A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

On his first day back in the capital, Wang Xuance found a note in his study with eight characters written on it: "Those who do not restrain their high achievements will surely suffer misfortune."

Wang Xuance was greatly moved. After being reminded, the intelligent man immediately understood the meaning of those eight words.

So he began to shut himself away from visitors, refusing all offers of service, and spent his days studying military texts in his residence, avoiding any interaction with court officials.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with Wang Xuance's performance; such a general was the best weapon he could leave for Li Zhi.

If Wang Xuance gets too close to those officials, it means he has great ambitions, and he might have to cripple this sword for Li Zhi first.

……

After the deaths of Li Jing and Fang Xuanling, Li Shimin felt that he was old and frail. The Crown Prince Li Zhi's benevolence, filial piety and composure reassured Li Shimin.

As his hair turned white, Li Shimin couldn't help but think about seeking immortality.

His life was incredibly illustrious; he was hailed as the world's leader, revered by foreign powers, the master of China, and an emperor for all ages…

Even in old age, one cannot see through the meaning of death.

Li Shimin began to reside in Cuiwei Palace and ordered people to refine elixirs for him, intending to prolong his life and seek immortality.

In the same year, Li Zhi officially began to engage in state affairs and frequently visited the palace.

Wu Zetian took care of Emperor Taizong's daily life. She had been in the palace for many years but had never been favored. After 11 years, she was still only a concubine.

Moreover, Li Shimin was still old, and it seemed that the world would soon fall to Li Zhi. If she did not take some action, she would end up leaving the palace to become a nun, spending her life in solitude with only a Buddhist lamp and ancient scriptures.

She was unwilling to accept this; she was ambitious, wanted to seize power, and wanted to take revenge on her brother.

So she took advantage of the opportunity to take care of Li Shimin to get to know Li Zhi.

Wu Zetian was born with a square forehead and broad cheeks, a face as smooth as jade, and delicate, fair skin that showed no signs of hardship.

Her phoenix eyes were long and slightly upturned, with a natural charm at the corners. She usually stood with her eyes lowered, her expression gentle and respectful, with only a few traces of softness and gentleness remaining.

Her eyebrows were sharp and delicate, unlike the usual gentle and charming palace women. She had a touch of heroic spirit, a straight nose, and full, red lips. She was dignified when still and charming when smiling.

There are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names. The nickname "Meiniang" that Li Shimin gave her was indeed very fitting.

This charm went straight to Li Zhi's very core.

In order to maintain a proper image as the crown prince in front of Li Shimin, Li Zhi had suppressed his inner emotions over the years.

Although she had a crown princess, her love life was not very rich.

With the alluring gaze of Wu Meiniang, a beauty whose charm reached to the very core, Li Zhi was required to greet Li Shimin daily and report on state affairs. Wu Meiniang took care of Li Shimin's daily life, and the two spent every day together, their feelings for each other growing stronger day by day.

In the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin took too much medicine, and his health gradually weakened.

Li Zhi became increasingly submissive. An old emperor is most suspicious before his death, and he did not want to lose the throne because of his own mistakes.

Even though he is now the only legitimate son that Empress Zhangsun can choose from, Li Shimin is a great emperor throughout history, and if he goes crazy, anything can happen.

He even deliberately reduced his interactions with Wu Zetian, suppressing his inner desires.

However, when they looked at each other, they both understood each other's feelings.

Wu Zetian also knew the importance of the matter and took good care of Li Shimin, never overstepping her bounds.

In the same year, Li Shimin died in bed at the age of fifty-two.

Crown Prince Li Zhi ascended the throne before his death, and the reign title was set as Yonghui.

After the funeral, Li Shimin's concubines who had no children were sent to Ganye Temple to become nuns.

Wu Zetian gambled everything on Li Zhi. After Li Shimin's death, before the officials arrived, she expressed her feelings to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi also promised her that he would definitely bring her out of Ganye Temple and back to the palace.

After Li Zhi ascended the throne, the former Crown Princess Wang became Empress, and he favored Consort Xiao. Li Zhi used this method to incite a struggle between Empress Wang and Consort Xiao.

With his biased support, Empress Wang's authority in the palace was even less than that of Consort Xiao, which made Empress Wang feel very threatened. She tried every means to counterbalance Consort Xiao.

On the first anniversary of Li Shimin's death, according to etiquette, Li Zhi was required to go to Ganye Temple to offer incense and pay respects to the late emperor.

Wu Zetian hadn't seen Li Zhi for a year, and she was afraid that he would forget her and leave her to spend the rest of her life in seclusion.

Taking advantage of Li Zhi's trip to Ganye Temple to pay respects to the late emperor, Wu Zetian secured the opportunity to recite scriptures beside Li Zhi.

The more suppressed emotions are, the more intense they will be when they erupt. The two hadn't seen each other for a year, and their emotions exploded instantly.

Li Zhi dismissed his attendants and poured out his heart to Wu Meiniang.

No secrets stay hidden forever, especially those surrounding the emperor. With Li Zhi going along with the flow, the matter quickly reached Empress Wang's ears.

Empress Wang is currently worried about Consort Xiao's excessive favor and fears that Consort Xiao will replace her position, at which point she will probably not have a good ending.

What terrified Empress Wang the most was that she had not given birth to a prince for Li Zhi, but Consort Xiao had.

A mother's status depended on her son, a point that was especially important in the emperor's harem.

Concubines who gave birth to princes and those who did not are completely different concepts.

Especially for the empress, if she failed to give birth to a prince, it would be a grave offense that would affect the continuation of the empire. This was a matter of utmost importance, and an empress without a prince would not last long.

But now the emperor rarely visits her, and she can't bear a prince on her own!

After learning about the affair between Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang, Empress Wang conceived the idea of ​​using Wu Zetian to counterbalance Consort Xiao.

There was still one obstacle to making this happen: Wu Zetian's identity. She was a concubine of the late emperor and, according to etiquette, Li Zhi's stepmother.

However, it is ultimately a family matter of the Li family, and as long as the emperor and empress are of one mind, it can be suppressed.

At most, people would gossip about her behind her back. Anyway, the gossip was about Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, so what did it have to do with her, Empress Wang?

After thinking it through, Empress Wang began to persuade Li Zhi to bring Wu Meiniang back to the palace.

Under Empress Wang's persistent persuasion, Emperor Li Zhi finally reluctantly agreed to bring Wu Meiniang back to the palace.

Although some people in the court criticized it based on etiquette and law, Li Zhi and Empress Wang ultimately suppressed their objections.

After Wu Zetian entered the palace, Emperor Gaozong stayed in her palace every night, which aroused the jealousy and apprehension of Consort Xiao.

During Emperor Gaozong's reign, Wu Zetian had no connections whatsoever, so she had to rely on Empress Wang to help her fight against Consort Xiao.

Consort Xiao began to slander Wu Meiniang in front of Emperor Li Zhi, while Wu Meiniang kept praising Empress Wang and Consort Xiao in front of Emperor Li Zhi.

As time went on, Li Zhi began to feel that Consort Xiao was somewhat jealous, while Wu Meiniang was magnanimous, just like her.

In the imperial court, Changsun Wuji's ambition began to emerge.

One by one, the old ministers who followed Li Shimin in conquering the country passed away. Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing and others who were ranked ahead of Changsun Wuji all passed away. Only Chu Suiliang and Li Shiji could be compared with him.

In addition, his status as a trusted minister entrusted by Li Shimin and the uncle of Li Zhi fueled Changsun Wuji's ambition, leading him to seek to expand his power and dominate the court.