Chapter 3 Dugu Jialuo
The ministers below were noisy, but few supported Pang Huang. Yang Jian was also very clear that Gao Zuo was a man of great talent in governing the country and was loyal to him. He had been in charge of state affairs for more than ten years and the country was at peace because of him. He recommended talented people to build the capital, and had made great contributions in pacifying the south, destroying the Chen state, and defeating the Turks in the north. But judging from today's events, was his prestige in the court a little too high?
After the court was dismissed, the emperor walked out of the hall with something on his mind, while Empress Dugu had been waiting there early. The two of them went to bed together and looked at each other happily.

The eunuchs and maids around him couldn't help but feel sincerely happy when they saw this. The emperor and empress had been married for forty-two years, and until now, the empress was the only one in the house, with no private favors, and the positions of concubines were vacant, and there were no three concubines.

The two of them had lunch consisting of just two bowls of tuantuo, which is noodle soup, with some roasted lamb and fish soup.

After finishing his meal, Yang Jian dismissed the servants and said to his wife: "What Pang Huang said today..."

Before he could finish, Empress Dugu frowned and asked, "Luo Yan, don't you believe Gao Qiu?"

Yang Jian hurriedly said: "I trust Dugu, but..."

"I've already said it, it's just the envy and slander of villains, most likely because they think Gao Zuo has been in office for too long. Humph, who knows who is behind him."

Dugu, also known as Duke of Qi Gao Zuo, was the son of Gao Bin, who was once an aide to Dugu Xin, the Grand Marshal of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was given the surname Dugu for his merits and was thus trusted by Empress Dugu.

After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Gao Zuo was able to hold the position of prime minister for more than ten years thanks to the recommendation and trust of the empress as well as his own talent. Yang Jian often called Gao Jiong "Dugu Gong" in the court and relied on him like the emperor's uncle. Instead, the couple turned a blind eye to several brothers-in-law who actually had the surname Dugu.

Yang Jian moved his lips, but finally swallowed his words, but there was an uncontrollable flame flickering in the depths of his eyes.

Jialuo, you don't take me seriously enough. I am the emperor, the Son of Heaven who has ruled the country for nearly twenty years, not a puppet you push forward.

But he only dared to shout this in his heart, trying hard to suppress the restlessness in his heart. He could no longer tell whether he loved or respected the Queen.

His father, Yang Zhong, one of the twelve great generals of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was also a subordinate of Dugu Xin, just like Gao Zuo's father.

When he was young, he met Dugu Jialuo by chance and fell in love with her and begged his father to marry her for him. Yang Zhong did not think that his family could welcome such a noble lady, but he could not persuade his son, so he had to swallow his pride and bring his son to ask for a meeting.

At that time, Dugu Xin was already the Grand Tutor and the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, and was promoted to the Duke of Weiguo, with a fief of 10,000 households. His daughters became empresses or wives of dukes of counties and kingdoms. Yang Jian himself actually felt that there was no hope.

But he did not expect that he would win the favor of his father-in-law Dugu Xin and marry his most beloved youngest daughter Dugu Jialuo. Even though Dugu Xin was forced to commit suicide by Yuwen Hu and the Dugu family declined, he did not give up his wife at that time because she was indeed the one he loved.

He even accumulated power step by step for her, seized the kingdom of Yuwen family, killed all the people in the Yuwen family who were related to the affairs of his father-in-law, and made her the most noble woman in the world.

But in the end, it seemed that he had always lived his whole life for his wife. He was nearly sixty years old and became an emperor, but what did he enjoy?
Empress Dugu did not notice anything unusual about her husband because she was already used to it.

Yang Jian stood up and said, "Jia Luo, I'm going to go look at the memorials. You can take a nap."

Empress Dugu nodded and watched her husband leave with her eyes, but she did not rush to take a nap. Instead, she lay on the couch and read Buddhist scriptures and historical books. Her mother was from the Cui family of Qinghe, a famous family with a long tradition of poetry, books and classics.

Therefore, she developed a habit of loving reading since she was a child and never put down her books for decades. Otherwise, how could she have repeatedly interfered in state affairs without being criticized by ministers? It was because her political views were rarely wrong.

However, the departing Emperor of Sui did not go to handle official business as he said, but stood in front of a palace maid, a beautiful girl like a plum blossom in the snow, a girl whose surname was conquered by him, Yuchi.

Embracing the delicate and tender body, he seemed to have returned to his youth, his heart as free and happy as a bird flying in the sky and a fish entering the sea. The emperor was enjoying the life he should have, while the eunuchs and maids serving in the palace were so scared that their faces turned pale and they were trembling with fear. For decades, they had never thought that this day would come, and they did not dare to think about what would happen if the empress knew about it. The timid ones had already started to cry.

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"Mother." After half a month, Li Jiancheng finally saw his mother. Dou had been recuperating for more than ten days, and her complexion had recovered a lot, but she still could not go out of the house to see people.

"My son, come here and let me see you." Dou had fair skin and a beautiful face, with black hair hanging down behind her, her luster was so bright that one could see through it. Her father was Dou Yi, the Duke of Shenwu in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and her mother was the eldest daughter of Yuwen Tai, the Princess of Xiangyang in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Interestingly, in this family, the grandmother Dugu was happy to see the Northern Zhou Dynasty replaced by the Sui Dynasty, while the mother Dou deeply hated the Yang family for taking away her uncle's family's world.

Because Dou was born with supernatural powers, her hair reached her neck when she was born, and her hair was as long as her body when she was three years old. She also had a photographic memory. Her uncle, Emperor Wu of Zhou, cherished her like a treasure and brought her to the palace to raise her, loving her very much.

When she was six or seven years old, she was able to persuade her uncle to balance the harem, so she was highly regarded by her parents, who decided that the girl of Fengchao should never be given to anyone lightly. When the Northern Zhou Dynasty was usurped by Yang Jian, she cried and said, "I only regret that I am not a man and cannot save my uncle's family from danger!"
Li Jiancheng walked to his mother's bed and knelt down. Dou touched her son's head and said, "You are a little thin. You should eat more. Ask your servants to make you what you like. You practice archery every day, so you can't eat enough."

The mother and son talked in private for a while, and Li Jiancheng took the opportunity to tell her about the letter his grandmother had given him. Dou was silent for a moment and nodded slowly.

After all, the world is no longer the Yuwen family's world. Since she can't help her son, she can't hold him back either. Her husband has been suppressed like this. Who knows what will happen after the queen passes away. She should get closer to the queen while she is still alive.

But Dou was still a little reluctant and said, "You are so young. Even if the Empress shows favor, the best you can do is to be a Qianniu Guard like your father did in the past, guarding the Emperor day and night. It will be difficult for you to get promoted in the future."

"If you are willing, that's fine. If not, I will think of a solution for you in a few years. Your uncle is highly appreciated by the emperor and should be able to do something. If it really doesn't work out, just accept the title. My dowry is very generous and will be left to you two brothers in the future. It will be enough to make you rich and noble."

"Mother, my son is growing up, but it's hard for him to make progress at home. Why don't you let him go and try?"

Li Jiancheng naturally knew that no matter how well he performed, a noble son of Guanlong like him would never be promoted or appointed by the current emperor. The best case scenario was that he would be given an empty position and kept in Beijing, so his target was not Yang Jian.

Instead, it was Empress Dugu who took the opportunity to board Prince Jin's boat. Unfortunately, he was too young, and Yang Guang's power was growing. She could not catch up to provide timely assistance, but she still had to add icing on the cake.

The first thing is to enter the palace and seek an official position. If one's rank is not high enough to participate in the court, then one can only make up for it by being close to the center. As long as one can influence the Queen, then he or she will be qualified to be won over by the Prince of Jin.

Only by truly standing in the team can one have the opportunity to make merit, and only by following the dragon's merits can one gain a good starting point, either by being sent to a local area to manage power and recruit talents, or by joining the army to rebuild the Li family's turf.

Otherwise, being trapped in Chang'an would be like being a bird in a cage or a fish in a shallow pond, unable to stretch out your back for more than ten years. Life is only a few decades long, so how can you waste it in vain?

If Yang Guang can govern the world well, then he will be a minister who assists the country. If Yang Guang is still the same Yang Guang, then within ten years, the world will be in chaos, and by then the Sui Dynasty will have lost its power and will be expelled!

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(End of this chapter)