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

Fu Jingsheng was somewhat satisfied to see that Su Mingyue readily gave him the silver.

This wife listened to her very much and was completely devoted to her. It's a pity she was just a businesswoman.

A businessman's focus on profit is of no use to him in his official career.

After counting the silver, it totaled thirteen thousand taels.

He had someone inquire about the property, and it was said that at least 80,000 taels of silver would be needed to buy the estate with the hot spring.

The amount of silver he had was far from enough.

After putting away the silver notes, and estimating that Su Mingyue had finished packing, he asked someone to serve the dishes and said he would call Miss Biao out to eat together.

Su Mingyue's lips curled up slightly when she heard that Fu Jingsheng had invited her to dinner. She thought to herself, "I've given all my money to Fu Jingsheng, yet he still has the patience to invite me to dinner. He must have something to ask of me."

Perfect timing, she also wanted to hear what the other party wanted to do.

"Cousin." Fu Jingsheng stood up to greet her as she approached. "You must be tired from your long journey. I've had the kitchen prepare some light meals. Please sit down and have some."

Su Mingyue looked around but didn't see Fu Jingying and Madam Qian. She then gracefully sat down and asked, "Where are Aunt and Jingying? Aren't you going to eat with us?"

Isn't the storyline about playing the role of Miss Cousin? Okay, then let's make it even more realistic.

Hearing the way she addressed him, Fu Jingsheng couldn't help but marvel at how obedient Su Mingyue was, requiring no effort from him.

“They’ve already eaten. This table is specially prepared for you.” Fu Jingsheng didn’t eat himself, but just watched Su Mingyue eat.

Su Mingyue ate a little bit as a symbolic gesture.

Looking at her unhurried manner, Fu Jingsheng pondered how to bring up the matter of buying the estate.

Seeing that she was almost finished eating, he spoke up: "Mingyue, I know you must be uncomfortable about letting me stay here as your cousin. Don't worry, once I've established myself in the capital, I'll definitely find a suitable time to announce our relationship. Right now, I have a problem, and if I don't solve it, it might not be easy for me to gain a foothold in the capital in the future."

"If it's about official matters, I'm afraid I can't help. You'll have to be more careful yourself. If it's something else, I'll definitely try to help if I can." Seeing his hesitant manner, Su Mingyue guessed that the matter he wanted to handle might require money.

Moreover, the amount of silver was not small; the silver she had just taken out was simply not enough.

"It's not about officialdom. I've got my eye on a house that's warm in winter and cool in summer, and it even has a hot spring. It's an excellent house, and I was thinking that if we could buy it, my family could go there to escape the heat in the summer and soak in the hot spring in the winter. But the owner of that house is asking for a high price, and I'm afraid we can't afford it with our family's wealth."

Su Mingyue understood everything Fu Jingsheng said. It turned out that Su Ziyu, by not buying the house back from her, had put pressure on Fu Jingsheng to buy it.

He'll probably only be able to show his true feelings if he can buy a house.

He chuckled to himself; these two were really interesting.

“Jingsheng, this is an excellent idea, but I wonder how much silver it would cost to buy that estate,” Su Mingyue asked casually.

"I didn't find out the details. You know I'm a scholar, why would I bother with these things? I just happened to hear that the owner was looking to sell, and the environment sounded nice. I was thinking that if we could buy it, our family would have another place to go in the summer and winter, don't you think?"

Su Mingyue immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "Jingsheng, I've just arrived in the capital and I've given you all the money I have. If you want to buy it, go ahead, I have no objection. It's just that I don't have much money right now, and I'm afraid it's not enough to buy that house. Why don't you talk to the owner of that house and ask her to wait for us for half a year? After half a year, we can take the money out of the bank."

Fu Jingsheng realized that his family was indeed out of money. The only sum they had was the one Su Mingyue had just given him.

In the capital city where land is incredibly valuable, this sum of money is truly insignificant.

"I was just saying." Fu Jingsheng didn't bring up the topic again, but told Su Mingyue to go out more tomorrow if she had time. The implication was that there were many wealthy families in the capital, and more business opportunities.

“I also want to do business, but my aunt warned me a long time ago that my status is not what it used to be, and I should not show my face in public to do these things, lest I tarnish your reputation. Besides, doing business also requires capital, and I only have a few hundred taels of silver on me right now. I don’t have any money to start a business.”

Fu Jingsheng frowned deeply as he listened to her words.

He couldn't help but sigh. Su Mingyue was good in every way, except that she was sometimes too obedient.

When I told you not to manage the business, it was just lip service; why did you take it seriously?

“Mingyue, although we are cousins ​​to outsiders, we are husband and wife to our family. You are still the head of the household. You have seen the situation at home. There are so many servants, so many people to work and eat, and the monthly expenses are not small. If the family relies solely on my monthly salary, life will be quite difficult.”

Su Mingyue sneered inwardly. Sure enough, her words about staying out less and showing her face in public were just empty talk. If she really stopped going out to earn money, she would be anxious again.

That's true. She's the family's cash cow. If she doesn't go out and earn money, where will they get the money to spend?

“I am aware of the difficulties my family is facing. But starting a business requires capital, and I don’t have any capital on me right now.”

Fu Jingsheng gritted his teeth, took out three thousand taels of silver notes and gave them to Su Mingyue: "Take these three thousand taels of silver first. If you see a suitable shop, buy it first. If it's not enough, I'll find a way. I have my own uses for the remaining ten thousand taels of silver."

Su Mingyue accepted the silver note without any hesitation: "I'll go out and look around tomorrow to see if there are any suitable shops. Don't worry, as long as there are suitable shops, I'll know what kind of business is most profitable, and I'll be able to earn back my investment quickly."

Fu Jingsheng knew something about Su Mingyue's abilities.

She's an orphan who's managed to get where she is now from nothing, so she must have some skills.

"Go ahead and do it boldly. I will explain everything to Mother myself."

"Will you look down on me for being a businessman and keep our identities from being revealed?" Su Mingyue looked up at him.

Fu Jingsheng felt a sudden pang of guilt and after a long pause said, "Don't overthink it. This is just a temporary measure. You know how difficult it is for me to gain a foothold here, given my family's poor background. Once I get promoted, no one will look down on me anymore. Then I can do whatever I want and marry whomever I want without anyone criticizing me."

Su Mingyue felt a chill run down her spine.

Fu Jingsheng, if you could be more honest, I wouldn't look down on you. Your hypocrisy is truly disgusting.