After Xiao Fubao's life was stolen, she became the favorite of the Beijing group

The emperor had made many plans with his fantasy about the future.

He would have a pair of children, an heir to the country, a wife who would understand him, and he could live the life he always dreamed of like an ordinary man.

But now Niuniu's words directly shattered all his fantasies.

He had seen a pair of hands with such spots before.

That was on the late emperor.

Before the late emperor died, he held his hands tightly with such a pair of hands covered with age spots when he entrusted the country to him on the sickbed.

The emperor recalled the events of decades ago and they were still vivid in his mind.

He felt a sense of dejection that he could no longer suppress, and he had to endure it so as 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 tone: "Since the mother is so worried about her son, take Niuniu back first."

The queen mother didn't know what happened to her son suddenly. The old lady herself was full of discomfort. She was eager to protect Niuniu and didn't think much. She hurriedly took the little girl away from Wuji Palace.

The queen mother had just returned to Shoukang Palace and had no time to tell the little girl anything before she fell down.

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

"The queen mother is depressed and has a sign of stroke. If she is stimulated by anything, I'm afraid she will..." The imperial physician didn't dare to continue.

But everyone understood what he meant.

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

"Li Shunfu, you send Niuniu out of the palace, everyone else retreat, I will personally guard the queen mother." The emperor said.

The servants in the room left, and Li Shunfu escorted Niuniu out of the palace.

"Uncle Li, I don't need to study now. Will I go to the palace tomorrow? I want to know if the Queen Mother is getting better..." Niuniu said.

Li Shunfu's heart softened, knowing that the little girl has 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 trouble now. You should come to the palace less often. I will send someone out of the palace to send you a letter tomorrow. Is that okay?"

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

Li Shunfu's heart was as sweet as honey: "Good child, if the Queen Mother knew that you were thinking about her, she would be happy."

Niuniu 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 was suddenly happy and worried when she saw her daughter coming back: "Did something happen in the palace?"

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

"Not going to school in the palace is not a big deal. You can study at home in the future and let your father teach you in person." Zhang Yunniang said.

Niuniu thought of the emperor's words about letting her stay in the palace. The little girl thought about it and didn't say it. Anyway, when her father came back in the evening, he would always talk about this matter. She felt that this was not a good thing.

In Shoukang Palace, the Queen Mother woke up half an hour later, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the emperor sitting by the bed.

"Emperor... Niuniu..." The Queen Mother was worried.

The Emperor said with a gloomy face: "Don't worry, mother, I have asked Li Shunfu to send her out of the palace."

The Queen Mother's eyes were full of disbelief. The emperor did not ask Qian Rongsheng to send Niuniu out of the palace, but asked Li Shunfu, the Queen Mother's confidant, to go on this trip. This was already an extremely obvious signal.

The old lady couldn't help thinking, could it be that her son finally figured it out?

The emperor seemed to be covered with a gray shadow, and he looked ten years older in an instant: "So many royal children have been studying in the palace for a year, and they can distinguish between good and mediocre people."

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

"Li Xuan..." the queen mother whispered.

The emperor shook his head: "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, holding her son's hand, and said with distressed eyes: "There are too many things in this world that can be sought but not obtained, emperor, you have to think more open-mindedly."

The emperor forced a smile. Even if he couldn't think it through, he couldn't deceive himself anymore. There were age spots on his hands. He thought he was still young, but his words were finally punctured like bubbles.

His mother was already old and fell ill one after another because of this matter. He couldn't really destroy everyone for a dream.

Gu Mingda received the transfer order at noon, and after teaching the royal family in the afternoon, he was summoned to Wuji Hall with a group of teachers without even having dinner.

The emperor looked exhausted at this time, with a heavy and gloomy look that only an old man has. Gu Mingda couldn't understand why the emperor suddenly looked so much older after not seeing him for a long time.

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

After asking one after another, he finally asked about Li Xuan.

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

With such an attitude of the emperor, even a fool would know that he was choosing a prince.

The emperor waved his hand and said directly: "I believe in the character of Gu Aiqing when selecting people who are virtuous and not avoiding relatives."

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 a gentlemanly demeanor, but he has many things that he does not know about the world and still needs to be trained."

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 Yunniang did not sleep well all night, and she fell asleep in a daze until dawn.

Gu Mingda returned home at noon the next day.

His unshaven appearance surprised the Gu family again.

"What happened in the palace? The Queen Mother was sick, and Niuniu was sent back. What happened?" Zhang Yunniang asked anxiously.

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

Zhang Yunniang 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 was deliberately testing him before. The emperor's words "selecting the virtuous without avoiding relatives" were equivalent to recognizing the marriage between Li Xuan and Niu Niu.

Gu Mingda did not dare to mention 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."

Niu Niu came back from the backyard and saw Gu Mingda. She immediately trotted over and pointed outside and said: "Dad, is the sunshine particularly good today?"

After days of haze, the sun finally cleared up today, shining on everyone, and they felt warm.

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