A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 59: The weather turns colder and the security worsens.

The weather has quietly turned cooler, and it now gets dark earlier than before. Guier has noticed some changes on the streets. There used to be a lot of vendors setting up stalls at the school gate every day after school, and many classmates would linger among them after school. Recently, there have been fewer of them. There were one or two times when Dali was a little late in picking her up from school, and when she walked out of the school gate, she found that half of the stalls had closed down.

Soon after, word spread in the school that a teacher was robbed and beaten half to death by refugees on his way home from get off work. The school held a meeting and repeatedly reminded the students to go home as soon as get out of class was over, and it would be best if their parents picked them up.

He Ruizhu lived in a residential area near the school and usually went to and from school by herself. Lately, her father had been picking her up. Since her father owned Tong Yujun's shop, He Ruizhu was now even more cautious and flattering in front of Tong Yujun. Tong Yujun, however, said it didn't matter and told her not to take it to heart.

In recent days, even Sha Yan Xiaolong has been personally taking Gui'er to and from school, still driving vigorously. Gui'er couldn't help but ask, "Is the market really so unstable now?"

Sha Yanxiao sighed and said, "The weather is getting colder, and life becomes increasingly difficult for the homeless. Every year, many people die of cold and starvation. They have no warm clothes and insufficient food, so they resort to desperate measures. Beggars can become bandits. If you're hanging out with your classmates during this time, be careful."

Gui'er looked at the homeless people lying or squatting in groups on the street and noticed that their numbers seemed to have decreased. Sha Yanxiao said, "That's because my father discussed with the mayor about building some construction projects and recruiting some young and strong people to work. This will not only give them food to eat, but also help keep the city more peaceful with fewer young and strong refugees. However, there are so many refugees, and the situation over there with Marshal Zhang is unstable, so we expect more refugees to flock to our area. So, you should be careful where you go."

Gui Er thought of the two daughters of the Marshal's Mansion who were going to marry Marshal Zhang, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried about them. She said, "Now that the situation is unstable, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for the two young ladies to marry into the family."

Sha Yanxiao said calmly, "The situation is unstable, so it's a good time to fish in troubled waters. They're getting married in a few days, and there's going to be a big banquet at home. I have to send them there, so I might be away for a few days. Dali will come with me, and you can go to and from school with Lily."

Guier agreed, but she felt a little uneasy in her heart.

A few days later, it was the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. Early in the morning, Sha Yanxiao informed Guier that today was a good day and asked her not to go to school but to stay at home all day.

Gui'er had thought she'd be asked to help with the banquet, just like at the Song family, but Sha Yanxiao had her wear a pale purple orchid-embroidered, brocade, double-breasted, stand-up collared cheongsam he'd made at Yunshang Tower. Then he took out a silver-plated, gilded, and carved longevity lock in the shape of a ruyi cloud head. It was meticulously crafted, its face engraved with the story of the Qilin delivering a child.

Sha Yanxiao put the longevity lock around Guier's neck. The lock was so big, as big as Guier's small palm. Guier asked curiously, "Why do you want to wear a longevity lock?"

Sha Yanxiao said: "Marshal Zhang's adjutant is coming to pick up the bride today, and my father said that all the women in the family should wear the best so that people don't look down on us." In fact, he asked someone to make this longevity lock in Shanghai, which took three months to make. But he was afraid that the little one would think too much when he told her about it. Now it seems that she likes it very much.

Guier indeed, before she traveled through time, she had only seen such exquisitely crafted jewelry in museums, and she really couldn't let it go.

Sha Yanxiao saw her wearing an exquisite cheongsam and a longevity lock, looking like a delicate Chinese doll. He couldn't help but pinch her cheek and said, "Today, the two sisters are getting married at noon. Now, you should accompany me to the main courtyard. After the wedding procession leaves, there will be a banquet. After the banquet, Butler Zhang will pick you up. I will go there with the farewell procession and will be back in two days. In the meantime, please tell Butler Zhang if you need anything."

As he said that, he brought Gui'er to the banquet hall. Sha Lili was already there. She was wearing a fashionable Western-style dress and a large pearl necklace around her neck. She was sitting on the sofa bored. When she saw Gui'er coming, she took a look at her outfit and said with a smile, "You're here. Why are you dressed so tacky today? Forget it, let's go watch the fun."

He pulled Gui'er to the balcony on the second floor and looked down. The wedding procession marched in a mighty procession from the main gate to the main courtyard. Although it was a concubine, there was also a betrothal gift, and both parties were powerful and wealthy families, so it was even more grand.

I saw a steward standing at the gate with a gift list and reading: The betrothal gifts are in triplicate, totaling fifteen pieces of silk, six sets of jewelry, twenty-four gold bars, three hundred silver coins, six sets of pearls and jade,

Then he saw strong men carrying a row of mahogany boxes entering the hall one after another. Judging from the way they were exerting force, these boxes must be very heavy. Moreover, these servants were all wearing black silk gowns, while the servants on Marshal Sha's side were all wearing coarse clothes. This comparison made it seem that Zhang Dayui was financially more powerful.

Gui'er saw the servants and the wedding party moving the things to the hall and then being warmly invited by the steward to have tea in the side room.

Then the housekeeper called a group of people over and put the betrothal gifts into his own box. He also added some dowries that he had prepared for the three young ladies, including silk bedding, pillows, cushions, shoes, clothes, spittoons, baby buckets, dressing tables, mirrors, and cabinets.

Among them, Miss Sanmei had a slightly larger dowry because her mother helped her arrange it, but it only included two sets of blue and white eight-treasure porcelain tableware, a rosewood box, two blue and white pine, bamboo and plum pattern teapots, four boxes of red cotton rouge, two boxes of osmanthus oil, and one box of ivory combs.

Sha Lili curled her lips and said, "How shabby."

The banquet downstairs was about to begin. Sha Yanxiao had finished socializing with others and was looking for Gui'er. He looked up and saw her and Sha Lili leaning on the second-floor balcony railing, watching the fun. He waved them down and prepared to take their seats. Sha Lili then reluctantly pulled Gui'er down.

The banquet hall was already full, and Sha Lili pulled Gui'er to sit at the young lady's table.

Gui'er looked around and saw that this time the Marshal wasn't sitting with his concubines. Instead, he was seated at a table with the three young masters and the adjutant who had come to greet the bride. At the concubines' table, a noblewoman in her 50s sat at the head of the table. Her face was expressionless, but she was dressed elegantly and dignified, and the concubines were silent in her presence. Gui'er also looked around and saw that even the servants carrying the betrothal gifts had their own table, but it was set up in the open space outside the banquet hall's main entrance. It was clear that Marshal Sha really valued the people coming from Marshal Zhang's side.

Gui'er suddenly saw a servant who looked very familiar. Although he was wearing a black coat like everyone else, Gui'er inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity with him, but she just couldn't remember who he was.