I am Li, Princess Taiping, the youngest child of my father and mother. My father was Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and my mother was Wu Zetian, the first and only empress in Chinese history. I was born to greatness, and I dared to love and hate. When an envoy from Tibet came to ask for my hand in marriage, I shaved my head and became a nun. I even dared to dress in a military officer’s uniform in pursuit of love, marrying my childhood sweetheart, Xue Shao. I thought we could spend the rest of our lives supporting each other, but for reasons that had nothing to do with my husband, my mother, who loved and cherished me, had him executed. After that, I gave up. If my mother told me to remarry, I did. If she told me to marry for a political alliance, I obeyed. Yet after my father died, my mother rose to the very pinnacle of power. I was resentful and miserable. I tried to discuss state affairs with her and gathered handsome young men to present to her, hoping to make my ambitions clear, but nothing ever went my way. After my father’s death, I thought my schemes would let me dominate the court and become empress like my mother. But then I was betrayed by my beloved nephew, Li Zhunji, and my whole family was wiped out. Reborn into this life, I have seen so many things unfold differently. This time, I will no longer be a sheltered young lady. I will climb, one step at a time…
