enters the palace at the age of 14 to become Emperor Taizong's concubine. Emperor Taizong soon is told that she is destined to bring destruction to the Li family, and he refuses to let her enter his bedchamber. Wu Meiniang is neglected for 12 years. Emperor Taizong eventually falls sick, and tells his young son Li Zhi to secretly kill her. Wu Meiniang found out and decided to seduce Li Zhi in order to live. After Emperor Taizong's death, Wu Meiniang is forced to serve as a nun being the concubine of a former Emperor. She shaved her hair and was ridiculed by the other nuns. Li Zhi is now the new Emperor, as Emperor Gaozong of Tang. He is displeased with his wife Empress Wang for being too controlling and jealous of his favorite, Consort Xiao. Yet, he cannot forget the affair he had with Wu Meiniang. Empress Wang decides to bring back Wu Meiniang to make Consort Xiao jealous, and Wu Meiniang is reunited with Li Zhi. Wu Meiniang gives birth to a son, and is promoted to the rank of Zhaoyi. She also gives birth to a daughter, Princess Anding. She realizes that to survive she needs to be Empress, and strangles her newborn daughter and accuses Empress Wang. Li Zhi wanted to depose the Empress, but Zhangsun Wuji objected. Zhangsun Wuji was Li Zhi's uncle and brother to his mother, Empress Wende, and he withheld most of the political power. Wu Meiniang, now Consort Wu, was ambitious, and further accused Empress Wang of witchcraft. Li Zhi was angered, and threw both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao into the Cold Palace. On Wu Meiniang's orders, Empress Wang and Consort Xiao had their hands and feet cut off and suffocated in wine jars. She also removed Zhangsun Wuji from his position, and he committed suicide in exile. Wu Meiniang was elevated to the position of Empress. She gave birth to four more children, three sons and a daughter, Princess Taiping. Her life as Empress was peaceful, until her sister the Lady of Han returned to the palace. The Lady of Han was Wu Meiniang's older sister, and she was widowed at an early age. She had two children, Helan Minzhi and Helan Minyue from her marriage and often visited the palace. She used to have a close relationship with Wu Meiniang, but the Lady of Han decided to seduce Li Zhi when Wu Meiniang was still a consort. The Lady of Han craved affection and wanted to be the Empress and replace her younger sister. Soon, the Lady of Han was pregnant with Li Zhi's child, and Wu Meiniang didn't want to leave her position. She decided to poison the Lady of Han. The Lady of Han's daughter, Helan Minyue suspected something was wrong with her mother's death. Helan Minyue felt that Empress Wu was the murderer and she gained the trust of her uncle, Li Zhi the Emperor. Helan Minyue wanted the spot of Empress, and asked the Emperor to depose Empress Wu. As the Emperor was about to sign the deposing statement, Wu Meiniang rushed in and Li Zhi felt pitiful. He then blamed the matter on an official named Shangguan Yi, and had his whole family executed except for his granddaughter, Shangguan Wan'er. Shangguan Wan'er became Wu Meiniang's secretary and also was in a romantic relationship with two of her sons. Wu Meiniang didn't want her position to be threatened, so she poisoned Helan Minyue's food and blamed it on her cousins. She exiled all of the government officials against her, and replaced them with her allies. Her sons were suspicious, and in the process three of them committed suicide or were poisoined. Her youngest son decided to obey her, and gave up the throne after her husband's death. Now a widow, she created her own dynasty and became the first and only female emperor of China.
The series was co-produced by Hunan Broadcasting System, Hunan Satellite TV, and Zhejiang Changcheng Film and Television Media Group, with a budget of 60,000,000 yuan. Shooting started on 18 February 2011 and ended on 6 May in the same year. Filming locations include Wuxi and Hengdian World Studios.
