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

Inside the room, Aunt Sun and her two sons sat in their usual seats, all with their heads down and silent, their expressions unreadable. The Second Madam glared angrily at the top of Aunt Sun's head, her eyes burning with rage as if she wanted to incinerate her. Song Chang, too, remained silent, his face ashen.

After greeting everyone, Meng Ruohua tactfully sat down quietly to the side, her eyes lowered as she studied the blue and white patterns on the teacup.

After about fifteen minutes, Song Chang spoke up: "Then explain yourself clearly, why is there no money in the account!"

The second wife glared at Song Chang, seemingly blaming him for not giving her face by asking the question in front of her daughter-in-law.

But Song Chang ignored him completely and turned his gaze away indifferently.

Left with no other choice, the Second Madam waved for Meng Ruohua and her two children, Sun, to go back first. She had originally thought that Song Chang would give her some face, at least not ask in front of Meng Ruohua and her two illegitimate daughters and sons, so she kept her mouth shut and tried to wear Song Chang down.

But Song Chang is off duty today and has plenty of time to kill with the Second Madam.

After Meng Ruohua and the others left, the Second Madam dismissed the servants in the room and then said critically, "Don't you know why there's no money in the account? Holding a poetry gathering costs thirty or fifty taels, and buying a piece of calligraphy or painting costs a hundred taels. Haven't you spent all the money in the account?"

Song Chang sipped his tea and dismissively denied it, saying, "I haven't held any poetry gatherings or bought any calligraphy or paintings this month, so how could I be short of money?"

The second wife questioned, "It's only been a few days this month, and you've already spent all your monthly allowance?"

Song Chang received fifty taels of silver per month, the second wife received twenty taels, Song Chen'an also received twenty taels, while Meng Ruohua received only ten taels. The remaining Song Tian, ​​Song Xi, and Song Ming'an each received only two taels.

Compared to other families of similar status, Song Chang's monthly allowance was quite generous, but having grown up accustomed to wealth, he spent money very carelessly.

Song Chang said matter-of-factly, "Who goes out without carrying some money? Do you expect me to buy things without money to pay for them? People would laugh at me."

The second wife secretly rolled her eyes. "Who dares to laugh at you? None of the people you know are above the fifth rank. Aren't they all just trying to freeload off you? Who would dare to laugh at you?"

Song Chang was surrounded by people from poor families who were frustrated and unsuccessful, believing themselves to be exceptionally talented but simply unappreciated. Of course, he disagreed with the second wife's words, saying that she was only freeloading during her lowly times, and that given the opportunity, she would surely soar to great heights.

He frowned and retorted disapprovingly, "What do women know! Are character and talent judged by official rank?"

"I don't understand, and I don't want to understand!" The second madam slammed her teacup down on the table and sneered, "How much silver from the manor was spent? And I'm not allowed to say?"

Just as the topic of money came up, Song Chang regrouped and questioned, "Where did all the money in the accounts go? I remember that the thousand taels we found at Li Liang's house were all put into the manor's accounts. It's only been less than a month, how come there's no money left!"

The second wife reviewed the accounts and found that apart from Song Chang taking one hundred taels and Song Chen'an taking fifty taels at the end of last month, there were no other expenses.

Only Song Tian spent over two hundred taels on jewelry!

Furthermore... she spent over two hundred taels of silver under the pretext of replacing curtains and draperies and repairing the courtyard.

She couldn't let Song Chang know what Song Tian had done, so she raised her voice and said, "Does the entire prefecture eat, drink, and relieve themselves for free? Doesn't it pay monthly wages at the beginning of the month? How long can a thousand taels last?"

Seeing her unreasonable and argumentative manner, Song Chang felt a surge of annoyance. He turned his head slightly away from the Second Madam's face, but his words were uncompromising: "If you don't tell the truth, then I'll call the accountant over and have him explain everything clearly."

If we call the accountant over, the secret will be out!

Although the accountant was her person, more than four hundred taels of silver disappeared out of nowhere. There has to be an explanation. No matter who is blamed, it is because she failed to manage the household properly!

When Meng Ruohua was in charge of the household, she never had to worry about these things. Even if there was no money in the account, Meng Ruohua would find a way. But now, she not only has to manage the household affairs every day, but also worry about money.

Then she recalled how much Meng Ruohua had taken care of Song Xi, and how she had heard that Meng Ruohua had even sent two boxes of pastries yesterday. And Song Chang had stayed at Aunt Sun's courtyard last night, and this morning he had asked for money in front of the mother and her two sons. It must have been that bitch Sun He who had instigated him.

It must be that the mother and son knew that Song Tian had bought jewelry, and deliberately let the master come to investigate!

The second wife slammed her hand on the table and demanded answers for a long time, but Song Chang remained calm and unmoved, offering no response.

Having known each other for over twenty years, the two had long since figured out each other's tricks.

Regardless of whether the second wife pressed for details or changed the subject, Song Chang remained silent. When pressed, he would simply say, "What do women know?"

Outside the door, Qi's mother exchanged a glance with Jixiang and Ruyi, then lowered her eyes with a helpless expression.

Such incidents would occur every now and then, and the second wife would make a fuss for a while before giving in.

Exhausted from the commotion, the second wife drank half a cup of lukewarm tea, suppressing her agitation and trying to calm herself down. "Master asked for money in front of that wretch so early in the morning. He must have promised her something, right?"

Song Chang's brow twitched, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "I have my own uses!"

It turned out that Song Chang had gone to Aunt Sun's place yesterday. Upon entering, he saw Aunt Sun weeping in front of the mirror. After asking why, he learned it was because of her youngest daughter, Song Xi. Aunt Sun cried, saying that Song Xi had never left the house before, and now that she finally had a chance, she didn't have a proper dress or jewelry to wear when meeting guests. She had secretly pawned several pieces of her own jewelry, but only managed to scrape together a dozen taels of silver. Her daughter was already twelve years old, beautiful as a flower, but of low social status. It was all her fault as her mother who had ruined her child's life; she didn't know what kind of family she would marry into.

Song Chang was heartbroken by Aunt Sun's crying and immediately said he would bring Song Xi a set of jewelry tomorrow. That's why he asked the Second Madam for money as soon as he entered the house this morning.

The second wife glanced sideways at Song Chang, who remained seated motionless. Based on her more than twenty years of experience, she knew he would not give up until he got the money.

After much deliberation, the Second Madam finally relented, summoning Granny Qi to fetch two hundred taels of silver from her storeroom. "The remaining silver in the accounts needs to be used in the household," she said. "If there's no money in the accounts, firstly, the people in the household will be unsettled, and secondly, if word gets out, wouldn't our Song family lose face?" Pointing to the silver in front of her, she added, "This is my personal savings; you can use it first. There's nothing else this month!"

Song Chang was unconvinced and glanced at him sideways. "Don't think I don't know what you've been up to. The steward has probably amassed a lot of money over the years!"

He put the silver away, snorted coldly, and left.

The second wife was left dizzy with anger, repeatedly crying out, "What a tragedy! What a tragedy!"

"Mother Qi, send someone to follow the master and see what he's doing with the money!" she said angrily through gritted teeth.

Qingfeng Academy.

Tomorrow is Minister Wang's birthday banquet, and Meng Ruohua checked the birthday gifts again to make sure there were no mistakes.

She was still wondering if Song Chen'an was really keeping his composure and hadn't brought it up yet, perhaps he was planning to go with her tomorrow?

Regardless of his thoughts, Meng Ruohua let him be. Once she had her people ready, she would find a way to stop Song Chen'an from climbing the ranks.

Judging by the days, Uncle Yang has been gone for more than half a month. He should have arrived in Lanzhou by now!

In her past life, she focused all her attention on the household affairs, knowing nothing about anything else in the capital except for a few major matters. A few days ago, she carefully sorted out her thoughts and realized that besides Uncle Yang, she had no other capable people. Her immediate priority was to cultivate her own people, people who could handle matters outside the capital!

No rush, no rush. What she needs to do is a matter of life and death for the Meng family, and she must not be careless.

That night, Song Chen'an came to Qingfeng Courtyard and said he would accompany Meng Ruohua to the Wang family the next day. Meng Ruohua raised an eyebrow, about to say something sarcastic, but Song Chen'an interrupted her, "It's settled then. I'll go back first; I have things to do."

Before Meng Ruohua could react, Song Chen'an strode out, lifting the curtain. Meng Ruohua stared in surprise at the swaying curtain, her mouth slightly agape, before finally letting out a sneer.

Is that all you've got?

Meng Ruohua asked herself honestly, was she a fool or an idiot before, how could she have fallen for such a timid person!

The moonlight outside the window was hazy, casting a cool glow on the ground.

A sliver of moonlight pierced the darkness, illuminating the deserted stone path. Suddenly, two figures appeared from afar, only to vanish into the shadows moments later.