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

Legally, the Emperor and Empress were established to be of equal rank and had the same political status.

Important national decrees are jointly issued by the Emperor and Empress.

The news sent shockwaves throughout the country.

Even Wei Ye was shocked by Li Zhi's determination to elevate a woman's status to the same level as his own, and even to share half of the emperor's power with her. Such determination was truly terrifying.

Wu Zetian breathed a sigh of relief in the palace; she had made the right bet.

Li Zhi has been planning this for so many years, and the sunk costs are too great. Li Zhi will definitely not give up his plans so easily.

No matter what she does, Li Zhi has to follow suit, even if it means going all in.

The ministers in the court all saw through Li Zhi's plan; this was Li Zhi's only chance.

If they fail, they will absolutely not give Li Zhi a second chance.

We will absolutely not allow a second Wu Zetian to grow up.

Now, she has successfully transformed from a pawn into a player. In the ensuing game, she will not only have to face the old foxes of those powerful families, but also Li Zhi, an extremely cunning emperor.

Although Li Zhi will not take direct action against her, he will definitely place various people around her and make various plans, waiting for her to complete her mission so that he can uproot her completely in one fell swoop.

Wu Zetian is now filled with fighting spirit. She worked hard from the beginning as a concubine in the palace, step by step, to become the Empress and the supreme ruler of the world.

She refused to believe she would lose!

She will win, and she will keep winning!

After Wu Zetian gained the title of Empress and formally established her legitimacy, she expanded and established the Northern Gate Scholars, who became her think tank and had the right to participate in and discuss politics.

This is an attempt to divide up the power of the prime ministers of the three provinces and six ministries, to further expand their own power, and to bypass the Central Secretariat to issue decrees directly.

With the covert propagation of numerous aristocratic families, the idea that a hen crowing at dawn was an omen of the Tang Dynasty's demise became rampant.

This even sparked a trend where members of the gentry would angrily curse the empress for ruining the country, causing harm to the people, and being a sign of national demise.

People from humble backgrounds would all speak up for Wu Zetian, claiming that she was a wise and virtuous empress.

Empress Dowager, who was in accordance with the will of Heaven and brought peace to the common people, reformed the corrupt system of aristocratic families that had existed since the Wei and Jin dynasties, and selected virtuous women regardless of their social status. No virtuous empress in history could surpass her.

The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to yield, and several bloody clashes ensued.

The entire Tang Dynasty seemed to be divided into two camps: one was the camp of commoners led by Wu Zetian, and the other was the camp of aristocratic families.

The entire Tang Dynasty was filled with a sense of impending storm, as if a monstrous wave could rise at any moment and smash the entire Tang Dynasty to pieces.

In this tense atmosphere, time passed to the twenty-seventh year of Yonghui.

That year, Li Zhi's illness worsened, and he suffered from dizziness and blurred vision several times in court.

After examination, the imperial physicians advised Li Zhi to rest and recuperate, otherwise he was at high risk of permanent blindness.

At the request of his court officials, Li Zhi retired to the inner palace to recuperate in peace.

It is clear that someone had to handle the affairs of the court. Since Li Zhi retired to the inner palace, Wu Zetian was naturally the only one who could handle the affairs of the court.

This naturally caused a stir among officials from humble backgrounds, led by Xu Jingzong, who began to petition Wu Zetian to assume the regency.

Although Wu Zetian held considerable power before, she was ultimately only a regent.

One is "auxiliary" and the other is "photograph"—a difference of just one character, yet worlds apart.

The role of a regent refers to assisting the emperor in handling state affairs. This includes participating in discussions on state affairs, drafting decrees, and handling daily administrative matters. Major personnel appointments, military campaigns, and general amnesties must be reported to the emperor for approval. Regents cannot issue edicts independently and their power is limited, with decisions ultimately resting with the emperor.

A regency is legally entitled to govern the country on behalf of the emperor. They can directly issue imperial edicts, appoint and dismiss officials, mobilize troops, and determine punishments and rewards. Even major military and national affairs do not need to be reported to the emperor; they can make decisions directly on their own!

The difference between the two is like that between a master and a butler; the difference in their status is immediately apparent.

Even though Wu Zetian already possessed power that was close to that of a regency, she still coveted the power of a true regency.

The court officials, led by Chancellor Hao Chujun, would not stand idly by and watch the regency power slip away. In order to counter Wu Zetian, most of them joined the ranks of Crown Prince Li Hong.

They also wanted to fight for Li Hong's regency power.

Unfortunately, Li Hong was somewhat weak-willed and backed down at a crucial moment when faced with Wu Zetian's sharp gaze.

In the end, it was only through the desperate remonstrances of Hao Chujun and others in the imperial court that Wu Zetian was prevented from gaining the power of regency.

However, the power to approve important military and political matters remained in Wu Zetian's hands.

Hao Chujun and other high-ranking officials were extremely dissatisfied with Li Hong's performance in court. If Li Hong hadn't backed down at the crucial moment, how could they have lost to Wu Zetian?

When Li Hong becomes the crown prince and holds regency power, they will be able to rival Wu Zetian and use the crown prince's regency power to oppose Wu Zetian's status as empress.

But Li Hong actually backed down at the crucial moment, leaving them completely stunned in the court.

Are you kidding me?!

This is a life-or-death political struggle, not a childish game for you and your son!

Their behavior in court led these people to abandon Li Hong altogether. If they continued to follow him, they might be tricked by him at any time. They were currently engaged in a life-or-death struggle with Wu Zetian, and they dared not play such a game.

Who would dare to joke about their own life and fortune?

After abandoning Li Hong, they began to support Li Xian, the second son of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian.

Coincidentally, Li Hong died of illness in the Eastern Palace not long after being abandoned by them.

Now, this group of people were in a truly dire situation, like mud falling into their pants – even if they weren't already in a mess, they were still in a mess.

Wu Zetian immediately accused them of murdering the crown prince.

Even Li Xian was implicated, suspected of plotting to murder his elder brother in order to seize the position of crown prince.

This incident even alarmed Li Zhi, who was recuperating in the deep palace. He did not expect that such a big commotion would occur so soon after he returned to the palace to recuperate, and that his eldest son had actually died.

Moreover, it is highly likely that he died in a political struggle, murdered by someone, and there may even be a shadow of his other son involved. How could he accept that?

Like Li Shimin, he was terrified that his sons would kill each other for the throne.

Therefore, he must find out the truth!

Despite feeling dizzy and lightheaded, Li Zhi returned to the stage after several months.

"Minister of Justice Lu Chengqing, Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review Wei Hongji, and Grand Censor Le Yanwei, the three of you are hereby ordered to join forces to investigate the Crown Prince's death. Within one month, you must uncover the truth!"

In the imperial court, Li Zhi, unusually, lost his temper, looking coldly at Li Xian and Chancellor Hao Chujun, who were standing in front of the assembled officials.

With tears in her eyes, Wu Zetian wept uncontrollably in the court, feigning the appearance of a weak woman, grieving for her deceased son.

"Ministry of Rites, have you chosen the posthumous title for the Crown Prince?"

Li Zhi suppressed his pain and asked the Ministry of Rites.