Listening to the old lady say this, Song Wanning could only sneer in her heart.

She had tried to advise the old lady in her previous life, but the old lady didn't listen to her. Wen Tingbo even abandoned her like a piece of trash, so she ended up with a miserable end.

Seeing that Song Wanning remained silent, the old lady grew even more furious. "I brought you here in a grand sedan chair, only for you to be laughed at. You haven't even given birth to a child, and you can't bring more children to our mansion, nor can you help Tingbai advance in his career. I really don't know what the point of marrying you is."

Even Wen Tingbai, who was standing by, couldn't stand it any longer and tried to dissuade him, "Grandfather, this has nothing to do with Wan Ning. This is all my fault. I am the only one who should be blamed."

"You're still speaking for her now? I'm the only bad guy in the entire mansion." The old lady said, standing up angrily and looking at everyone, "I can't manage this family from now on. Do whatever you want. I'll just give the key to Biyun."

Wen Tingbo and Cui Xiaoxiao were both stunned.

Song Wanning understood clearly that this was the outcome she wanted. As far as she knew, Cui Xiaoxiao had already offended everyone in the eldest house, and she was afraid that she would not be able to get an extra ounce of silver from the Duke of Zhong from now on.

Wen Tingbo has to help her clean up the mess she left behind, and he's afraid he won't be able to take care of himself.

Fei Biyun obtained the housekeeper's key and didn't argue with Cui Xiaoxiao. She just looked at Wen Tingbai and said, "Since Second Brother wants to lower himself and continue to get along with Concubine Cui, then Concubine Cui owes the Duke money, so it's your turn to find a way. The Marquis's Mansion is barely making ends meet this month, and we can only barely get by. Second Brother will probably have to make up for the shortfall before the end of the month."

"Sister-in-law... we're all family, brothers and sisters. Doing this would only damage the brotherly harmony." Wen Tingbai said this without blushing or beating his heart. "It's not that I won't return the money, but I'm afraid I'll have to pay it back later..."

"You'll have to pay it back later. The whole family needs to eat." Fei Biyun glanced at Cui Xiaoxiao, who lowered her head, then at Wen Tingbo, and said, "If my second brother can't pay it back, I'll have to sell you, my beloved concubine, to a brothel to pay off the debt."

"You..." After hearing this, Cui Xiaoxiao finally raised her head and wanted to question, but when she saw Fei Biyun's gloomy face, she lowered her head timidly.

After everyone left, Wen Tingbai left the mansion to borrow money from his former classmates to pay off his debts.

What Wen Tingbai didn't expect was that not a single colleague in Shengjing lent him money, and some even advised him not to indulge in beauty every day, and that the most important thing was to do his career well.

Wen Tingbai was in a daze, remembering that he had lived a glorious and carefree life in the military camp. Since he was with Cui Xiaoxiao, his reputation was ruined, he could not get promoted, and he owed a lot of debts.

Wen Tingbai actually felt a bit of regret in his heart. If he hadn't brought Cui Xiaoxiao back home, he would probably be living a happy life with Song Wanning now...

Wen Tingbai thought about it and had to return home angrily.

Cui Xiaoxiao in the mansion was also busy, rushing to talk to Wen Xu with food. Everyone in the mansion thought that this concubine also truly loved Xu. Only Song Wanning knew what Cui Xiaoxiao was up to.

Sure enough, not long after, Wen Xu came to the South Courtyard where Song Wanning was, and hesitantly refused to speak for a long time.

Cai Que felt a little distressed when she saw the child. She just smiled and said, "What's wrong with this child, Xu'er? He rarely comes here, but he doesn't even say a word or sit down."

"He's hiding something in his heart, and naturally he won't sit down because he feels guilty." Song Wanning didn't even raise her eyelids, and said lightly, "Don't worry about him. If he wants to say something, he will say it."

"Yes." Cai Que felt that Song Wanning was a little cold towards her stepson, but then she thought about it. Wen Xu wasn't Song Wanning's biological son, and he had always been close only to Aunt Cui. So, it wasn't surprising that Song Wanning was cold.

After a while, Wen Xu slowly walked up to Song Wanning, bowed politely to her, and said to her, "Wen Xu pays his respects to mother."

Song Wanning didn't wait for Wen Xu to respond, but changed the subject and asked, "How are your homework doing recently?"

"Child...recently..." When Wen Xu saw Song Wanning asking her about her homework, he remembered that since Song Wanning no longer watched him do his homework, he put it aside and went to Cui Xiaoxiao's room to play all day.

Now that Song Wanning had asked, Wen Xu felt very guilty and could only pout, "When mother sees me, she always asks about my homework, but she doesn't even ask if I'm well fed and warmly clothed."

After hearing this, Song Wanning looked up at Wen Xu. He was only eight years old, but his mind was already very mature. Knowing that he was in the wrong, he changed the subject and put himself on the moral high ground.

In her previous life, Song Wanning always held on to hope that the child was still young and didn't understand anything. Later, Song Wanning even blamed herself for being too harsh on him, which led to the subsequent disaster. As a result, the child and Aunt Cui colluded to kill her. Now it seems that she was really wrong and confused in her previous life.

Song Wanning only sighed, having completely given up on her stepson. "Don't mention me. Xu'er hasn't come to the courtyard to pay his respects recently. He came today probably to ask me a favor. If you do, why not just say it directly?"

Wen Xu's thoughts were exposed by Song Wanning. He was stunned for a moment, but still said sullenly, "My child, I heard from Aunt Cui that Aunt is in debt now. If she doesn't pay it back, she will be sold to a brothel. I beg mother to show mercy for the sake of my child and my father and help Aunt through this difficult time."

Song Wanning just sneered, "I'll show mercy? Why should I show mercy? I'm neither her creditor nor her accomplice. All the troubles now are caused by her own fault. What does it have to do with me?"

The maids and servants standing in the yard all looked at Wen Xu with strange eyes. Song Wanning had ignored Wen Xu in recent days. Everyone thought that Song Wanning was sad to see Wen Tingbo taking a concubine, so she ignored her stepson.

But now it seems that this adopted child is not as good as a biological one after all. Wen Xu treats her as his own mother even though she has only been a concubine for a few months, and ignores the mother who has raised him for a year. He is afraid that the embryo is spoiled.

Wen Xu saw that Song Wanning was angry, and quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake, "Mother, don't be angry. This is all my fault. I was really worried about you, auntie."

Song Wanning's eyes were indifferent, but Wen Xu felt even more guilty. He only heard Song Wanning slowly say, "These words are just what Aunt Cui taught you. Go back and tell her not to even think about taking a single cent of the dowry in my yard. Nothing in this yard belongs to her."