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

That day, Song Tian tried on the newly made clothes.

It was made from fabric given by Meng Ruohua, and a tailor specially hired from outside the mansion made it.

Song Tian looked at herself in the large bronze mirror in the second madam's inner room, feeling that something was missing. She stroked her cheek and instructed Lühe to go back to her room and fetch her dressing case, as she wanted to choose the jewelry she would wear to the banquet.

A short while later, Lühe returned carrying a rosewood box, about a foot wide and tall, decorated with gold carvings. She placed it on the table, opened it, and took out each piece, gesturing to Song Tian's head.

After comparing for a long time without finding anything she liked, the Second Madam became anxious and had Jixiang bring over all of Song Tian's jewelry for her to wear.

After trying them on again, Song Tian threw them on the table in frustration, saying, "The styles are all too old-fashioned and don't match my new dress at all."

The second wife held up the ruby ​​begonia tassel gold hairpin that Meng Ruohua had bought for her a few days ago, saying, "Isn't this one nice? I've never worn it out before."

"It's good." Song Tian stuck it in her hair. "Look, how can you be all bare with just a gold hairpin?"

"Isn't there also a hairpin with pearl hairpins and a dragonfly?"

Even after Song Tianyi put them on, she was still dissatisfied, saying, "No, it's too few, not enough for a set."

"Mother, take me to buy a new set of jewelry!" Song Tian ran over and hugged the Second Madam's arm, acting coquettishly. "There will definitely be a lot of people at the Wang family's banquet, and there might even be young ladies from dukes and marquises' mansions. I can't dress too shabbily and be looked down upon!"

In particular, I can't let Qin Man look down on me!

She made fun of me last time, so this time I'm going to dress up nicely and definitely outshine her.

The second wife was helpless. Her daughter was good in every way, except that she loved headdresses and jewelry too much.

Finally, after Song Tian's persistent pleas, the second madam took Song Tian out to buy jewelry.

The two went to the Treasure Pavilion, which was cheaper than the Cui Lu Lou and had a wider selection.

Song Tian wanted to choose a complete set of jewelry, but the Second Madam thought it was too expensive. A complete set would cost at least three to five hundred taels of silver, equivalent to a month's expenses in the household.

"We can buy a few more with rubies, and that will complete the set with the one we already have."

This way, a lot of money can be saved, since gold hairpins and hair ornaments are among the more expensive items in a set.

She also selected a hairpin, two small hairpins, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet, all inlaid with tiny rubies. These alone cost her a hundred taels!

"That's enough, these are enough for you to wear for six months."

"What do you mean half a year? Who always wears the same piece of jewelry when they go out?" Song Tian glanced at the gold hairpin next to her, which looked exactly like the one her sister-in-law had bought for her. "Mother isn't as generous as my sister-in-law!"

The second wife carefully inspected the items for any flaws and casually remarked, "Your sister-in-law has a generous dowry and plenty of money. I'll ask her to buy them for you next time."

Song Tian was already tired of hearing these words, and muttered under her breath, "Then I'll just call my sister-in-law 'mother'."

The second wife was so angry that she slapped her hard, saying, "You just know how to talk nonsense."

Song Tian was unconvinced. She lowered her head but turned her eyes to the other side, staring at a pair of rings and said, "Those rings are nice."

"Alright, that's enough." The second madam pushed the tray aside to prevent Song Tian from being envious.

Song Tian pursed her lips and turned her head away, muttering something under her breath.

Meanwhile, the second wife, standing to the side, kept nagging with concern: "Tell me how much you've bought in the last two months. All you do is dress up all day. I told you to learn how to be a housekeeper, but you don't do it properly."

"Why didn't I study hard? I'll be able to handle things on my own tomorrow."

Just follow the old rules. Anyone who doesn't listen will be sent away.

If Mother could kick out the Li family, who had served her for over thirty years, then who else in the mansion couldn't she kick out?

After settling the bill, the second madam wanted to change her clothes. She repeatedly told Song Tian to wait for her in the private room, and then hurriedly went there with Jixiang.

After the Second Madam turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Song Tian took Lü He to the counter and pointed to the jewelry she had just picked out, saying, "I want all of these. Send them to the Song residence on Huai'an Street and settle the bill directly with the accountant."

My sister-in-law's method is much better. She just buys it and sends it back to the house. It's simple, convenient, and saves me from having to listen to my mother nagging.

I really don't understand why my mother is so stingy. She won't even buy things for her own daughter. Is she really saving them for her grandson?

Since she started learning how to manage the household and had looked at some of the old account books, she knew that her father and second brother had extra expenses every month, ranging from one or two hundred taels to thirty or fifty taels. The expenses of the entire mansion could not even cover their spending. What was wrong with buying a few pieces of jewelry for herself? Anyway, she wouldn't spend more than her second brother!

Besides, I've never asked for it willingly before!

My second brother is eight or nine years older than me, so all things considered, he probably spent much more money than me!

The gold and silver hairpins I bought myself can be melted down and remade if I don't want them anymore, so there's no waste. But my second brother's writing implements—once used, they're gone; that's the real waste!

Song Tian accepted the receipt, warned Lü He, and happily walked towards the private room.

"Miss, if Madam finds out, she will be angry," Green Grass said in a worried whisper.

"What's there to be angry about? It only cost two hundred taels, not two thousand. Besides, any of the shops in the family can easily make three to five hundred taels."

That's what they say, but would the Second Madam really think that way? Just now, the young lady spent a hundred taels, which made the Second Madam nag incessantly. Now she's spent another two hundred taels. Wouldn't the Madam be furious?

When the Second Madam gets angry, she'll definitely take it out on the servants. Thinking of this, Lühe couldn't help but advise, "Miss, you shouldn't take it. Why don't you wait until Madam returns and tell her? Besides, you can't hide it from her. Madam will know as soon as it's delivered to the manor."

Song Tian raised an eyebrow indifferently, "So what if you know? You can't just back it in front of outsiders, can you?"

Families who value their reputation wouldn't do that!

Moreover, the Song family has a history of producing Grand Tutors and Grand Preceptors; they can't afford to lose face like this!

It's not like we're short of money; it's only a little over two hundred taels!

Back in the private room, Song Tian bared her teeth and brandished a menacing threat at Lü He: "If you dare tell anyone, I'll sell you off!"

Green Grass pursed her lips and lowered her head. "Sell it, sell it," the Third Miss always threatened her with this, of course, because this sentence could keep her in check.

She and Qingping were sold to the Song family by human traffickers, and they were taken care of by the Third Miss when they were six or seven years old. Although the Third Miss often lost her temper with them and occasionally punished them for causing trouble, the Song family was a decent place. If they had been sold to those filthy places, they would have had no chance of survival.

Just as they sat down, the second madam returned. "We've bought the things, let's go back to the manor!"

"Okay!" Song Tian readily agreed, slapped her hands on the handrail, stood up, and walked out first.

The second wife watched her retreating figure with slight astonishment, and asked Jixiang in bewilderment, "Why are you so quick today? Usually you always dawdle for a while before going home."

Jixiang stroked the second wife's arm as they walked out, guessing, "Perhaps she's tired from walking around."

Looking at Song Tian walking briskly ahead, the Second Madam felt that Jixiang's words had no credibility at all.

The group boarded the carriage and returned to their residence.

After escorting the Second Madam back to Rongxi Courtyard, Song Tian excused herself by saying she was tired and ran off. The Second Madam, seeing her running so quickly, sensed that she wasn't tired at all.