The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

The emperor was furious and all the officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Minister of Revenue, Lord Qiu, was already cursing Xia Mianwan in his heart for being a good-for-nothing. Coming out to donate money at a time like this, wasn't that just roasting them alive on the fire?

After the court session, the queen set an example and took the lead in donating silver. Now... the concubines in the harem had no choice but to follow suit and donate silver.

The queen and her concubines had donated, so wouldn't it be right for the ministers not to donate? So everyone held up silver and donated money.

At first, Xia Mianwan couldn't buy large quantities of rice even if she went to the rice shop with money. Now, all the rice shops are rushing to sell rice.

Seeing that everything was going according to plan, Xia Mianwan couldn't help but clench her fists, "Pei Yanxu, this is all I can do. The rest is up to you."

After that, Pei Mansion and Xia Mianwan became the center of heated discussion in the entire capital.

Whenever you visit a family, you have to mention Pei Mansion and Xia Mianwan.

However, Xia Mianwan has kept a low profile these days. Apart from sending Chen Ge'er to school, she doesn't even go to Manyue Tower.

Since he was free, Xia Mianwan felt quite comfortable. He had been too busy these days and paid little attention to Yu Jie'er, so he took advantage of his free time and went to Changchun Garden.

Nanny Yuan didn't care what the news was outside and she taught the girls with all her heart.

Seeing that the four little girls were studying seriously, Xia Mianwan left.

Xia Mianwan had just come out of Changchun Garden when she met the two sisters Pei Ying and Pei Xia. The two girls from the Pei family were clamoring to go to the hot spring manor to visit Mrs. Pei, but Xia Mianwan had already told them that people in the mansion were not allowed to go out without permission these days, so the gatekeeper did not let them go.

Pei Ying and Pei Xia heard that Xia Mianwan went to Changchun Garden, so they had to come to find Xia Mianwan.

It turned out that Pei Ying had found out where Jiang Chengying was studying these days, and often took the opportunity to go out and take Pei Xia to hang out near the academy where Jiang Chengying was studying.

Pei Ying had been educated since childhood and was a little smart, so he made friends with several students from the academy in a small teahouse near the academy.

Today is the day she and several students have agreed to go enjoy the plum blossoms together.

However, the management in the mansion suddenly became stricter in the past few days, and Pei Ying was unable to find a chance to leave the mansion.

Xia Mianwan hadn't seen Pei Ying and Pei Xia for several days. It seemed as if the two girls really didn't know the rules and didn't even come to pay their respects occasionally.

"Sister-in-law." Pei Ying and Pei Xia bowed slightly.

Xia Mianwan nodded slightly, waiting for Pei Ying to speak.

"Sister-in-law, Pei Xia and I want to go out, but the doorman won't let us go no matter what." Pei Ying complained.

Xia Mianwan said, "Didn't the concierge tell you? I ordered that no one can go out casually these few days."

Pei Ying frowned and asked in confusion: "Why, sister-in-law, can't we go to see our aunt?"

Xia Mianwan pursed her lips and smiled, "There are a lot of things going on in the capital these days, so it's not suitable to go out. Your aunt will be back after this period of time, so don't worry."

Pei Ying watched the sun getting higher and higher. The time she had agreed to meet with several students was approaching. She became more and more anxious and her tone became harsher. "We are here to stay at the Pei family, not to be prisoners. Why do you control us?"

"Since you live in our Pei Mansion, I will take care of you. If you feel dissatisfied, you can move out of the Pei Mansion. If you move out of the Pei Mansion, naturally no one will control you." Xia Mianwan said lightly.

Pei Xia saw Xia Mianwan's cold expression and was a little scared. She timidly took Pei Ying's hand and whispered, "Forget it, sister, let's go out another day."

Pei Ying couldn't help feeling angry when she saw Pei Xia was such a fence-sitter. After a moment of silence, she suddenly noticed something suspicious.

Mrs. Pei had been out for quite some time. She didn't say goodbye to them when she left, and Xia Mianwan never mentioned bringing her back. Now that Pei Yanxu is not here, who knows what she has done.

Thinking of this, Pei Ying seemed to have gained a lot of confidence. She looked directly at Xia Mianwan and said, "I can't wait until another day. I have to go out today. I have to make sure that my aunt really wants to leave the Pei family on her own."

Pei Ying is still young after all, and she always seems to lack confidence when she says these words to fool people.

Xia Mianwan raised her eyebrows slightly, with a hint of mockery on her lips, "Mother is staying at the hot spring villa for a while, so she naturally can't come back in a short time. You should be quiet and stay in your own yard."

"Xia Mianwan, do you think you have the final say in Pei Mansion? It's obviously not right with you. Did you drive your aunt to the hot spring villa?" Pei Ying was angered by the fleeting sarcasm on Xia Mianwan's lips. It seemed to hurt her self-esteem. What was wrong with her caring about her aunt? Why did they laugh at her for overestimating her own abilities?

Pei Ying was so angry that she didn't realize that she was going out not for Mrs. Pei, but to meet those students. But because Xia Mianwan was so careless, she felt that she had a commanding position and a reason to resist such carelessness.

"Well...what should I do? Don't I have the ultimate control over the Pei Mansion?" Xia Mianwan has been the wife of Young Master Pei for a long time. She has to deal with too many top-notch people. It seems that she already knows what expression of hers can irritate people the most.

Xia Mianwan glanced at Pei Xia from the corner of her eyes. Pei Xia's eyes were a little evasive. Something was wrong...

Xia Mianwan's heart trembled slightly, and she looked at Pei Ying again.

"I must go out today. I must go and see what happened to my aunt. Was she forced out of the house by you?" Pei Ying stood up straight with a righteous look on her face.

"Sister Ying, you should take a break. You should behave yourself in someone else's house, okay? You should understand reason and know your duty. Your mother-in-law has been out of the house for a few days, why did you just leave today? If you want to talk about weirdness, aren't you weirder?"

After Xia Mianwan finished speaking, she didn't want to listen to Pei Ying's nagging anymore. If she was really filial, she would still look up to Pei Ying. But it was obvious that someone like Pei Ying would not be filial for an aunt.

"Ruzhu, take the people back to Yimeiyuan yourself and find someone to take good care of Yimeiyuan. I say it again, no one can go out without my permission these few days! Peixia, come back to Shaoguangyuan with me first."

"Yes!" Ruzhu responded and stepped forward to urge Pei Ying to return to Yimeyuan.

When Pei Ying heard that Xia Mianwan was going to take Pei Xia to Shaoguangyuan, there was a hint of panic in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down.

Xia Mianwan ignored her and signaled to Ruzhu that if Pei Ying disobeyed, she should not worry about anything else and just knock her out and carry her back to Yimeyuan.

Pei Xia finally followed Xia Mianwan back to Shaoguangyuan. She carefully half-sat on the embroidery mat, feeling nervous. Xia Mianwan's aura was too strong and she was really a little scared.