Empress

What would it be like to transmigrate as a daughter of Emperor Gaozong of Tang? Answer: No danger of being sent off in a political marriage, and no worries about an arranged alliance. Wonderful. But what if your mother isn't Wu Zetian? Answer: ...Then it's a complete nightmare, isn't it? Just look at Li Suyue and Li Zhong, then at Consort Xiao's two daughters. Don't you know how ruthless Wu Zetian is? And behind her stands your father, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, who likes to play the fool while keeping his true strength hidden! Thinking of the miserable future laid out before her, Li Ruyi fans herself and makes a decision: If that's how it is, then I'll become empress myself. Having set that goal, Li Ruyi leaves her chambers. But she never expects to see Wu Mei, heavily pregnant and kneeling on the ground as she scrubs the floor. Looking at the woman, Li Ruyi says coldly, "If you don't care about your own health, I still care about my unborn younger sibling."

This is the third installment in my political-animal series (though technically the second). The other book is The Glorious Tang Dynasty Is Mine Alone. This story is complete. The female lead came from the fictional Tang Empire in the first installment of this series and transmigrated into the fantastical Tang Dynasty in this book.

A special note. I'm not sure what everyone thinks of Wu Mei, but I don't believe she was an accomplished political animal from the very beginning. Consider the Lion Colt incident during the Taizong era, or how, after becoming Gaozong's empress, she attended court with Gaozong and then shouted from behind the curtain, "Why not execute that scoundrel!" There's no denying that at first Wu Mei was still a small-minded woman. She had what it took to become an emperor, and in the end she did become an empress, but she was not an accomplished political animal from the start. A truly skilled political animal would not casually call for a minister's execution. Wu Mei became Wu Zetian step by step. She was simply lucky enough to meet Emperor Gaozong of Tang. He cultivated her, and his frail health left him unable to keep her in check. As for her sons, they were no match for her, and were even further from matching Gaozong. In the end, she became empress.

While it's fine to like Wu Zetian, we shouldn't deny that she was once naive. If you claim to like Wu Zetian but refuse to acknowledge the historical fact that, when she first returned to the imperial palace, she humbly served Empress Wang, please leave using the top-right corner.

My writing may be limited, but I'll do my best to portray Wu Zetian's growth and to respect that process. Respecting Wu Zetian's growth is how we respect both this historical figure and history itself.

One more special note: For years, in order to praise Wu Zetian, people have portrayed Emperor Gaozong of Tang as especially spineless and incompetent. But according to the historical record, as an emperor, Gaozong was much more capable than Wu Zetian and achieved more as well. So I'll do my best to portray the real Emperor Gaozong of Tang: a true ruler of great vision and ability who only pretended to be a fool.

I received a notice from my editor that the book will go on sale the day after tomorrow, February 27. I hope you'll support the authorized edition. Thank you as well for your support all this time.

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