Miss Truth

"What can I do even if I know?" the old lady chuckled, "After so much difficulty, my grandson has finally met a wife whose horoscope matches his, and he fancies her too. Isn’t this a marriage made in heaven? How can we let the Cui family snatch her away first?"

A woman padded her back with cushions and smiled, her lips pursed, "You are still so stubborn. I wonder how smoothly things are going on Shu Niang’s end. Once the marriage certificate is set, you’ll be able to rest easy."

"Isn’t that the truth? Jiulang doesn’t even have a concubine at home... Speaking of which, I don’t care much for the children born to concubines! I hope that Jiulang’s wife gives birth to a daughter on her first try, I just love baby girls." The old lady sighed after speaking, "I don’t even know if I’ll live to see that day."

"You always speak such disheartening words. Lady, you’re taking herbal soup every other day, and your health is even better than hers now," scolded the woman playfully. After speaking, she began to discuss with her whether Xiao Song’s daughter would look like him, "I heard from Shu Niang that Ran Shiqi is a great beauty."

Upon hearing this, the old lady became enthused, her interest in Buddha forgotten, and she began excitedly thinking of names for her great-granddaughter.

While they were having a lively discussion here, Lady Dugu’s heart was not at ease. They say that a daughter-in-law will eventually become the mother-in-law, but even at sixty, she was still under her own mother-in-law’s thumb. This morning she had been blocked by the old lady’s remark and the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved and angry she felt. She tentatively broached the topic to Xiao Yu, with caution, "Husband, Yue’er’s marriage..."

"What mother said is right," Xiao Yu interrupted her as she spoke hesitantly, "Prince Wu Ke’s lineage is noble and rare, but isn’t he still Prince Wu Ke?"

Xiao Yu’s words were quite clear. Li Ke’s great-grandmother and maternal grandmother were both from the Dugu family, his great-grandfather was Duke of Tang, Li Hu, and his maternal great-grandfather was Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty. His grandfather was Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. One person bore the bloodlines of the grand Yang Sui, Li Tang, and the Dugu family, truly the foremost in the world. Yet what of it? Lineage did not allow Li Ke to surpass Li Chengqian and Li Tai. What did Li Chengqian and Li Tai rely on? Wasn’t it because their mother was the Empress from the main wife?

If one were to compare, Empress Zhangsun’s background was not as impressive as Consort Yang’s. So, family pedigree is one thing, but the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate is also important.