A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1011 Notification Message

"I thought Zhao Weng's daughter was still unmarried. I was just about to help her find a matchmaker for my nephew. How come a son-in-law suddenly appeared, and he even died of tuberculosis?"

"That's because you're out of the loop. It's said that he's the son of a powerful warlord in the mainland, but he has no right to inherit the family business. However, he's been pampered since childhood. But he's in poor health, so even though they've been married for many years, Old Master Zhao hasn't asked this son-in-law to help with business matters."

"Oh, I see. Do the two of them have any children?"

"It shouldn't be. Before the funeral, the bereaved son is supposed to carry the funeral banner and buy water according to the ritual. I heard that it was done by a servant from the groom's family who had adopted a son."

Gui'er was startled and quickly looked around. She saw a little girl kneeling next to Fourth Aunt and Sha Lili. Her eyebrows and eyes looked very similar to Fourth Aunt and Sha Lili.

She immediately understood that the Zhao family wanted their daughter to remarry into a wealthy family, so they had left the child with the fourth concubine. Sha Lili's husband's family and Sha Yanwen's wife's family were related, and Sha Lili had already fallen out of favor, so the mother and daughter dared not say anything.

The funeral lasted for several days. Although it couldn't compare to the grand funerals held at the Marshal's Mansion in the past, it was still quite luxurious compared to ordinary people.

On the day of the funeral, Gui'er paid her last respects and prepared to leave.

"Gui'er," Shali suddenly called out to her.

Gui'er turned around and saw that she was walking over with Sha Yanwen's youngest daughter.

"Biyun, quickly call Aunt Gui'er."

"Hello, Aunt Gui'er."

"Biyun, be good." Gui'er didn't understand what Shalili was up to.

“You’ve been instrumental in handling this whole affair; otherwise, my brother’s funeral would have been incredibly shabby,” Shali said with a worried expression.

"Third brother, he was still a member of the Marshal's Mansion. Now that he's gone, there's not much I can do for him. Letting him leave with dignity is a way of showing brotherly affection." Gui'er spoke from the heart. She was quite grateful to Wu Mingqiang for taking the initiative to stand up for her this time.

"Anyway, thank you, and Mr. Wu as well. I was too naive before, but after this incident, I realized that no matter what, family is the only reliable people. Now, my niece will probably be registered under my name. My husband said that in order not to hinder his cousin's remarriage, Biyun will even have to change her surname to my husband's family name. Humph, has our Sha family really fallen into decline? If Father were still alive, would he dare to say such a thing?"

Gui'er knew that although she was speaking from the heart, her current display of genuine emotion was probably just a way of thinking that she could use her in the future. She didn't expect to get anything in return for any requests she made.

She said calmly, "Third Sister-in-law is determined to remarry now. If she takes her daughter to her husband's family, she may not be treated well. At least she won't be bullied by you. I believe Fourth Aunt and you will find a good way out for her in the future. Please accept my condolences. I'm leaving now."

"Hey, hey, take your time. Let's keep in touch."

Gui'er returned to the villa and plopped down on the sofa. Turning her head, she noticed that Dingxiang's eyes were red. She hadn't noticed her at the funeral because she was busy with socializing. So she quickly comforted her, "A person is dead, so be it. My third brother smoked that stuff, which was bound to shorten his life. He couldn't quit, so he can't blame anyone else. Don't be too sad."

Dingxiang wiped away her tears and turned to pour Gui'er a cup of tea. Gui'er said, "You should sit down and have a drink too. We're not like we used to be in the Marshal's Mansion. There aren't as many rules now."

Dingxiang then sat down, picked up her teacup, took a sip, sighed, and said, "Miss said you might not believe it, but although we are servants in the Marshal's Mansion, there are many people outside who envy us. We maids of the Xiang generation, whether born into slavery or sold into the mansion from a young age, were all trained by the First Madam and then assigned to various courtyards. We were like sisters. The Third Young Master was about the same age as us, and we even played together when we were young. I never thought that now we would all be scattered and separated forever."

Gui'er also sighed, "I brought you to Hong Kong, and you've been separated from your good sisters, parents, and brothers. I don't know when I'll be able to see them again. I feel really bad for you."

Dingxiang waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Miss, please don't think like that. If I had stayed in Jiangcheng, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be alive now. I heard that when the Japanese first occupied Jiangcheng, people were dying every day. Later, the puppet government was afraid that the Japanese would turn Jiangcheng into a dead city, and what good would that do them? That's why they negotiated with the Japanese. Only then did the Japanese leaders start to restrain their men from killing indiscriminately, but a few people still died every day. Everyone was living a life where they didn't know what tomorrow would bring. I came to Hong Kong with you, and although I'm not as rich or powerful as you are now, at least my life is safe. I'm worried about my parents and brothers, but everyone has their own fate, so I can only let it be."

Gui'er felt a little sad after hearing this, but then she thought about it and realized that this was the first time she had heard about the situation in Jiangcheng after its fall. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "How do you know about these things?"

“Oh, do you remember Ren'an Hall? Isn’t their shop not far from our family’s pawnshop? Brother Cheng sometimes runs into the shop’s employees and chats with them. Some of the older employees there were brought over by Jiang Cheng. They heard that someone is in contact with Jiang Cheng and knows some information. I originally wanted to ask them to ask me to deliver a letter back, but when I heard that a letter costs 50 silver dollars, I had to give up.”

Gui'er's heart stirred. She had heard people mention that Ren'an Hall had connections to Jiangcheng. She really wanted to know about Sha Yanxiao's situation. Besides, now that Sha Yanwen was dead, it was time for her eldest and second brothers to know.

The next day, upon returning to school, Gui'er first went to see Du Jianbang and told him about Sha Yanwen's death. She asked him to tell Sha Yanyao if he had the chance.

Du Jianbang readily agreed. He asked with concern, "Miss Gui'er, please accept my condolences. Is there anything inconvenient in your life now that your third brother has passed away?"

Gui'er smiled wryly, "Mr. Du, you probably don't come from a prominent family. Although we are siblings in name, we don't interact much. However, you are my eldest brother's half-brother, and I think he should know that. My third brother's younger sister is also in Hong Kong. We don't usually contact each other unless there's a specific reason. If you have the chance, please tell my eldest brother and also remind him to be careful."

Afterwards, she told Lin Peishan about Sha Yanwen's death and asked, "I want to ask Brother Chen after school. I wonder if the organization can help me pass on this news to my second brother."