In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), the fourteen-year-old Wu Zetian entered the palace as a servant girl in the woodshed. By chance, she was summoned by Taizong Li Shimin and was named a talented person. In the palace, she witnessed the fights between concubines and the struggle for power, and got to know the taste of power for the first time. After Taizong died, she was sent to Ganye Temple to become a nun. She wrote "Ruyi Niang" to seek help from the new emperor Li Zhi and returned to the court.
After returning to the palace, Wu Zetian took advantage of the conflict between Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu to gradually climb up to the position of Zhaoyi and Queen. She assisted the frail and sick Gaozong in handling government affairs, formed the "Two Saints" pattern, and cultivated her own power. After Gaozong died, she deposed Zhongzong and Ruizong successively, proclaimed herself emperor in 690, and changed the name of Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty.
After ascending the throne, Wu Zetian displayed her outstanding political talents, initiated palace examinations, martial arts examinations, and promoted famous ministers such as Di Renjie and Yao Chong; on the other hand, she filled her emotional emptiness with male favorites such as Xue Huaiyi, Zhang Yizhi, and Zhang Changzong, and also used them to control the court situation. At the same time, Shangguan Wan'er grew from the daughter of a guilty minister to a "female prime minister" and was entangled between love and power with Prince Li Xian, Zhang Changzong, Wu Sansi and others.
In her later years, Wu Zetian favored Er Zhang, causing turmoil in the government. As her daughter, Princess Taiping first favored men and then joined forces with Zhang Jianzhi and other ministers to launch a dragon coup to force her mother to abdicate. After Wu Zetian passed away, she left a monument without words for future generations to comment on. Princess Taiping tried to copy her mother's path, but was ultimately defeated in a contest with her nephew Li Longji and committed suicide. The dream of the Great Zhou Dynasty was completely ended.
