After Xiao Fubao's life was stolen, he became the favorite of everyone in the capital

Chapter 501 Good Sunshine

The emperor once made many plans with his fantasies about the future.

He will have a pair of children, an heir to the country, a wife who understands him, and he can live the life he has always dreamed of, just like an ordinary man.

But now, Niu Niu's words directly shattered all his fantasies.

He had seen a pair of hands with spots like this before.

That was on the late emperor.

Before the late emperor passed away, he held his hand tightly with this pair of hands covered with age spots when he entrusted the country to him on his sickbed.

The emperor could still remember vividly what happened decades ago.

He felt a sense of dejection that he could no longer suppress, and he forced himself not to lose his composure in front of his mother and Niuniu.

In the end, he just waved his hand and said in a cold and hard tone: "Since mother is so worried about her son, take Niuniu back first."

The Queen Mother didn't know what had suddenly happened to her son. The old lady herself was feeling unwell. She was anxious to protect Niu Niu, so she didn't think much about it and hurriedly took the little girl away from Wuji Palace.

The Queen Mother had just returned to Shoukang Palace, and before she could say anything to the little girl, she collapsed.

Shoukang Palace was suddenly in chaos. The imperial physician was almost dragged over by Li Shunfu. He was taking the empress dowager's pulse without even catching his breath.

"The Empress Dowager is feeling very depressed and has already shown signs of a stroke. If she gets stimulated in any other way, I'm afraid she will ..." The imperial physician did not dare to continue.

But everyone understood what he meant.

The emperor, who had just arrived after receiving the news, suddenly looked gloomy when he heard this.

"Li Shunfu, you send Niu Niu out of the palace. Everyone else leave. I will personally guard the empress dowager." said the emperor.

All the servants in the room left, and Li Shunfu escorted Niu Niu out of the palace.

"Uncle Li, I don't have to study now. Will I go to the palace tomorrow? I want to know if the Empress Dowager has gotten better..." Niu Niu said.

Li Shunfu's heart softened, knowing that the little girl had always been the most filial to the Queen Mother, so he said, "Although the Queen Mother gave you a token that allows you to enter the palace at any time, the palace is in a time of trouble right now, so you should come less often. I will send someone out of the palace to deliver a letter to you tomorrow, is that okay?"

Niuniu nodded and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle Li."

Li Shunfu felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey: "Good boy, if the Queen Mother knew that you were thinking about her, she would be happy too."

Niu Niu went home, but Gu Mingda had not returned from the palace yet because he had to teach the children of the royal family in the afternoon.

Zhang Yunniang suddenly saw her daughter coming back. She was happy but also worried: "Did something happen in the palace?"

Niuniu nodded: "The Queen Mother is ill, so I can't go to school anymore."

"It's not a big deal not to go to school in the palace. You can study at home from now on and let your father teach you personally." Zhang Yunniang said.

Niu Niu thought again of what the emperor had said about letting her stay in the palace. The little girl thought about it and finally didn't say it out loud. Anyway, when her father came back in the evening, they would have to talk about this matter. She felt that this was not a good thing.

In Shoukang Palace, the empress dowager woke up half an hour later. When she opened her eyes, she saw the emperor sitting beside the bed.

"Emperor...Niuniu..." The Queen Mother's face was full of worry.

The emperor said with a sullen face, "Don't worry, mother. I have asked Li Shunfu to escort her out of the palace."

The empress dowager's eyes were full of disbelief. The emperor did not let Qian Rongsheng send Niu Niu out of the palace, but instead asked Li Shunfu, the empress dowager's confidant, to make this trip. This was already an extremely obvious signal.

The old lady couldn't help but wonder, has her son finally figured it out? The emperor seemed to be covered with a gray shadow, and instantly aged ten years: "So many royal family children have been studying in the palace for a year, and they can clearly distinguish between good talents and mediocre ones."

When the empress dowager heard this, she understood that the emperor was planning to choose a crown prince.

"Li Xuan..." the Queen Mother said in a low voice.

The emperor shook his head and said: "Whether Li Xuan can become the crown prince depends on his qualifications. Even if he cannot become the crown prince, my son will make him a king and ensure that Niuniu will have no worries about food and clothing in the future."

The Queen Mother was completely relieved. She grabbed her son's hand and said with distressed eyes: "There are too many things in this world that you can't get. Emperor, you have to be more open-minded."

The emperor forced a smile. He couldn't get over it and there was no way he could deceive himself anymore. There were already age spots on his hands. His rhetoric that he was still young was finally burst like a bubble.

His mother is already old and has been sick one after another because of this matter. He can't really destroy everyone just for a dream.

Gu Mingda received the transfer order at noon. After teaching the royal family members in the afternoon, he did not even have time to eat dinner before he was summoned to Wuji Palace together with a group of teachers.

The emperor's face was full of fatigue, with the gloomy air typical of an old man. Gu Mingda couldn't understand why the emperor suddenly looked so much older after not seeing him for such a long time.

The emperor went straight to the point and asked the masters about the performance of each member of the royal family.

After asking one question after another, they finally got to Li Xuan.

Gu Mingda took the initiative to say: "Your Majesty, Li Xuan and my daughter have already been engaged. Should I withdraw?"

With the emperor's attitude, even a fool would know that he is choosing a crown prince.

The emperor waved his hand and said directly: "I will not avoid relatives when promoting talents. I believe in the character of Mr. Gu."

Gu Mingda stayed. When he mentioned his future son-in-law, he did not say anything biased. Instead, he said, "Li Xuan is a noble man with the demeanor of a gentleman, but he has a lot of ignorance about the world and still needs experience."

The emperor nodded and began to ask about the next child.

The discussion lasted until midnight. Even though the palace had sent people to greet the families of the ministers in advance, the Gu family was still very worried about Gu Mingda.

Zhang Yuniang did not sleep well almost the entire night, and she only fell into a drowsy sleep when it was almost dawn.

Gu Mingda did not return home until noon the next day.

His unshaven appearance surprised the Gu family again.

"What happened in the palace? The Empress Dowager is sick and Niu Niu has been sent back. What happened?" Zhang Yuniang asked anxiously.

Although Gu Mingda looked embarrassed, his eyes were surprisingly bright: "Niuniu should be fine!"

Zhang Yuniang opened her mouth slightly.

The person they are facing is the emperor, the ruler of this country. Is it so easy to convince such a person who has made up his mind?

Gu Mingda had been testing the waters on purpose before, and the emperor's words "appoint the virtuous regardless of relationship" were tantamount to approving the marriage between Li Xuan and Niu Niu.

Gu Mingda didn't dare to bring up the matter of establishing a crown prince, and could only say: "No matter what the reason is, at least he has let us go now."

Niuniu came back from the backyard and saw Gu Mingda. She immediately trotted over and pointed outside and said, "Dad, isn't the sunshine especially good today?"

After days of haze, the sun finally came out today, shining on everyone and making them feel warm.

Gu Mingda nodded vigorously: "Yes, I hope there will be such good sunshine in the future."