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

Once the maid left, Fu Jingsheng told Granny Guan to take everyone away.

“Mother, you can’t treat them like this. They’re here to work for us, not to be mistreated. If you beat and scold them and deduct their wages, they might rebel and reveal the secrets of our Fu family. Then we’ll be ruined.”

Fu Jingsheng was dissatisfied with Madam Qian for scolding and beating the maid and demanding compensation. He also understood that his mother was just an old woman from the countryside and wouldn't know how to handle such matters, so he had no choice but to patiently teach her a few words.

Madam Qian dismissed the idea, saying, "They're just a few maids; how could they possibly rebel? If they're careless and break something, they have to pay for it. That's the rule in the house. Without it, they would cause trouble, and they might even steal things."

Seeing that Qian Shi wouldn't listen, Fu Jingsheng said again, "Don't go too far. Our status is different now than before; everyone is watching our every word and action."

"Don't worry, I know how to deal with them, you don't need to worry. By the way, didn't you go to the country with your wife? Why are you back?"

"Stop talking, money is needed everywhere, it's a real headache." Fu Jingsheng rubbed his temples. "How much silver do you have left? Give me two thousand taels. I'll go give it to the steward at the estate; they haven't paid their monthly wages for over a month."

Upon hearing this, Madam Qian stood up abruptly, her voice rising even louder: "What? Two thousand taels of silver a month? Are you trying to rob us? Son, we don't even have as many maids and servants as we do at home. How can you ask for so much silver? Don't let anyone cheat you."

"It's not just the monthly allowance, but also the maintenance and upkeep of the estate. The estate is filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, and the fruits and vegetables there are fragrant all year round. Of course, someone has to take care of it. And taking care of it requires expenses. I never imagined that an estate would cost so much money a month."

“Where would I get that much money? Besides, your wife is in charge of the household now. Why are you asking me for money when you don’t ask her?”

“She’s unaware of the vegetables that have been delivered to her estate recently, and she doesn’t know how you’ve handled them, so she’s unwilling to give them out. However, she promised to start giving them out next month, so we’ll have to figure out how to do it ourselves this month. Mother, I’ve seen the amount of vegetables the steward delivers; it’s about two cartloads a day. With all the people in our household, how can we possibly consume that much food in a day?”

When the topic of those vegetables came up, Qian immediately felt guilty.

Of course, we can't eat that much at home.

If she can't finish it, she won't take it outside to sell.

“Mother, you need to tell me the truth. If you don’t tell me the truth, your son won’t be able to speak up for you in the future.”

"It's just two cartloads of vegetables, does she really have to be so calculating? We have quite a few people in our family, and we need one cartload of vegetables a day. I've had the remaining cartload sold. Our vegetables are good, so we can get a good price, and we can make about ten taels of silver a day."

"In that case, if we sell both cartloads of vegetables, we can earn about thirty taels a day."

"It depends on the variety. If there's a lot of fruit, the price will be better. Vegetables aren't as expensive as fruits."

"I haven't heard you mention it in the past month or so."

"You're so busy every day, why would I need to tell you such a small thing?"

"Look how much silver you have. I need to get there soon." Fu Jingsheng felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this.

The fact that the family has income shows that the estate is not entirely without merit.

Moreover, he had just looked at some of those flowers and plants, and if he wanted to sell them, he could get a pretty good price for them.

Therefore, the monthly maintenance fee cannot be saved.

If those flowers die, they'll really be worthless.

"The money you used for your wedding was all from the money we got from pawning our jewelry. Where would we have any money left in the house?" Madam Qian's eyes gleamed.

Su Ziyu is so shrewd; she must have kept some money on her person.

If you give her all the money, it won't be easy to get it back from her later.

"Mother, please help me out. Once I receive my monthly salary, I'll give you half of it every month, okay?"

Unable to resist Fu Jingsheng's pleas, Madam Qian had no choice but to give him a thousand taels of silver: "This is all I have. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself. This is my last bit of money. If I need money in the future, I'll have to ask you." Madam Qian held the silver notes tightly, reluctant to let go.

Fu Jingsheng took the money and comforted him, saying, "You only have one son, so no matter what happens to you in the future, I will definitely take responsibility. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer." After taking the money, Fu Jingsheng went back to his study and took out a silver note from inside.

Just as I stepped out, I ran into Fu Jingying returning.

Upon learning that Fu Jingsheng was going to the estate, she insisted on going with him.

Fu Jingsheng thought it would be fine if she went, so she could keep Su Ziyu company.

Fu Jingying's eyes widened as she watched Fu Jingsheng hand over two thousand taels of silver to the steward.

"Sister-in-law, do these servants get such high monthly wages?" Fu Jingying asked in a low voice.

"Their monthly salary isn't much, but maintaining this yard is expensive. If a flower withers, it needs to be replaced, and these flowers aren't cheap. You can't just leave it unattended."

"It's so expensive, can't we just not stay here? Two thousand taels a month is enough for our household to live on for several months."

"If you can afford to buy it but can't afford to maintain it, won't that make you a laughing stock?"

"Sir, Madam," the steward said, still holding the silver notes, "this is what we owe for the past month or so. Could you perhaps ask us to cover next month's debt as well? We only owed it this month because of this old servant's sake. It wouldn't be right to ask them to extend credit again this month."

Su Ziyu frowned: "How much?"

"Not much, a thousand taels will do. The remaining thousand taels can be settled when Madam gives us our monthly allowance."

Fu Jingsheng looked at Su Ziyu with a clear intention: he wanted her to take it out.

Left with no other choice, Su Ziyu had to give it to her.

"Sister-in-law, why should we give so much money? At worst, we can just stop taking care of these flowers and plants."

“Jingying, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand. Putting everything else aside, this garden alone is worth a lot of money. Do you see this magnolia tree? This kind of magnolia is hard to find, and it’s not cheap. As long as we take good care of it, we can sell it for several thousand taels of silver.”

Fu Jingying didn't hear anything else, but she heard her older brother say that this garden was valuable and any kind of flower could fetch a good price.

Thinking to myself, if my sister-in-law doesn't give me money next time, I can just come here and take a few pots of flowers to sell.

"So, this garden is actually a money exchange. As long as we manage it well, we can withdraw money from it anytime." Fu Jingying's comprehension was impeccable.

Su Ziyu sneered inwardly as she listened to Fu Jingying's words.

A country girl from the countryside is just a country girl; she has no appreciation skills whatsoever.