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

Yu Yan also heard the rumors spread by Song Chen'an and immediately sent people to suppress them, but they disappeared within a day or two.

At that time, Song Chen'an was unaware that his few words had attracted so much attention; he was preoccupied with Ran Yan.

In recent days, whenever he went to Fuguang Pavilion, Ranyan always made excuses to decline, and in short, she couldn't accompany him.

As the top courtesan of Fuguang Pavilion, it's normal for Ranyan to be a bit arrogant. But she was doing just fine before, so why does she always seem to have no time now?

Song Chen'an suspected that the madam was forcing her to entertain other customers. When she went to talk to the madam, she was met with a barrage of sarcastic remarks.

"Second Master Song, our Fuguang Pavilion isn't open to help the poor. I need to make money, so how can I let the young lady accompany you for nothing!"

Song Chen'an asked in confusion, "What does Mom mean? It's as if I don't give money. If I don't give money, I can't even get through that door."

The madam glanced at him sideways. "Over the years, I've spent money like water, raising girls with the utmost care and luxury. She has to earn more money for me, at least not let me lose money, right?"

“Mom is right, but I didn’t come for nothing. I gave Mom ten or eight taels each time.”

"Ha, Master Song is joking. Do you think I would leave a hundred or so taels of silver untouched and wait for your ten or eight taels? If you don't want Ranyan to receive other guests, then take a hundred taels and leave it."

Song Chen'an immediately understood that her mother had arranged other clients for her.

"Since that's what Mom said, I can't stop her business. Please let me see Ranyan. I'll just say a few words and then leave."

The madam glanced at him up and down. The eldest master of the Song family was already the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Although they were from different branches of the family, the two families had not separated, so Song Chen'an would have someone to take care of him if he needed anything.

She nodded arrogantly, "Second Master Song, you can leave after saying a few words. Miss Ranyan has already been betrothed to someone else today."

Song Chen'an left angrily, but softened immediately upon seeing Ran Yan's beautiful face, which was tinged with a hint of sorrow.

These brothel owners are ruthless and cold-blooded, mistreating such delicate girls for money! Who knows how much suffering they've endured to resist their cruel methods!

Ran Yan was impatient with dealing with Song Chen'an, but since he had come, she couldn't afford to offend him, so she patiently gave him a few perfunctory replies.

Song Chen'an, however, thought she was acting against her will and saying things she didn't mean, so he took her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll redeem you sooner or later."

Ran Yan didn't even look at him. "Forget it. Second Master, you've only been married for a short time, and your wife is pregnant. How can you redeem me at this time?"

A hint of hesitation flashed in Song Chen'an's eyes. "Ranyan, wait for me a little longer. I will definitely redeem you."

"Alright." A layer of mist appeared in Ran Yan's eyes. "I'll wait for Second Master."

It's just a performance, but some men fall for it, forcing girls to shed a few tears to show their weakness.

Now that everything was out in the open, the madam stopped hiding anything and sent someone to chase Song Chen'an away in just a few words.

Song Chen'an was angry, but he couldn't come up with a hundred taels of silver in a short time, so he had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

But before he could even descend the stairs, he saw Fu Jie, the young master of the Duke of Lu, swagger into Ran Yan's room.

Before the door was even closed, Fu Jie shouted in a loud voice, "My beauty, did you miss me?"

Mo Feng glanced at Song Chen'an's expression and whispered, "I heard that Young Master Fu is the most philanderer and likes to use some underhanded methods. All the girls who have served him have suffered terribly."

Mo Yu looked at Mo Feng in confusion, "How come I've never heard of this?"

They follow Song Chen'an around every day, so there's no reason why he wouldn't know what Mo Feng knows.

"I overheard it from Young Master Fu's servant when I went to the outhouse."

Song Chen'an clenched his teeth as he looked at Ran Yan's room, knowing that Fu Jie was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Mo Feng added, "I heard the other day that Young Master Fu wanted to redeem Miss Ranyan from her servitude. He might bring the money today. Keeping her outside will save the trouble at home."

Song Chen'an asked, "Are you telling the truth?"

"I don't know if it's true or not, I only heard it from his two servants. They also said that when the young master gets tired of playing with her, they can also..." Mo Feng glanced at Song Chen'an and stammered, "...taste the first courtesan."

Mo Yu couldn't help but ask curiously, "No matter what, it shouldn't be those two servants' turn, right?"

"I heard from them that Young Master Fu once redeemed a girl, but later he didn't like her anymore and married her off to someone else. However, the man disliked the girl because she had worked in a brothel and treated her very poorly."

As Mo Feng spoke, he glanced at Song Chen'an's expression. Seeing that Song Chen'an's back teeth were almost ground to powder and his eyes were red with anger, Mo Feng quietly shut his mouth.

They stood at the top of the stairs, blocking the way for the person behind them. That person was drunk and pushed Song Chen'an, causing him to stumble. He muttered, "What a loser. If you can't handle it, don't come."

The man didn't leave after saying that. He just looked him up and down, then snorted out a strong smell of alcohol and mocked, "Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this the dismissed and disgraced Master Song? What's wrong? Did you come to a brothel and get rejected by the girls?"

"That's true. Second Master Song has lost his official position and has no money. No wonder Young Master Fu stole his beauty. What Young Master Fu said was true; he's just a toad with no future!"

The man had a very loud voice, and as soon as he opened his mouth, people upstairs and downstairs looked over, and for a moment, laughter and jeers rose and fell incessantly.

Song Chen'an was already furious, and then he was mocked. How could he possibly tolerate it?

He was itching to punch someone, but when he saw the man's burly figure and the two strong servants behind him, he immediately lost his temper.

"A good dog doesn't block the way!" Song Chen'an said coldly.

The man, however, was unimpressed and instead chuckled, saying, "Master Song is truly something else. I'm just stating a fact and he starts cursing, but he slunk away after his girl was snatched away."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Of course! How could he dare to argue with Young Master Fu? He can only bully those of us with no background!"

The onlookers cheered and laughed, and remembering what the madam had said earlier, Song Chen'an felt that he had lost all face and dignity.

He turned and walked towards Ran Yan's room, and could still hear the person behind him pretending to advise, "Oh, Second Master Song, calm down. Young Master Fu is not someone you can afford to offend."

Then came another burst of laughter, mixed with countless disdainful comments.

Those past incidents were brought up again, and people were laughing at him, saying he deserved it and ruined his future for nothing.

After losing his official position, Song Chen'an realized that he had been used as a pawn by the Prince of Qi. However, after he got into trouble, the Prince of Qi avoided him, and he couldn't even get an explanation.

Now he has nothing left, and Meng Ruohua has taken all his money. He can't even redeem the woman he loves, and he's being ridiculed.

At this point, he had lost all reason. He walked to the front of the smoking room and, ignoring the servant Fu Jie's attempts to stop him, kicked the door open.

One glance was enough to see the scene that made him so angry he almost spat blood.

The woman he respected so much was toyed with by Fu Jie like this, and he'll just marry her off to anyone else when he's tired of her. It's like a cow chewing on a peony, an insult to all culture!

Fu Jie was annoyed by the interruption and couldn't help but curse, "Who's the blind fool who dares to ruin my fun?"

Song Chen'an also cursed, "Fu Jie, don't think you can torment Ran Yan like this just because you have a few stinking coins!"

Fu Jie stood up, casually tugged at his collar, and said with a sidelong glance, "Who do we have here? Isn't this Second Master Song, who was personally dismissed by the Emperor? Why isn't he showing off at home, so he's jumping around in front of me?"

Song Chen'an hated it most when people brought up this matter. He had already been humiliated enough outside, and now this person had even brought it up in front of Ran Yan. He was so ashamed that he wanted to disappear.