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

Pearl wanted to ask for more, but before she could speak, Coral stopped her.

"Go kneel down first, or you'll be punished even more severely!" From the day she was sold into servitude, she understood that she was no longer in control of her own life, and that beatings and punishments depended on whether her master was pleased or not.

She pinched herself hard when no one was around. Over the years, the second young mistress hadn't held a grudge, and she had slowly become more arrogant, even running out to play without a care in the world. Fortunately, she was only punished by kneeling. If it were that fierce mistress who couldn't tolerate any nonsense, she would have lost her life!

Linglong and Yuye also realized what was happening and quickly pulled the person outside. "Go kneel down in a sheltered spot under the eaves first, and we'll see if we can get a chance to plead for you."

Coral pulled Linglong's hand and refused, "Sister, don't go. We should be punished for not doing our duty properly."

Moreover, there were Pearl's remarks, which would not have pleased any legitimate wife!

Upon hearing this, Pearl immediately became anxious. "If you want to kneel for two hours, kneel by yourself. Don't drag me into it!" She pitifully pleaded with Linglong, "Sister, please remember to beg for me."

"Don't drag others down with you when you're courting death!" Coral glanced at her sideways, then said to Linglong Yuye, "Sisters, just focus on serving the Second Young Mistress. We should be punished for not doing our duty properly, and we can't drag you sisters into this."

Looking at the little girls huddled in the corner, Pearl complained indignantly, "It's not like we were the only ones who ran out, why aren't those little girls punished!"

Coral, too lazy to look at her stupid face, said coolly, "If you reduce your monthly salary to the same level as theirs, you can avoid punishment!"

Ignoring the whispers of the others, Meng Ruohua ground ink, picked up a brush, wrote a letter, carefully sealed it, and handed it to Yu Ye.

“Send someone to deliver this to Uncle Yang.”

Uncle Yang, whose real name was Yang Sanli, was originally a soldier in the Imperial Guard. Later, he offended the Duke of Lu, resulting in the destruction of his family and his dismissal from his post. Meng Xin admired his martial arts skills and transferred him to the Northwest Army as a spy. He repeatedly infiltrated enemy territory to gather intelligence, but was later wounded and discharged. He then lived in the back street of the Meng family mansion. He collected information for Meng Xin in the capital, and over the years, he got to know many people from all walks of life.

If Meng Ruohua wants to find out information, he is the most suitable person to ask.

"Linglong, go and tell Madam that I am not feeling well and cannot manage the household, so please let her work hard for a few days."

Whoever has the patience to manage their household can do it; let whoever wants to manage it do it, just let it go for as long as possible.

But she knew that this task would ultimately fall on her shoulders. There wasn't much money left in the account, and she still had to hold a baby's third-day celebration and a full-month celebration. If she really wanted to do a good job, she would have to pay for it herself.

She has been in charge of the household for three years and has received subsidies of five or six thousand taels of silver. However, a full moon banquet will cost at least five or six hundred taels of silver, and the second madam will definitely push the money onto her.

Despite being called a housekeeper, the second wife held the account books for the shops and estates outside, and the money never passed through her hands. She was at most a housekeeper.

The Song family was once a prominent and wealthy family. The great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather both held the highest rank and served as Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet. Later, the family declined and no one else became an important official in the court. The highest-ranking official in the family now is Song Chen'an's eldest uncle, Song Yin, who is currently the Councilor of Yunzhou. Song Yin has one son and two daughters, all of whom are older than Song Chen'an and Song Tian. Therefore, Song Chen'an is called the Second Master and Song Tian is called the Third Miss.

Meanwhile, in the Song family mansion in the capital, Song Chang was supposed to be the head of the household, but he spent most of his time either attending poetry gatherings or on his way to them, never bothering with household affairs. Whenever there was something that required the men's attention, he would simply pass it on to Song Chen'an. He also had two concubines: Concubine Hu, who had given birth to a son who drowned when he was seven; and Concubine Sun, who had a daughter named Song Xi, now twelve years old and known in the mansion as the Fourth Miss, and later had a son named Song Ming'an, now eight years old and known as the Fifth Master.

We still need to find a way to refuse; she'll never do something so thankless again!

Linglong returned shortly after and said, "Madam said that the Second Young Mistress should rest for a day. If there is anything urgent, go and tell her. She will take over the management of the Second Young Mistress tomorrow."

Meng Ruohua sneered, "You've got a real plan!"

You want me to keep spending money? No way!

Her already agitated heart became even more turbulent. She looked out the window and saw a clear autumn sky with a flock of wild geese soaring across the horizon, flying south with her family and friends.

She watched enviously as the geese flew away until they disappeared as tiny black dots.

This is incredibly frustrating!

Meng Ruohua suddenly stood up and instructed as she walked, "Linglong, pack your things, we're going back to the Meng residence!"

Just before leaving, she sent the maid to inform the Second Madam, which angered the Second Madam so much that she slammed her fist on the table. "Weren't you feeling unwell? How come you feel better now that you've gone to your parents' home?"

Upon hearing the maid's report, Meng Ruohua sneered, "Spread the word that the Second Young Mistress was angered by those reckless people in the mansion, and that the peace and quiet at her maiden home makes me feel better."

As for who is reckless and doesn't know what's important, they can decide for themselves!