Gu Qingcheng was worried that her mother wouldn't be able to get the underground heating system working and wanted to help in the backyard. However, when she got there, the fire in the stove was already roaring.
Gu Qingcheng gave her mother a thumbs-up.
Hu Lanfang smiled sheepishly, thinking her daughter had exposed her "incompetent at everything" secret at home. In reality, Gu Qingcheng was simply praising her mother.
Her father doted on her mother, and she wasn't blind; she could see that.
But one was willing to be pampered, and the other was willing to pamper. As a junior, she could only pretend to be oblivious!
As the underground heating system was activated, the room slowly grew warmer.
Although the temperature couldn't rise instantly, it was much better than the previous frozen hands and feet.
Wang Cai, the dog, had thick fur that could withstand the severe cold, otherwise, it would have frozen yesterday.
Hu Lanfang said to her daughter, "We only installed the underground heating in two bedrooms before. Now Migguo needs to live here too. How about he temporarily sleeps in the dining room for now, and we'll ask Boss Zhang to connect the other side room to the heating later?"
"Migguo, what do you think?" Gu Qingcheng asked her shadow.
Migguo, of course, had no objections.
As long as he had a roof over his head to shelter him from the wind and rain, he could sleep. He never expected to one day sleep in a room with underground heating.
As the weather gradually darkened, it was time for dinner. Gu Qingcheng took out the delicacies delivered by Chunshi Restaurant from the storage cabinet.
Steamed Abalone, Three Yellow Chicken, Crispy Duck, Fish Consommé, and the staple food was Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Red Mushrooms. The steaming hot dishes were arranged on the table in the warm dining room, emitting an enticing aroma.
Migguo stared blankly at the food on the table, unsure if he was dreaming.
Gu Qingcheng ladled a bowl of Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Red Mushrooms for him, picked a piece of abalone for him, and told him that the vermicelli underneath absorbed the sauce and was delicious. She encouraged him to take whatever he wanted and not to be polite.
Seeing that neither Hu Lanfang nor Gu Qingcheng had started eating, Migguo dared not eat first.
Hu Lanfang noticed his apprehension but didn't point it out. She simply smiled and picked a chicken leg from the Three Yellow Chicken for him, then started eating herself.
Seeing the mother and daughter eating, Migguo finally began.
He ate with great relish, thinking this was truly food for the gods. He had never eaten anything so delicious in his life. Compared to these delicacies, the farewell meal he had at Old Master Gu's earlier was nothing. It was a shame he had been looking forward to that meal so much.
At this moment, as the underground heating system warmed up, the room became warm, just like spring.
Gu Qingcheng took off her coat because it was too hot. Migguo also felt warmer, and Gu Qingcheng told him to take off his jacket.
It was his first time experiencing underground heating, and he didn't know where the warmth came from, his face showing an expression of disbelief, which was particularly cute.
Seeing how naive and adorable he was, Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but laugh and pat his head.
"From now on, you'll be with your sister. You'll eat well and drink well, but there will also be hardships. Can you accept that?"
"As long as I'm with my sister, I'm not afraid of hardship!"
Migguo answered resolutely.
Hu Lanfang felt Migguo was behaving well, and her affection for him increased.
Having an extra person in the family was a bit unaccustomed at first, but as long as they could get along, more people meant more strength.
Gu Chaobei stayed at Prince Xia's manor for another 5 days. The prince's injury healed quickly after he managed to get through the first night.
In fact, it wasn't a very serious injury. It was just that the imperial physicians at the manor were too cautious when treating the prince, unwilling to use strong medicine or even scrape away dead flesh, fearing they might injure the prince.
As a result, their timidity actually caused the injury to worsen repeatedly.
Gu Chaobei performed surgery, used antibiotics to control the infection, and pulled Prince Xia back from the brink of death.
It only took a mere 5 days for Prince Xia to recover from near death to being able to walk.
Everyone in the manor was utterly impressed by Gu Chaobei.
Prince Xia was a middle-aged man with a stern face, a few years older than Gu Chaobei. Having narrowly escaped death this time and returned to the world of the living, he also felt extremely fortunate.
He knew that he had been so weak that he couldn't even utter his last words. Yet, Gu Chaobei, by his own efforts, had turned the tide and saved him.
For someone who could save his life from the clutches of death, Prince Xia naturally treated him as an honored guest, setting aside his princely airs and being very polite to him.
Seeing that Prince Xia's condition had stabilized, Gu Chaobei requested leave to return home.
Prince Xia knew his own body and realized there was no serious harm. He readily agreed and expressed his gratitude profusely.
The Princess was even more grateful to Gu Chaobei. Without him, she and her child would not have survived Prince Xia's funeral.
That rebellious son would have surely forced her to be buried alive.
Gu Chaobei had seemingly saved only the prince, but in fact, he had saved three people.
The Princess, knowing Gu Chaobei was leaving, promised to give him an explanation and severely punish Gu Ming and his band of wealthy and influential ruffians.
Gu Chaobei knew that if Qingcheng hadn't wanted to save them, the matter of human sacrifice, under normal circumstances, would have been overlooked by Prince Xia and the Princess even if they had heard some rumors.
As long as the matter didn't arouse public disapproval, they would have turned a blind eye. But who would have thought they would dare to touch someone they shouldn't have?
Gu Ming, Old Master Gu, was also destined to face this calamity.
Seeing how readily the Princess agreed, Gu Chaobei thanked her first and then said:
"A respected gentry like Old Master Gu should have been the first to lead by example and share the worries of the Prince and Princess. However, they used superstitions to create trouble, instilling fear in the populace, and then resorted to cruel human sacrifices to elicit worship from the common people!
Their actions are truly heretical. If they are not severely punished, such things will happen endlessly. If everyone can perform similar rituals, what is the point of the government's existence?"
Thus, it is said that when a scholar meets a soldier, killing can be done with mere words.
Upon hearing Gu Chaobei's words, Prince Xia's expression immediately turned serious.
On the third day after he woke up, he could eat normally. Although he still needed to rest in bed, he had already heard the full story from Steward Zheng.
He was also surprised to learn that there were four to five thousand people gathered to watch that day.
Gu Chaobei's words gave him cause for deep thought.
Gu Ming's actions had a great influence among the people, and he felt it was necessary to suppress this trend.
After seeing Gu Chaobei off, Prince Xia summoned Steward Zheng and instructed him to investigate thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned, and to cut off all future trouble.
Steward Zheng had recently been highly regarded by the Prince and Princess, and his status in the manor had risen sharply. This was precisely the time for him to demonstrate his loyalty and capabilities. Hearing Prince Xia's words, he naturally devoted himself to the task with all his might.
Gu Ming trembled in prison...
Gu Chaobei was sent to the foot of Cliff Mountain by the manor's luxurious carriage. After getting out of the carriage, Gu Chaobei noticed that three more carriages followed behind him.