After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 543 Tang Yu in "Down-and-Out"
"What? How could she be so heartless?" Madam Zheng stared in astonishment. Although she had accepted that her son was really getting a divorce, she could not accept that her son would suffer after the divorce.

Madam Zheng immediately became anxious, "Since we've lost our servant, we need to buy another one quickly. We can't expect you to do all the dirty and tiring work!"

Tang Yu agreed wholeheartedly and nodded, saying, "After renting this courtyard, I bought some nice things. I still have five taels of silver left. A servant costs about seven or eight taels. I can buy one when I get my salary next month."

Madam Zheng's expression completely changed. "You only got this little bit of money for the divorce?"

Tang Yu patiently explained, "You all know what happened when I left home. I almost starved to death on the streets because I didn't have enough money to eat. It was only after the Shen family invited me to teach their children that I was able to earn a meager income."

My current salary is five taels of silver a month, which is sixty taels a year, plus grain and cloth. It's not bad. However, there are many places in officialdom where money is needed for social interactions and personal relationships, so my five taels of silver is simply not enough.

When I was negotiating a divorce with Ms. Ke, she was originally unwilling to give me a single penny. However, out of consideration for our past marriage, she gave me thirty taels of silver.

Living in the capital is not easy. I rented this courtyard for twenty taels of silver, and after buying some daily necessities, I only had five taels of silver left.

This was the first time he had explained his salary so clearly.

In the eyes of Zheng and Yang, five taels of silver a month plus grain and cloth was already very good. They did not doubt the salary, but questioned Tang Yu's expenses.

Madam Yang frowned in displeasure. "What about social obligations? Five taels of silver a month isn't even enough?"

Tang Yu smiled and gave them a few examples. "To say nothing of other things, last month, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel held a grand banquet for his birthday. The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of promoting officials, so it's always necessary to maintain good relations with officials in the Ministry of Personnel. The cheapest gifts that are given are at least several tens of taels of silver, such as calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, antique vases, or valuable brocade. It's not appropriate to give anything that is too cheap. The gift I gave that time was a calligraphy and painting by a famous artist, worth thirty taels of silver."

There was also the "Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream" event held in the summer, an annual activity in official circles. Going there would cost several taels of silver. When my superior had a son, I would give him five or six taels as a gift. When a colleague took a concubine and held a banquet, I would give him one or two taels as a gift. When a colleague's child passed the imperial examination, I would give him one or two taels as a gift.

Such social obligations cost about fifty taels a year. My salary is sixty taels a year, and I also have to send fifty taels back to my hometown every year, which far exceeds my salary.

I only calculated my own expenses; I didn't include a single penny for supporting my family.

Now that we're divorced, the Ke family can no longer help me, and the Shen family behind them won't offer any support either. I'll have to walk my own path from now on. I don't know what I can do with a monthly salary of five taels of silver. But I certainly won't abandon my mother and sister-in-law; I'm just sorry to trouble you both.

Zheng and Yang turned pale with fright at Tang Yu's words.

Zheng grabbed Tang Yu's hand and shouted urgently, "You can't get a divorce! You can't divorce Ke! Even if you do, you can't just give up everything! I'll make a scene! I'll make sure Ke returns all the money to me!"

"No!" Tang Yu stopped her with a solemn expression. "Mother, the Ke family is backed by the Shen family, the same family as the Marquis of Yong'an. The eldest daughter of the Shen family is about to marry into the Princess of Huai'an's mansion. I was able to establish myself in the capital thanks to the support of the Ke family's backing."

If you go and cause trouble, and anger them, my official position will be over. Do you want our family to be driven back to the village? I don't know how to farm. Can my mother support me for the rest of my life?

Even if we take a step back and say those things are Ke's dowry, the laws of Langya Kingdom are there, and no matter how much you make a fuss, it won't do you any good. If Ke reports it to the authorities, you'll be punished. Why bother? "Then there's really no way?" Madam Yang's eyes widened, both angry and unwilling.

She brought her daughter along this time, hoping to use Tang Yu's name to marry her off to someone of higher status, so that she could help her family in the future. Originally, she had her eye on Tang Cheng, but since Tang Cheng is now Tang Yu's son, it was not easy for her to make a move.

Before she could come up with a solution, Tang Cheng was sent to the academy by Ke Yunyun.

Madam Yang had thought she had plenty of time and wasn't in a hurry, but she never expected Ke Yunyun to be so cunning and difficult to control. Now that her family had inexplicably left that mansion, all her plans had fallen through. From now on, let alone a life of being waited on hand and foot, she feared that even basic sustenance would be a problem.

Tang Yu sighed again, shook his head, and reminded her in return, "Mother, sister-in-law, this is the capital. The people here have a kind of inexplicable sense of superiority. They are not as easy to talk to as they are in the countryside. There are many people around here, so you must not get into conflicts with them, and you must not bring up your son at the drop of a hat."

If I anger someone and they go to the authorities to sue me, my career will be even more difficult. I don't want my whole family to end up being kicked out of the capital.

The women were stunned by Tang Yu's words.

As it got dark, they were tired and didn't press the matter further.

When they arrived at the backyard, they discovered that the house only had three rooms. Tang Yu had one room, Zheng Shi had one room, and Yang Shi had to share a room with her daughter.

The room was small and cramped. After putting in a bed, there was hardly any room left. The floor was covered in dust, but the bed itself was clean and had been wiped down.

These conditions are even worse than a house in the countryside.

Over the years, Tang Yu has sent fifty taels of silver to the countryside every year, enough for them to build a bright and spacious house with blue bricks and tiles.

When her father-in-law was still alive, he arranged for the construction of four connected brick and tile houses. Each of her three sons had one house, and the other house was for her parents-in-law and them to live in. The houses were clearly meant for the eldest son's family, which could be considered as compensation for her husband.

Aside from the discomfort of living under her mother-in-law's watchful eye, everything else went smoothly.

You can imagine the emotional shock she'd feel living in such a dilapidated house.

The more Yang thought about it, the more indignant she became. She didn't sleep well all night. When she walked out of her room in the morning with dark circles under her eyes, she saw that Zheng was already awake. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward to appease her and explain, "Mother, after being so disturbed yesterday, I didn't sleep well at all. I only managed to doze off for a while before dawn. I didn't expect to be late."

Madam Zheng glanced at her with a disgruntled expression, but didn't take it to heart. She just said sullenly, "Ayu has gone to work. What do you think we should do next? Stay in the capital or go back?"

Originally, she was determined to die in the capital, otherwise she wouldn't have acted like a mother-in-law as soon as she arrived and demanded that Madam Ke hand over the power of managing the household. She never expected that Madam Ke would be so difficult to deal with. She tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and ended up with nothing.

If she stayed in the capital and squeezed into this dilapidated courtyard with her youngest son, having to do all the work and barely making ends meet, what would she do here?
Madam Yang was also wavering, but she was unwilling to give up. "Mother, do you think my uncle hasn't made any money after being an official for so many years?"