In 710, Li Longji, the king of Linzi, heard of Empress Wei and wanted to emulate Wu Zetian as emperor. Therefore, Li Longji decided to attack first and lead the forbidden army to invade the palace and kill Empress Wei's party.
At the same time, Shangguan Wan'er, who had always been good friends with Empress Wei, was also killed by Li Longji in this palace coup. In this way, the only female chancellor in Chinese history (who was once named a Neishe person by Wu Zetian, holding the emperor's seal, and having the name of "Lady Xiang"),) ended her glorious and chaotic life.
01 Teenagers are suffering, but talented
Shangguan Wan'er was born into a famous family, and her great-grandfather served as the Taishou of Youzhou from the Northern Zhou Dynasty, his great-grandfather served as the deputy superintendent of Jiangdu Palace during the Sui Dynasty, and his grandfather served as a chancellor during the Tang Dynasty during the Reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
However, in 664, Shangguan Wan'er's grandfather Shangguan Yi was convicted of Wu Zetian for drafting an edict for Emperor Gaozong's abolition, and the whole family suffered. At that time, shangguan wan'er, who had just been born, was also sent to the court as a slave with her mother.
During her enslavement, under the careful cultivation of her mother, Shangguan Wan'er was not only familiar with poetry and books, but also knew the affairs of officials and became a famous little talented woman in the court.
Later, when Wu Zetian heard about this, he was quite surprised that it was not easy to study so hard during his time as a slave, so he dismissed her as a slave and asked her to assist in drafting the edict.
02 He was enthroned as a minister, but he was willing to fall
With Wu Zetian's affection, Shangguan Wan'er's development in her career was very smooth. Especially after Wu Zetian became emperor, Shangguan Wan'er was not only responsible for drafting the emperor's edicts, but also participated in decision-making and government affairs, and the scenery was infinite for a while.
However, soon after, Shangguan Wan'er was willing to degenerate, and had misbehaved with Wu Zetian's first head Zhang Changzong, and was sentenced to death by Wu Zetian. Later, although Wu Zetian was grateful for Shangguan Wan'er's talent, he changed the death sentence to face and continued to keep it around; but Shangguan Wan'er's unruly behavior also left an indelible stain on Wu Zetian's heart.
From then on, Shangguan Wan'er could only serve Wu Zetian more carefully. On the surface, Wu Zetian used her as much as before, but in fact he was less close. Therefore, for her future plans, Shangguan Wan'er began to make purposeful contact with the deposed Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and his empress Wei Shi.
In the contact with Li Xian, Shangguan Wan'er still used her beauty as a foreshadowing, and often had close contact.
03 Became Zhaorong, and died in a coup d'état
Later, Wu Zetian over-favored Zhang Changzong's brothers, causing dissatisfaction inside and outside the imperial court. As a result, the chancellor Zhang Kamzhi launched the Shenlong coup d'état, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate and supporting Emperor Zhongzong of Tang to restore Li Xian to the throne.
Shangguan Wan'er, on the other hand, was officially crowned by Li Xian as Zhaorong (the title of a concubine of the Tang Dynasty), and her power was even better than before.
Shangguan Wan'er, who sat on Zhaorong, was as ambitious as before, and did two things in succession: first, to encourage Empress Wei to emulate Wu Zetian; second, to have an affair with Wu Sansi behind the emperor's back, and to take the opportunity to suppress the power of Zhang Kamzhi and other important courtiers, and it was quite effective.
At that time, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang's crown prince Li Chongjun was angry and led the Yulin army to qing jun's side and killed Wu Sansi and Shangguan Wan'er. Unexpectedly, he was beaten upside down by Shangguan Wan'er, saying that the prince wanted to rebel. Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian, and Empress Wei, sent troops to suppress them without knowing the truth. As a result, the prince was defeated and killed.
Because Shangguan Wan'er was deeply trusted by Li Xian and Empress Wei, she was a powerful figure throughout the Zhongzong Dynasty. It was not until 710, after Emperor Zhongzong of Tang's death, that Shangguan Wan'er was killed in a coup d'état initiated by Li Longji.
Although Shangguan Wan'er was a teenager, she won the appreciation of Wu Zetian by relying on her own talents, and could have achieved a good story of a talented woman worshipping her. But because of his ambition, he willingly degenerated and turned himself into a social flower. The heavenly path is reincarnated, good and evil are rewarded, and in the end, they have not escaped the butcher's knife of fate.