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

The second madam was determined to hand over the management of the household, and regardless of Meng Ruohua's reasons, she said to herself, "Since you have nothing else to do, you can take over the management of the household starting tomorrow." She took a breath and, worried that Meng Ruohua would refuse, quickly added, "You've been in the household for three years now. If you don't learn to manage the household, do you expect me to manage it for the rest of my life? This Song family will be handed over to you sooner or later."

Hey! What? You're all right now? Didn't I say it wasn't very good? You're not that old and your hearing is bad?

Besides, the Song family will never be mine!

It seems they don't have much money left in the account, and they're planning to use her dowry to make up for it. In another half month it will be Yu Ge's full moon celebration, which will inevitably be a big affair, and if she's in charge of organizing it, it will either be good or bad and will surely cause Aunt Lü to complain.

A few days ago, she was too lazy to take care of the housekeeper, so she used the excuse of feeling unwell to push the responsibility onto the second madam. But she knew that it wouldn't last long, since the second madam was always thinking about how to squeeze some money out of her!

Meng Ruohua, being astute, said with a smile, "Madam has managed the household for many years and handles it with ease. If it were left to me, I would be clumsy and make a fool of myself."

The second madam was much calmer today. She didn't get angry when she heard Meng Ruohua's excuses. Instead, she smiled and scolded her affectionately, "It's not like you haven't managed things before. You've been in charge of the household for two years and never made a mistake. Even if you did make a mistake, it's your own business. Just correct it."

She was determined to hand over the housekeeping duties today, firstly because there wasn't much money left in the accounts, and secondly because she was impatient with the housekeeper, who had a lot of miscellaneous tasks that were quite annoying.

“How could I not have missed it? It’s just that Madam doesn’t hold it against me. If she really did, I could tell all my jokes for three days and three nights.” Meng Ruohua said this, but no one questioned the truthfulness of her words.

The fine lines around the second wife's eyes slowly appeared, and the corners of her mouth, which had always been downturned, curved up. "It's all family business. If we're wrong, we can just correct it."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who were usually at odds, were now smiling and exchanging compliments. This scene made the maids serving in the room look at each other in bewilderment. Some of the more discerning maids lowered their heads quietly, hiding the fear in their eyes.

Meng Ruohua felt a chill run down her spine. How could she have become so hypocritical?

Thinking of this, she pressed her fingertips, hidden in her sleeve, against her palm until she felt a sharp pain.

To disgust others, you disgust yourself first?

No, not at all. Even if it's for revenge, she wants to take revenge in a satisfying way!

She dropped her fake smile and readily agreed, "Since Madam has said so, I have no choice but to accept. If I do something wrong, Madam must not punish me severely."

"Look," the second madam said, pointing at Meng Ruohua and laughing at Jixiang and Ruyi, "She still says she's clumsy, but I don't think there's anyone smarter than your second young mistress. Let me tell you first, you're not allowed to punish her. If she really makes a mistake later, I'll just have to accept it silently!"

Jixiang and Ruyi smiled and echoed, "The Second Young Mistress is capable. What mistakes could she possibly make? As long as the Second Young Mistress doesn't mind our clumsy servants, that's fine."

Wow! Everyone loves to hear nice things!

The second wife made the final decision, "Alright, it'll be up to you tomorrow."

"Since Madam has said so, I'll shamelessly accept it."

A hidden glint flashed in Meng Ruohua's eyes. Seeing the relaxed expression on the Second Madam's face, she seized the opportunity to say, "It's just that the old women in the mansion, relying on their years of service, are bullying me because I'm young and inexperienced. Since Madam wants to entrust this to me, I will put aside my pride and manage things well. If any old woman offends me, I will punish her according to the rules."

The second wife knew that the old woman was cunning and resourceful, and that she was used to shirking her duties and being lazy, so she didn't know how to punish her. If she punished her too severely, people would say that the master was unkind and mistreating his servants; if she punished her too lightly, it wouldn't hurt at all.

Hearing Meng Ruohua say this, he was willing to let her discipline them and set the rules properly, so he quickly agreed, "Punish them who deserve it. What master has to put up with the servants' attitude? If they're not happy, let them come to me!"

Meng Ruohua smiled sweetly, her gaze drifting to Li Mama behind the Second Madam. "I feel much more at ease with Madam's words."

Granny Li felt extremely uncomfortable under their gaze, and the image of her being beaten flashed through her mind, causing her face to involuntarily turn red.

Are they going to make an example of her?

She lowered her head to avoid Meng Ruohua's gaze, thinking to herself that she hadn't offended the second young mistress recently!

The responsibility of managing the household will eventually fall on Meng Ruohua's shoulders. If she doesn't do something, the Second Madam will keep eyeing her dowry.

When she got married, her dowry was only considered average among noble ladies in the capital. However, the Song family was no longer as prosperous as before. Song's father, Song Chang, was only a fifth-rank official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Song Chen'an was an eighth-rank official in the Hanlin Academy. Both were low-ranking positions, and their monthly salaries were not enough to cover their expenses.

Moreover, half of the profits from the shops and estates each year had to be sent to Yunzhou for the eldest son's family to live on. In the words of his aunt, since they didn't own any land or property in other places, they had to buy food and rice, which cost a lot.

The second wife was unwilling, but she couldn't stop Song Chang from agreeing. She could only watch helplessly as large sums of money were sent to Yunzhou, a sight that pained her heart every year.

After a few casual words, the second madam had Ruyi bring out the account books and handed over the keys and tokens on the spot.

Meng Ruohua returned to Qingfeng Courtyard with the account book. When she opened it, she found that there were only ninety-eight taels left!

They couldn't even last ten days!

Since you've put me in charge of the household, don't worry, I'll definitely manage it well!