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

Fu Jingsheng stepped forward and stood next to Su Mingyue, reaching out to shake her hand.

Su Mingyue directly shook him off: "Fu Jingsheng, do you want a divorce? If you want a divorce, just say so now. Otherwise, your mother and sister will pin so many accusations on me. Do you think that because I'm a businesswoman with no family backing me, you can do whatever you want with me?"

“Mother must have made a mistake. All these years I’ve been studying in the capital, and all the money I needed was given to me by my wife. Now that I’ve completed my studies and returned home with top honors, how could I possibly be thinking of divorcing my wife? Jingying, tell me, what’s going on?”

Fu Jingying's eyes flickered: "Brother, we didn't mean to embarrass you. You became the top scholar in the imperial examination, which should have been a joyous occasion. Mother asked you to contribute money to the banquet, but you refused. Mother thought you had changed your mind, so she decided to do this to test you. Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, Mother and I just wanted to test your sincerity. Now it seems that your feelings for my brother have never changed. We wronged you, and I apologize."

Fu Jingying walked up to Su Mingyue and bowed deeply.

"Testing my sincerity? If you didn't know better, you'd think the Fu family was in power and wanted to find a new wife."

"My lady, what are you saying? We remember your kindness to our Fu family. How could we be heartless?" Fu Jingsheng quickly reassured him.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, it's fine to talk it out. Su, you are Jingsheng's wife, so you and Jingsheng share the same fate, and you share the same fate."

Today's incident was just an accident, don't take it to heart. After Jingsheng goes to the capital to take up his post, you should stay home and be a proper official's wife; you don't need to worry about the business outside. You're the wife of a top scholar; what will people think if they know you're a businesswoman?"

"The clan leader means I should pretend that what happened today never happened. If they dare to accuse me of adultery today, will they dare to accuse me of murder tomorrow?" Su Mingyue sneered.

The clan chief's face darkened when he saw how tactless she was.

Jing Sheng is the top scholar in the imperial examination; marrying a royal princess is perfectly acceptable for him. Look at what she's saying! A merchant is just a merchant—lowly in status and short-sighted. All he knows is how to make a little money; he can't see anything else.

"My wife," Fu Jingsheng said, holding her hand, "I apologize to you on behalf of my mother for what happened today. Don't worry, I'll definitely talk to them properly later. We're all family, what were they trying to do by putting on this show?"

“Mrs. Su.” An uncle from the clan stepped forward and said, “Just pretend this never happened. You are still Jingsheng’s wife, and Jingsheng will not despise you. Your mother-in-law and sister-in-law did a little confused about this matter, but they didn’t mean any harm. Let it go.”

Listen to that, it's true, the Fu family only speaks up for the Fu family.

She was an outsider, and a woman they could abandon at any time; no one spoke up for her.

"Dear elders, I'm not an unreasonable person. Although what happened between my mother-in-law and Jingying today upset me, Jingsheng apologized to me, so I won't hold it against him. Jingsheng and I are husband and wife, and as long as he trusts me, I'm content." Su Mingyue softened her tone.

Fu Jingsheng didn't force her to divorce him today, but he'll definitely find another opportunity. She wants to see what he'll do next.

Fu Jingsheng first took Su Mingyue back, and then went to Qian's room.

Fu Jingying was serving her at the bedside. When she saw her son come in, Qian Shi sat up and said, "Son, did that bitch Su Mingyue know about our plan in advance? Otherwise, why would she have brought Liu Datou here?"

"Yes, brother. If we didn't divorce her today, it won't be easy to find another opportunity. What should we do?"

She and her mother were aware that Fu Jingsheng was going to marry the daughter of the Grand Secretary. That's why they planned this whole thing, thinking that by pinning Su Mingyue's adultery on them, they could divorce her.

“Although he didn’t cheat on her, it’s true that she hasn’t had a child in three years. In my opinion, we should use that as a reason to divorce her.” Madam Qian had just suffered a loss with Su Mingyue, and now her face was full of hatred when she mentioned her.

That bitch, she actually used someone like Liu Datou to disgust her.

She's now the mother of a top scholar, what is Liu Datou anyway, to even be compared to her?

For the past three years, Fu Jingsheng has been exchanging letters with Su Mingyue. In his mind, Su Mingyue revolves around him and is a gentle person without her own opinions.

But her performance today greatly surprised him.

“Mother, Jingying, there’s no need to bring this up again. Mingyue and I haven’t seen each other for three years, so we should get to know each other better.”

"Are you really going to live with her? What about Miss Su? She's waiting for you to come home, hold the wedding banquet, and marry her. You can't keep her waiting too long." Jingying became anxious upon hearing her older brother's words.

"Shut up. Your elder brother has been clever since he was a child, he must have come up with a solution." Madam Qian scolded Fu Jingying: "Jingsheng, what do you plan to do? If all else fails, you can make her resign and become a concubine, giving up her position as the legal wife. As long as she is still willing to earn money for the family, she will always have a place in the family."

Su Mingyue didn't have a reliable family backing her, but it's true that she was good at making money. Over the years, if Su Mingyue had been in charge of the household, she and Jingying wouldn't have been able to live so comfortably after Jingsheng went to study in the city.

She had many maids and lived a life of luxury.

“No.” Fu Jingsheng shook his head: “Even if Ziyu doesn’t say anything, Lord Su will still be in a difficult position. You don’t need to worry about this matter; I have my own arrangements.”

Su Mingyue stayed in the room for a while before going out.

A moment later, a steward came up to her: "Madam."

Su Mingyue sat by the window, holding an account book in her hand: "From now on, without my order, no one, no matter who, can withdraw cash from the shop. If they have any objections, let them come and ask me."

Hearing Su Mingyue's words, the manager looked up in surprise and quickly nodded: "Yes."

After the steward left, Su Mingyue asked Hongxiu to compile a list of how much silver she had spent on those beasts in the Fu family since she married into the family.

Hongxiu managed most of the business outside for her. Now that she saw her tidying up these things, she had a bad feeling: "Master, what are you tidying up? Did our new top scholar do something bad to upset you?"

Instead of answering her directly, Su Mingyue asked, "What do you think of the Fu family?"

“Your mother-in-law and sister-in-law are the epitome of petty people who have gained power. They’re always so arrogant when they come to the shop to withdraw money. I just don’t understand, you’re so beautiful, how could you have married a poor scholar in the first place?”

“He saved me once.” Su Mingyue recalled that she made up her mind to be with Fu Jingsheng because once her carriage broke down and the driver went to find help. Suddenly, the horse started to gallop wildly. She and her maid screamed in fright. Fu Jingsheng, who happened to be passing by, helped them rein in the horse in time, thus averting a disaster.