My wife wants a divorce; if she ruins my life, I'll leave.

After Yunzhu left the house, she ran straight out of Lianxiao Courtyard.

She stood on the deserted path, staring blankly at the dim sky. The world was vast, yet there was no place for her.

Looking back at the shadowy Lianxiao Courtyard, she realized it was where she had lived for three years.

Aunt Lü used to be truly gentle and kind. Even when she was angry, she would keep it to herself and would never beat or scold the servants.

Yunzhu wondered, when did she start being beaten and punished?

It was after the birth of the second young master that the second young master disliked Aunt Lü and went to Pearl's room instead.

During her postpartum confinement, Aunt Lü would become inexplicably irritable and would start hitting and scolding her.

At first it was fine, at most I would pinch her a few times, but today I even kicked her, it's like they don't treat her like a human being at all.

Yunzhu scoffed. Weren't they servants just objects to be beaten and scolded at will?

She walked aimlessly, and eventually found her way home.

Yunzhu was a servant born into the Song family. Years ago, her grandfather fled to the capital and brought his family to live with the Song family, where they settled down. Her parents and brothers did odd jobs in the household, earning little money but doing a lot of work. Only she was considered promising, rising to the rank of first-class maid, and earning the most money in the family each month.

Her home was on the back street of the Song family mansion, where all the servants of the Song family lived. Several families lived crammed together in one large courtyard, and each family was lucky to have two rooms.

Yunzhu's original surname was Xu, and her father's name was Xu Sanbao. It is said that when she was born, only three bags of rice were harvested in the autumn. Originally, she wanted to name her Sandai (Three Bags), but later she felt that it was not easy to pronounce, so she changed it to Sanbao (Three Packages).

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I bumped into my mother, who was watering the house. She was from Xu San's family.

"Oh my, goodness, why are you back?" Xu San's wife looked at Yun Zhu's gloomy face and couldn't help but guess, "Did you do something wrong and get kicked out by your aunt?"

Yunzhu pulled her mother's arm and walked into the house. Wouldn't it be loud enough for everyone to hear if she kept talking in the yard?

Upon entering the house, Yunzhu's father, Xu Sanbao, and brother, Xu Dali, were both present. They were filled with doubt when they saw Yunzhu return empty-handed.

Yunzhu rarely returned in the past. Most of the time, she would bring back her monthly allowance and the rewards she received after receiving them. This was the first time she had returned so late in the night.

Xu San's wife helped Yunzhu onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked repeatedly, "What happened?"

Yunzhu is the most outstanding child in his family, a top-ranking maid in the mansion, and she's sure to marry a steward in the future.

"Nothing happened, I just wanted to come back and visit."

Xu Sanjia slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, what's so interesting about this? A house full of broken clothes and rubble. Haven't we had enough of it after all these years?"

"Young lady, you should do your job well. If anything happens, just bear with it and it will pass," Xu San said in a low voice. He was an honest and simple man who only knew how to do his job diligently.

Yunzhu responded and forced a smile as she asked if there was any more food.

"Why aren't you eating at home?" Xu San's wife frowned. "Where would you find food in our house?"

Xu Dali, the older brother, leaned lazily against the wall. "That's right. Even a maid like you has a meat dish in your rations. You're not going to eat the meat? Do you want to go home and eat cornbread?"

Xu Sanjia slapped Xu Dali on the shoulder, "What nonsense are you spouting? Did I give you cornbread today?"

"I only didn't eat today!"

"What's wrong with cornbread? Back when there was a famine, cornbread was the best thing available."

"Now that there's no famine, who wants to eat those raspy cornbread?"

The two argued back and forth, forgetting that Yunzhu hadn't eaten dinner.

Xu San's wife, tired of arguing with her son, pinched him in disgust and then asked Yunzhu, "I heard that Auntie's meals are always packed with chicken, duck, fish and meat, and she can't finish them all. The rest is for you to divide up. Did you get any?"

"I got my share," Yunzhu said.

"Next time you get some, if you can't finish it, bring it back for us to try. Our family hasn't had any meat for two months."

When they were on duty, they could receive their meals at the mansion; when they were off duty, they could only go home and eat their own food. Moreover, they were all third-class servants, and it was considered good if they could even find a speck of oil in their meals.

Yunzhu stared at the ground without saying a word.

It was dusk, and the Xu family, in order to save lamp oil, did not light any lamps, nor did they notice the red marks on Yunzhu's face.

Xu Sanbao noticed that his daughter was quite different from usual. His brows furrowed and relaxed repeatedly. "You're back so late, what happened?"

Before Yunzhu could speak, Xu San's wife hurriedly said, "What could possibly happen? She's a first-class maid, she doesn't have to do any work, she just directs others to do things every day."

"Don't even mention first-class maids, even second-class maids can boss us around. Who can blame them for being close to their masters!"

"Yunzhu, talk to Aunt Lü and arrange for Mother to work in the sewing room. She can earn five hundred coins a month there."

Xu Dali bluntly exposed her, "Mother, you can't even embroider. Are you going to go into the sewing room to thread a needle?"

Xu San's family member was about to hit him again, but he dodged it. "What's wrong with threading a needle? Who does needlework without threading a needle?"

Yunzhu didn't say a word, but her mother pulled her aside and made many demands.

In the dim light, she looked at her sullen father, her nagging mother, and her carefree older brother, and a sense of powerlessness instantly welled up in her heart.

Xu San's wife, oblivious to her daughter's unusual behavior, continued, "Once we get our monthly pay next month, we'll have enough for your brother's betrothal gifts. That damned Wang Cai's family, demanding so much!"

Yunzhu's brother, Xu Daqing, is going to marry Wang Fu's niece, who is a long-time servant of Song Chen'an and the daughter of Wang Cai's family.

Every time her monthly allowance was paid, her mother would find all sorts of excuses to take it away. In order to marry Wang Cai's daughter, she bought her brother two nice outfits and promised a dowry of five taels of silver, while the dowry for ordinary families was only two taels.

Yunzhu licked her dry lips; she hadn't had a drop of water since she entered the room.

She could still hear her mother's incessant complaints, completely oblivious to the fact that she was still hungry, that she couldn't stay in this house anymore, that there was no place for her.

As Xu Sanjia was talking, he suddenly looked Yunzhu up and down seriously, and clicked his tongue and said, "You don't look like someone from the Xu family. With your looks and temperament, you could be mistaken for a young lady from another family."

She held Yunzhu's hand and stroked it, her calloused palms scraping against Yunzhu until it hurt.

Xu San's wife pulled Yunzhu out and whispered, "Even Pearl from the Second Young Mistress's room dares to climb into the Second Master's bed, and you're still foolishly serving him? Why don't you take advantage of Aunt Lü's inability to serve him and get closer to the Second Master? What are you waiting for?"

She often said these things, but Yunzhu never took them to heart in the past, only thinking about serving her aunt well.

But today, as she touched her slapped cheek, the last vestige of clarity in her heart was completely extinguished.

Yunzhu shoved Xu Sanjia and turned to leave.

Stumbling and staggering, she entered the mansion through the side gate. Looking at the dim lights ahead, she found herself walking into Hengxi Courtyard.

Outside Hengxi Courtyard, Song Chen'an was pacing back and forth in front of the gate, sometimes thinking about Meng Ruohua's words of praise for her, and sometimes recalling her icy face.

When he was at Rongxi Courtyard, he thought Meng Ruohua was virtuous and sensible, and she respected him greatly. He really shouldn't have treated her so coldly.

As he was about to step towards Qingfeng Courtyard, he remembered her sharp tongue, which had left him speechless and utterly humiliated.

Just as he was hesitating, a slender figure ran towards him and stumbled into his arms.

Song Chen'an held the soft, fragrant woman in his arms, and felt a refreshing scent waft towards him. Her fine, soft hair gently swayed at the tip of his nose, making him feel ticklish.

Yunzhu shrank back in fright, a cool fragrance lingering around her nose—Song Chen'an's unique masculine scent. Imitating Aunt Lü's usual expression, she tremblingly raised her head, her tearful eyes gazing intently at Song Chen'an.