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

Fu Jingying also didn't want to go back to her hometown.

With her elder brother and mother dead, even if she returned to her hometown, the people in the clan would definitely not let her have an easy time.

She went to see Su Ziyu, but Su Ziyu refused to see her. The Su family treated her like a plague, closing the gate whenever they saw her approaching.

As for the young ladies from wealthy families she knew before, they all avoided her like the plague after learning of her elder brother's passing.

Now she has nowhere to turn and no suitable marriage partner, so returning to her hometown is her only option.

Fu Jingying went to see Su Ziyu but failed to see her, so she had no choice but to come and ask to see Su Mingyue.

In her heart, Su Mingyue was easier to talk to than Su Ziyu. After all, during those years in the countryside, Su Mingyue had taken very good care of her and her mother, providing them with good food and drink.

Now that her older brother and mother have passed away, she certainly won't remember anything from before.

Fu Jingying knelt on the ground, begging Su Mingyue to agree to escort her elder brother and mother's remains back.

Su Mingyue looked at Fu Jingying with a calm expression.

Actually, the Fu family is also pitiful. They were inexplicably chosen to become pawns, and once the pawns are no longer useful, there is no need to keep them.

“Fu Jingying, what are you doing here? I don’t have the ability to escort you back. If you really want to transport their bodies back, just spend some money to hire someone. If I remember correctly, Su Ziyu gave you a lot of jewelry before, and you bought a lot more later. Also, you seem to still have some of the jewelry I gave you before.”

Those pieces of jewelry are all very valuable. You could easily pawn just two pieces and that would be enough to pay for someone to send them home. Why are you begging me here? One is your older brother, and the other is your mother. From childhood to adulthood, they've never let us suffer even a little. Now, all I'm asking you to do is spend a little money to send them home, and you're unwilling? Then you're truly an ungrateful wretch.”

Fu Jingying bit her lip.

She naturally still had some silver and jewelry on hand.

But her older brother and mother have passed away, and she will be all alone from now on. She can't possibly leave without some money to rely on.

"Sister-in-law." Fu Jingying's shoulders trembled as she thought of this. "My mother and I pawned those jewelry when my elder brother got married. As for the money, it was all borrowed by my elder brother and he has to pay it back. I really have no money left. If I had money, I wouldn't have come here despite your disdain. Please help me, I really have no other choice."

Fu Jingying started crying again as she spoke.

"Xingchun, please escort Miss Fu out." Su Mingyue felt irritated just looking at her: "My current fiancé is Prince Zhan. If he finds out that I still feel sorry for my ex-husband, he might misunderstand me. Besides, Fu Jingsheng has a wife. If his current wife doesn't care, why should I, his ex-wife, care? If this gets out, won't it ruin my reputation?"

"I didn't..." Fu Jingying looked at Su Mingyue in disbelief, not expecting that she really didn't intend to care.

She used to be so good to her and her mother, and even helped her older brother with his school fees. Could it all have been fake?

“Miss Fu, it’s really bad for our young lady’s reputation for you to kneel here. Your elder brother has a wife, and your mother has a daughter-in-law and a daughter. No matter what, it’s not our young lady’s place to intervene. Please, if you don’t leave, I might take action.” As Xingchun spoke, she winked at Qingyu, signaling her to keep an eye on things. If Fu Jingying didn’t want to leave, she wouldn’t mind throwing her out.

Fu Jingying got up from the ground in a disheveled state.

She wanted to give Su Mingyue a hard time and make her remember this day.

The thought of her older brother, who had stood up for her, being dead, and her mother passing away, made her afraid to stand up for herself.

Waaah...

Fu Jingying covered her face and ran away.

Watching her leave, Xingchun quickly closed the door: "What bad luck. She has her own sister-in-law but doesn't ask for help, so she comes here to beg. What kind of logic is that?"

"Miss used to treat them very well, so when they were down on their luck, they naturally thought of Miss first. When they were successful, if they hadn't been so shameless, Miss might have even disciplined them. But they have acted so shamelessly, and now they dare to come to Miss's door begging for help. Bah!"

Su Mingyue waved her hand: "Have someone keep an eye on the Fu family. Although Fu Jingsheng is dead, I have a feeling something is about to happen. As for Liu Yun and Duoduo, have they been settled?"

"Miss, we're here." Liu Yun led her younger sister to Su Mingyue and bowed to her.

"The capital is not like Qingzhou, but I'm still getting used to living here."

"But we're so used to it. We've never slept on a soft bed or worn such nice clothes before."

“Hongxiu, from now on, let Liuyun follow you and learn how to do business outside. As for Duoduo, she is still young, let her study first, and I will see how to arrange things for her when she is older.”

"Thank you, Miss." Upon hearing this, Liu Yun knelt down with her sister to express their gratitude.

"Sister, can I go to the clinic to study?" Liu Duoduo looked up at Su Mingyue earnestly. "Last time in Qingzhou City, you saved so many people with your medical skills and good character. I've always remembered that. Now that I have the opportunity, I want to learn medicine like you and heal more people in the future."

Unexpectedly, Liu Duoduo would volunteer to study medicine. Upon hearing this, Su Mingyue smiled and said, "Okay, I agree. But studying medicine also requires learning to read. From now on, you will study at home during lunch breaks and go to the clinic to study in the afternoons. However, I will check your studies. If you don't complete them diligently, you won't be allowed to go anymore."

"Don't worry, I will definitely study hard."

"Duoduo." Liu Yun tugged at her sister's sleeve, embarrassed. "Why are you talking to Miss like that?"

The little girl is quite young, but she already has her own ideas.

"Sister, I will definitely study hard."

"The imperial edict has arrived." A voice rang out from outside.

Accompanying the imperial eunuch was Prince Zhan.

The crowd knelt down to receive the imperial decree.

The Emperor's decree was issued because she had developed a formula in Qingzhou that saved the people of Qingzhou City. Her fiefdom was changed from that remote corner in the northwest to Qingzhou City, and she was rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and a gold token that exempted her from death.

Su Mingyue knelt down to express her gratitude: "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Having just been granted the fief of Qingzhou, he was awarded a pardon from death—truly an immense honor.

However, considering her contributions to Qingzhou, this reward is nothing.

If she hadn't discovered in time that the prescription given by Zhou Wenjun of Xiqi was problematic, the people of Qingzhou City would have lost their ability to work, and the consequences would have been unimaginable. It is unknown whether Qingzhou City would have fallen. She also avoided a disaster. She deserves this pardon.

"Thank you, sir." Su Mingyue had Xingchun deliver a money pouch to her father-in-law and then escorted him to the door.

"The Emperor wants you to come to the palace tomorrow; he has some questions for you," the eunuch said with a smile.

Everyone in the court knows that Princess Su is a favorite, so of course we have to be polite to her.

After seeing her father-in-law off, Su Mingyue held the "immunity token" in her hand and looked at Xiao Zhan: "Did you get this 'immunity token' for me?"