A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 602 The Marshal Wants to Use the Duanmu Family to Reclaim the Antiques

When they returned to the Marshal's residence that day, Gui'er couldn't wait to tell Sha Yanxiao what Duanmu Heng had told her about their family's acquaintance with the Mitsui family. She said, "Brother, do you think we can use this relationship to get our things back?"

Sha Yanxiao frowned and said, "If it's true as you said, the Duanmu family are complete traitors. Why are they traitors? Of course, it's for money. If they knew that our family has a large number of antiques in the hands of Mitsui, do you think they would help us get them back? They will definitely want a share of the profits. Besides, they are Chinese and understand the value of these antiques better than foreigners. We can't let them know about this."

Gui'er nodded, sighed, and said regretfully, "I thought I had finally found out something useful."

Sha Yanxiao frowned and thought for a while, then said, "I think this matter is of great importance, so I have to tell my father. Gui'er, come with me." Then he took Gui'er to the main house to find the Marshal.

I repeated what Gui'er said to the Marshal.

The Marshal slapped his thigh and said, "My daughter is really capable. She's the only one of us who's useful in this room. Your suggestion is a good one. I've actually been wanting to find a middleman to get the things back without any conflicts."

Gui'er said worriedly, "Father, what my second brother said makes sense. The Duanmu family is doing business with the Japanese, so they must be tough to mess with. We asked him to be the middleman, so how could he not take a piece of the pie? These antiques are our national treasures. If they fall into the hands of traitors, who knows where they will end up. Maybe they will end up in the pockets of the Japanese."

The Marshal sneered and said, "Don't worry, my dear daughter. The person who can take advantage of me, Sha Maitian, hasn't been born yet."

After that, the Marshal let Gui'er go back first, and left Sha Yanxiao there to discuss for a long time.

The next day was the day to have dinner with the Marshal. Gui'er came to the main courtyard restaurant. Not long after, the Marshal came over from the study. Surprisingly, Old Man Duanmu was also there. Duanmu Heng and Mrs. Duanmu were not with him. The two of them had a great chat. The Marshal even held his hand. The two of them were as affectionate as brothers who had been separated for many years.

Gui'er guessed that it was very likely that the Marshal asked the Duanmu family for help, and the Duanmu family agreed. However, she was a little confused. The Marshal would lose face even if he suffered a little loss. Could it be that the Duanmu family really didn't ask for anything this time?

Just as he was about to turn around, he found that Sha Yanxiao, who was sitting next to the Marshal, had a gloomy expression on his face, but it was not too obvious. When Mr. Duanmu took his seat, he even stood up and greeted him with a smile, which made people suspect that the gloom just now was fake.

No one announced what kind of banquet this dinner was or who was being entertained, but the dishes were clearly much more luxurious than usual. They even had braised bear paws, shark fins, and other dishes that were only usually served at banquets. Sha Lili whispered in Gui'er's ear, "Hey, do you know what's going on? Weren't you quite cold towards the Duanmu family before? Why have you suddenly changed your attitude now? And you're even treating him with all these delicious foods that you usually only eat in the middle of the night."

Although Gui'er knew the general reason in her heart, she was not in a position to say it, so she shook her head and said with a smile: "How would I know? Since there is good food, let's eat it."

Sha Lili smiled and said, "I can eat it without worry, but you have to be careful."

Gui'er was confused: "Why should I be careful? What does it have to do with me?"

Sha Lili said, "Don't be silly. Why did father ignore them before? Because they came here purely to ask for a bargain, want to marry their daughter, and want to take their mines. The Marshal didn't send them away because of the Eighth Concubine and the Liang family. But now he suddenly entertains them. Do you think they have reached some kind of agreement? If so, it's not impossible for father to marry you to Duanmu Heng. But I'm very curious, what benefits did father get from them?"

After hearing this, Gui'er felt that it made sense. The Duanmu family was not pushovers. They would definitely not help if they couldn't get any benefits. However, compared to the minerals, it was definitely more profitable to marry an adopted daughter who was not her biological daughter. Although she also wanted to take those antiques back, she would not sacrifice herself.

After dinner, they returned to Sha Yanxiao's yard. Sha Yanxiao was sitting in the living room reading a newspaper. Gui'er also went to the sofa next to him and sat down. Usually, they would read the newspaper and chat for a while before going back to their rooms, but today for some reason, Sha Yanxiao was a little absent-minded. He just opened his mouth but didn't say anything, as if he wanted to say something but stopped. Gui'er was very surprised, but she had known Sha Yanxiao for so many years and still trusted him very much. If there was really something, she believed that Sha Yanxiao would tell her in the end, so she didn't ask.

Just when Gui'er was about to return to her room, the Marshal suddenly arrived. He did not bring his eighth concubine with him, but came alone with an attendant.

Guier was very surprised.

The Marshal walked in slowly with his hands behind his back and said, "After dinner, I walked around our house and came to your place without realizing it." He was wearing a Zhongshan suit and cloth shoes, with the buttons of his clothes still open, looking very casual, and his tone was like those retired cadres strolling around their children's homes.

Gui'er said quickly, "Father, please come in and sit down." Then she turned around and wanted to tell the servants to make tea.

The Marshal waved his hand and said, "No need. I just had a full meal and wanted to take a walk to digest the food, so I came here for a stroll." As he spoke, he walked into the house and sat down on the main seat on the sofa. Then he waved his hand and sent his followers out the door. The servants in the house immediately understood that the Marshal had something private to tell his children, and they all tactfully left.

Gui'er didn't know what the Marshal wanted to say, but she had a vague feeling that something was not right. She turned around and glanced at Sha Yanxiao, only to see that his eyes were dim and he didn't look at the Marshal as enthusiastically as usual. She became more certain of her guess and became secretly on guard.

The Marshal sat down with a majestic posture and said to Gui'er with a smile, "Guier, your suggestion is very good. I have told the Duanmu family about it and they agreed to help. I found that the Duanmu family is actually quite good and very powerful. Although, they have a problem of being too close to the Japanese, if it weren't for their close relationship with the Japanese this time, how could they have helped us? Besides, Duanmu Heng is a teacher. He has nothing to do with his family's messy social interactions and can be removed at any time. I am particularly satisfied with this." He looked at Gui'er kindly as he spoke, as if he himself believed that he was a kind father.