Madam Shen dared not get entangled with Concubine Liu, fearing it would attract the attention of the other members of the third branch of the family, so she quickly left.

If she failed to get any food, Shen Lijun would mock her, which she silently endured.

At the same time, she was also a little disappointed. She didn't know why her second son, who always made her happy, had become like this.

At Shen Lijun's instigation, she specifically contacted Shen's mother, asking her to set aside some money for herself each day.

Madam Shen hesitated, and Old Madam Shen looked distressed.

"You can't just stand by and watch me starve to death."

Madam Shen admitted that she had softened her heart and secretly gave some grain to Old Madam Shen.

At first, she did think she was helping Madam Shen. After seeing Madam Shen give the food to Shen Lijun, she also told Madam Shen that if she gave it to Shen Lijun again, the third branch of the family would not give it to her anymore.

Madam Shen hesitantly agreed: "I will eat by myself from now on."

Mother Shen decided to believe her one more time.

But when he turned around, he saw Mu Wanting.

Shen's mother felt somewhat guilty.

Mu Wanting held Chen's mother's hand: "Mother, I've always known this. I just don't want to cultivate the bad habit of the second branch of the family of reaping without sowing. And when I think about what the second branch of the family of reaping from the third branch, I just don't want to give it to them."

“She is Shen Xinglan’s grandmother, I know that. We actually have plenty of food. You are my mother, you can make your own decisions about what to eat.”

Touched by Mu Wanting's respect, Shen's mother did indeed give it to Old Madam Shen afterwards.

When she saw that Madam Shen was getting thinner and thinner every day, and even fainted from hunger when she came to get food, Mu Wanting carried Madam Shen in to help her and then gave her some food.

Once Madam Shen's condition stabilized, Madam Shen's mother spoke directly to her.

“Mother, the third branch will no longer be able to give you food. You know why yourself. Our relationship with the second branch is so bad. The second branch almost took the lives of Xinghe Qin'er and Mingjiao before, and they have also bullied us a lot.”

"If you still care about establishing your authority, I hope you will stop troubling us, the third branch of the family. We have already divided the family property, and you still have two sons alive. We, the third branch, will fulfill our obligations, but if you treat us like a sucker, then forget it."

Madam Shen opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything more.

When she arrived at the second room, she saw Shen Lijun, who was starving and panicked. Shen Lijun knew what she was like as soon as he saw her.

"Why haven't we gotten any food again?"

Madam Shen said, "I won't get any of the third branch's property from now on."

She recounted the whole story with a worried expression, and Shen Lijun's face grew increasingly gloomy.

"You, right now, go find the third branch of the family, throw a tantrum, and beg them for food."

As soon as he said this, even the concubines from the second wife's side changed their expressions, all regretting that they had married such a man.

Afterwards, Madam Shen was driven to the point of throwing a tantrum by Shen Lijun. She had lived a dignified life and never expected to be driven to this point by her son.

Mu Wanting's face turned pale, and Mother Shen's brows were also furrowed.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

Madam Shen was too embarrassed to say it. She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“Third branch of the family, why don’t you care about me? I’m your grandmother and mother.”

Mu Wanting winked at Shen Xingyi, and Shen Xingyi quickly went to find Ma Dazhuang.

Mu Wanting immediately took out the family division document, which clearly stated the details.

"We've actually been feeding Grandma all this time, and I'm sure everyone has seen that."

“But we also told Grandma that we couldn’t give it to Shen Lijun, or we wouldn’t give it to her anymore. Grandma agreed, but then she gave it to Shen Lijun. The food we offered to the elderly was not eaten by her at all, but was eaten by the person who almost killed our third branch of the family.”

"Excuse me, are we wrong to refuse?"

Old Madam Shen lay face down on the ground, too ashamed to lift her head.

She may be biased towards her own son, but she also needs to maintain her dignity.

Ma Dazhuang quickly delivered his verdict.

"Madam Shen, you don't need to come to the third branch of the family for food anymore, and you don't need to give it to them either. It's shameful that you're still sucking the blood of others while your own son is around."

Madam Shen's face flushed red.

Ma Dazhuang continued, "You have done everything you could. If Madam Shen comes looking for you again, come to us and we will uphold justice for you."

After saying this, he looked directly at Shen Lijun, who turned his head away with a grim expression.

After Madam Shen returned home, Shen Lijun treated her increasingly worse, feeling that she was a burden. Madam Shen was filled with regret.

When she was with the third wife, she only felt that the second wife was better, after all, she had her own biological son.

But when she arrived at the second wife's house, she realized that the third wife's house was paradise.

She had said so many sarcastic things before, but the third branch of the family didn't take it to heart.

In the second wife's household, a mere glance or gesture would draw unpleasant stares from them.

She felt that Shen Lijun was even more terrifying than government officials.

Unfortunately, all I could eat each day was some wild vegetables, and they had to be eaten raw, which caused me to have stomach problems all the time.

She didn't want to die, so she went to find Shen's mother. Shen's mother sighed and looked at Old Madam Shen with a strange expression.

“Mother, I shouldn’t say this, but you have two sons who are still alive, Shen Lijun and Shen Linong. My husband is gone. I’m raising so many people alone, a widow and her children. It’s not easy for me.”

Madam Shen blushed at what was said. She loved her children, and it was precisely because she loved them that she couldn't bear to be a burden to them.

Mu Wanting's voice was indifferent.

"That's right, Grandma, you can't just fleece every sheep you see. You can't treat our third branch of the family like suckers."

Madam Shen has indeed received many favors from the third branch of the family, so it's not appropriate for her to seek help from them now.

Moreover, as the third wife said, she should be looking for her own son now.

She went to find Shen Linong and discovered that he was also living a miserable life. His children were all thin and weak, and they could only eat the black flour pancakes they had saved up before, as well as the food that had been bought for Mu Wanting before, which had long since gone bad.

She felt a pang of sadness; both of her sons were having a hard time.

However, the third branch of the family prospered more and more because of Mu Wanting.

She felt somewhat melancholy and quite regretful, wondering why she had separated the family in the first place.

Why didn't she stop it?

Would things be better if the family hadn't separated? The Shen family wouldn't have ended up like this.

Given the kind nature of the third wife, if she eats something delicious, the other two wives will inevitably get a share too.

If only she hadn't been so biased back then, and had stopped the actions of the first and second wives in time.

Now, will things be different?