Chapter Sixteen - A Body in Decline

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Body in Decline

FOR DECADES, WU Zetian had ruled like a force of nature. She had a sharp mind, an iron will, and eyes in every corner. Enemies were always one step too slow.

But the one thing she couldn’t outmaneuver?

Time.

She hit her 70s. Then her 80s. And the cracks started to show.

First came the headaches. Then the tremors. Then the memory lapses.
She had strokes, small at first. They caused slurred words, confusion, and moments where she’d drift or forget who was in the room.

She tried to keep it quiet.

She had doctors executed for leaking details. She ordered for anyone who questioned her health to be investigated. The propaganda machine stayed on full blast: Wu the Eternal, Wu the Living Buddha, Wu the Immortal Sovereign.

But inside the palace?

Everyone knew.

She couldn’t hold court for as long. She started canceling meetings. She relied more and more on the Zhang brothers to read documents to her, sign off on orders, and make day-to-day decisions.

That’s when the real plotting began.

For years, ministers had waited for a chance. Now they had it.

The palace was filled with whispers again, but this time they weren’t about Wu. They were about what came after.

Should Zhongzong return? Should Ruizong take over? Should the Zhang brothers be dealt with now or later?

The key players weren’t warriors. They were bureaucrats. Trusted advisors. Older officials who’d served under multiple emperors. People with patience.

And names.

One of them was Zhang Jianzhi, a senior minister. He was smart, respected, and loyal to the Tang. He started organizing quietly, building a circle of trusted men, mostly veterans of the old regime.

They didn’t move too soon.

They watched Wu get weaker.

They watched the Zhang brothers tighten their grip.

And they waited.

By now, Wu rarely appeared in public.

She held court from behind a silk screen, speaking softly, letting others read for her. Some days, she didn’t show up at all. The woman who once ruled the empire with both hands now barely lifted one.

But still, no one made a move.

Because even weakened, she was still Wu Zetian.

Still the woman who’d beat empresses, emperors, and sons. Still the woman who’d built a surveillance state from scratch. Still the woman who could have your head removed before breakfast if she thought you looked at her wrong.

And even as her body failed, her presence lingered.

But beneath that presence, something had shifted.

The dragon was breathing slower.

And the people closest to her could that the end was near.