WEBVTT - The Ghosts that Haunted the Female Emperor 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.640 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:11.120 and erin Manki. Listener discretion is advised. On the day 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:14.440 of Wu Zetian's coronation, the day the woman who had 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.640 ruled by proxy for decades behind her husband and then 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.800 her son, would finally take the throne in her own right, 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.640 an earthquake hit China. It roared through the province, leveling 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:30.160 homes and raising the already jagged edges of the mountain 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:35.000 range north of the Yangzi River. The earthquake's meaning seemed 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.559 obvious to any brave enough to allow the thought to 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:42.199 enter their head. A woman becoming the emperor upset the 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:47.720 natural order of things. The earth itself was rejecting Wu Zetien, 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:52.839 her manipulations, her power, hungry assent. But Wu had not 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:56.960 become the Emperor of China by accepting things as they were. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.840 The earthquake was not a bad omen, she remarked to 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:04.520 the nobleman who surrounded her that afternoon, but a blessing. 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:08.399 Those jagged mountain ranges that had been thrust into the 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.480 sky with the shaking of the earth where a symbol 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:15.679 of the Buddhist Mountain of Paradise. As she was becoming 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:21.200 China's ruler su Marou was coming to earth. But that night, 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.880 when she went to bed, wuz A Tiene didn't think 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:28.880 of mountains or paradise. Instead, in her dreams, she was 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:33.440 visited once again by the ghosts of a concubine named 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:38.600 Jiao and a former empress named Lady Wang. The two 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.200 of them never said anything. They hadn't since they first 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:46.120 began coming to woo Za Tienne's dreams decades ago, when 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.440 she was still just the wife of an emperor. The 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:53.760 ghosts had no hands and no feet. Their limbs were 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.720 left bloody, but they didn't seem to be in pain. 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:02.880 They just floated in the night, looking at Wu asking 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:07.120 her with their eyes what she had done and whether 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:12.079 it had been worth it. I'm Danis Schwartz, and this 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:21.160 is noble blood. Woza Tan had needed to be incredibly 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.400 beautiful to be selected to be a concubine for Emperor 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.240 tai Zong. She was only fourteen at the time, plucked 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.720 from her well to do family in the year six 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.200 hundred and thirty six a d she would stay at 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:38.320 the palace and serve in the imperial household, But still 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.160 it was just a junior position, and being a third 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:45.360 or fourth or fifth tier concubine, as Wu was, was 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.120 more of an honorary title than anything else. In this case. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:50.959 Young women at that level would be lucky to get 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.400 even a few minutes of face time with the Emperor, 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:56.320 the man who could raise their station and allow them 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.320 any sorts of social advancement with the flick of arrest. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.120 But Wu was assigned to work as a laundress. That 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.400 was her first advantage. She changed the emperor's bed sheets. 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.200 That was where he first noticed her. A girl with bright, 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:17.119 inquisitive eyes and clear skin and a well practiced guilelessness. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:21.359 Wu came from a wealthy family. Her father had encouraged 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:24.680 her to read and to study, and so she charmed 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.840 the emperor not just with her beauty but with her mind, 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.839 the two of them discussing books and ideas, with Wu 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:35.040 acting more as a secretary than as an object of pleasure. 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.720 Living at the palace, Wu befriended the emperor's son, the 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.040 boy who would go on to become Emperor Gaujong. She 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.680 was only a few years older than him, and she 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.160 often caught him looking at her when she went about 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.800 her daily chores. It was he one day, who interrupted 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.520 her while she was folding sheets to tell her that 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.920 the entire court was gathered outside to watch a new 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.880 stallion in the courtyard that refused is to be broken. 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:05.280 The horse was called Lion Stallion, and it seemed that 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.760 no one was up to the task of riding him. 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.800 The pair of them raced downstairs to watch the show. 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.960 The horse trainer yanked at the reins, while the horse 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:18.120 snorted and whipped its head back and forth in defiance. 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:22.080 Before long, a new rider came forth, walking with a 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:26.039 swagger that hid any hint of fear. He had the 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:29.560 trainer step aside, and he took the horse's reins in 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:33.600 his own hand. In one fluid motion, he swung a 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.720 leg over the horse and pulled himself onto its back. 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:41.280 In another fluid motion, the horse bucked and flung the 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:46.400 man into the dirt. There was silence for a few seconds, 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.520 as the crowd considered whether anyone was going to try again, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.840 or whether they should just disperse and go about their day. 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.160 The emperor looked around. I'll break the horse, said a 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:03.680 small voice from the crowd. It was Woo, standing next 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.760 to the prince. The Emperor looked over at the girl 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:11.760 and smiled, Will you now, Wu stepped forward and lowered 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:16.320 her shoulders. I will, I only need three tools, the 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.600 emperor laughed, and the rest of the crowd joined him. 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.800 And what tools might those be? When Wu spoke, her 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:27.839 voice never shook, her lips never lifted, and even the 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:31.159 hint of a smile. I will need an iron whip, 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.960 an iron hammer, and a dagger. I will whip the 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.479 horse with the iron whip. If it doesn't submit, I'll 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.440 hammer its head with the iron hammer. And if it 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:45.120 still refuses to submit, I'll cut its throat with a dagger. 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:50.880 That will break the horse. The emperor's eyes gleamed. It 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:55.120 was only after he started laughing that Wo Zatienne smiled too, 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:59.080 just a little bit. She had caught the emperor's attention 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.440 yet again with her bravery, and he wouldn't forget her now. 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:09.360 But service to an emperor is a short term job prospect. 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:14.000 When Emperor Taizong died, all of his concubines, or rather 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.559 the concubines who hadn't borne him any children, were forced 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.440 to shave their heads and retreat to a temple to 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.960 live the rest of their lives as Buddhist nuns. It 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:27.400 was the greatest disrespect for a woman who had served 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:31.800 the emperor to be touched by any other man. Wu 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.560 had no choice, and she knew that life has rules 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:39.920 and paths for people to follow. Even witty, beautiful, charming 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:42.599 young girls who had once dazzled all of court with 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:46.680 a glistening moment of bravery must retire to a countryside 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:51.000 life and let other younger dazzling girls try their hands 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:55.239 at the game of court. Resent it, fight it, cry 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:59.680 about it. The future still happened. We don't know if 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:03.560 we cried when she shaved her beautiful, thick hair, when 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.359 she gave away her things when she arrived at the 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:09.400 modest Gante Temple where she was supposed to spend the 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:12.440 rest of her life. What we do know is that 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:15.360 even if she did cry, she never would have let 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:19.280 anyone see it. Even with her head shaved, she was 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:27.240 still beautiful, but no one noticed in the temple. The 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.880 wife of Emperor Gauzong had a problem. Well, she had 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:35.480 several problems. Her husband was sickly, prone to bouts of disease, 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:38.440 and he was young, only twenty one when his father, 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.160 Emperor Taizong died, and he Gaujong had been given the throne. 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.480 If his older brothers hadn't been disgraced, he wouldn't have 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.760 been made emperor at all. That was one of Lady 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:53.840 Wang's problems, her weak and ineffective husband, But by far 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:56.840 her biggest worry, the thing that kept her pacing the 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:00.280 palace walls and chewing at her fingernails was one of 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:05.640 her husband's concubines, Consort Jao. Consort Jaw was beautiful, and 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:09.440 that was fine. Concubines are supposed to be beautiful, but 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:13.040 she was also charming, and worst of all, she had 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:17.320 a son and two daughters with the Emperor. The Empress 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.880 Lady Wang didn't have any sons, and she was having 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:25.240 difficulty maintaining another pregnancy, and that became all the more 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.119 difficult because her husband was spending all of his time 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:31.920 with Joo. She had beguiled him and raptured him. He 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:36.000 was a man obsessed. The Empress knew that the Emperor 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.800 would have concubines, but why did he have to be 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:43.320 so obvious in choosing a favorite. His attention diverted to 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:47.640 a dozen concubines was no threat An individual woman was 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.840 one afternoon before heading off to spend the rest of 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:56.000 the day lounging in Zoo's chambers. Emburg Gauzong mentioned to 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.240 his wife that he had been to the Buddhist temple 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.200 and he had recognized one of the nuns there. It's 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.760 so funny, he remarked, even with her shaved head, I 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.760 would have recognized her anywhere. She was one of my 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:11.560 father's concubines, but I had such a crush on her. 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:15.280 I would follow her around like a puppy. He left, 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:18.720 and Lady Wang left to go to the Buddhist temple. 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:23.840 When she arrived, she asked for Woo. Zetienne, the nun, 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.560 now seven, came to the Empress with her eyes downturned. 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.760 The Empress informed Wu that the time had come for 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.160 her to return to court and that she should stop 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:42.600 shaving her head. Wou accepted, and so a former concubine 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:47.000 turned Buddhist nun came to court with hair slowly growing out, 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:52.680 under the watchful protection of the Empress. Lady Wang consort 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.600 Joo knew what the Empress was doing, but still her 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.640 legacy was secure. She had given the emperor's son, and 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:03.160 she still his favorite, even if he found a new 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:08.920 temporary plaything. Wu couldn't hold his attention for long. The 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:13.640 tragedy of Zhao's life began when she underestimated wu Za 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:21.640 Tien as for Empress Wang. She was making a calculated bargain, 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:26.320 a gamble one woman for another. But the problem with 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:31.640 gambling is people tend to lose. Before long, Ember Gaozong 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:35.000 was gleeful at the return of wu Za Tiene to court. 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:39.040 She was the manifestation of all of his childish fantasies. 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.760 Hers was the face he had seen behind his closing 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.400 eyes before he went to bed, back when he was 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.920 young and everything was still new. Without a moment's thought 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:52.400 to how it would look, he made her an official concubine, 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.960 and it didn't look great. There was a reason concubines 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.440 were sent to temples after their emperor died, and the 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.520 new emperor bringing back an old concubine was even more 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:07.200 troublesome when the new emperor was the old emperor's son. 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:13.880 Whispering voices considered the situation incestuous, a son lying with 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:18.000 the same woman as his father, but Gauzong didn't care. 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.240 He was the emperor now and he had wu Zetien, 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.680 and now as an adult woman, Wu better understood the 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:29.760 mechanisms of court and power. She understood that she was 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:33.320 a woman and that her access to power was restricted. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.760 But she would not be flung back to a temple 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:41.720 disposed of as a dead man's property. Not again. And 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:46.520 even as Emperor Gauzong's concubine, she was still disposable. The 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.200 two sons should go on to bear him didn't mean 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:53.600 anything if his wife, Empress Wang decided that she had 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:56.520 enough social capital to get rid of her, and then 0:11:56.559 --> 0:12:00.160 there was still Jhaou, still the emperor's favorite. Even for 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:03.400 all that though he spent less time with her, she 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.800 still had a particular hold on him. Away that he 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:10.720 responded to her quicker than he did with Wu Xiao 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:17.959 was a threat, and Wu hated threats. Wu was particularly 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.480 vulnerable after giving birth to her third child, a daughter. 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.280 After delivery, Wu was confined to her chambers, and though 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.840 the Emperor visited her, giving her little gifts and kisses 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.240 on her head, he had fallen back into Chao's bed, 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:37.199 and the baby made the Empress hate Wou even more. 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.559 The woman that she had brought to the palace had 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.439 turned into a walking reminder of her own failings. With 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:48.440 each new baby that Wu gave the Emperor, Empress Wang 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:52.480 became all the more painfully aware of what she couldn't do. 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.120 One day, Empress Wang came to visit Wu and saw 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.319 the new mother cooing over her baby in its cradle. 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.760 You must be tired, Empress Wang said, We agreed. Wang 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:09.920 held the baby, and the little girl giggled in her arms. 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:13.840 Take a walk, Wang said, relax, I can take care 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.040 of the baby for the night and put her to sleep. 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.360 Wu wanted to protest, but she wasn't sure on what ground. 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.120 Wang was the Empress after all, and truth be told, 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.920 she did desperately need a moment to herself, and so 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.680 she smiled, and Wang smiled back at her, and Wu 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.080 kissed her baby girl goodbye and left the palace to 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.880 walk the grounds where she could be alone with her thoughts. 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:42.439 She spent the night with the Emperor, secretly pleased at 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:46.400 the idea that Joo was somewhere fuming and the Empress 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:50.679 was gazing at her baby with envy. The next morning, 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.800 Wu returned to her baby's room to find the little 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:58.600 girl sleeping peacefully in bed, so peaceful, in fact, that 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:02.720 she didn't stir when Wu approached or Win, Woo placed 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:07.680 a hand gently on the baby's back. The realization came 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:12.840 through Woo's body like a slow drip of acid, a 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:16.840 realization that curdled through her throat down into her belly 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.320 and made her head spin and mouth taste like copper. 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:26.880 She began to whale. Much later, when she had stopped wailing, 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:31.080 when she was once again alone, she thought about what 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:36.720 had happened. The Emperor's wife, Lady Wang, had murdered her baby. 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.200 Had placed her hand on the mouth of the infant 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:44.120 child and held it until the baby stopped moving. She 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.240 had been so jealous of Woo, how easily she had 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:51.280 gotten pregnant over and over again, and brus Wang wasn't 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.080 capable of doing the murder on her own. No, she 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.520 wasn't able to kill a child, but she had been 0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:01.160 goaded on by consort Joo. Joo was also jealous. She 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.000 knew that the emperor had been spending more time with 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.960 Wu and wanted to get back at her. She was 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:09.920 so desperate to become the favorite again that she was 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.480 willing to join Lady Wang and help her kill a child. 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.680 At least that's the story Woo z Etienne told the 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:26.720 Emperor Lady Wang had no alibi. She had been the 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.320 last one to hold the baby, and she had been 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.880 the one to put her to bed, And so, spurned 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.680 on by Woo z Etienne's passion and rage, the Empress 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:42.680 and the emperor's one time favorite consort were imprisoned. Wooz Etienne, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:48.120 victim of tragedy, became the Emperor's new wife, his empress 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:53.280 one dead child for the throne of China, and it 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.360 was the throne. Gazong was so sickly. It was Wu 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.720 who truly ruled. She would never admit it out loud, 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.000 only to herself in quiet moments when her heart beat 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:06.520 slowed and she was alone. But it had been worth it. 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:13.720 The former Empress Wang and Zoo, once despised enemies, were 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:17.120 locked together in a tiny cell, a room with no 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.800 windows and just a single narrow slot for food to 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:25.000 be shoved through once a day. Six days after their imprisonment, 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:29.040 the Emperor came to visit them through the wall. They 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:33.800 threw themselves upon his mercy. Oh beloved husband, Wayne cried, 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.600 if you ever had love for me, please ease this imprisonment. 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:42.360 Please just let us see sunlight. The Emperor had always 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.720 been easily swayed, and it broke his heart to know 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.800 that two women he had loved were so despondent, even 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.760 if they had murdered his daughter. He came to his 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:56.160 new empress, woo Ze ten and asked her if they 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.560 might grant at least small mercies so the women she 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:04.480 had posted. Wu saw what her feeble husband couldn't. How 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:10.479 easily mercy became forgiveness became love again, became anger towards 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.080 her wou for locking them up in the first place. 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.560 She had sacrificed so much to reach where she was, 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:22.480 She had lost a daughter for it, and so she 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:28.440 insisted to her husband that the women be killed. He acquiesced. 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:36.120 According to rumors and brass, wos A Tienne had their 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.440 hands lopped off at the rest and their feet cut 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.040 off at the ankles, and both women tossed into vats 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:47.639 of wine where they would drown. Slowly. Let those bitches 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:51.680 get drunk to their bones, they say. Woza Tienne remarked, 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.800 colorful as it is. It isn't true wa Tienne just 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:01.720 had her rivals hanged, but even in death they tormented her. 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:08.400 They visited her every night, silently, staring sentinels and judgment, 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:13.280 with blood dripping like tears from their eyes. It became 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:17.720 so miserable, so tortuous, that Woo had the entire court 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:22.280 moved to a different palace miles away, where she thought 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:25.080 the ghosts of her past wouldn't be able to find her. 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:39.320 Woo is buried beneath a massive stone slab that looks 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.800 all the more massive because there's nothing written on it. 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:47.320 It's completely blank. The Tang dynasty emperors were meant to 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:50.560 be buried under blank tablets so that later the full 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:54.560 scope of their accomplishments could be written down. No one 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:58.160 wrote about what Woo had achieved during her reign, nor 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:00.600 would she had achieved during the proxy reign when she 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.600 ruled behind her husband, or when she had ruled behind 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.240 her son, and then when she overthrew her son and 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:11.000 eventually became emperor in her own right. There were many 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:16.919 accomplishments she made. Buddhism the official state religion, stabilized power, 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:20.960 we did out corruption, allowed commoners to hold political positions 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:24.240 that had previously been restricted to them. But she was 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:29.600 also brutal, executing nobles who threatened her powers, letting gossip 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.159 in word of mouth, serve as death sentence to people 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.680 around her in the government. The story of her initial 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:39.800 rise to power the death of her infant child became 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.880 a story of her cold bloodedness. They say that Wou 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:47.560 had been the one to suffocate her daughter herself, that 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:51.760 she saw the opportunity to frame and dispatch her rivals, 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:55.760 and she took it. There's no way to know for sure, 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:59.000 or to know if maybe the infant had just died 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:04.199 in her sleep. Unfortunately, unlike Noble Blood episodes that focus 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:07.919 on more recent royal figures, there are very few primary 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:10.359 sources about the life of wou x Etienne in the 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:14.320 seventh century. Writings about her tend to be either political 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:19.520 propaganda written to bolster her reputation or slander's accusations of 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.679 out and out villainy from those who resented the amount 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.520 of power held by a woman. Even the story of 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:32.400 the earthquake from her coronation is unconfirmed. Even mountains can't 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:35.399 be set in stone when it comes to woo z Etienne. 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:38.639 I have tried to find a human story in the 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:41.480 facts I could find, and I told a version of 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:45.000 her story that makes sense to me. But in this case, 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.680 I can't promise at all entirely true, and I don't 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.680 know what the genuine version of the truth is. They 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:55.199 didn't carve her legacy on her funeral slab because they 0:20:55.200 --> 0:20:58.520 couldn't figure out what it was. It was a decision 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:02.760 of scorn and fusion, but a decision that's still made 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.480 about women today. When we can't fully understand a woman, 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:13.240 we choose instead to leave her blank. Noble Blood is 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:16.439 a production of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey. The 0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:19.480 show is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and produced 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:23.720 by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:27.359 Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:29.560 and you can learn more about the show over at 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:32.679 Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:36.480 Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:38.720 or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.