Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 53: Wen Saobei (Part )
Daxing Palace, Ganlu Hall,
"I don't agree with letting Xiaowu go down to the Lu family."

Dugu Jialuo had her hair tied up high, her hairpins trembling lightly, her eyes sparkling, and she looked at Yang Jian with her beautiful eyes.

"I've heard a lot about that Lu family member. He has a peculiar personality and eccentric behavior. How could he be a good match for Xiaowu?"

"Besides, the Lu family is too low-class. It would be a great injustice for Xiaowu to be demoted to the Lu family. Even if you want to arrange a marriage for Xiaowu, it should be with an important official in the court, or one of the Five Surnames and Seven Respected Families."

Looking at the aggressive Dugu Jialuo, Yang Jian stroked his forehead and said weakly, "Jialuo, the Lu family is not lowly. After all, they are my mother's family and relatives of the royal family. Lu Shang is also a talented boy and is highly valued by King Kaoshan. Letting Xiaowu marry into the Lu family is a close relationship. What's wrong with that?"

Dugu Jialuo snorted softly, "If the Lu family weren't related to you, how could you dare to hope for Xiaowu's marriage based on their family background?"

"Nor Luo Yan, Ah Wu has already sacrificed enough for the Yang family's kingdom. To win Wang Yi's support, you ignored her young age and married her to Wang Yi's eldest son. Only a few years later, Wang Fengxiao died of illness, leaving her a widow at such a young age."

"Now, you want to marry her off to Lu Shang. Is Xiaowu's happiness so insignificant in your eyes?"

Yang Jian couldn't help but feel a little short of breath when facing the furious Dugu Qieluo.

Yang Jian respected and feared Dugu Qieluo. When Dugu Qieluo married Yang Jian, it could be said that she was marrying down.

Dugu Qieluo's father, Dugu Xin, was one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty. He had a prominent status and great power. Although Yang Jian had a high birthright, he was far inferior to the Dugu family.

You should know that Yang Jian's father, Yang Zhong, who was the first generation of Suiguo Duke at that time, was one of the twelve generals of the Western Wei Dynasty, and Dugu Xin, as one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, was Yang Zhong's superior.

It is strange to say, Dugu Xin had seven sons and seven daughters. Among his seven sons, some were wise and some were foolish, but the most famous were his seven daughters.

Among her seven daughters, three became queens, serving as queens of the Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties respectively.

"Jia Luo, Xiao Wu is our youngest daughter, and the youngest daughter of Yang Jian. How could I not love her? It is precisely because I love Xiao Wu that I want to marry her to Lu Shang. She is from a noble family, not a good match."

Yang Jian said, "If I were still the Duke of Sui, the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Houses, the aristocratic families, would naturally be excellent marriage partners. But now I am the Emperor of Sui. The Yang family is already the royal family, and my son is the emperor's daughter. If I marry into an aristocratic family again, wouldn't that only help to bolster their power?"

Dugu Jialuo said: "Even if you don't want to marry into a noble family, you should choose an outstanding man with both talent and beauty for Xiaowu instead of assigning Xiaowu to your cousin."

Dugu Qieluo was very concerned about the family background of the Lü family. The Dugu clan she came from was one of the eight surnames of meritorious officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and her mother's family was the Qinghe Cui clan, one of the five surnames and seven noble families. Because of her extremely prominent family background, she had a deep-rooted concept of family background.

"Hey, A'Luo, what's wrong with my cousin that makes you have such a big opinion about him?"

Yang Jian sighed helplessly and said, "You say he has a perverse personality, but everyone has their youthful recklessness. You say he comes from a humble family, but he is my cousin after all, and my mother is also from the Lu family."

"This kid Lu Shang does have his merits. At least he's been called a hero by my arrogant uncle, the Emperor. This shows that he's quite capable. With such a capable husband, I'm sure he'll be able to protect Xiaowu and ensure her a peaceful and happy life."

"You and I can't protect Xiaowu forever. When we're gone, Xiaowu won't have a capable husband to protect her. I'm afraid she'll be bullied!"

At this time, Yang Jian spoke sincerely, his eyes full of worry about his daughter's future.

What parent doesn't have a certain amount of affection for their child? Even a powerful figure like Yang Jian was no exception. Hearing Yang Jian's words, Dugu Jialuo was silent for a long time before nodding and saying, "You have a point. When you're here, everything goes smoothly. When you're gone, Xiaowu will have no one to rely on. When choosing a husband, you should choose someone you can entrust your life to."

"I was originally very optimistic about Liu Shu, the eldest son of Liu Ji, the Duke of Jian'an. He is intelligent and talented, and he is from the Liu family of Hedong, a family of noble families for generations. In terms of status, he is a good match for Xiaowu."

Liu Shu was the man Princess Lanling remarried. He was a follower of Crown Prince Yang Yong and the most favored among Yang Jian's sons-in-law. Later, he was purged by Yang Guang and banished to Ningyue, where he died of malaria. Wei Zheng commented that he was arrogant because of his favor, which eventually led to his downfall.

Yang Jian smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm also optimistic about Liu Shu, but compared to Liu Shu, Lu Shang is closer to me. Moreover, he has the Emperor's uncle's strong recommendation. You know the Emperor's uncle's vision. Lu Shang has his own strengths to catch his eye. I can rest assured to entrust Xiaowu to him."

Dugu Jialuo hesitated and said, "Although the emperor's uncle has a unique vision, Lu Shang's reputation..."

"Well, since you've made up your mind, I'll think about it again."

When Yang Jian saw that Dugu Jialuo had relaxed, he felt certain.

He stood up, slowly walked to Dugu Jialuo, gently held her hand, and said softly: "A Luo, Xiao Wu's marriage is an important matter, how can I take it lightly? Even if Lu Shang wants to marry Ah Wu, it depends on whether he can achieve success on the battlefield."

"As long as he can achieve military merit this time, it will prove that the emperor's uncle was not wrong about him. Then, I will feel at ease when I betroth Xiaowu to him."

Dugu Jialuo nodded slightly, her expression slightly relaxed. "That's fine. If he truly has the ability to achieve military exploits in the Northern Frontier, I'll have nothing to say. But Xiaowu is still immersed in the grief of losing her husband. How should I bring this up with her?"

Yang Jian sighed softly and said, "Xiao Wu is very sentimental. Wang Fengxiao's death has hit her hard. Go spend time with her tomorrow and slowly enlighten her. Let her understand the painstaking efforts of us as parents and that life must always move forward."

Yang Jian felt extremely sorry for his youngest daughter's plight, but no matter how much he cared for her, it was not as important as the country.

What Yang Jian did not tell Dugu Jialuo was that King Kaoshan Yang Lin once said in front of Yang Jian that Lu Shang was a dangerous weapon of the country and should not be reused and should be eliminated.

It was these words that made Yang Jian determined to surrender Yang Awu to the Lu family.

Of course, all the efforts Lu Yongji made in this process cannot be said to be useless, but they were far less effective than Yang Lin's words.

It was precisely because Yang Lin's emphasis on Lu Shang was beyond Yang Jian's expectations that Yang Jian realized that Lu Shang was indeed worthy of being shown favor.

"Your Majesty, please come to see me outside the Kaoshan Palace."

The eunuch Chen Dexin walked into the hall with his head lowered and spoke softly.

"It should be that the imperial examination is over and the emperor's uncle has come to the palace to report."

Yang Jian said, "Dexin, go and summon Yuan Yun to the Imperial Court immediately. After this imperial examination, I will host a grand banquet for the heroes of the north and south. I want him to read their faces and see who will be the destined general of the Sui Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)