Chapter 301

Gu Jiu Ling and Zuo Feichen together brought the medicine slaves from the clinic and lifted Gu Cheng up to the operating room on the east side of the second floor.

Earlier, when Zuo Feichen helped treat Gu Cheng in the prison, conditions were limited, and many wounds were just hastily bandaged; now Gu Cheng had endured this long before finally passing out, and even the well-traveled Zuo Feichen couldn't help but secretly wonder, is there really anyone in this world who can bear pain to such an extent?

Gu Jiu Ling, being pregnant, was not suited to perform the surgery herself, so she stood to the side and directed Zuo Feichen as the chief surgeon.

She gave instructions from the side, and even Jiu Yue was brought into the operating room to assist.

Fortunately, Gu Cheng's wounds were not too severely worsened; after simple cleaning, suturing, and applying medicine, and after a full two hours of work, the patient's condition finally stabilized.

Gu Jiu Ling moved a chair and sat facing her younger brother. Seeing Gu Cheng's pallid face on the sickbed, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Who would have thought that the proper heir would end up in such a miserable state? Fortunately, there is still room for redemption, and Gu Cheng's future path must continue onward.

"Elder sister," Gu Cheng slowly opened his eyes, woke up, and hastily grabbed Gu Jiu Ling's arm, his expression full of panic.

"What about Mr. Wen? My master, how is my master?"

Gu Jiu Ling took his hand down and placed it in the blanket, then gently pinched the corner of Gu Cheng's blanket and softly said: "Mr. Wen is fine next door; he should wake up soon."

Gu Jiu Ling did not tell her brother about Mr. Wen's head injury, fearing he would become anxious and his own wound would not heal properly.

She hid Mr. Wen in her own space and then, through various means, sent him to the clinic.

After waiting a long time, she finally dared to release Mr. Wen from her space and helped him lie down on another sickbed.

At this point, Mr. Wen's condition had stabilized, but the craniotomy was no minor procedure; given his age and the short time elapsed, he still had not regained consciousness.

Gu Cheng, hearing Gu Jiu Ling's words, still uneasy, turned over and tried to get out of bed; Gu Jiu Ling could not stop him at all, and Zuo Feichen walked over, whispering to Gu Jiu Ling: "He is very stubborn; I'll help him over to take a look at Mr. Wen."

Gu Jiu Ling nodded, and Zuo Feichen together brought Gu Cheng to the neighboring ward.

Although Mr. Wen still had not awakened, his complexion was much better than before, clearly showing signs of improvement.

Only then did Gu Cheng relax his breath, obediently following behind Gu Jiu Ling back to the neighboring ward.

The left side of his face was badly burned; Gu Jiu Ling glanced at the scar on his forehead and then said: "The scar on your face, I'll treat it for you once I've recovered."

Gu Cheng let out a hoarse, low laugh: "It's nothing more than a sack of skin."

Gu Jiu Ling, on the other hand, asked about Gu Cheng's plans.

Previously, the Second Young Master of the Gu family cared most about his face, sometimes grooming himself more diligently than a girl; now that scar on his forehead added a touch of weatheredness to his appearance.

She also knew her brother's stubbornness, nodded and said nothing more, then looked at Gu Cheng and said: "Originally, with your facial injury and broken leg, you might not be able to take the palace examination."

"However, given your connection to Mr. Wen, plus this incident, you have gained extra weight in the students' eyes, so the imperial court might make an exception."

The so-called imperial leniency is not just a few princes like Prince Rui speaking up for Gu Cheng before the emperor.

Otherwise, given Gu Cheng's current condition, he probably wouldn't be able to take the imperial examinations.

Gu Cheng was about to rush over and kowtow to Gu Jiu Ling when she held him up.

"There will be days when you kowtow to me in the future; no need to rush this moment—just rest well."

"Elder sister." Gu Cheng, however, grabbed Gu Jiu Ling's sleeve. "Elder sister, could you let the medicine slave here run an errand to bring over the books I have stored at Nan Shan Shu Yuan?"

Mr. Wen's life has been saved, but Gu Cheng now has no usable aide at his side, so he has no choice but to borrow a helper from his elder sister's side for errands.

Thinking of his distress, Gu Jiu Ling immediately assigned a few of her trusted aides to Gu Cheng's use.

At nightfall, with the darkness deepening, wails of misery, the crack of whips, and the sounds of interrogation came from the prison, making this corner of the night grow ever darker and crueler.

In the westernmost cell, Gu Huai screamed and cried desperately, violently shaking the locked door.

Once the handsome, talented, and unrestrained Third Young Master of the Gu family has now completely turned into a madman.

The heinous crime he committed is that, in prison, even the other poor inmates and the prison guards of the Ministry of Justice look down on him.

Southern Qi esteems literary culture; to harm scholars in this way and interfere with the examinations is something never before seen in Southern Qi, leaving many feeling it is inconceivable.

Even so, Gu Huai shows no sign of remorse; instead, he frantically bangs on the prison door, ordering the bailiffs to fetch his elder brother, wanting to speak with his elder brother.

He wants to find his father and ask why his father had his name excised from the Gu family genealogy.

Gu Huai is now nearly insane; if he were not a frail scholar with little strength, he might actually have torn this cell apart halfway.

Just as Gu Huai was causing an uproar beyond control, a hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Subsequently, Gu Cheng appeared at the doorway of the cell.

Gu Huai instantly overjoyed, he lunged toward Gu Cheng: "Elder brother! Elder brother! Save me, save me! I don't want to die, I really don't want to die!"

Gu Cheng stared fixedly at Gu Huai before him; in a short time, his whole body was filthy, his face pallid, resembling a demon from hell.

Seeing his brother become like this, it's not true that Gu Cheng feels no sorrow.

He took the food box from the attendant behind him; the Ministry of Justice is within the Crown Prince's sphere of influence.

Gu Cheng is also a trusted aide of the Crown Prince, and even in this great prison of the Ministry of Justice he still has some influence.

Indeed, the jailer who had received the token hurriedly opened the cell door, leaned in close to Gu Cheng, and whispered: "Sir Gu, please speak briefly about the urgent matter."

However, there were some dissenting voices around.

"No need for this, after all, the Third Master Gu is widely respected; if anything goes wrong, we few cannot bear the responsibility."

Gu Cheng furrowed his brows slightly, nodded, personally took the food box, and walked into the cell.

Just as he stepped inside, Gu Huai hurriedly rose and lunged toward Gu Cheng.

"Elder brother, I don't want to die, save me."

Gu Huai clung desperately to the hem of Gu Cheng's robe and knelt before him.

Gu Cheng's brows knotted tightly; in a fleeting moment, a trace of sympathy and sorrow flashed in his eyes, then he slowly squatted before Gu Huai.

"Come! Elder brother brought your favorite dishes; have a taste."

Gu Cheng shoved the chopsticks into Gu Huai's hand, but Gu Huai simply could not control himself.

The chopsticks in Gu Huai's hand clattered to the ground.