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

A silence fell over the room as everyone held their breath and stared silently at what was before them, except for the Second Madam's continued complaints.

Just then, several hurried footsteps came from outside.

Tuanfu announced loudly in the courtyard, "Miss Biao and Miss San have arrived."

Everyone looked up at the doorway, secretly relieved.

As soon as Shen Yunlan and Song Tian entered the room, they asked happily, "Mother, what are you talking about?"

Song Tian was listening to Shen Yunlan talk about Yanzhou when she saw Ying'er standing at the door giving her a meaningful look. Song Tian then told Ying'er to speak directly.

Hearing that everyone had gone to Rongxi Courtyard, they assumed something had happened at home, so the two of them came together.

The second wife suppressed her anger, smoothed the stray hairs from Song Tian's forehead, and said with a smile, "She didn't say anything."

Upon seeing the situation inside the room, Shen Yunlan guessed that they must be discussing something, and couldn't help but secretly regret that she had come along.

Since he couldn't leave right away, he could only smile and explain, "Tian'er and I were talking about things in Yanzhou for a while, and we thought we'd come out and stretch our legs."

"Tian'er must be bored at home. It's good that you're here. You sisters can get closer, chat and laugh together, and keep each other company," the Second Madam said with a smile.

Shen Yunlan agreed with a smile, but she felt very uncomfortable inside. It was as if she was there to cheer Song Tian up, and what did they take her for?

Sensing Shen Yunlan's emotional change, Song Chen'an thought for a moment and said, "When I have a day off, I'll take you out for a stroll. Sister Lan has been gone for five or six years, and there have been some changes in the capital."

Shen Yunlan immediately perked up, "Then I'll have to trouble you, cousin. When I was in Yanzhou, I often missed the capital. There were so many shops and it was so lively. You could buy all sorts of new and interesting things there."

That's the truth, of course. Yanzhou is quite remote and can't compare to the capital at all.

Song Tian also became interested, "I want to eat the plum blossom cakes from Yang's Pastry Shop, and then go to the Bamboo Tea House to listen to storytelling."

"Okay, okay," Song Chen'an replied.

As Lü Ningshuang listened, she couldn't help but show a hint of disdain. As a concubine, she naturally couldn't go out at will.

Even before she got married, she had never eaten the Yang family's cakes or listened to storytelling in a teahouse.

Hearing that Song Chen'an was going to take Shen Yunlan with him, a wave of sadness welled up in his heart.

She coughed lightly and said sarcastically, "Miss, don't be shy. If you see anything you like, just ask Second Master to buy it for you. He's an official and has a salary."

Shen Yunlan frowned immediately. Although the words were meant to tell her to buy whatever she wanted, they sounded awkward when paired with Lü Ningshuang's expression and tone.

Considering that she was the second madam's niece, Shen Yunlan didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and simply said, "Aunt Lü, you're too kind."

Seeing that no one was saying anything, Song Tian recalled the scene when she first entered the room and asked, "Mother, what are you all talking about?"

Lu Ningshuang and Song Tian had a good relationship. Lu Ningshuang often played with Song Tian when they were young, so she didn't have many taboos when she spoke.

To ensure the small kitchen was settled, she quickly replied, "We're talking about setting up a small kitchen."

Upon hearing this, the second wife immediately shouted, "Ning Shuang!"

She had never agreed to set up a separate small kitchen, and before she could finish her rant, she was interrupted by Song Tian and the other person, so she hadn't explicitly said anything against it.

However, Lu Ningshuang's words reignited the Second Madam's anger.

With a livid face, she said to Song Tian and Shen Yunlan, "You two go play for a while. You can have dinner in your own courtyard tonight."

Song Tian wasn't afraid of the Second Madam. Thinking of Lü Ningshuang's words, she asked, "What small kitchen? Are you going to set up a small kitchen for our courtyard?" After a moment's thought, she added, "If we set up a small kitchen, it will be convenient for me to eat whatever I want. Unlike now, it takes half a day to prepare whatever I want to eat."

First, send someone to tell her to wait until the kitchen has finished cooking before delivering it. This will take at least half an hour, and for more complicated dishes, it can take one or two hours. By the time it's ready, she won't want to eat it anymore.

These words made the second wife even angrier. She glared fiercely at Lü Ningshuang, as if to say that she had corrupted the young men and women!

Shen Yunlan looked up and saw that the Second Madam's face was displeased, Song Chen'an was slightly anxious, Meng Ruohua looked leisurely as if she was watching a good show, and Lü Ningshuang was uneasy after being interrupted.

Seeing this, she immediately stood up, interrupting Song Tian's daydream. After saying goodbye, she pulled Song Tian away in a hurry.

She had no desire to get involved in the turmoil within the Song family; she only wished for a peaceful and stable life until she found the one destined for her.

Standing by the roadside, Song Tian asked, completely bewildered, "Little kitchen? Aren't I in charge of the kitchen? Why won't you let me listen?"

"Maybe they're talking about something else," Shen Yunlan said dismissively.

Inside the house, after dismissing Qi Mama, Jixiang, and the others, the second madam pointed at Lü Ningshuang's nose and began to berate her.

"Why set up a small kitchen? I already said I'm not setting one up, didn't you hear me?"

"Go and see which family doesn't have only one big kitchen. Do you think they don't eat?"

“Since you think the food is too cold to eat, then order less.” She glanced at Lü Ningshuang and said, “From now on, you don’t need to have extra meals anymore. Just eat the same food as everyone else. That way, your maid can carry it and you won’t have to rest halfway.”

Upon hearing this, Lü Ningshuang exclaimed in disbelief, "Aunt?"

The second wife, who had been holding back her anger for half a day, ignored Lü Ningshuang's protests and slammed her hand on the table, making a loud "thump thump" sound. "What are you shouting for? I think you've been spoiled rotten and don't know your place."

"You can set up a small kitchen. If you are willing to cover all the expenses of Lianxiao Academy yourself, I won't care if you set up ten or eight of them."

Lu Ningshuang felt extremely wronged by the scolding and no longer cared about pretending to be weak. She cried with tears streaming down her face, but still stubbornly asked, "Then why can Meng Ruohua?"

Meng Ruohua remained expressionless, staring blankly at the shoes, when she suddenly heard her own name and reacted, "Aunt Lü, don't frame me. Qingfeng Courtyard doesn't have a small kitchen."

"If there's no small kitchen, where did you cook the soup and porridge? What did you use to cook it? And how did you make the desserts?" Aunt Lü questioned sharply, quite forcefully.

“Aunt Lü, how could your memory be so bad! I already said it was cooked in the tea room!” Meng Ruohua said calmly, her brows furrowed slightly, as if she didn’t understand. “As for what you said it was cooked with, I sent someone to buy it with my own dowry money. I didn’t take a single grain of rice from the main kitchen.”

"Impossible! I don't believe it!"

"If you don't believe me, you can go to the kitchen and ask if Qingfeng Courtyard has asked for any ingredients," Meng Ruohua said with a faint smile.

Lu Ningshuang was stunned when she heard this. She usually had no chance to see the kitchen's accounts. She only knew from Wang Gui's family that the kitchen's expenses had increased in the past two months. Qingfeng Courtyard had only had a cook in the past two months. She had always thought that Qingfeng Courtyard had set up a small private kitchen, which increased the expenses. She never expected that Meng Ruohua had bought it with her own money.

She glared at Meng Ruohua with malice. Was this a blatant insult implying that she had no dowry?

Song Chen'an was completely bewildered by this series of events. He didn't understand why his mother reacted so strongly, and he was even more surprised by her shrewishness. His usually gentle and polite mother was actually quite good at scolding people.

When he came to his senses, he heard Meng Ruohua say that it was her dowry money.

He couldn't help but feel ashamed. As the second young mistress of the Song family, he was using his own dowry money to cook soup and porridge. How could he bear it?