The northern shore of the Luo River, Taichu Palace.
The Nine Continents Pond of Taichu Palace covered an area of ten hectares and was more than a zhang deep. Birds and fish swam in the pond, flowers and plants grew everywhere. The pond was curved and winding, shaped like the nine continents of the Eastern Sea. Clear canals wound around the continents and the bamboo trees grew verdant.
The Radiance Palace Hall above the Nine Continents Pond was beautiful and magnificent. Its eaves were three layers high, its coiled dragon pillars, its lattice windows, its flying eaves, its many pill powders, its roof tiles, its scales, and its rainbow bridges. Every brick and tile, every blade of grass and tree, all showed their ingenuity. It could be called the work of the gods.
With a burst of hearty laughter, Wu Zetian slowly walked out of the Radiance Palace Hall.
At this time, the golden crow had already set and the moon was high in the sky. Two rows of lanterns illuminated the hall as if it were daytime, clearly illuminating her appearance. Empress Wu had a square forehead, slender eyebrows, and a face as round as pearls and smooth as jade. She wore an open silk gown and a golden silk cloak wrapped around her shoulders. Within her grace was a gentle beauty. Empress Wu was skilled in maintaining her youthful appearance. Although she had children and grandchildren, she was an old woman in her sixties, yet she still looked like she was in her forties. At this moment, her fair cheeks were flushed red, as if she was a little tipsy from drinking. However, her eyes were clear and bright, without the slightest hint of haziness.
Wu Zetian stopped on the steps and excitedly said, "Have Imperial Physician Shen make a bowl of soup to sober up and have him wait in the palace. We will go to the peonies and walk by candles to disperse the smell of alcohol."
In the Han and Tang dynasties, the Empress Dowager also called herself Zhen, but Wu Zetian had called herself Zhen a little earlier. As early as when she ruled the world with the two saints, Gaozong and Li Zhi, she had already called herself Zhen. With the decree, the hundreds of lanterns in the peonies outside the Radiance Palace Hall were lit. The lights reflected the light of the water and the stars in the sky. Two rows of palace maids carried their lanterns forward. Empress Wu spread her arms and leisurely descended the steps, stepping into the peonies.
The lanterns in front of them were tall, the feather fans behind them were swaying. Twelve palace maids, six at the front and six at the back, lined up in two rows, walking lightly and gracefully. Empress Wu, who was walking in the middle, was wearing a skirt that flowed lightly to the ground, winding more than three feet, as if she was the Queen Mother of the West descending to earth.
Wu Zetian loved peonies. There were many varieties of peonies in Luoyang, and they were all famous species. After careful cultivation by the gardeners, many varieties could bloom in spring and autumn. Even in winter, peonies could bloom in a warm cellar. Walking among them, the blooming flowers were like brocade, and the fragrance of the flowers filled the air, making people feel relaxed and happy.
Wu Zetian was in a good mood. Tonight, she drank wine and the officials were in harmony with each other, making her feel even happier.
Nowadays, there were fewer and fewer people who dared to oppose her.
In the first year of the Guang family, there was a brave Xu Jingye who dared to rebel. Although it only took two months, he was defeated by her troops. Xu Jingye led several cavalry to break out of the encirclement and wanted to go to the east to seek refuge in Korea, but he was also killed by his mutinous subordinates.
After that, the royal princes of Li Tang's royal family, such as Prince of Han, Prince of Huo, Prince of Jiangdu, Prince of Lu, Prince of Yue, Prince of Guo, Prince of Fanyang, and Prince of Langye, were forced to rebel by her one by one. In just a few days, they were all annihilated by her, who had long been prepared.
After the princes of the royal family were executed one after another, her position became more and more stable. Although there were still some officials in the court who had different ideas, without the banner of Li Tang's royal family, they could no longer play any tricks.
Recently, there were often auspicious signs presented to the court in the country. Today, there was another county magistrate who reported an auspicious sign, saying that a farmer's rooster had laid an egg. Auspicious signs and auspicious signs emerged one after another, which was exactly what the people were looking for. Naturally, Empress Wu was very happy.
Empress Wu walked in a winding manner. Beside her, there was a young man dressed in a moon-white robe with a soft toque on his head. The young man had thin shoulders and a slim waist. His figure was slender like a crescent moon. His aura was crystal clear like a jade slip, gentle, beautiful, and pure.
If Empress Wu was a rich peony in full bloom, then the person accompanying Empress Wu was a fresh and meaningful, fair and beautiful lily of the valley. At a glance, one could feel a faint scent of books. This person was Shanghai Wan 'er, whom Empress Wu trusted and put in an important position.
Shanghai Wan 'er gently held Wu Zetian's arm and softly said: "Today, the Chief of the New Pacification Army, Xue Huai Yi, sent a memorial saying that he has found traces of the Turkic Khaganate Gu Dulu and is leading an army of 200,000 to pursue him."
Wu Zetian happily smiled and said, "I originally wanted to give this great merit to Ah Shi, but it's a pity that when his troops reached Zihe, the Turkic army fled without a fight. I hope that this time he can catch up to Gu Dulu and return with a great merit."
Shanghai Wan 'er sweetly smiled: "Xue Shi is brave and brave. He will definitely not disappoint Empress's expectations."
Wu Zetian smiled slightly and asked: "Is there anything else?"
Shanghai Wan 'er lightly said: "There is one more matter. After Xu Jingye was executed, his younger brother, Seo Kyung-jin, has been on the run and has not been brought to justice. Recently, he fled north to Dingzhou with the intention of joining the Turkic Khaganate. He was captured by the Dingzhou government and is currently on the way to Luoyang. The Dingzhou government has already submitted a file on the interrogation … "
"Hmm?"
Wu Zetian glanced at her. Shanghai Wan 'er took a step forward and said: "The Dingzhou government said that after they captured Seo Kyung-jin, they interrogated him. Seo Kyung-jin confessed that it was Gong Siye of Luozhou and Zhang Siming of Luoyang who secretly helped him escape to Dingzhou."
Wu Zetian stopped walking. A cold murderous intent rose between her brows. "Zhang Siming! I trusted him wholeheartedly and gave him the position of Luoyang magistrate. Who would have thought that he would have second thoughts about me! Good! Good! Very good! Since my kindness cannot obtain his loyalty, then I will use knives and axes to extract his sincerity! "
Wu Zetian's eyebrows rose and she said to Shanghai Wan 'er: "Throw Gong Siye and Zhang Siming into prison. When Seo Kyung-jin arrives, hand him over to Zhou Xing for interrogation. Seo Kyung-jin has been on the run for many years and has never been brought to justice. The people secretly helping him must not only be Gong Siye and Zhang Siming! "
Shanghai Wan 'er understood tacitly and hurriedly replied: "Yes! Tomorrow morning, Wan 'er will report to Zhou Xing. "
Wu Zetian gave a low "En" and continued to walk forward. However, she was no longer in the mood.
Outsiders only know that Wu Zetian is a woman who does not lose to men. They only see the domineering side of Wu Zetian. They do not know that she is a woman after all. And women will always have emotional moments.
Just when she thought that she has won the hearts of the people and no one would dare to openly oppose her, she suddenly discovered that Zhang Siming, whom she doted on and trusted, had betrayed her. This woman, who has the entire world in her hands, is obviously in low spirits.
"This is someone whom I have personally groomed. Why would he betray me? Is it just because I am a woman? Why can't women rule the world? "
Wu Zetian sighed angrily. The flowers in front of her are blooming like a brocade, but she no longer has the mood to continue watching. Shanghai Wan 'er saw that she was not in a good mood and gently advised: "Heavenly Empress must be tired. You should rest early! There are still state affairs to attend to in the morning assembly tomorrow. "
"En!"
Wu Zetian nodded her head. She lightly stretched out her large sleeves and said: "Set off, return to the palace."
Just as Wu Zetian turned around, a strange change occurred.
The palace guards were scattered among the flowers, like mushrooms scattered on the grassland. Their positions seemed loose, but in reality, they had already protected all of Empress Wu's paths. At this time, on the left shoulder of Empress Wu, about ten zhang away, a guard called out and then disappeared into the flowers.
His call was very resounding and very short. It was as if an explosive sound had just burst out from his throat, but before the sound could form, before the breath could rush out of his throat, it was forcefully held back. Thus, it appeared abnormally strange.
Although this sound was strange, it was not resounding. However, because Empress Wu's mood was low, no one dared to raise their voice. The Peony Garden was abnormally quiet. Thus, even though they were separated by ten zhang, they could still hear it.
Wu Zetian slightly raised her eyebrows and looked towards the direction of the sound. It was another short and strange sound, as if someone was about to spit it out. This time, they saw with their own eyes an armored soldier suddenly disappear into the flowers. This armored soldier's position was only eight zhang away from Empress Wu.
Then, there was another cry. This time, because the armored soldier was already on guard, the cry came out from his throat. He only shouted half a word, "There's …" before abruptly stopping. This time, he was only six zhang away from Wu Zetian.
Shanghai Wan 'er was tall. She saw that the peony suddenly split to the left and right, as if there was a giant python as thick as a water bucket rushing in. The flower branches split and petals flew.
Shanghai Wan 'er could not help but be startled. She tenderly shouted, "Protect the Emperor!"
Shanghai Wan 'er shouted loudly. The well-trained armored soldiers approached one after another. They surrounded Empress Wu within a radius of four zhang. It was as if they had cast an iron wall in an instant.
"Peng!"
A cluster of flowers exploded. The bowl-sized peony mixed with countless flower branches was like a pillar of water. It surged up to two zhang high. Then, it turned into a colorful rain of flowers and fell down.
In the rain of flowers and petals, a light green figure rolled up. It suddenly paused. Then, with a 'xiu' sound, it turned into a stream of light and flew towards a corner of the wall.
The guards at that position had just closed in. Their legs were still not stable.
"Ha!"
Although the guards at that angle had just closed in, the well-trained and highly skilled guards reacted very quickly. They shouted in unison. Four swords slashed at the light green figure.
The swords were single-edged. They had a thick ridge and thin edge. They were extremely sharp. The Japanese samurai swords of later generations imitated this type of sword. The swords used by the palace guards were all high-grade swords that had been tempered a hundred times. They were sharp and shiny.
Four swords, one chopped the head, one chopped the neck, one stabbed the abdomen, and one swept the leg. In an instant, the figure that was rushing over broke into a net of steel swords. He would be torn to pieces by it.
Just as they were about to meet the first saber, the light green silhouette suddenly dropped down and with a 'hua la' sound sank into the peony bushes. The four of them pulled out their sabers and were about to change their attack when the silhouette once again leaped up from the bushes and rolled over the peony bushes that had been beautifully trimmed by the pruning craftsmen in the palace. Like a windmill, the silhouette's body was only a small distance away from the beautiful flower at the top.
The light green silhouette tumbled all the way. Among the four guards, the one who stood closest to the front let out a loud cry and knelt on the ground on one knee. His calf had been pierced by the opponent's sword, and blood spurted out from the two wounds on the front and back. The assassin's movements were too fast. It was only at this moment that he realized it. Blood gushed out and he cried out.
Note: Wu Zetian was not called Wu Zetian at this time. In reality, Ah Wu had never been called Wu Zetian. In the history books, she was originally a member of the Wu family. She didn't even have a name. Perhaps she did, but the history books didn't record it. After she became a talented person, Li Shi Min gave her a name: Mei. She was called Wu Mei.
After she became the Emperor, she invented a character with the sun and moon in the sky: Mei. She was called Wu Mei. Currently, her real name should be Wu Mei. Wu Zetian was a name that later generations used to refer to her as the Great Sage Emperor, Wu Zetian. In the novel, because of everyone's reading habit, they called her Wu Zetian.
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