To divorce his wife, the top scholar preferred being cuckolded to wearing a red hat.

Ah Fei couldn't understand why his young master wasn't angry when he heard that someone had impersonated him to attend the banquet outside, but instead suspected that Miss Su had returned.

If Miss Su wanted to come back, she would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?

"Help me change my clothes, I'm going out to look for her, she'll definitely be back." When they were little, he and A-Yue often played together and were best buddies.

During the years she was missing, he sent many people to look for her. Unfortunately, they found no trace of her; it was as if she had vanished from the world.

……

Su Mingyue slept exceptionally well that night.

He got up and stretched. Xingchun heard her master get up and pushed the door open to come in.

"Madam, did you sleep well last night? I think I heard some noise?"

"It's probably just a stray cat outside, ignore it." Su Mingyue glanced at the floor where the man had slept last night.

The place was now clean and tidy, with no trace of blood left.

"Manager Liu is here, holding an account book, to let you review the discrepancies in the accounts over the past three years."

"Let him arrange breakfast first, I'll see later." Su Mingyue yawned, looking lazy.

After leaving the Su family, her biggest interest became making money.

When the money you've earned becomes just a number, you realize you haven't truly enjoyed life yet.

So from today onward, she can live however she wants to be happy.

Manager Liu is the manager of this farm, and she's in her early forties. She's been taking good care of the farm for the past three years, and even though she hasn't been here for three years, the farm is still very well-organized, and the annual income is quite good.

She ate her breakfast while looking at the account book.

If anything was unclear, Manager Liu would explain it from the side.

"Master, people from the Su family came to me yesterday, saying they've taken a liking to our estate and want to buy it."

"The Su family? Which Su family?" Su Mingyue paused in her work of looking at the account book.

“There’s only one Su family estate in the capital. It’s the residence of the current Grand Secretary,” Steward Liu explained from the side. “Our estate has plenty of fruits and vegetables, and most importantly, we have a hot spring. The other party probably wants to buy our hot spring because they’re interested in it.”

"So it's the Grand Secretary's family." Su Mingyue suddenly realized. She thought to herself that she really had a connection with the Su family, as she seemed to run into them no matter where she went.

Her man caught the eye of Su Ziyu.

Her farm has now caught the eye of the Su family.

Fate is truly a wonderful thing.

"Not for sale." Su Mingyue refused directly: "Do you think they can just rob us if we don't sell to a high-ranking official of the current dynasty?"

The reason I bought this estate was because it has a hot spring. When I'm physically and mentally exhausted, I can soak in it and wash away my fatigue.

Su Mingyue had just finished breakfast and was thinking about whether to go out for a walk when she saw Steward Liu running over in a panic: "Master, something bad has happened. Li Da has brought his men and said that he wants our estate. If we don't sell, they'll make us pay."

"Who is Li Da?"

“The Su family’s estate isn’t far from us. Li Da is the manager of that estate and doesn’t usually cause trouble in the area. Seeing that we’re not selling, he tried to barge in.”

"Is that so?" Su Mingyue sneered, "Let's go, I want to see who this person is, daring to rob in broad daylight."

Li Dazheng stood imposingly outside the courtyard with his men: "If you ask me, it's your good fortune that the Su family has taken a liking to your courtyard. You'd better obediently hand it over and don't force us to take action. If we do, you'll be the ones who suffer."

……

“Jingsheng, our family has a manor outside the city. It’s the season for fruits and vegetables to ripen now. Let’s go there to escape the heat.” Fu Jingsheng had originally planned to go outside the city with Su Ziyu today, but when Su Ziyu heard that they were going outside the city, she suggested going to the manor instead.

“Okay.” Fu Jingsheng looked at the other person gently: “The autumn heat wave is here, and the weather has been hot and humid lately. It’s a good opportunity to go to the estate to cool off.”

"That's what I think too." Su Ziyu listened to his words, and a gentle smile appeared on her lips as well.

Seeing that Fu Jingsheng was still hesitant to propose marriage, Su Ziyu knew that he probably hadn't sorted out his relationship with Su Mingyue yet.

Thinking of this, she smiled faintly: "Jingsheng, didn't you say that you would come to our house to propose marriage after the thank-you banquet? Have you chosen a date yet? When will you go?"

It would have been better if this matter hadn't been brought up, because as soon as it was, Fu Jingsheng's eyes started to look guilty: "I originally planned to go over in the next couple of days, but my mother said that you are not an ordinary young lady, and you must be properly observed in terms of etiquette. She wants someone to look for an auspicious day to propose marriage."

"Auntie is truly thoughtful." Su Ziyu covered her mouth and chuckled. "Jingying is also very easy to get along with."

Hearing her words, Fu Jingsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Ziyu, I will only marry you in this life. I will definitely marry you in a grand manner and I will not let Ren Keren look down on you."

“I understand.” Su Ziyu looked at him gently: “You are the young man I saw at first sight. The moment I first saw you, I knew that you would become the top scholar in the imperial examination.”

Recalling how they first met, Fu Jingsheng's face inexplicably turned bright red.

……

Li Da stood arrogantly in front of Steward Liu, shouting at him, "You say you won't sell? Then tell me who your master is? Which high-ranking official or influential person in the capital is he? If you can tell us, and you don't want to buy, then we won't buy. But if you can't tell us, and our Lord Su wants to buy your courtyard, but you don't want to sell, then this matter won't be so easily resolved."

"What, does Lord Su still engage in forced sales?" Steward Liu, having received Su Mingyue's instructions, was no longer afraid of Li Da: "No matter whose servants we are, if our master says we can't sell, then our master isn't afraid of offending Lord Su. Your Lord Su is so powerful, if he really wants our estate, let him come and negotiate himself. If he doesn't come, we won't sell."

Li Dayuan thought that the other party was somewhat intimidated when they heard the name of Lord Su.

Unexpectedly, the other party was not afraid at all and even dared to challenge the Su family.

"Very well, very well indeed. You want to see our Lord Su, is that it? I'll definitely let you see him later. Don't be afraid to kneel and beg for mercy then." Seeing that they were unmoved by reason, Li Da couldn't immediately determine who their master was.

As far as he knew, this estate seemed to be ownerless, and usually only Liu Guanshi and some workers lived there.

I have never seen his master come down to stay.

"We will also wait here for Lord Su. Lord Su is a first-rank official of the imperial court. If he comes to negotiate in person, we will definitely sell this courtyard to you."

"Ridiculous. Just you wait and see." Upon learning that Miss Su was coming to the estate today, Li Da gave Steward Liu a cold smile: "You'll see how powerful this is in a moment."