Inside the palace, Wu Zetian lay quietly on the bed. Ever since Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanhui, and the others had left with the Crown Prince, she had not opened her eyes.
She had heard Zhang Jianzhi in the outer hall ordering the palace eunuch to hand over the imperial seal and tiger seal. She had heard the clashing of armors. She knew that there were guards at the door to her palace, but she had not said a word. What else could she do now?
Her eyes were tightly closed, but tears still seeped out of the corners of her eyes. Wu Zetian turned around. She did not want the palace maids to see her crying. In reality, the palace maids were curled up in the corner, worried about their own fates. They did not notice her movements at all.
Wu Zetian's heart was filled with sorrow. This moment had come too suddenly. She did not have time to calm her heart and reflect on her life. She did not have time to think about how many people she had harmed in her life. Every one of those people's fates were ten times more miserable than hers, so she felt abnormally sad and angry.
The country, the throne of the Emperor, she would have to hand it over sooner or later. So she did not care about this power that even if it was not taken away, it would not last for long. What made her sad was that the Wuzhou Empire she had single-handedly created was destined to come to an end. Since her son had launched a rebellion to take back the throne, he would definitely restore the name of Li Tang.
Wu Zetian felt waves of coldness. She suddenly thought of the warmth Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong gave her when they were by her side. Now, those two lovers had become two cold corpses.
She still remembered the assurance and promise she had confidently given them not too long ago. This made her feel despair and anger. She had originally thought that some people would not be able to tolerate the Zhang brothers after her death. She had not thought that while she was still alive, those people were already so arrogant.
She had used twenty years, killed countless lives, racked her brains, and exhausted her thoughts to build her empire. It was difficult to start a business, but it only took one night for it to be destroyed …
"Mother …"
A soft call suddenly came from behind her. Wu Zetian quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She said coldly, "Lingyue, you have also betrayed me, right?"
There was no reply from Taiping behind him, but he felt the couch sink slightly. He knew that she was sitting on the side of the couch. Wu Zetian stared at the fog-like curtain in front of her and murmured, "Am I really such a failure as an Emperor? Why … Why is it that after so many years, you still can't forget to restore Li Tang? "
No matter what, Wu Zetian was her birth mother. Now that Wu Zetian had become a failure, Princess Taiping did not want to say anything harsh to her, whether it was in the affairs of the state or in the family. Princess Taiping just sat there silently. After a long time, she gently comforted, "Mother, don't be sad."
"Hehe …"
Wu Zetian smiled coldly. She slowly turned around and stared at her daughter. "I'm not sad. What's the use of being sad? I've been fighting all my life. In the family, after entering the palace, as Empress, Empress Dowager, Emperor … I've been fighting with people all the time. I've been fighting with heaven all my life. I've just lost the last battle. "
Princess Taiping silently looked at her mother. Wu Zetian said, "In my life, I've only lost one battle. The reason for my failure is that I'm too old. I'm sick and have no energy to pay attention to them. My life is coming to an end, so some people start to look for higher branches! I've been defeated by time, and time is an opponent that no one can defeat! "
Princess Taiping wanted to refute her, but her mind was extremely confused. Considering that her mother had suffered a heavy blow, Princess Taiping did not want to say anything harsh. So she seemed to agree with Wu Zetian's conclusion and nodded gently.
Seeing her nod, Wu Zetian showed a happy look on her face. She smiled like a child. "Daughter, do you think that by imprisoning me here, I can be at your mercy? No, impossible. I'm Wu Jiong, the unique Wu Jiong since ancient times! If I'm determined to die, I can still create endless trouble for you, can't I? "
Princess Taiping was a little impatient with her mother's complacency. She retorted mercilessly, "Mother, do you think that by committing suicide, brother Crown Prince will bear the crime of killing his mother and be reviled for thousands of years? The Palace has been controlled by brother Crown Prince. If mother is determined to die, you will still 'live' in the palace tomorrow. Even if this news can't be hidden from the world, the imperial court can forge a 'your' self-condemnation edict and announce that you've died to apologize to the world! "
A trace of coldness flashed through Wu Zetian's heart. She was the Emperor, so she was very clear about these means. She knew that every word her daughter said could become a reality. She was stunned for a long time and suddenly laughed.
She didn't want to be manipulated after death, so she could only live in humiliation! She had lost her empire, her throne, and her lover. Even her own life and death were no longer in her hands.
"Hehehehe … hahahaha …"
Wu Zetian's low laughter turned into loud laughter. She angrily pounded the bed, her face covered in tears. Princess Taiping silently sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Wu Zetian to vent. After some time, Wu Zetian gasped for breath as she lay back on the bed. She tiredly closed her eyes and whispered, "What's the situation outside?"
Princess Taiping replied, "It's still calm. The nine cities are already under Brother Prince of Xiang's control. Inside the palace, the Six Ministers, the Twenty-Four Divisions, and the people of the Department of Household Attendants are taking care of everything in the palace as usual. The Imperial Guards in the northern part of the city are also not stirring …"
Wu Zetian interrupted her and asked, "No one has died?"
Princess Taiping thought this over, then replied, "There have been almost no casualties, except in this Immortal Welcoming Palace … in order to get to Sir's palace as quickly as possible, they attacked and killed several dozen of the Zhang brothers' men. But … Second Zhang's best friends would never have been let off."
Wu Zetian felt a burst of disappointment. She had not expected that even though she was the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's mother, she had still needed so many years, had to kill so many people and exile so many people before she could sit on the throne of Emperor. But at the moment of her transition of power, not a single deathsworn had stepped forward.
Princess Taiping gazed at her mother's aged face. In the last few years, her mother's teeth had all fallen out and her cheeks were clearly sunken, making her appear very weak. Her eyes were closed and her eyeballs did not move at all. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, so much so that Princess Taiping felt like there was nothing she could say.
She opened her mouth, but still felt that it was somewhat difficult to bring up the matter of abdicating the throne to her mother at this moment. So she closed her mouth again, thinking that perhaps it would be better to let her mother have a good rest and then bring up the matter tomorrow. But Wu Zetian seemed to feel her embarrassment. She slowly opened her eyes and asked lightly, "They asked you to see me not just to visit this old woman, right?"
Princess Taiping lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "Mother …"
Wu Zetian rolled her eyes and murmured, "What else do they want from me? Oh! They … want me to issue an edict to abdicate, right? "
Princess Taiping bit her lower lip and gently nodded.
Obviously, the overall situation had been decided. They could wait for a few months like Emperor Taizong and then let the Empress abdicate. In this way, they could not only save the face of the Emperor, the subject, and the mother, but also take over the power more steadily. But now they had to be so impatient, which made Taiping very unhappy. When she confessed this matter to her mother, she was also somewhat embarrassed.
"Haha …"
Wu Zetian sneered, "They are too impatient. You don't need to feel embarrassed. I know that this is definitely not your idea. If you are the Crown Prince, you will not decide to force me to abdicate now. You are better than your two useless brothers. Unfortunately, you are a girl … "
Princess Taiping felt a burst of excitement in her heart. Being valued and appreciated by her mother would always make a child feel happy, not to mention that her mother was an unprecedented empress. However, this excitement just surged through her body and then disappeared like a tide. Princess Taiping suddenly felt cold in her heart.
"Mother really appreciates my talent? The sudden death of Fifth Brother may be an unsolved mystery, but what about Sixth Brother? He died in the hands of my mother without any doubt! Unfortunately, I am a girl? Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother are capable and wise Crown Princes. They are men, but what happened? Now that Seventh Brother and Eighth Brother are so weak and incompetent, can mother get away with it? "
Princess Taiping suddenly shuddered at the thought that her mother might have hidden evil intentions for her. Her silence made Wu Zetian a little uneasy. Wu Zetian turned her head unnaturally to avoid her daughter's deep eyes and whispered, "Tell Xian 'er that I will issue the edict of abdication …"
The night of chaos ended before dawn.
The bell in the palace rang on time as usual. This meant that the mutineers had completely controlled the palace. Although its mistress had been reduced to a prisoner, it still operated as usual. The new Emperor was waiting in Zichen Palace to be enthroned. In this world, no one was irreplaceable.
Early in the morning, the people of Chang 'an who didn't know what happened in the palace last night were surprised to see five heads on Vermilion Bird Avenue. Zhang Jianzhi didn't start a massacre. Even the Zhang family, he only ordered the killing of Zhang Yizhi, Zhang Changzong, Zhang Tongxiu, Zhang Changyi, and Zhang Changqi.
Zhang Tongxiu and the other two were originally local officials. They returned to the capital to reunite with their families during the Spring Festival. Because of the Zhang family's background, they stayed and didn't return. They planned to return after the first lunar month, but they followed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong to the underworld last night.
Zhang Jianzhi was appointed Prime Minister at the age of 80. In this regard, probably only Jiang Taigong, who fished in the Wei River, could compare with him. Before him, countless people with lofty ideals wanted to end the Wu Zhou Dynasty. But they kept adding fuel to the fire, and the water in the Wu Zhou Dynasty just couldn't boil. Until Zhang Jianzhi added fuel to the fire, the curtain fell on the Wu Zhou Dynasty!
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