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

Zhao Deyou's extensive publicity was far more effective than posting notices. The people now knew that many kind-hearted people were sending supplies to Qingzhou City, putting their minds at ease and assuring them that no one would go hungry.

As truckloads of supplies arrived, the people were relieved that the supplies might be burned and they would starve to death, and they stopped causing trouble.

……

Su Mingyue saw Ye Wushuang and Quan Feiying appear in front of her, and happily ran over to hug Quan Feiying: "Yingying, what brings you here?"

"And you're one to talk! You came here secretly without telling us. We were all worried when we found out you were here, so we wanted to do what we could to help."

"The three of us pooled some money and sent some supplies over. When we came in, we heard that most of the supplies had been burned in a sneak attack. Who did this?"

"It's Princess Zhou Wenjun of Western Qi. She suffered at the hands of Prince Zhan before, and this incident in Qingzhou City was their doing."

"It's outrageous that the dignified Princess of Western Qi would resort to such methods." Quan Feiying had heard of the Princess of Western Qi before, and that she was ruthless, power-hungry, and currently vying for the throne with the current Crown Prince of Western Qi.

"She's ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals." Based on the events that have just occurred in Qingzhou, Su Mingyue concluded that Zhou Wenjun is an extremely vengeful person with a strong desire for power.

She disregarded the lives of the people of Qingzhou and was determined to seize control of the city. How could such a person be allowed to rise to a high position?

"Where are they now? Qingzhou City is under lockdown, they must still be inside."

"The fact that they can come and go freely in Qingzhou City means they must have other ways to get out." Zhou Wenjun was able to escape, so it certainly won't be easy to catch her again: "Now that we're on guard against her, she definitely won't dare to make any rash moves."

……

It was a month later when news of the lifting of the lockdown on Qingzhou City reached the capital.

Upon learning that Qingzhou had overcome the epidemic, minimized casualties, and was able to lift the lockdown in a short period of time, the Emperor was overjoyed.

"During this outbreak in Qingzhou, Prince Zhan, the Fifth Prince, and Princess Su played a crucial role. When they return, I will certainly reward them handsomely." In the court, the Emperor held the memorial handed back by Prince Zhan, beaming with joy: "Prince Zhan's memorial states that this outbreak is a conspiracy by the Western Qi Kingdom. They want to disrupt Qingzhou City, making us too busy to deal with it, and that they have an inside agent within our court."

At this point, the Emperor slammed the memorial down on the table, his face grim: "I will find out who the mole in Western Qi is. If I find out who did it, I will make sure they get away with it."

“Your Majesty, this matter is tantamount to treason and must be thoroughly investigated.” Su Sihai stepped forward: “The Princess of Western Qi dares to cause such trouble in our Qingzhou, showing utter disrespect for Southern Li. I suggest we attack Western Qi.”

"Yes, Your Majesty. Xiqi dares to disregard our Southern Li and cause trouble right under our noses. We must teach them a lesson."

The emperor listened to their words and said, "In your opinion, who should I send to fight?"

"Naturally, it's Prince Zhan. He has fought against the Princess of Western Qi, and his ability to lead troops is evident to all. With him leading the troops, we will definitely defeat Western Qi and make them dare not look at our Southern Li with covetous eyes anymore."

"We'll discuss this matter when they return." The Emperor neither agreed nor refused, and waved to dismiss the court.

When Xiao Zhan and Su Mingyue returned to the capital, the Emperor and the Crown Prince specially greeted them at the city gate.

The handling of this epidemic in Qingzhou was comparable to fighting a war. Now that we have returned victorious, we should naturally demonstrate the emperor's attitude.

Ye Wushuang and Quan Feiying were praised and rewarded by the emperor for their meritorious service in delivering supplies.

Fu Jingsheng sat in the prison van on his way back to Beijing, staring blankly out the window.

Wherever he went, people threw vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at him.

Now his hair is disheveled and he smells terrible.

He was sent to the Dali Temple, where he was personally interrogated by the War King.

He had a chance to come out after being imprisoned in the Dali Temple last time.

Now that he's been taken to the Dali Temple, he probably won't be coming out again.

Su Sihai wanted him dead, and the War King would not let him go either.

Six months ago, he was incredibly successful. He was the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination and had married the eldest daughter of the Su family; his future seemed limitless.

Look at them now, they're not even as good as beggars.

"Miss, Miss." Fu Jingying was sitting in a chair eating snacks when her maid ran in with a happy face: "Young Master is back."

"My brother is back. Where is he?" Fu Jingying put down the snacks and was about to go out.

The maidservant's expression fell as she recalled the news she had just heard: "But they all say that the eldest young master has committed a serious crime and has been sent to the Dali Temple. This matter is different from the last one. Once he is convicted, there's a good chance that the eldest young master won't be able to get out."

"What?" Fu Jingying, who was about to leave, returned to her previous position upon hearing this: "If that's really the case, won't my brother implicate us too? Mother is lying in bed like a cripple now. If something happens to him, please don't let it affect me."

"Miss, if something really happens to the young master, you will definitely be implicated as well. If all else fails, let's run away."

"No way. I don't want to go back to my hometown." Fu Jingying waved her hand. "Come on, let's go to Mother's room first and tell her about this. Speaking of which, it's all Su Ziyu's bad luck. Ever since we married her, our family has been plagued by misfortune. If my brother hadn't kicked Su Mingyue out of the house and married her instead, our family wouldn't be in this state now."

Su Ziyu is a troublemaker, a jinx. I really regret letting her marry into the Fu family. Fu Jingying thought that since arriving in the capital, she hadn't had a single day of glory.

Back in her hometown, everyone who saw her couldn't help but look on with envy.

Fu Jingying barged directly into Qian's room.

Madam Qian lay paralyzed in bed. Her mind would occasionally clear for a moment, but most of the time she was in a daze, fast asleep. She relieved herself in bed, and because the servants caring for her were negligent, a stench would hit you as soon as you opened the door.

As her daughter entered, the old lady's eyes darted around, and she made "ah ah" sounds, as if trying to express something.

Fu Jingying ignored what she was trying to say, and had the maid bring a chair to sit a meter away from her bed, her face full of disgust: "Mother, why does your room smell so bad? Didn't I tell you that if you need to poop or pee, you should tell the maid? You're making it so dirty all the time, you're ruining the family's fortune."

As Qian heard her words, she became even more agitated, and her "ah ah" sounds grew louder.

“Mother, there’s something else I need to tell you. My eldest brother is back. But it would have been better if he hadn’t come back at all. I heard he’s committed a serious crime and is imprisoned in the Dali Temple. If he really has committed a crime, won’t it affect us? Let’s arrest us too.”