WU ZETIAN

What This Book Covers

1. Chapter One - The Girl from Bingzhou
2. Chapter Two - Into the Dragon’s Den
3. Chapter Three - Death of a Dragon
4. Chapter Four - Resurrection
5. Chapter Five - The Rise of Pure Consort Wu
6. Chapter Six - The Crown and the Corpse
7. Chapter Seven - The Puppet Emperor
8. Chapter Eight - Secret Police and Silent Graves
9. Chapter Nine - The Buddhist Prophecy
10. Chapter Ten - The Fall of the Tang Princes
11. Chapter Eleven - Declaring Herself Emperor
12. Chapter Twelve - Reform, Rebuild, Rebrand
13. Chapter Thirteen - Blood on the Lotus
14. Chapter Fourteen - Lovers, Liars, and Lamas
15. Chapter Fifteen - The Tang Loyalists
16. Chapter Sixteen - A Body in Decline
17. Chapter Seventeen - The Coup of 705
18. Chapter Eighteen - Death in Seclusion

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE The Girl from Bingzhou BEFORE SHE RULED an empire and made scholars cry, she was just a kid. A second daughter. Born in a dusty corner of northern China, in a town called Wenshui. Back then, it was part of Bingzhou. Middle of nowhere, really. Her name was Wu Zhao. She was born in 624, during the early years of the Tang Dynasty. And right out the gate, the world had expectations for her. Not big ones. Just the usual: marry someone decent, stay quiet, raise kids, and don’t cause problems. But Wu Zhao wasn’t built for that. Her family was well-off but not royalty. Her dad, Wu Shihuo, was a timber merchant turned military officer who helped the Tang Dynasty get started. He wasn’t a...