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

Meng Ruohua raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze falling on the old carriage. She saw the unsecured blue cloth curtain swaying incessantly in the cold wind, unable to stop itself.

She walked in calmly, but her mind was in turmoil. She didn't know if her memory was faulty or if things had changed.

In her previous life, Shen Yunlan arrived on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. She said she wanted to pay respects to her maternal grandmother and go to the temple to copy the Ksitigarbha Sutra 9981 times for her. That's why she entered the capital a month early.

It's only the beginning of November, how did she arrive already?

After resting briefly at Qingfeng Courtyard, I washed up and changed into clothes suitable for receiving guests before heading to Rongxi Courtyard.

Before even entering, I could hear laughter and cheerful chatter inside, clearly indicating a pleasant atmosphere.

Tuanfu saw her coming from the tea room and ran out early to lift the curtain for her.

Meng Ruohua smiled at her and praised, "Not bad, you do have good eyesight."

Tuanfu's lips twitched slightly, and he slowly lowered his eyes to hide the emotions within.

Whenever the second young mistress sees her, she always makes sarcastic remarks, even though she hasn't provoked her at all! Isn't everyone saying that the second young mistress is the most kind and loving towards her servants? How come she shows her no affection whatsoever towards her!

The problem that had been troubling Tuanfu for two or three months would continue to trouble her until the day Meng Ruohua was about to leave, when she finally realized how kind and approachable the other person was.

Upon entering the room, one could see a woman in red sitting next to the second madam, her eyes sparkling with life.

"Second sister-in-law, you haven't met her yet, have you? This is cousin Lan." Song Tian warmly pulled Meng Ruohua to introduce her, and then pointed to Shen Yunlan and said, "This is second sister-in-law, the most generous one."

Meng Ruohua curled her lips and asked in a seemingly critical tone, "So all you remember is that I'm generous? If I didn't buy you jewelry, would you say I'm the stingiest person?"

Song Tian smiled apologetically and said affectionately, "How could my second sister-in-law not buy it for me?"

You have so much money!

She has recently been learning housekeeping from her mother and has learned a lot. She is no longer so blunt in her speech.

Meng Ruohua glanced at Shen Yunlan, who possessed bright eyes, white teeth, and a charming smile, exuding a captivating beauty. She wore a gold hairpin adorned with magpies and plum blossoms, with several small peach blossom-shaped embroidered flowers hidden among her hair, echoing the peach blossoms on her sleeves. She wore a light red gown, with only the sleeves and collar embroidered with intertwined peach blossoms; the rest of the garment was undecorated. The clothes were clearly newly made, though the fabric was ordinary and the embroidery not particularly refined.

Shen Yunlan stood up and bowed, carefully examining Meng Ruohua. She couldn't help but be surprised, as Meng Ruohua's words seemed quite different from what her cousin had said.

In fact, Shen Yunlan and Song Chen'an were in contact. Whenever they exchanged New Year's gifts, they would have their housekeeper send letters along with them. This continued even after Song Chen'an got married. However, they kept it a secret from everyone, and of course, no one asked them about it.

With a smile, Meng Ruohua greeted a guest with a few words of concern, then sat down and remained silent, listening to Song Tian talk about attending the banquet, which made Shen Yunlan extremely envious.

Song Xi smiled at her from the side, as if to comfort her.

Meng Ruohua didn't mind being ignored, but she was a little surprised, as things seemed to have changed from her previous life.

In her past life, Shen Yunlan was timid and delicate in front of others, with a pair of deer-like, wet eyes that always evoked pity. Now, Shen Yunlan's appearance has not changed, but her temperament has become much brighter, and her eyes are very lively and expressive.

She looked at it for a long time, then suddenly smiled with relief. She had changed, and so could others.

Perhaps seeing Meng Ruohua smiling, Shen Yunlan asked, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Second sister-in-law, are you laughing at me for being unsophisticated?"

"Why do you ask that, Cousin Lan? You traveled from the capital to Yanzhou, a journey of over a thousand miles. You saw the mighty rivers and towering mountains, and experienced different customs and cultures. How can you say you're unsophisticated?" Meng Ruohua smiled faintly. "I was afraid you'd think we were too sheltered at home and unsophisticated."

"Cousin, tell me about Yanzhou," Song Tian said with great interest. "I've never even left the capital."

When Meng Ruohua asked her this question, Shen Yunlan couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment, so she could only go along with Song Tian and say, "There's nothing to say."

Seeing that Song Tian was still staring at her intently, she could only say perfunctorily, "There are sandstorms there all day long. You have to wear a veil or cover your face with a handkerchief when you go out, otherwise you'll get a mouthful of sand."

"Huh?" Song Tian was disappointed; she thought it would be a lot of fun there!

Meng Ruohua remained noncommittal. Yanzhou and Lanzhou are adjacent and have similar climates. She had heard Uncle Yang talk about things there before.

“From what my cousin said, it must have been tough.” She looked her up and down and laughed, “It’s amazing that such difficult conditions could produce such a beautiful person as my cousin.”

Shen Yunlan unconsciously stroked her slender wrist. It had taken her nearly a year to cultivate her fair and delicate skin. When she first woke up, the skin of this body was dark and rough, hardly resembling the skin of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl.

She made many rouge and face masks herself, using them morning and night to nourish and care for her skin. She always applied a face mask before bed. After a year of such meticulous care, she had spent all her savings on it, and only then did her skin improve somewhat.

However, looking at Meng Ruohua's delicate and smooth face, she said enviously, "Second sister-in-law is too modest. If we're talking about beauty, there's no one more beautiful than you in the whole mansion."

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Meng Ruohua's features have a heroic air about them, which isn't the kind of look that's popular these days.

If we're talking about beauty, Song Xi is the most beautiful in the Song family, but she's usually quiet and always keeps her head down, making it easy for people to overlook her looks.

However, Song Tian disliked hearing this the most, so she shut her mouth and idly fiddled with the snacks on the table.

"As expected of my dear cousin, she still knows the manor so well even after all these years away." Meng Ruohua said to the Second Madam, "I heard from the elders in the family that Cousin Lan used to live in Changling Pavilion. Is she still staying there this time?"

Changling Pavilion is located on the west side of the courtyard, separated from Song Chen'an's Hengxi Courtyard only by a narrow alley, making it very convenient to travel between them.

Shen Yunlan's mother was Song Chen'an's aunt. After giving birth to Shen Yunlan, she fell ill and passed away despite five years of careful recuperation, leaving Shen Yunlan as a young child. When the old lady was still alive, she took pity on Shen Yunlan, who had lost her mother at such a young age, and brought her to live with her in the Song family for several years. It wasn't until five years ago, when her father was transferred to Yanzhou, that she was brought back to live with the whole family.

Therefore, there were no more members of the Shen family in the capital at this time, and even some distant relatives had become estranged, so she could only live in the Song residence.

The second wife took a sip of tea and said casually, "Yes, let's stay at Changling Pavilion."

Changling Pavilion was her mother's former boudoir, which had been left unoccupied for a long time. With a little cleaning, it could be used, which was a way to fulfill her longing for her mother.

The second wife harbored resentment but could not show it. Shen Yunlan was the only niece of the Song family, and the two brothers, Song Wen and Song Chang, missed her dearly. Even after their family moved to Yanzhou, they would send her many local specialties and gifts every year, fearing that the Shen family would mistreat their niece.