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

Madam Qian was extremely disgusted by Su Mingyue's clothes: "Mingyue, you have plenty of money, why are you dressed like this?"

It would have been better if Madam Qian hadn't brought it up, because the mere mention of it caused Su Mingyue to burst into tears: "Mother, husband, I had no choice. I sold all the shops at home and exchanged them for silver notes to carry with me. I was afraid that if I dressed too conspicuously, people would target me. My husband is just starting out in officialdom and needs money right now, so of course I have to deliver them safely."

Hearing her words, Madam Qian found Su Mingyue more agreeable.

Although she is a businesswoman, she is quite capable and genuinely loves Jing Sheng, without harboring any ulterior motives.

But his face still showed displeasure, and he said with obvious disgust, "Now that everyone's here, take out the silver notes. Give the silver notes to Jing Sheng for safekeeping, and go downstairs to take a good bath."

Su Mingyue pretended to take the silver notes, then remembered something and asked the three of them, "Husband, what was going on just now? Why did you call me cousin? I am clearly your lawfully wedded wife, when did I become your cousin?"

Su Mingyue asked, tears welling up again.

Looking at her travel-worn appearance, with tears streaming down her face, Fu Jingsheng felt a surge of disgust. How could she be worthy of him looking like that?

“Mingyue, you know that our family has just arrived in the capital and our foundation is not yet stable. There’s no rush for some things. Besides, if I find out that my wife is the daughter of a merchant who is full of money, how will people view me? I know that you may have to suffer these days, but don’t worry, we will still be the same as before. Only in front of outsiders will we be cousins. You can understand me, right?”

"My husband is looking down on me because I'm a merchant. He used to say he would never look down on me."

"Do you understand the saying 'things are different now'? Your husband is no longer an ordinary scholar; he's the newly appointed top scholar and will soon be joining the Hanlin Academy." Madam Qian spoke of this with obvious pride.

The newly appointed top scholar has joined the Hanlin Academy, which indicates a major promotion is imminent.

“I’m willing to endure some grievances for my husband’s sake, but when do you and my mother plan to announce our marital status?” Su Mingyue quickly accepted this explanation and looked up at Fu Jingsheng.

Fu Jingsheng's eyes showed a hint of guilt.

When will that time ever come? I'm afraid it will never come again.

Fu Jingying urged Su Mingyue, "You should be content. Giving you the title of cousin means we're still family and can be together every day. The title of 'the top scholar's wife' is just a title, why do you care so much about it? As long as my brother has you in his heart, that's enough. Hurry up and take out the silver notes for my brother. Go take a bath, you smell terrible all the way here."

Su Mingyue had just taken a bath at the farm, so she didn't smell. However, the clothes she was wearing were indeed the ones she wore when she came to the capital, and they hadn't been washed since, so the smell was really unpleasant.

“Yes, you have no idea how much it costs to come to the capital. The money we brought from home last time was not enough at all. Fortunately, the Emperor bestowed some money upon us, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to hold Jing Sheng’s thank-you banquet.”

Su Mingyue paused as she was about to take the silver note: "Has my husband's thank-you banquet already been held? I rushed over early, but I didn't expect to miss it."

"What are you doing here? Do you want everyone to know that my brother married a merchant's daughter?" Fu Jingying asked impatiently.

If she weren't still somewhat useful, I wouldn't even want her to come in.

A businessman is just a businessman; all he's good for is making money.

Su Mingyue took out a few silver notes from her bundle and carefully placed them in front of Fu Jingsheng: "Husband, this is all the silver I have on me. Why don't you keep it with me?"

“Mingyue, logically you should be in charge of this household, but there are many social obligations in the capital, and you may not be used to it yet. How about this, once the money from Wantong Money Shop is ready, then you can take charge?”

"It will be several months before we can withdraw that money, so my husband should use the ten thousand taels of silver we have carefully. If we see a suitable shop in the capital, I'm thinking of buying a few."

“Your man is now a top scholar, so you shouldn’t get involved in business anymore. Isn’t that ruining Jing Sheng’s reputation?”

Fu Jingsheng accepted the silver note, not wanting to say anything more to Su Mingyue. He then asked Fu Jingying to take Su Mingyue downstairs to wash up.

Fu Jingying led Su Mingyue to a secluded courtyard. This courtyard was a bit far from the main house, and the facilities inside were very simple; it was clearly a guest room, intended for unwelcome guests.

“Su Mingyue, you’ll be living here from now on. You’re now our distant cousin. My mother took you in because you were taken in after your parents were injured. You need to be sensible, know your place, and not think about things you shouldn’t.”

“Jingying, I know what you mean. Don’t worry, I will definitely not cause trouble for your brother. It’s just that I am his wife after all, and I have always considered myself his cousin. If he announces that I am his wife in the future, will outsiders say anything?”

"When my brother becomes a high-ranking official, who he marries will be his own business, and no one will dare to say anything." Fu Jingying casually gave a few instructions to Su Mingyue to get some rest before leaving.

It's as if there's something shameful here, and I don't want to stay a moment longer.

Xingchun has been speechless with astonishment by their actions since she entered the mansion.

What is this operation?

He wanted the money in the lady's hands, but he didn't acknowledge her identity, saying that she was his cousin in the mansion.

Xingchun suddenly understood why Madam wanted to sell Fu Jingsheng's property. This family was utterly heartless and worse than animals.

"Madam, the three members of the Fu family, mother and sons, really are a family. Even their way of treating you is remarkably consistent. Why do you still give them money for how they treat you?"

Some people use the lady's money while secretly cursing and disliking her. What kind of people are these?

“I gave them the money, whether they can hold onto it or not is their own business.” Su Mingyue smiled and said, “Didn’t he say I was his cousin? As he wishes, I’ll find an opportunity tomorrow to let everyone know that I’m just his cousin.”

"Trying to gain benefits from Madam while simultaneously trying to sever ties with her, how clever of you."

"People are never satisfied. Once they have fame, they want profit. Now that he's the top scholar in the imperial examination, it's understandable that he wants to get rid of his wife and marry a pampered young lady."

If she could reason with him properly, considering he had saved her back then, she wasn't incapable of granting his request. If he said he wanted a divorce, she would leave immediately, and might even give him some money.

His biggest mistake was taking things from one another, and then trying to kill himself.