Yuan Zhixi did not tell the whole truth when she was chatting with Old Lady Mei. She was not pregnant with the third and fourth children by choice.

Yuan Zhixi didn't know what Mei Xuanqi was thinking. Although they got along well, she didn't want to sleep with the second master of the Mei family after she had two children. Mei Xuanqi thought at first that it was just his wife's shyness. He took his wife with a little bit of shyness that time and had the third child.

Then he realized that something seemed wrong. Yuan Zhixi really didn't want to have physical contact with him anymore. Not only did she repeatedly mention the idea of ​​taking a concubine to him, but after giving birth to her third child, she also found various excuses for not sleeping with him for a long time, such as being sick, having her period, the child being fussy, etc.

To be honest, the second master of the Mei family was furious. He could openly say that he didn't love his wife, but he wouldn't allow his wife to reject him. In a rage, the second master of the Mei family yelled, "Get out!" and all the maids left. Mei Xuanqi forced his wife to have the fourth child.

After that, he probably felt it was boring, so not long after Yuan Zhixi became pregnant with her fourth child, he took in his first concubine, and three months later he took in Weng Hui.

The appearance of Weng Hui made up for the lifelong regret of the second master of the Mei family. Thinking about it this way, it was a good thing that his wife rejected him. Originally, during the few years they had been together, he was satisfied with his wife. She was gentle and quiet, well-mannered, and got along well with his mother and eldest sister-in-law. She was also able to manage the household. He felt that even if he didn't love her, she was still a very suitable daughter-in-law.

Living with her forever wasn't as difficult as he'd thought. He'd even considered not taking a concubine, like his parents, living life to the fullest. He had a grave in his heart, and having a perfect wife by his side was good enough.

But he didn't expect his wife to suddenly change her temperament. After having two children, she became increasingly cold and resistant to his physical contact. Even after having a third child, there was no change. Instead, it became even worse. Finally, he lost his temper and used force.

After that, he knew that his dream of a lifelong couple was unlikely, so he took his maid as a concubine. Three months later, when he met Weng Hui, he felt that God had mercy on him. In his heart, he was a little glad that Yuan Zhixi rejected him, which brought their relationship to a freezing point. Under such circumstances, it seemed natural for him to take a concubine.

If his wife was still the same as before, it might not be easy for her to ask for it. But it is okay now, as she forced him to take a concubine.

Ever since Mei Hexiao, the eldest son of the concubine, became ill with amnesia, the second master of the Mei family had been feeling a little worried. He felt that his eldest brother looked at his children differently.

He thought to himself, the eldest wife's two children are now disabled, and he has three sons. Could it be that the eldest wife wants to choose one of her sons to adopt?

Yuan Zhixi gave birth to four children, the eldest and second were sons, the third and fourth were daughters, and the third son was born to Weng Huisheng.

If they really have to adopt one, he thought, then let Zhixi adopt one of her sons to her eldest brother. After all, she has two sons, doesn't she?

Weng Hui would definitely be reluctant to adopt his child, and so would he. He and Shuangshuang had once imagined what it would be like if they had a son... and now he knew.

Mei Xuanrui watched his brother bring his concubine Weng Hui to pay respects to his mother and sit down to eat breakfast together. He thought that if his concubine Jin Huanlan knew about this, she would make a fuss about it. After all, this kind of treatment was only given to the main wife. If the concubine of the second room could have it, then why couldn't she have it?

To be honest, he sometimes envied his brother Mei Xuanqi's reckless personality. He couldn't do that. He was always afraid of his mother, Old Lady Mei. Moreover, he glanced at his wife and son sitting next to him. He felt sorry for her and couldn't let her lose face again.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance quickly at his sister-in-law. Yuan Zhixi acted very calmly. Well, what else could he do? Make a scene? His brother wouldn't fall for that. No one could make a scene with him. Only Shuangshuang from back then might make a scene.

Old Mrs. Mei asked about the affairs that her two sons were in charge of. The Mei family was actually divided into two parts. One part was the farmland, and even a mountain. The output of these lands was various and numerous, and this was managed by the eldest son; the other part was various shops, which mainly included rice shops, cloth shops, cosmetics shops, calligraphy and painting studios, etc., which were managed by the second son.

But Old Mrs. Mei did not let go completely. She checked the accounts of these two pieces of land from time to time, and she would go to these two pieces of land and shops from time to time to take a look and ask questions.

What Mrs. Mei let go of was the backyard affairs. Originally, they had handed them over to her eldest daughter-in-law, but ever since her child was found to be a little off when he was two or three years old, the family had been managed jointly by her eldest and second daughters-in-law.

The eldest daughter-in-law often took her son to visit famous doctors and healers, and she also personally educated him. She took great pains to hire a private tutor to teach him at home, but she always taught her son before he went to class. This involved so much of the eldest daughter-in-law's time and energy, so naturally half of the housekeeping work had to be taken on by the second daughter-in-law.

Although the family has not yet split up, and all food, clothing, and other expenses are distributed uniformly by the public according to the rules, there are still many things in this world that the county magistrate is not as good at managing as the current one.

For example, the eldest brother is in charge of the mountains, the land, and the farm. The head of the farm always thinks of the eldest brother when there are good things produced in the mountains. For example, a while ago, a piece of fine fox fur was found in the mountains and the head of the farm gave it to the eldest brother.

When the eldest brother accepted the fox pelt, his first thought was that his concubine, Jin Huanlan, would be pleased. Although he was thinking about his concubine, he couldn't forget his mother and wife. He instructed the people on his farm, and sure enough, two months later, the hunters found two more fox pelts. The eldest brother didn't dare give the best one to Jin Huanlan, so he gave it to his mother instead.

The situation was similar for the second son's side. Whenever the cloth shop or cosmetics shop had new fabrics, new styles of clothing, or the best rouge, lip balm, or powder, the second son would always be notified first. In the past, the second son would tell his wife when he got the news, and let her go to the shop to make a selection. He would then handle the billing.

When things like this happened, the people from the first and second rooms would stare at each other. Even if the master didn't care, the servants from each room would still look at each other.

Each son took advantage of his own little piece of land, and both sons knew it. The second son probably paid for it himself. The eldest son thought he wouldn't have the guts to use the public account, considering his mother didn't often check the accounts.

But since Weng Hui came into the picture, things have been done differently. In the past, Mei Xuanqi let his wife Yuan Zhixi go to the store to choose clothes herself, but now he calls the shopkeepers of the cloth shop and cosmetics shop to his house, asking them to bring their employees and the new styles to help Weng Hui choose clothes.

He would also order a few pieces that looked good to be sent to his mother's yard, but he never said anything about his wife. Yuan Zhixi seemed very sensible and no longer went to these cloth shops or cosmetics shops, she just used the public share.