It was a very painful thing to be the son of Wu Zetian, one of Wu Zetian's four sons died inexplicably, one was deposed and ordered to commit suicide. As long as there was a threat to Wu Zetian, there was no good end, and there was no family affection in front of the imperial power.
The third son, Li Xian, was cowardly by nature and listened to his mother's words very much, which reassured Wu Zetian and finally ascended to the throne and became Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. However, after Li Xian became emperor, he thought that his mother's words could not be listened to, and the rebellious factor in his heart dared to erupt.
He wanted to promote his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen to the rank of attendant, but was opposed by the chancellor Pei Yan. Li Xian said angrily, I can hand over the world to Wei Xuanzhen, let alone a waiter? This can poke the honeycomb. Wu Zetian personally led someone to pull Li Xian down from the emperor's throne and give Zen to his younger brother Li Dan. Li Xian only served as emperor for fifty-five days.
Li Xian was demoted to the title of King of Luling and placed under house arrest in Fangzhou, Hubei Province, for fourteen years. During this period, only the former Queen Merriam-Webster accompanied him, and the two were a real couple in distress. Webster came from a famous family and was chosen as a princess.
Li Xian's love for Webster is very fond of Wei Shi, which leads to the story of wanting to find a good errand for his father-in-law, but he ends up losing his throne. After Li Xian's depose, Wei's entire family was killed, his father and brother were killed, and only his sister escaped without knowing where he was.
Wu Zetian claimed the title of emperor, killed Li Tangzong's relatives, and Xu Jingye rebelled, everything made Li Xian fearful. Li Xian knew about his mother's fierce means, but what he didn't know was when it would be his turn, and maybe one day someone would read out the holy will and force himself to commit suicide.
Li Xian was often awakened by nightmares at night, and Merriam-Webster became his only reliance. This time, when he heard that the Mother Emperor had sent someone to proclaim his will, Li Xian was so frightened that he wanted to commit suicide. Webster advised him that it was a blessing or a curse, that he would die anyway, and that he did not have to hurry to die now. Li Xian gave up the idea of suicide.
Li Xian, grateful for Webster's encouragement and companionship, made a wish to her that he would never fail her in the future. These years were the most difficult time for Li Xian and Webster, but they did not give up and persevered. The feelings between the two grew deeper, and it seemed that nothing could separate them.
But it's easy to share hardships and too hard to get rich, especially for Merriam-Webster, an ambitious woman. A return to the throne looks more like an illusion, but it really happens. Ministers loyal to Li Tang took advantage of the empress's old age and infirmity to launch a mutiny, and the throne once again fell to Li Xian.
Li Xian was still a cowardly old and good man, and Wei Shi became empress again, assisting Li Xian in interfering in the government. Unexpectedly, after Wei Shi seized power, he began to feel dissatisfied with his cowardly husband, and even had an affair with Wu Sansi, and under his suggestion, he secretly demoted several of Emperor Wu's ministers to Ming Sheng and made them kings, but in fact deprived them of great power and made the government fall into the hands of Wu Sansi.
Prince Li Chongjun was not born to Webster, and Merriam-Webster always wanted to get rid of him. Princess Anle, the daughter of Wei Shi, went so far as to ask Li Xian to depose the crown prince and make herself the crown princess. The usurpation of power at all levels of Webster has been clearly revealed, and Li Xianwei has never made up his mind.
Li Chongjun really couldn't stand the aggressiveness of Wei Shi and Wu Sansi, and launched a mutiny, only killing Wu Sansi, but was killed by Wei Shi, and the mutiny failed. Immediately after, Webster gave himself the honorific title, and he was getting closer and closer to being called emperor.
If Wei Shi had wu Zetian's talent, it would be enough, but she would only divide her relatives and sell officials to make money. Regardless of whether the trafficker is a pawn, as long as he pays 300,000 yuan, he can become a court official. Suddenly, the court was filled with courtiers who had come in, as many as thousands of people. From this, it can be calculated that Merriam-Webster has received more money.
Wei Shi also set up an official attendant in Chang'an and Luoyang, and selected officials four times a year, appointing tens of thousands of officials. Each election was an opportunity for the Websters to make a big profit, so they accumulated countless fortunes.
Merriam-Webster's excesses worried Li Xian, who often advised her. Wei Shi began to feel that Li Xian was in the way, and after consulting with his daughter Princess Anle, he actually poisoned Li Xian. The troubled couple eventually came to a tragic end, and the corrosive effect of power and wealth on people's hearts made Merriam-Webster crazy.
After killing the emperor, Wei Shi mobilized 50,000 forbidden troops into Chang'an, controlled by the Wei clan. In order to balance all the forces, Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er proposed to make Li Chongmao the crown prince, Li Dan to assist the government, and Wei Shi to be the regent empress.
However, Wei Shi was no longer satisfied with the empress, and she wanted to learn from Wu Zetian as an empress. The only people who may have hindered her were Li Dan and Princess Taiping. According to the comparison of forces at that time, the possibility of Victory by Merriam-Webster was very high, and civilian and military power were already in the hands of Merriam-Webster. Unfortunately, they met Lee Longji.
With the support of Princess Taiping, Li Longji co-opted a group of middle- and lower-ranking officers of the Forbidden Army and resolutely launched a mutiny, and even the craftsmen in the palace sided with Li Longji and took an axe and saw to kill the rebel thief with Li Longji. Merriam-Webster found out that something was wrong and fled to the Flying Horse Battalion, but was beheaded and killed by a soldier. After the murder of Wei Shi, Princess Anle and the Wei clan, Li Dan was proclaimed emperor, and the Tang Dynasty began a new chapter.
If there is no later monopoly to kill the husband, Merriam-Webster should be a good wife, in the wind and rain, insisting on getting along with her husband. However, she did not have the talent of Wu Zetian, but she had the viciousness and ambition of Wu Zetian, and in the end she only ended up with a different head and the destruction of the entire clan.
[References: Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian]