Sun Hanzhou's face flushed red and then paled. "Manager Gu, please let me explain. Your daughter bears a striking resemblance to an old friend of mine, which is why I..."

"An old friend?" Gu An'an smiled. "May I ask where this old friend of Scholar Sun is now? Has she married and fallen into another man's arms? Is it appropriate for Scholar Sun to be so concerned? If her husband finds out, he may not cause trouble for Scholar Sun, but I'm afraid your old friend will be in trouble."

Hearing this, Sun Hanzhou's face was full of bitterness. "Yes, Manager Gu is right. People are always harsh on women. I once caused trouble and implicated my old friends. But seeing Manager Gu and your daughter today, I couldn't help myself. But Manager Gu, you can rest assured, I am a man who has studied the classics, and I would never have any improper thoughts about your daughter."

Gu An'an chuckled softly upon hearing this, "If I remember correctly, Scholar Sun was stripped of his academic honors, wasn't he?"

These words were like stirring up a hornet's nest, causing Sun Hanzhou to suddenly raise his head. "Yes, I am unworthy and have been stripped of my academic honors. But I have no desire for such honors! It seems I have brought this humiliation upon myself and have troubled you greatly. Farewell!"

He knew, of course, that the person he saw today was merely someone who bore a slight resemblance to his deceased friend, and that his obsessive pursuit was contrary to the teachings of the sages.

Now that they are being humiliated, they have only brought shame upon themselves.

Enough is enough. I was stripped of my official rank because of her, so why bother now?

Sun Hanzhou pushed open the half-closed shop door and was about to leave when he unexpectedly ran into Jiang Mingzhu.

The well-read scholar was immediately stunned, staring at the person in front of him, with a thousand words in his mouth but not knowing how to say them.

Bao'er carefully tugged at Jiang Mingzhu's hand, "Sister, why is this person looking at you like that?"

Jiang Mingzhu shook her head, but still politely nodded to Sun Hanzhou, "Greetings, Scholar Sun."

It doesn't seem like it.

This doesn't seem like it.

The person he knew was a pitiful canary, her porcelain-white face devoid of any sign of life, as if she were on her deathbed.

The person in front of me is different; although still young, she already shows signs of being a beauty.

More importantly, she is like a wild grass, with extremely tenacious vitality.

He was completely different from his old friend who lived in a glass greenhouse.

He mistook someone for someone else.

Sun Hanzhou sighed deeply, "Why bother?"

After saying that, he drifted away.

Bao'er still found it strange, "Sister, this person is so strange."

"It is a bit strange, but I heard he is very good at studying."

“Bao’er also likes to read, and so does your brother. We can have him teach your brother to read.”

The little girl let go of his hand and ran eagerly inside to find Gu An'an, "Your Highness, Bao'er has found someone who can teach my brother to read."

Gu An'an: "..." Sorry, little girl, your mother just chased that person away.

This won't work.

However, seeing that Bao'er was unusually interested in such a matter, Gu An'an couldn't refuse directly. "Mother and Scholar Sun haven't reached an agreement. If you don't believe me, ask your sister."

Jiang Mingzhu had just arrived and didn't know what Gu An'an and Sun Hanzhou had talked about, but she still agreed with Gu An'an, "Yes, Bao'er, this Scholar Sun is very picky. He has many rules and asks for exorbitant fees. We can't afford to hire him."

"No, no, I'm not picky at all."

The sudden return of Sun Hanzhou left the mother and daughter speechless, but the person in question remained calm and composed, showing no sign of humiliation. "As long as Manager Gu provides me with a meal, I have no other requests."

“It’s a meal, cheaper than Xiao Wu’s and Youyou’s. Your Highness, why don’t we agree?” Bao’er thought for a moment. “Anyway, you prepare so much food every day, it’s just a waste to leave it out.”

Sun Hanzhou: "..." I inexplicably felt humiliated again.

Gu An'an never expected that her words of comfort to her youngest daughter would dig a deep hole for herself.

She was both amused and exasperated. "Isn't this putting Scholar Sun to a very bad standard?"

Sun Hanzhou thought for a moment, "Then how about you treat me to two meals?"

Gu An'an was furious upon hearing this. "You are a scholar who passed the imperial examination. How can you bow down for two meals?"

If this gets out, wouldn't we become a laughing stock!

However, she was a loving mother, and how could she lose her temper in front of her precious daughter?

Gu An'an said with a forced smile, "Then one meal a day will do. I'll take my son to visit Scholar Sun later. But let me make this clear: if Scholar Sun can't teach anything and has other inappropriate ideas, don't blame me for resigning."

“That’s natural, that’s natural.” Sun Hanzhou’s gaze remained straight ahead, without glancing to the side.

He realized that they only looked similar, but he had no soul in her.

Besides, the girl in front of him looks quite young, how could he possibly have any improper thoughts about her?

If that's true, then he has truly wasted his time studying the classics.

Seeing this, Gu An'an had no choice but to accept it. However, since they were both in Anping County, she could arrange for Mingyi to study at the home of the scholar Sun later, so there was no need to invite anyone over.

Reducing unnecessary contact might not necessarily cause any problems.

Gu An'an compromised with Bao'er on this matter, partly out of wishful thinking.

Compared to Sun Jinshi's actions, Gu An'an believed more that Jiang Yong'an was not lying to her.

It was only a coincidence that Pearl looked like Princess Jinse.

The matter has been settled for now.

After tidying up the shop, Gu An'an took the two little girls home. "Didn't A-Bei teach you to play the zither? Why did you bring Bao'er out with you?"

"His older brother was leaving, and Chen Bei saw him off."

Is the young general from the Chen family leaving?

Gu An'an didn't think too much about it. "Well, let's go back and tell your brother about this."

Jiang Mingzhu nodded and smiled in agreement, "Brother will be very happy to know."

Yes, Jiang Mingyi intends to strive for success in the imperial examinations, and it would be even better if he could have a renowned teacher to guide him.

The teacher at the neighboring county academy was merely a scholar who had passed the county-level imperial examinations, and his conduct was unbecoming of his station.

If Jiang Mingyi had such a scholar to guide him, he would be very happy.

However, seeing the brat's indifferent expression, Gu An'an felt that she was overthinking things.

He is mature beyond his years and has always been able to keep his composure. The only time you'd expect him to show his joy would be when he passes the imperial examination with flying colors or when he's on his wedding night.

"Although we don't follow those formalities, since we've invited Scholar Sun to teach you, it's necessary to formally become his apprentice. How about this, Zhu'er and Bao'er, you two can come along too. Tomorrow I'll go prepare some gifts, and then the three of you siblings can go and formally become his apprentices."

Gu An'an thought she was quite clever.

That's right, let Jiang Mingzhu become an apprentice as well.

With the master-disciple relationship established, there's no need to fear Sun Hanzhou's ill intentions. After all, the master-disciple relationship is an insurmountable barrier; otherwise, why would Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo have had such a bumpy road to love?

Gu An'an was very satisfied with this arrangement, but it aroused the dissatisfaction of some people. "Why can my brother, sister and Bao'er go to become disciples, but I was left out? Mother, do you not love Xu'er anymore?"

The Third Young Master Ming was extremely dissatisfied and a thousand times unhappy!