The novel takes Wu Zetian's life experience as the main line, starting from her girlhood in the Bingzhou Wu family, depicting her being despised due to her family's low status, and her ambition to change the fate of the Wu family; Zong was neglected but secretly studied hard to gain insight into the power structure of the palace; while she was a nun in Ganye Temple, she found an opportunity to return to the palace by virtue of her relationship with Li Zhi, and took advantage of the conflict between the Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu to ascend to the position of Zhaoyi step by step.
During the battle in the harem, she used ruthless means to overthrow the Queen and was successfully installed as queen. She then took the opportunity to suppress Changsun Wuji and other senior officials of the Guanlong Group, and gradually participated in the government affairs. After Li Zhi became weak, she listened behind the curtain and was called the "Two Saints" together with Li Zhi. During this period, she promoted the reform of the imperial examination, revised the "Record of Surnames", and cultivated the influence of poor families. At the same time, her conflicts with the princes Li Hong and Li Xian deepened day by day, and she deposed the two princes successively.
After Li Zhi's death, she took over the throne, put down Xu Jingye's rebellion, eradicated opposition forces, and finally broke through the shackles of gender and ascended the throne as emperor, changing the Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty. After proclaiming the emperor, she implemented a series of governance measures, valued talents, developed production, and created the rule of Wu Zhou. However, in her later years, she fell into a dispute over the appointment of the crown prince. In the end, she still stayed in Li Tang after the Shenlong Coup, and lived a legendary life. The novel not only shows her talents as a politician, but also depicts her ruthlessness and struggle in the power struggle, restoring a three-dimensional and complex image of Wu Zetian.
