Gu Zhao Bei knew he held an important place in the Crown Prince's heart, but he couldn't fathom why.
The Crown Prince persistently tried to send women to his room, but he hadn't accepted any. Therefore, in the Crown Prince's eyes, he might not have chosen a side yet, his allegiance unclear.
Thus, the Crown Prince always hesitated, unable to voice his true intentions.
However, Gu Zhao Bei knew the Crown Prince definitely wanted him to do something.
He could only play dumb and avoid the issue.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince, wary of Prince Xia, didn't force him to take sides.
As for the Princess, she sought to win over Gu Zhao Bei by befriending Hu Lan Fang.
Compared to the Crown Prince, who was stuffing women into Gu Zhao Bei's room, Hu Lan Fang consequently sided with the Princess.
Being women themselves, at least she felt the Princess's unwavering devotion to Prince Xia was far better than the Crown Prince, who only thought of his father's early death to seize power.
Moreover, what she loathed the most was that brat's constant attempts to corrupt Old Gu with seduction—how could she tolerate that?
Fortunately, Gu Zhao Bei was obedient and dared not stray.
Therefore, it was best to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.
After the family slept there for one night, they woke up the next day and no longer bothered to start a fire to cook, directly taking breakfast from Gu Qing Cheng's stored provisions.
Gu Qing Cheng ate his fill, strolled around the room, and continued packing.
Everything that could be moved was taken, except for the well.
The small courtyard was suddenly bare.
Hu Lan Fang recalled the desolate state of the place when they first arrived. After they moved in, it had taken great effort to cultivate it into a vibrant, flower-filled space. Now, having to abandon it again, she felt a pang of reluctance.
Gu Qing Cheng said, "Mother, don't be sad. I guarantee you'll like Phoenix Village even more. The climate there is suitable and very similar to where we lived before. You can plant flowers and tend to them however you wish."
"Actually, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm with you all, any place is heaven, even a desolate wilderness."
Hu Lan Fang suddenly uttered a rustic endearment.
Hearing this, Gu Zhao Bei's heart bloomed with joy, and he said with a grin,
"Don't worry, my dear wife. Once we're in Phoenix Village, I'll definitely create another small courtyard even cozier than this one."
Listening to her parents, Gu Qing Cheng also became thoughtful.
The courtyard they were currently living in was rather small. It was fine for her and Mi Guo, but with her parents, plus a dog, a cat, and Sai Hu, it felt cramped.
Everyone needed private space, such as a study, in addition to their bedroom. They still needed to expand the residence further.
As they spoke, Wang Cai ran to the steps and barked furiously.
Under such circumstances, it usually meant outsiders were approaching the mountain, prompting its frantic barking.
Everyone was filled with suspicion. Hu Lan Fang nervously said,
"Could it be that Prince Xia sent someone to invite us?"
Prince Xia's "favor" was always sudden and capricious, but it wasn't entirely without pattern. He invited them once or twice every month, and it was about that time again, hence Hu Lan Fang's concern.
"Let's go and see," Gu Zhao Bei said.
Unexpectedly, the ones ascending the mountain were two acquaintances of Gu Qing Cheng, the brothers Wang Da Peng and Wang Xiao Peng.
"Young Master Gu, we finally found you. We never imagined you'd really be living here," Wang Da Peng said excitedly.
Seeing the two of them drenched, pale, and in a state of utter disarray, as if they had narrowly escaped death, Gu Qing Cheng was startled. Without time to introduce them to his parents, he asked, "What happened to you two? You're in such a mess."
"Alas, Young Master Gu, didn't you tell us to come find you if there was a flood?
We thought you were joking back then!
How could Jinsha City possibly flood? Old folks have said there hasn't been a major flood here in hundreds of years.
We never imagined Jinsha City would actually flood. Early this morning, our entire barracks were submerged. Everyone was caught off guard, and countless people drowned.
Fortunately, the two of us grew up by the water and are good swimmers, so we managed to escape.
Remembering you said to come find you during the flood, we paddled our way here. We never expected to actually find you."
Wang Da Peng was extremely emotional.
"What? Jinsha City is flooding?" Gu Qing Cheng, though shocked by their ordeal, asked with surprise, "I left the city yesterday and everything was fine?"
"Yesterday, it was fine, with only a small portion of low-lying areas flooded. But today, at the crack of dawn, while everyone was fast asleep, the water level suddenly rose, and before anyone could react, they were submerged.
We relied on our swimming skills, managed to grab a large piece of wood, and paddled all the way here. We didn't expect your place to be spared."
Wang Da Peng said, still shaken.
Gu Zhao Bei and Gu Qing Cheng exchanged glances, deeply shocked. They hadn't expected the flood to arrive so quickly, appearing without warning, much like the "killing" scenes during the extreme cold of the ice age.
With the military camps flooded, and even strong young men drowned, how much worse must it be for ordinary citizens?
As the ice and snow melted and the trees regained their vitality, the rising branches and leaves obscured the view of Cliff Mountain. Moreover, the family had stayed indoors all night, so they hadn't noticed that Jinsha City was indeed flooding.
The two quickly took out their binoculars and looked down the mountain, only then discovering the situation.
Looking through the binoculars, they were astonished to see that Jinsha City was filled with water everywhere, and many civilians were floating on the surface, struggling for survival.
Cliff Mountain was high, so it was normal for it not to be flooded. Fortunately, they had chosen a high-altitude location; otherwise, despite having a luxurious yacht, having to flee in the middle of the night would have been very unpleasant.
Having been mentally prepared, the Gu family quickly recovered from their initial shock after being informed by the Da Peng brothers.
"Gentlemen, what are your plans now?" Gu Qing Cheng asked, putting away his binoculars.
"We also want to head south to find our parents and the people from our village," the Da Peng and Xiao Peng brothers replied.
"You know how to sail, right? I can arrange for a boat for you to use yourselves."
Gu Qing Cheng had collected over twenty large ships at the dock below Jinsha Mountain with his father earlier, giving him ample confidence.
As they were speaking, the water level rose rapidly, reaching the bottom of the hundred steps, and was still rising.
Da Peng and Xiao Peng panicked and said, "How could the water rise so fast?"
Gu Qing Cheng had originally planned to release the yacht in the wide waters outside Jinsha City early in the morning and leave with his parents. Now that the water was rising, their family didn't need to leave the city and could just wait for the water to rise.
Seeing the water surge so swiftly, Gu Zhao Bei also began to feel a little apprehensive, as they had never seen what a yacht looked like and didn't know if it could withstand such a fierce flood.
Looking down through the binoculars, he could clearly see waves like monstrous tsunamis surging into Jinsha City. Civilians were running everywhere, searching for floating debris, or trying to climb to higher ground.