Chapter Seven - The Puppet Emperor

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Puppet Emperor

WHEN GAOZONG DIED, the throne didn’t pass to Wu Zhao.

Not officially.

That would’ve been too much, too fast, even for her.

So she followed the script. She put on mourning robes, played the grieving widow, and let her son, Li Zhe, step up as the new emperor.

They renamed him Zhongzong.

But the kid didn’t last long.

Within months, he started showing signs of independence. He promoted his in-laws. He tried appointing ministers without Wu’s approval. He even said out loud that he was emperor now and didn’t need her permission.

Holy shit. Big mistake.

Wu Zhao pulled him aside and reminded him who really ran the empire.

He didn’t listen.

So she had him removed.

Straight up.

She demoted him, exiled him, and replaced him with another one of her sons, Li Dan, renamed Emperor Ruizong. But again, everyone knew the deal. Wu was still calling the shots. The emperors were figureheads.

She held the court in her hand like a chessboard.

And now that her husband was dead and her sons were sidelined, she didn’t have to pretend anymore.

She set up a new power center in the palace: the Luoyang court, where she controlled everything. Messages to the emperor went through her. Orders came from her. Ministers bowed to her. She even held court behind a silk screen, giving edicts while hidden from view. Half myth, half monarch.

It was unprecedented.

Unconstitutional.

Unstoppable.

She didn’t crown herself yet. Not quite. But everyone knew where this was heading. Wu Zhao wasn’t content being the power behind the throne.

She wanted the actual throne.

And she was getting closer.

She tightened the web. She cracked down on dissent, expanded her personal staff, and started rewriting official histories to favor her side of events. She kept her sons on short leashes, raising doubts about their ability to rule. If people had concerns, she made sure those people disappeared, one way or another.

China had never seen anything like this.

A woman running the empire, not through seduction or manipulation, but through raw competence and strategy.

And yet, she hadn’t even pulled her final card.

Because Wu Zhao wasn’t just going to rule behind the scenes.

She was going to make it official.