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

When they returned to the Song residence, it was already dark, and everyone was quite tired.

The second madam instructed that there was no need to go to Rongxi Courtyard; everyone could return to their own rooms and have dinner on their own.

The main reason is that she's also tired; she's getting old and can't handle the strain.

Back at Qingfeng Courtyard, Aunt Liu had already prepared several side dishes and cooked a yam and chicken soup.

“Miss has always been in good health and doesn’t need too much tonic. This yam is both nourishing and aids digestion, so it’s fine to eat more at night.” The plump Aunt Liu said with a smile, “It’s cold today, so I added extra ginger slices. It warms you up as soon as you drink it.”

"Okay." Meng Ruohua had been eating Aunt Liu's cooking since she was a child, and she trusted her skills quite a bit.

The chicken soup was clear, with all the oil skimmed off, and a few pieces of tender white yam were added. The aroma was irresistible as soon as it was served.

"Aunt Liu, did you cook a lot of soup?"

“Quite a lot. I thought that Miss doesn’t like thick soup, so I added extra water and cooked about half a pot.”

Meng Ruohua nodded, wondering why Zhenzhu wasn't coming over to serve the soup.

Just then, voices came from outside the door.

Coral entered and whispered, "Pearl is here."

You really shouldn't talk about people behind their backs!

Meng Ruohua smiled and nodded. She first asked Shanhu to fetch a bowl of chicken soup before calling the person in. She gave a few casual instructions and then had Zhenzhu take the chicken soup away.

She didn't bother to care about Song Chen'an.

When Pearl returned to the entrance of Hengxi Courtyard with the chicken soup, she saw Yunzhu standing in the courtyard.

She rolled her eyes slightly, ignored Yunzhu, and started to walk inside.

Yunzhu, however, remained unaffected and greeted everyone with a smile, "Has Pearl had dinner yet?"

Pearl looked her up and down with disdain. Who is your sister? I am the concubine that the Second Madam assigned to the Second Master. What are you?

"Have not eat yet."

Seeing Pearl's arrogance, Yunzhu felt a surge of anger.

Who does Pearl think she is? She was just a second-class maid before. Why does she look down on me, a first-class maid?

So what if you become a concubine? In reality, you're still just a maid.

But she couldn't ignore Pearl. If she let her barge in and ruin Aunt Lü's plans, she would be the one to suffer in the end.

"Have you brought your sister's dinner? You can go and eat first. I'll guard the door." Yunzhu moved her feet and blocked Pearl's way.

Pearl was carrying a food box and didn't dare to move too much, only taking a small half step back. "Don't trouble yourself, sister. We servants should do our jobs well. We can't be lazy."

Yunzhu wasn't exactly eloquent, and after Pearl's words, she was at a loss for words, only able to say with a stiff face, "What kind of laziness is this?"

Although she looked unwell, she stood firm, blocking Pearl's path without yielding an inch.

Pearl didn't want to waste any more time, so she pushed Yunzhu aside with her arm and kindly advised, "Sister, go to the tea room to avoid the wind. It's too uncomfortable to be out in the cold wind in the courtyard."

Yunzhu was stunned for a moment. Since she started following Aunt Lü, no one had ever pushed her before.

As expected of someone from a military family, they resort to violence at the slightest disagreement; they're incredibly rude.

She considered herself a servant, but one who was extremely polite and would never lay a hand on anyone without a reason!

Pearl didn't care about her thoughts. After pushing Yunzhu aside, she walked to the door, knocked, and asked, "Second Master, Pearl has brought yam and chicken soup."

Yunzhu was so angry that she jumped up and down behind her, and was about to pull her away when she heard the Second Master's reply from inside the house.

Upon entering the room, one could see that Aunt Lü was holding a bowl of porridge, clearly serving rice to the Second Master.

"Hello, Aunt Lü." Pearl greeted her with a smile, and walked to the table in a few steps. "Second Master, I specially asked the kitchen to cook yam and chicken soup, with extra ginger slices added. It's nourishing and warming."

As she spoke, she took a clean bowl and filled it with soup. The soup was clear yet fragrant, and two or three pieces of yam looked even whiter in the slightly yellow soup. A few bright green scallions were sprinkled on top, the green against the white, making it a beautiful sight.

Song Chen'an twitched his index finger slightly. "Looks good."

"Then Second Master, please try it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold." Pearl handed the bowl to Song Chen'an from the other side, looking at Aunt Lü across the table.

Aunt Lü looked at the radish and mutton soup she had brought out. The soup was whitish, and a few pieces of translucent radish looked delicious.

She reluctantly handed over her own soup as well, saying, "Second Master, please have some mutton soup first. Mutton soup warms you up in winter."

Song Chen'an frowned slightly; these two people always seemed to be secretly competing with each other whenever they met.

It's just a bowl of soup!

He first took a sip of chicken soup, then a sip of mutton soup.

"Okay, let's eat."

In the past, if there was no one else around, Song Chen'an would have Pearl sit down and eat with him. By the time she finished serving him, the food would be cold.

With Lü Ningshuang around today, Pearl would naturally not overstep her bounds and give her any leverage. Pretending that Song Chen'an was talking to Aunt Lü, she remained standing behind Song Chen'an, calmly and elegantly serving the dishes.

Song Chen'an glanced at Lü Ningshuang and saw that she had already sat down, picked up some meat with her chopsticks, and opened her mouth but didn't say anything.

Let's all calm down for a bit!

Lu Ningshuang was annoyed that Pearl was standing by and watching, which made her too embarrassed to say anything. She glanced at the door and said, "Pearl, go and get a pot of hot tea. The tea in the room has gone cold."

Pearl looked at the teapot on the coffee table not far away. It was filled with boiling water that she had just filled before she left. How could it have gotten cold?

"If Auntie is thirsty, she can have some soup. Drinking tea while eating is bad for her stomach."

Aunt Lü immediately turned upside down, "What a disobedient girl! You dare to disobey your master's orders! I think you're just lazy!"

Upon hearing such a stern rebuke, Pearl immediately felt wronged. She looked at Song Chen'an with teary eyes, and when he looked at her, she blinked her big eyes and tried to force the tears back, but the tears were already welling up in her eyes, so how could she force them back?

It couldn't be forced back, but the stain remained on the long eyelashes!

A few glistening teardrops clung to her thick, dark eyelashes, poised to fall, which stirred a warmth in Song Chen'an's heart.

He reached out and pulled Pearl closer, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his long, slender fingers, and coaxed, "Is it really worth crying over something so trivial?"

Pearl nodded twice, glanced at Aunt Lü, and then shut her mouth, seemingly very wary of her.

Bitch!

Not only Song Chen'an saw the shape of the pearl, but Lü Ningshuang also saw it.

She gripped the chopsticks tightly in her hand, wishing she could poke out those fox-like eyes with one chopstick.

Looking at Lü Ningshuang's eyes filled with resentment, and then at Pearl's timid appearance, Song Chen'an felt quite troubled.

Why can't these two people get along peacefully?

Just as they were wondering how to adjust the situation, Pearl said very considerately, "Second Master, please eat first, don't let it get cold."

She placed the chicken soup she had brought some distance away, saying, "Second Master, why don't you have the mutton soup? It looks even more delicious."

Doesn't it smell even better? There's a layer of oil floating on top!

Song Chen'an frowned slightly. He felt greasy just looking at the oily soup, not to mention that it contained radishes, which he didn't like.

"Let's just have chicken soup instead."

The chicken soup was refreshing, and the yam looked tender and delicious.

Lu Ningshuang immediately panicked and cried out, "Second Master!"

She specially asked the kitchen to cook mutton soup for an hour, and she didn't even drink a drop herself, but he still went to drink that tasteless chicken soup.

Song Chen'an glanced at her casually and said, "Don't always drink this greasy stuff. Look at yourself."

After he finished speaking, he looked her up and down, his eyes filled with disgust.

Two months after giving birth, my figure is still so bloated.