A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 114 Marshal Zhang’s Three Daughters

After the banquet, the eighth concubine moved back, but now the Marshal focused all his energy on the three new concubines.

They were Marshal Zhang's 2nd, 3rd and 4th daughters, and it was said that they had the same father but different mothers. Sha Yanxiao captured almost all of Marshal Zhang's children and announced to the outside world that it was Marshal Zhang who married his daughters to Marshal Sha as concubines.

Guier looked at the three girls. The oldest was in her early 20s, the middle one was 18, and the youngest was only 15. Their dress gave people the feeling that the Qing Dynasty had not yet changed. The dress of the young ladies of Sha Mansion was not very fashionable, but at least they kept up with the trend.

Gui'er was very surprised. Sha Yanxiao told her that in some remote areas, people's dress style has not been changed yet.

When the three girls came to Shanghai, they didn't even have a maid. Although the Sha Mansion had many servants, they could travel light when coming to Shanghai, so each of them only brought one or two servants, not many. The Marshal asked the housekeeper Liu to find people quickly. The housekeeper Liu said that buying new ones might not satisfy the concubines, so it would be better to hire some experienced maids first.

Marshal Sha agreed, and so he hired three maids from outside at a high price. He also asked Guier to go and chat with them when she was free. Guier could see that Marshal Sha was still treating his daughters well for Marshal Zhang's sake.

Since the Marshal had asked for their help, Gui'er went to see them every now and then. However, she was troubled by the question of how to address them. She asked the Marshal what to address them. She originally thought that the Marshal would let Gui'er directly address them as the Ninth Concubine, the Tenth Concubine, and the Eleventh Concubine.

The Marshal said that since they hadn't married yet, the girls should be called Miss Zhang Er, Miss Zhang San, and Miss Zhang Si. He also asked Gui Er to take them to the Sincere Company to choose clothes and jewelry, and asked Butler Liu to go with the car to pay.

Gui'er was quite happy to take on this task, as she was also full of curiosity about these three young ladies. So she visited them one by one. Unlike the young ladies in the Sha Mansion who each took care of their own affairs, the three young ladies of Marshal Zhang were quite united. Whenever they met Gui'er, they came and went together. Whatever Gui'er said to them, one of them would speak for all three.

When Miss Zhang Er learned that Gui'er was going to take them to the department store to buy clothes and jewelry, she smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Gui'er, but we brought our own bags with us. There are spare clothes in them, so you don't have to worry about it."

Guier smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's just a little token of my father's kindness. Besides, the clothes you're wearing are not in line with the fashion trends in this big city. If other guests saw them, they would think we at Shafu are neglecting our guests."

The three Miss Zhangs just smiled quietly but still refused. Gui Er could sense that they were strong-willed, self-respecting ladies from wealthy families. She had no choice but to tell the Marshal.

Unexpectedly, the Marshal smiled and said, "That's not easy. Lao Liu, go ask a tailor to come and tailor them. Oh, and remember to tell the tailor that the ones who do the tailoring must be women."

Everyone present was very surprised. It seemed that the Marshal had never been so gentle and considerate to any woman.

Later, Sha Yanxiao told Guier that Marshal Zhang's wife's ancestors were descendants of the literati of the previous dynasty and were extremely traditional. In his early years, Marshal Zhang was seriously injured in a battle and almost died. As a result, the information sent back from the front line was wrong, and his family thought that Marshal Zhang was dead, so his wife hanged herself to follow her husband. Marshal Zhang was extremely moved and did not remarry until several years later, so he now has few children.

However, Marshal Zhang felt from then on that only a wife like his wife could be considered a virtuous wife, so he educated his daughters according to his wife's standards. Therefore, Marshal Zhang's daughters were all well-known far and wide for their adherence to the code of conduct for wives.

When Marshal Zhang's eldest daughter was 20 years old, she was married to a bandit leader in his 50s who already had a wife and children because Marshal Zhang wanted to win over the most powerful bandit nearby. Sha Yanxiao originally wanted to bring all of Marshal Zhang's daughters with him, so that he could rescue Miss Zhang at the same time, but Miss Zhang refused on the grounds that she was already someone else's wife or concubine. She is also a remarkable woman.

After hearing this, Gui'er thought to herself, what's the difference between marrying a bandit leader in his 50s and marrying a warlord in his 50s?

But she didn't dare to say it out loud, and just asked Sha Yanxiao curiously, "Is Miss Zhang still in the bandit's lair now?"

Sha Yanxiao chuckled and said, "How is that possible? I've already wiped out the bandit gang, and I've recruited all of his men. Since Miss Zhang doesn't want to come with me, I'll put them under house arrest in Marshal Zhang's mansion, ostensibly to allow them to be filial to their father-in-law."

Gui'er suddenly thought of the two daughters of the Sha family who had married Marshal Zhang. Sha Yanxiao said, "I've already brought the two sisters home. Sanmei is pregnant with Marshal Zhang's child. If it's a boy, that would be perfect."

"Will Marshal Zhang be willing to let you take his concubine?"

"I've sidelined him now, and he's been confined to Marshal Zhang's mansion for retirement. How could he have the guts to refuse?"

Hearing this, Gui'er couldn't help but feel that Sha Yanxiao was worthy of being the son of Marshal Sha. He was brave and good at fighting, scheming, and his methods were sophisticated and ruthless. After all, his behavior was a little different from that of a modest young man like Song Xichen.

In fact, Gui'er didn't know why Sha Yanxiao was so nice to her. He was completely different from Song Xichen in terms of kindness and integrity. You couldn't say he was a bad person, but he seemed a little bit short of a good person. Gui'er didn't think that just because she helped bandage his wound that time, he would protect her with such full strength.

Maybe it's because I'm just a little girl now and don't pose any threat to him, but if he's with others, he's bound to be scheming, so he feels more comfortable?

Gui'er felt that this reason was feasible, so she showed more concern and closeness to Sha Yanxiao. When the doctor came to check on Sha Yanxiao's arm injury, Gui'er listened carefully and even learned to help him change the dressing. Sha Yanxiao was very touched.

The cheongsams specially made for the three Miss Zhangs were finally finished. The tailor brought them over and Guier excitedly took them to try on.

Miss Zhang Er said to Gui'er gently, "Thank you so much, sister Gui'er."

Gui'er felt quite sympathetic towards the three fragile girls and said with a smile, "You're welcome. Try it on. If it doesn't fit, you can return it and have it altered."

The three Zhang daughters went in, changed, and came out. Gui'er took one look and was surprised. Compared to the daughters of the Sha family, who all took after their mothers, the three Zhang daughters probably looked more like Marshal Zhang. Although they had the same father but different mothers, their appearance was almost identical: square faces, high cheekbones, thin lips, and flat noses. Furthermore, they didn't seem to have the habit of taking care of their skin or wearing makeup, as their faces were pockmarked with acne scars.

Sometimes Guier felt that the reason why Marshal Sha had not taken action against them until now might have something to do with their appearance.

After putting on the clothes, the three Miss Zhangs finally looked more compatible with this era. However, looking down, the two older ladies were still wearing embroidered bound-foot shoes, which seemed very incongruous.

Guier volunteered to say to the two Miss Zhangs, "Miss Zhang Er and Miss Zhang San's embroidered shoes don't seem to go well with these two cheongsams. I'll go back and see if there's anyone here who makes leather shoes for small feet. I'll make you a pair. What size shoes does Miss Zhang San wear? I can go to the company and buy you a pair."

The three Miss Zhangs said in unison, "Then we'll have to trouble Miss Gui'er."