then remembered that when the Eighth Concubine announced her pregnancy, she seemed to have asked Ding Xiang to find out, so she hurriedly asked, "What did you find out?"

Ding Xiang said mysteriously, "This Zhao Yingwu was brought back from outside by Butler Zhao. He wasn't born in Butler Zhao's house."

Gui'er had long known that Zhao Yingwu was the Marshal's illegitimate son, so she said calmly, "Oh, is that so? Have you found out anything else? For example, who does he hang out with? Is there anyone in the mansion close to him?"

Dingxiang frowned and said, "This Zhao Yingwu is handsome. In fact, many of the maids of the same age in the Xingtou Mansion want to get close to him. After all, he is the son of Housekeeper Zhao. But this guy seems to be very arrogant and ignores them. What's more, Housekeeper Zhao has been frugal for so many years, and it seems that he is supporting him. Although he is just a servant in the mansion, he has the style of a young master outside. From time to time, he runs to the Paramount to dance with those top dancers, and he is also very close to some of the regimental commanders and company commanders in the army."

Gui'er was not surprised that Zhao Yingwu had money to squander. Butler Zhao's salary was not low, and Zhao Yingwu was the Marshal's illegitimate son after all. The Marshal might have given him money privately, but he was close to the military, which attracted Gui'er's attention.

"Zhao Yingwu stays in the Marshal's Mansion all day. How could he possibly know the officers in the army? Which officers are close to him?"

Ding Xiang said bewilderedly, "I heard this from the sisters in the main courtyard. I don't know which officers he was close to specifically. They only said that Zhao Yingwu would come to the Marshal's room to chat with him every time he came back from outside. He also heard these things by accident."