This time, her husband drove Zheng Fenghui away for several days in a row, so how could the Prince Duan's mansion not harbor resentment towards him?

Before she arrived, she was filled with anxiety, fearing that this esteemed Crown Prince's wife would take the opportunity to make trouble and force them to accept Zheng Fenghui's admission.

On the way there, she kept persuading her husband to take a step back and see the bigger picture. She suggested he agree to let Zheng Fenghui enroll in school and to keep a close eye on the other students to win the favor of the Prince Duan's mansion. She reasoned that if they could just get through these few years, the Prince Duan's mansion would naturally find a more suitable school for Zheng Fenghui, thus avoiding any rift with the Prince Duan's mansion.

Throughout that long journey, the stubborn old gentleman, Master Xiao, remained silent the entire way. However, when he witnessed the wife of the heir of the Prince Duan's mansion, he couldn't help but burst into a series of fierce words, which made the wife so distressed that she almost wanted to find a hole to crawl into immediately.

Originally, it was thought that this would surely anger the Prince Duan's mansion, but unexpectedly, the young heir's wife responded in a surprising way.

Gu Qinlan's face was full of apology as she slowly said, "Master Xiao, Madam Xiao, I am truly sorry. Our Zheng Fenghui is really useless and has caused you a lot of trouble in the past. I can completely empathize with your feelings of refusing to accept him."

Hearing her sincere words, Master Xiao's expression softened slightly, but he still said firmly, "Since you understand, why did you invite us here? Do you intend to use the power of the Prince Duan's Mansion to pressure me and force me to take him as a disciple? Absolutely not! Even if I, Xiao, no longer run the school, I will never submit!"

Gu Qinlan smiled slightly: "Now I understand why that naughty child Zheng Fenghui insisted on chasing after the teacher. It turns out that your personalities are so similar."

Master Xiao's face immediately turned ashen: "Don't compare my naughty student to me!"

Gu Qinlan still smiled and said, "Master, please calm down and sit down. Let me explain slowly why Zheng Fenghui was so unruly in the past."

Master Xiao remained standing there, unwilling to listen.

Gu Qinlan, however, did not care at all and still smiled: "Master, no one is perfect. Zheng Fenghui was only a six-year-old child at the time. Even if he committed a terrible mistake, he should be given a chance to explain. If you still think he is unforgivable after listening to his explanation, then I will not force him."

Upon hearing this, Master Xiao slowly sat down, his expression still serious, and said, "Alright, I'll give you a chance to defend him."

Madam Xiao awkwardly tugged at his sleeve, inwardly cursing: This fool! The young master's wife was just being polite, and you actually think you're someone important!

Gu Qinlan then gestured to the servants to bring a chair for Madam Xiao, and only after Madam Xiao sat down did she slowly take her own seat.

She then recounted in detail the ins and outs of Zheng Fenghui's argument with his classmate.

She sighed deeply: "Feng Hui is kind-hearted and cannot bear others' criticism of his mother. However, being so young, he does not know how to argue or defend her with words, so he can only defend his mother's dignity in his own way. Although his methods may be inappropriate, what is wrong with his original intention?"

Master Xiao was extremely surprised, his brows furrowing deeply: "What Madam Zheng said is truly beyond my expectations. If it is true, why didn't she tell me directly that day?"

Gu Qinlan parted her lips slightly and said slowly, "If you have any doubts, you might as well go back to the place where you had the dispute with Zheng Fenghui and ask the classmate who had the dispute with him for details. That boy has an eccentric personality. Perhaps he didn't want his mother to become the subject of gossip, so he never told you, and he kept it a secret even at home. Until recently, he encountered a similar incident again at another school, and I happened to witness it with my own eyes, which revealed the truth."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao's eyes reddened, and she angrily slapped Master Xiao's shoulder several times: "You pride yourself on being fair and selfless, yet you have no idea that your student has suffered such a heavy injustice! Even if he had a conflict with someone, so what? As a son, if you defend your mother's dignity, how can you call yourself a human being!"

Master Xiao's self-esteem had completely vanished at this moment, and his face was as red as the evening glow with shame.

"I misunderstood him so deeply in the past, why would he still be willing to set foot in my school..."

Recalling his actions of chasing Zheng Fenghui with dogs over the past few days, Master Xiao felt deeply remorseful.

Gu Qinlan smiled and said, "Because he and the Master are both single-minded and extremely sincere people. You both have people you want to protect and bottom lines you have. He repeatedly argued with others to protect his mother's honor. And the Master, in order to defend his students, dared to confront the powerful and uphold the truth, which is truly admirable."

Master Xiao quickly and modestly waved his hand: "Madam is too kind. I am but a common man, how could I dare to accept such an honor?"

Gu Qinlan said sincerely, "Although there was a misunderstanding in this matter, the Master's character is admirable. If it were someone else, I would probably just have to visit them in person and offer them a large sum of money, and they would have gladly accepted it."

"However, for the sake of his students, Confucius did not hesitate to offend the powerful and wealthy, and was even willing to sacrifice his personal interests. How many people in the world can do what Confucius did?"

"If Zheng Fenghui is fortunate enough to become the Master's student again, even if he does not achieve much in his studies, he can learn a strong sense of righteousness and live his whole life as a person of integrity and high moral character."

Her praise was sincere and earnest, a string of compliments like a heavy garland around his neck, making Master Xiao somewhat intoxicated.

"Since Madam trusts me so much, how could I dare to fail her? I solemnly promise that I will dedicate all my knowledge to carefully nurturing Zheng Fenghui."

Gu Qinlan immediately raised her wine glass and said solemnly, "Then, on behalf of Feng Hui, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Master. It is truly an honor for him to have such an outstanding teacher."

Master Xiao also raised his wine cup, his face showing approval: "To have such a sincere and pure disciple is a great fortune for me."

With a light clinking of glasses, Zheng Fenghui's academic affairs were settled. Gu Qinlan and Mr. and Mrs. Xiao enjoyed a pleasant dinner together, and both sides were satisfied. Since Mr. Xiao needed to return to the classroom, the couple took their leave.

Gu Qinlan then led the group down the stairs.

As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, they bumped into a group of young scholars dressed in Confucian robes, who were noisily rushing upstairs.

The other party went up the stairs first, and Gu Qinlan politely stepped aside, intending to wait for the group to go upstairs before leaving with everyone.

Unexpectedly, one of the scholars spotted her and nudged someone nearby, saying, "Brother Ji, look! There's a stunning beauty over there."

A man who was talking to someone in the crowd turned around when he heard the sound, and immediately froze on the spot.

Gu Qinlan caught a glimpse of that person, and a hint of dislike flashed in her eyes.

What bad luck! I actually ran into Ji Yinli here.

Ji Yinli quickly whispered to those around him, "Shut up! That's the wife of the Prince Duan's heir!"