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

Once Yu Yan was out of sight, Shen Yunlan quickly pulled Song Chen'an aside and asked, "Do you know him? Who is he?"

Song Chen'an looked toward the spot where Yu Yan had disappeared, and said with a hint of bitterness, "His name is Yu Yan, and he is currently the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Oh, still a commander." Shen Yunlan nodded secretly, then asked thoughtfully, "To become a commander at such a young age, that's impressive!"

"Hmph!" Song Chen'an snorted coldly, disdainfully turning his gaze away. "He only got that position because of connections."

Hearing his harsh words, Meng Ruohua couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "Do you think you can secure a position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard just by having connections? Even if you get promoted, you'll be forced to step down if you don't have real talent and skills."

Besides, so what if he relies on connections? No one in the world can compete with his connections!

These words struck a nerve with Song Chen'an. He married Meng Ruohua, yet he had no use for the Meng family's connections whatsoever.

Shen Yunlan tried hard to recall her memories, but found no information about Yu Yan. She couldn't help but ask again, "What connections does he have?"

Judging from his noble air and handsome face, one can tell that he was not raised by an ordinary family.

"He is Princess Yangcheng's son."

The princess's son? Then wouldn't that be the emperor's nephew?

Shen Yunlan stared in disbelief at the spot where he had disappeared, her mouth agape. "Really?" she asked.

As expected, the capital is full of nobles and princes; you can run into the emperor's nephew just by going out to burn incense!

What is the emperor's nephew? A prince? At least he has a title!

Before Song Chen'an could nod, Meng Ruohua, unable to bear it any longer, said, "It is not the behavior of a gentleman to talk about others behind their backs. How could my husband forget his own words?"

Song Chen'an choked. What kind of gossip was this? Weren't his words all true?

“I advised my husband to be careful with his words and actions. Don’t you know that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is everywhere?” Meng Ruohua casually flicked her fingernails and looked at the dark clouds on the horizon. “Perhaps they are hiding here.”

Her expression was both serious and alluring, which startled Song Chen'an.

Following Meng Ruohua's gaze, one could see that the dark cloud on the horizon was gradually approaching, as if it were brewing a heavy snowfall. Suddenly, one felt the biting cold wind, which blew through the cloak on one's body.

Shen Yunlan, however, paid no attention to their verbal argument and repeatedly asked her own question, "Second cousin-in-law, are you serious?"

Can they really fly and teleport? Are they truly awe-inspiring beings?

If you marry someone like that, you'll have so much face when you go out. No lady would dare to offend you, and even if they don't like you, they can only keep it to themselves.

Meng Ruohua turned around and smiled faintly, "Of course it's true."

I'm really just kidding you guys!

Song Chen'an was momentarily intimidated by her, but after calming down, he realized that Meng Ruohua was lying. "Sister Lan, don't listen to her nonsense. The Imperial Guards are very busy; they don't have time to keep an eye on us."

No, they don't have time. Who would bother watching a nobody, a low-ranking official?

"Oh, that's true." Shen Yunlan nodded, then looked at the spot where Yu Yan had disappeared, a complex emotion in her eyes.

"Second cousin-in-law, you two are very close?"

"We're not exactly close, but we've known each other since we were little."

This is no secret. There are only a few families coming and going in Beijing, and the kids are about the same age. They basically all played together when they were little.

Shen Yunlan immediately felt envious, wishing she could be reborn as a young lady from a prestigious family.

This Shen family has already fallen into ruin and gone to Yanzhou; who knows if they'll ever be able to come back!

Even if he comes back, so what? Shen's father is just a minor official of the fifth or sixth rank, which is nothing in the capital where officials are as numerous as hairs on a cow.

Her stepmother was even worse. When she saw the young master of the Yanzhou prefect's family, she thought he was an excellent son-in-law and tried every means to marry her second sister to him.

Hmph! He wouldn't even look at her stupid and clumsy second sister?

This is also why Shen Yunlan came to the capital. Yanzhou is too small and not enough for her to realize her ambitions!

Look, they've only been here two days and they've already met the Emperor's nephew. How far are they from becoming princes?

Meng Ruohua watched coldly, feeling that Shen Yunlan was different from her previous life in every way.

Uh… how should I put it, I feel like I'm much dumber than in my previous life.

Seeing that she was looking at Shen Yunlan with a serious expression, Song Chen'an thought that she had misunderstood something, so he quickly stepped forward to block her view.

"What are you two talking about? How come I always see you chatting?"

Looking at Song Xi and Song Ming'an standing quietly to the side, Meng Ruohua knew that they had lost interest in playing around, so she walked out of the pavilion. "What can we talk about? Anyway, we didn't talk about building relationships."

What do you mean by "building connections"?

"Meng, what do you mean?"

"literal meaning!"

It was the literal meaning of the words that angered him; wasn't it an insult implying that he was trying to curry favor? Someone who passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty, did he need to rely on connections? With his knowledge and talent, there was no reason for him to be overlooked.

At this moment, he felt increasingly superior, completely forgetting his earlier worries about falling out of the list of the top ten young masters of Wuyinglou and the year-end assessment. He also forgot that his initial attraction was based on his connection to the Meng family.

As for why Song Chen'an didn't choose to marry the daughter of a civil official, civil officials have more connections in the court.

Actually, that was what he thought at the time. He planned to wait until he passed the imperial examination before considering marriage. However, his mother was anxious and worried every day, saying that all the good girls were already engaged and that if he delayed any longer, he would not be able to marry a girl from a good family.

The capital is different from other places. There are dukes, marquises, princes, and high-ranking officials everywhere. The children of those families are all betrothed at a young age. There is no one who is still unmarried at the age of seventeen or eighteen.

Song Chen'an wanted to marry the daughter of a civil official, but he looked down on families with low-ranking officials, and families with high-ranking officials looked down on him, since he had not yet passed the imperial examination and his father was only a fifth-rank official.

It just so happened that Mencius' mother was looking for a son-in-law for her daughter. The two families got to know each other through an introduction. After observing each other, they found that the other met their expectations, and the marriage was arranged.

In truth, Song Chen'an also coveted Meng Ruohua's beauty to some extent, after all, the young lady raised in the General's Mansion was far superior to the daughters of those minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank.

He had assumed that the young lady from the General's Mansion, if not proficient in all the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs, should at least know a little bit about them. He never expected that Meng Ruohua disliked these things at all and would not bother to discuss them with him.

He was far less compatible with Lan than with him.

Song Chen'an glanced at Shen Yunlan beside him, feeling extremely regretful. If he hadn't listened to his mother and gotten married back then, would he have been able to wait for his little sister Lan?

He then recalled how she had contradicted him in front of Shen Yunlan, which made him feel very embarrassed. He couldn't help but whisper and shout, "Meng Shi!"

Meng Ruohua, who was passing by them, glanced at them indifferently and said, "I have a name!"

She turned her head with a cold expression, her back straight as proud as a pine tree.

This only fueled Song Chen'an's anger, which he had nowhere to vent.

Hearing the heavy breathing behind her, Meng Ruohua realized that she had truly been blind before. How could she have thought Song Chen'an was such a gentleman? He was neither capable nor cultured, and his mouth wasn't as eloquent as hers!

He first asked Song Tian if she wanted to go back, and after receiving a negative answer, he beckoned Song Xi and the other person to go to another place.

Since we're already here, of course we should check everything out!

Only three people were left standing there, stunned.

Song Tian: Didn't you say you were going back?

Shen Yunlan: A bit domineering.

Song Chen'an: I can't live like this anymore!