"Oh, right." Ning Yuxi suddenly said, "I have agreed to let Divine Doctor Zhong accept Chengxi as his disciple. Your Majesty will not refuse, right?"
Gu Qilan said helplessly: "You have already agreed and have already paid homage to the master. You know what to do and come and tell me."
He had heard about this from Song Qu. It was said that the secret method used to treat him was extremely harmful to Doctor Zhong, so Doctor Zhong made this request. Ultimately, it was because of him, so how could he say anything?
It's just that Chengxi was wronged. Xier and her son have done so much for him.
"Hehe." Ning Yuxi smiled ingratiatingly.
…
There was a heated debate in the court about who should be the crown prince. Most people were in favor of it, but they were just arguing about who should be the crown prince.
The first time Gu Qilan went to court after recuperating, he was almost fainted in the hall by their quarrels. He looked at the emperor leaning weakly on the dragon throne, his chest heaving violently with anger, as if he was breathing in but not out.
This frightened all the court officials so much that they were stunned. After returning from the court, they slapped themselves in the face and cursed themselves for being inhuman. They almost became the eternal sinners who forced the king to death.
When Ning Yuxi heard about this, she hurried to Shengchen Palace, only to see the emperor half-lying on the bed, leisurely drinking tea.
"Your Majesty, are you okay?"
Gu Qilan slowly put down the teacup, "Why, Xier, do you hope that I have something to do?"
"How is that possible?"
Ning Yuxi checked Gu Qilan's body again and again, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing unusual. Thinking of something, Ning Yuxi frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, are you doing this on purpose?"
Gu Qilan returned her look and said, "You're not stupid."
Ning Yuxi said angrily, "I'm not stupid to begin with. You didn't tell me earlier and scared me half to death."
"I didn't expect them to be so persistent." Gu Qilan's eyes were serious.
Ning Yuxi knew that it was about the issue of appointing a crown prince. The emperor was in poor health and had suddenly fainted a few days ago. People were uneasy and the court was unstable. Only by appointing a crown prince could the government be stabilized.
"What do you think, Your Majesty?" Ning Yuxi rarely asked about court affairs.
It's not that she wants to interfere in state affairs, but she really can't guess the emperor's intention in this matter. It's rare for the court to have a unified voice in wanting to appoint a crown prince, but the emperor just won't give in. This situation is very unfavorable to the emperor.
"Establishing a crown prince isn't difficult; the hard part is who to appoint. Those who took the lead in provoking this issue are all Marquis Wu'an's men. Their purpose is self-evident; they simply want me to appoint Chenghui as the crown prince. However, by appointing a crown prince so early, they've also set themselves up as a target."
"I don't want to see brothers killing each other... Do you understand?"
Ning Yuxi's heart skipped a beat. Was the emperor warning her?
The emperor was still the same emperor. He would never completely trust anyone. He warned her in advance before she did anything, telling her not to do anything to harm the royal heir for the sake of that position.
Haha, sure, this is very Gu Qilan!
Ning Yuxi smiled and said, "I know everything. Your Majesty, don't you understand me? I just want to be with Your Majesty forever, to watch your children grow up safely and then get married and have children. That's enough."
Gu Qilan retracted his gaze and pulled her into his arms. "Actually, my favorite candidate for crown prince is our Cheng Zhao, but he is still young and cannot convince the public. I will have to wait a few more years before I can legitimately appoint him as crown prince."
Ning Yuxi nestled obediently in the emperor's arms, and was quite disdainful when she heard this. "A slap in the face and then a sweet date?" He even dared to make big promises for me. Bah, all her sincerity has been thrown away over the years!
Even if she was pretending, she still did what she should do. Not long ago, I took care of you for so many days without taking off my clothes, but you forgot about it in the blink of an eye, you dog emperor!
Due to the emperor's frail body, the court officials did not dare to force him to appoint a crown prince, and the matter was gradually shelved.
…
Two years passed like this. It was midsummer and the sun should have been shining brightly, but it had been cloudy and rainy recently.
The palace servants complained that their washed clothes never dried and many items became moldy. Ning Yuxi suffered from the bitter summer and disliked rainy days, so she had a difficult time for the past month or so.
The court reported that heavy rain had been falling in the south for more than a month, and the water level had risen sharply, breaking the river embankment. The people's houses were washed away and many people died.
By the time the news reached the imperial court, irreparable damage had already been done. The prefect of Shangzhou, which was affected by the disaster, was afraid of being held accountable and had concealed the incident. By the time the emperor learned of this, more than a thousand people in Shangzhou had been killed or injured.
The emperor fainted from anger. When he woke up, he immediately took off his official hat as the Shangzhou prefect and sent a group of people to provide disaster relief and settle the people.
However, due to the previous inaction of the government, public outrage arose and disaster relief work was difficult to carry out. Therefore, a person of status and position was needed to go with them in order to calm everyone down and let the people of Shangzhou know the court's attention to this matter.
In Shengchen Palace, Gu Qilan looked at the straight figure kneeling in front of him and felt a headache.
He advised: "Cheng Zhao, you are still young, this disaster relief is no joke."
Just now, Cheng Zhao suddenly came to see him and asked to go to Shangzhou with the minister of disaster relief.
The flood in Shangzhou has not receded and the heavy rain is still falling. The flood disaster has not stopped. Shangzhou is mountainous and the continuous heavy rain will trigger mudslides, which is very dangerous. How can Chengzhao, a teenager, go there?
Cheng Zhao still insisted, "Father, I am not joking. I know what disaster means, and I have read so many books of sages, isn't it just to do something for the people?
Now that Shangzhou has been devastated and its people have been displaced, I cannot bear to see them suffer. Father, please allow me to go."
Gu Qilan frowned slightly. It was a good thing that his son cared about the people, but this disaster relief was full of dangers. What if something went wrong?
"Cheng Zhao, it's a good thing that you care about the people, but you are also the child of the Emperor and Mother. If anything happens to you, how can I and your Mother rest in peace?"
Cheng Zhao lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Father, as a son, I should be filial to my parents, but there are thousands and thousands of people in Shangzhou who don't even have the opportunity to do so.
Father, please let me go. I already know that the people of Shangzhou are suffering. If I don't do something for them, I will regret it for the rest of my life.
Gu Qilan looked at the young man's persistence and determination, and his expression was quite helpless. Well, this is how a young man should be, isn't it?
If everyone retreats in the face of difficulties and stays in this peaceful and quiet greenhouse, how can there be any hope for the future of Dajin?
"Never mind. Just go and talk to your mother yourself. If she doesn't agree, there's nothing I can do."
Xier cares about the children the most, and since it is dangerous to go there, she will definitely dissuade them.
However, the emperor's wish was not fulfilled. Although Ning Yuxi couldn't bear to let her son take risks, she respected his opinion.
She experienced a flood in modern times. She was still young at that time. The national disaster relief workers were very helpful and there were basically no casualties, but the post-disaster reconstruction work was a mess.
The country originally planned to build houses for the disaster victims free of charge, but after layers of exploitation, not only was the construction of the houses delayed for several years, but the free houses had to be bought with their own money. Although it was much lower than the market price, it was still a considerable amount of money for them.
As a prince, Cheng Zhao's personal visit to provide disaster relief could avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble, various measures could be implemented more effectively, and the people affected by the disaster would no longer be in constant fear.
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