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

The matter of the branch prefecture was thus settled. Although Song Wen'an and Song Chen'an were both present, they did not have the opportunity to express their opinions.

However, Song Wen'an also hoped that the second wife's family could move out. Because of the matter between his wife's brother-in-law Fu Jie and Song Chen'an, his wife disliked the second wife's family very much and often made fun of them. Although Song Wen'an also felt that his second aunt was confused, he did not want Fu Chunxiao to laugh at him.

Madam Ma returned to Rongxi Courtyard, still somewhat smug. She felt it was unfair when the family property was divided, but Madam Hu had found fault with her, so she had no choice but to agree. She had long guessed that the eldest son's family must have made a lot of money outside in the past two years, so why should they bother with her about this little bit of family property!

Now that the eldest son's family has provided them with a house, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Moreover, the house is close to the Song residence, and houses in this area are not something that money can buy.

She couldn't help but say to Song Chang, "Tomorrow you should take some people to take a look first, and if there's anything wrong, arrange for someone to repair it."

Song Chang was very displeased with the joy on her face; she looked like a petty person who had gotten his way.

"Didn't you say before that you didn't want to separate the family? How come you agreed to it today?"

Ma glared at him and said sarcastically, "Can you come up with five thousand taels to buy me a house?"

Song Chang opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything affirmative.

If he were to sell ten or so of his collection, he could raise five thousand taels of silver, but those were all his treasures, and he couldn't bear to part with a single one.

Ma scoffed, "Even if the family has separated, the eldest son's family should still help with things. Does your eldest brother not care about you?"

Although Song Chang can return to his post after a year's suspension, who knows what the situation will be like when he goes back? With Song Yin's help, things will go more smoothly.

Song Chang sighed, feeling that Madam Ma was being too calculating.

They have families to support, and they weren't shortchanged when the family divided the property. It's really not right for their elder brother and sister-in-law to help them buy a house again.

But he didn't have five thousand taels of silver in hand, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.

Seeing his expression, Ma was worried that he might change his mind and insist on paying out of his own pocket, which would be a huge loss.

"Let me tell you, Tian'er's marriage will cost a lot of money, as will Xi'er's marriage and Ming'er's tuition. Each of these will cost money. I have no money left, so I will have to ask you to take care of these things."

She had no authority over the household affairs; Song Chang controlled all the assets of the second wife's family, and apart from her monthly allowance, she had no other source of income.

Song Chang glanced at her helplessly. She was truly obsessed with money, spending all her time worrying about such things.

The next day, Hu sent her steward to see the house with Song Chang and specifically instructed him to make sure the matter was settled.

The house that Yu Hanlin's family was asking for was originally priced one floor higher than the nearby houses, and several people who came to see the house tried to lower the price. Therefore, seeing that the Song family was not concerned about the money, they agreed on the spot.

He found a middleman to write the contract, handed over the property deed, and then went to the yamen to pay the deed tax without stopping. That same day, Song Chang took the property deed back to his residence.

Mrs. Hu told him to keep the property deed safe, "Is there anything wrong with the house?"

Song Chang said, "No, everything is well repaired. It's ready to live in after a little cleaning."

"That's good. When you get back, see which day is suitable for moving. It'll be cheaper to pack up early while the weather is still not too hot."

"it is good."

Song Chang's smile carried a hint of bitterness, but neither Madam Hu nor Madam Ma paid any attention to it.

Holding the house deed, Ma said with a smile, "Lan'er is about to give birth, so I'm seeing if it's suitable for her to be moved."

Hu's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Alright, you two discuss it."

Shen Yunlan is her nephew's wife and niece. Regardless of whose child she is carrying, she cannot rush to kick her out at this time, otherwise the whole family will blame her if something goes wrong.

However, Madam Ma overthought it. Shen Yunlan had long been tired of Qingfeng Courtyard and couldn't wait to move out, so she immediately agreed to move to the new house as soon as possible.

The next day, Ma took her family to tour the new house, assigned ownership of each courtyard on the spot, and left a few family members behind to clean and tidy up, just waiting to move in three days later.

Three days later will be an auspicious day for moving.

The second wife's family moved smoothly into the new house, and Madam Ma handled all the household affairs herself, feeling extremely content in every aspect.

But their good days didn't last long before they heard rumors that the child in Shen Yunlan's belly wasn't Song Chen'an's.

I had suspected it before, but Lu Ningshuang's recklessness ruined things and I ended up getting blamed.

Hearing these words again now, Ma regrets not having persisted in investigating.

This time, she sent people to investigate again, and after spending more money, she got to the bottom of the matter.

Enraged, Madam Ma immediately sent people to Shen Yunlan's courtyard, ordering Li Mama and others to imprison Shen Yunlan. "Doctor Wang, please take a look at my daughter-in-law."

Shen Yunlan has been busy moving recently and has been too distracted to pay attention to what kind of trouble Ma Shi is causing, so she was completely unprepared.

Seeing the Ma family's aggressive approach today, they immediately sensed danger.

However, everyone around her was restrained by the old women brought by Madam Ma, and she herself was firmly pressed down into a chair by Granny Li and others.

She was unable to break free from the restraints, and was extremely anxious, yet helpless.

"Second Aunt, what do you mean by this?"

Ma snorted coldly, "It doesn't mean anything, it's just to let the doctor take a good look at your pulse and make sure the pregnancy is safe."

Because they had moved out, Madam Ma was now in charge of the entire household and no longer worried about Madam Hu interfering in their upbringing. Therefore, Madam Ma spoke with great conviction.

"My stomach is fine, I don't need a doctor to take my pulse."

Ma glanced at her stomach and said, "Your belly looks unusually large. I'd better have the doctor take a good look at it before I feel at ease."

She emphasized the word "big" so much that it sounded like a bolt from the blue to Shen Yunlan!

Has the truth been revealed?

Who is gossiping about her again?

She winked at Ying'er, trying to get her to inform Song Chen'an, but Ying'er was caught between two old women and couldn't get away.

April is a time of warm and comfortable weather, but Shen Yunlan's forehead was covered with a layer of sweat.

"Second Aunt, do Uncle and Cousin know that you did this?"

For a moment, Ma's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered. "You don't need to use them to pressure me. If it's true, even your eldest uncle has nothing to say."

She stared at Shen Yunlan with a scrutinizing gaze. Although she said that, she had already decided in her heart that Shen Yunlan's child was not Song Chen'an's.

Whether it was from anxiety or something else, Shen Yunlan felt waves of abdominal cramps. Beads of sweat streamed down her face and quickly disappeared into her clothes.

She groaned, gently cradling her stomach with both hands, "It hurts...my stomach hurts..."