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

After Song Chen'an entered the house, Meng Ruohua waited for another quarter of an hour before going in.

The people inside had calmed down and didn't say anything when they saw her. Meng Ruohua looked at the broken pieces on the ground and quickly called Jixiang and Ruyi in to clean up.

The second wife frowned as she watched them pack, and couldn't help but feel sorry for them again.

This tea set costs a full five taels of silver!

She couldn't help but curse angrily, "You little slut, you don't even know how to comfort your master when he's angry!"

"Mother!" Song Chen'an stopped her, "Don't get angry with them all the time, it's not a big deal!"

Wasn't it just because she was angry with Aunt Sun that she made such a fuss? It only made Father argue with her again, what was the point!

It turned out that Song Chang went to the Lotus Courtyard as soon as he finished his shift today. Aunt Sun, pale-faced, cried and begged him, "Master, if anything happens to me, you must protect the two children."

Song Chang's hand was held tightly by her, so hot it felt like it was about to melt. He raised his hand to touch her forehead and found it was frighteningly hot.

"Didn't your fever go down? Why is it back? Where's the doctor? Have you called one?"

Aunt Sun cried uncontrollably, coughing and crying so hard she couldn't speak clearly. Her youngest son, Song Ming'an, also cried, calling out, "Auntie." Song Xi sobbed and said, "The fever has gone down, but when Auntie woke up and found out I hadn't gone to pay my respects to Mother, she got anxious, afraid that Mother would punish me. She was so anxious that she coughed up blood."

"Coughing up blood?" Song Chang shouted anxiously, "Where's the doctor? What did the doctor say?"

"The doctor said that she has been depressed for a long time, and if she doesn't take good care of herself, I'm afraid..." Song Xi burst into tears as she said this, as if Aunt Sun was really not well.

This sight greatly worried Song Chang, who hurriedly patted Aunt Sun's back and comforted her, saying, "Don't worry about taking care of yourself, I promise I won't let her bully you again!"

Aunt Sun hugged her son and cried for a while. After calming down, she comforted him, "Actually, Madam didn't mean to make me suffer. She just made me stand for a while when she went to pay her respects. It's just that my body is weak and I get sick from a little wind."

"Even strong men can't stand the cold of winter, how can you, who have always been weak, possibly endure it?"

Aunt Sun wiped away her tears with her handkerchief again. "Madam is not wrong. I shouldn't have asked Master for help. It's just that it's Xi'er's first time attending such a banquet. She is a concubine's daughter and is already inferior to others. If she doesn't dress well, won't she be bullied even more?"

Before Song Chang could speak, she sobbed, "It's only right that the Second Madam spends a thousand or eight hundred taels of silver on jewelry for the Third Miss. I have no right to ask for anything. I just hoped that Madam could spend twenty percent of the silver to buy a set for Xi'er. But I waited until the last day and still didn't get it. I had no choice but to ask the Master!"

"What did you say?" Song Chang asked, holding her hand. "How much did it cost?"

Aunt Sun seemed to realize she had let something slip, and hurriedly covered her mouth and shook her head, "I don't know exactly how much it cost."

Song Chang recalled that when he asked for money before, the second madam hesitated and refused to give it to him, and wouldn't let him see the account books. Now that he thought about it, there must be something wrong with it.

Did they really spend a thousand taels of silver to buy jewelry for Song Tian?

How many ancient books can one thousand taels of silver buy?

To be honest, Song Changben wasn't someone who cared about money. He always spent money lavishly, and a thousand taels of silver was nothing to him. But in the last two years, every time he went to withdraw money, his second wife would nag him, saying that the household was short of money and that he should be more frugal, and that he should avoid associating with impoverished people.

He genuinely believed that the household had fallen on hard times, after all, he was only a fifth-rank official in a lowly government office, and his monthly salary wasn't even enough to cover his expenses.

Unexpectedly, the Second Madam could casually spend a thousand taels to buy those inanimate gold and silver objects.

What a waste of natural resources!

If you buy ancient books and paintings, you can leave them to your descendants. But if you buy jewelry and headwear, they will become old-fashioned in a few years and end up at the bottom of a box.

The more he thought about it, the more heartbroken he became. A few days ago, he had his eye on a landscape painting, but he didn’t buy it because his second wife had cried and complained that the mansion had no money. Now, thinking about it, he felt even more regretful!

I wonder if that landscape painting was sold?

He felt even more heartbroken when he remembered that he had used his own savings to buy jewelry for Song Xi. That money was meant for buying ancient books!

Suddenly, he remembered the account book, offered a few words of comfort to Aunt Sun, said he would help her get an explanation, and then hurriedly left.

Aunt Sun sent an inconspicuous little maid to follow him, and only after confirming that Song Chang had gone to the accounting office did she feel relieved.

The news that Song Tian had secretly bought jewelry and had the shopkeeper come to the mansion to collect the money had already spread far and wide. In particular, the servants were talking about it even more unscrupulously after the Second Madam publicly beat Xi Mama and Lü He.

Since Aunt Sun was willing to take a gamble for her children, she naturally wouldn't give up this obvious weakness.

Inside the accounting room, Song Chang carefully examined the ledgers, though he didn't really need to look closely, as the records were very clear.

He pointed to a spot and asked, "Who said anything about replacing the curtains and draperies in the mansion and repairing the courtyards? I haven't seen any new curtains or draperies being replaced." His courtyard hadn't been replaced, neither had Aunt Sun's Lotus Courtyard, nor even Rongxi Courtyard!

The accountant wiped his forehead with his sleeve and stammered, "It's the Second Madam."

He was hired by the second wife, and the second wife never hid anything from her. This time, she took the money after saying those words.

"What's the story behind the Third Miss buying jewelry for 282 taels?"

The accountant touched his sleeve again and explained what had happened that day.

Song Chang nodded. It wasn't as exaggerated as Aunt Sun had described; it only cost a little over two hundred taels.

As soon as he left the accounting office, the servant who was with him quietly recounted the events of that day in much more detail than the accountant had.

"So, Madam already bought some for Tian'er that day, and then she picked out a few more for herself?"

Listening to the story, she bowed and said, "That's what the older sister inside said."

At this point, Song Chang wasn't so angry anymore. After all, the money was gone and he couldn't get it back anyway.

He originally intended to let the matter drop and just talk to the second wife about Aunt Sun's matter. Why was she, the principal wife, making trouble for the concubine all day long?

Looking at Song Chang's expression, Ting Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's said throughout the manor that the Third Miss loves jewelry. She's bought some three or four times this month, and they even say..."

Song Chang couldn't stand his stammering and kicked him impatiently, "What else is there to say?"

"They also said that if the Third Miss could spend three hundred taels this time, she could spend three thousand taels next time. They also said..." Tingshu glanced at Song Chang's tense face and quickly continued, "They also said that there was no money in the account and they couldn't pay next month's salary."

This is all true. Today we bought things for the old man's death anniversary, and we only have a little over a hundred taels left in the account, while there are still two ten-day periods left in this month!

After listening to these words, Song Chang pondered for a long time, but still felt he should ask the Second Madam for clarification.

He knew she was embezzling money from the household, but he never imagined she would make such a mess of things.

That's why he came to Rongxi Courtyard to ask the Second Madam, but before he could say more than a few words, the Second Madam got anxious and started screaming hysterically.