Chapter 996: Calculating Scholar 51

After understanding the full truth, Madam Liu’s anger subsided slightly—but her disgust toward Li Fuze only deepened.

Without hesitation, she ordered the servants to report the matter to the authorities, accusing Li Fuze of coercion and forcing his wife into prostitution.

It didn’t take long before officers from the county yamen arrived and took Li Fuze away.

The scandal spread like wildfire.

After all, this was the first time anyone had seen a man willingly “cuckold” himself for profit.

Although Li Fuze was not sentenced to many years in prison, once he was released, his reputation was utterly ruined. People avoided him like the plague.

His wife’s family stormed into the Li household with a group of men and smashed everything they could find.

From that point on, Li Fuze barely dared to step outside.

His plans for the imperial examination collapsed entirely.

At that time, candidates needed mutual guarantors to sit for the exams—people of good standing who would vouch for them. But after his crime became known, no one was willing to associate with him, let alone guarantee him.

The path he had relied on to rise in status… was severed by his own hands.

---

When Tang Wan heard the news, she slapped the table in satisfaction.

“Serves him right! That scum finally got what he deserved! Tongtong really handled it well!”

Just because Li Fuze was the so-called “male lead,” did that mean everyone around him had to sacrifice themselves for his future?

Even dragging innocent girls into his schemes?

It was absurd.

Fortunately, justice had caught up with him.

Changing one’s household registration in ancient times was extremely difficult. With the Li family’s modest background, moving far away wasn’t an option.

No matter how proud Li Fuze once was, he could now only remain in Tangjia Village—enduring ridicule for the rest of his life, with no respectable family willing to marry their daughter to him.

---

When Ye Qingtong returned, he pulled Tang Wan into a tight embrace.

“Wanwan… thank goodness it wasn’t you who got tricked like that.”

When he had overheard Li Fuze describing his wife as some “famous beauty,” he had felt a chill run through his entire body.

If he hadn’t married Tang Wan in time…

He didn’t even dare finish the thought.

Tang Wan smiled softly. “That’s why, Tongtong—you’re my lucky star.”

Ye Qingtong’s eyes lit up. He lowered his head and kissed her.

---

Two months later, Tang Wan became pregnant.

Seven months after that, she gave birth to twins.

Worried about the uncertainties of life, Tang Wan began consciously saving money. If anything ever happened to her and Ye Qingtong, at least the children would have the means to grow up safely.

But this time, life passed peacefully.

The two of them lived together quietly, raising their children… until the twins turned ten.

For a while, Tang Wan even began to think that perhaps this world would allow them to grow old together.

---

That night, a meteor streaked across the sky.

Because the Ye family courtyard was surrounded by trees, the view was obstructed. So Ye Qingtong took Tang Wan to the nearby rice fields to watch more clearly.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, they saw it—

A massive fireball hurtling straight toward them.

Ye Qingtong grabbed Tang Wan’s hand and ran.

But it was too late.

The meteor struck.

Both of them died on the spot.

Tang Wan: …

Heh.

So much for a peaceful ending.