Wu Huifei of the Tang Dynasty was the daughter of Wu Youzhi, the son of Wu Weiliang, the nephew of Wu Zetian. Wu Youzhi was granted the title of Prince Heng’an during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, and was highly respected and distinguished. Li Longji and Princess Taiping teamed up to execute the relatives of the Wei and Wu families, and discovered that Wu Youzhi’s daughter was beautiful. They left her alive alone and were fortunate that night. Wu’s son, Li Mao, is the 18th son of Li Longji. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ascended the throne and bestowed upon Lady Wu the title of Consort Hui, showing special favor towards her.
In the third year of Kaiyuan (715 AD), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had not yet given birth to a child, so he had to crown Li Ying, the son of Zhao Lifei, as the crown prince, while the other sons were successively granted the title of king. The queen has no children, this is the biggest taboo. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang gradually had the idea of deposing Queen Wang. He had a secret discussion with his confidant Jiang Jiao about this matter. I don’t want Jiang Jiao’s long mouth to accidentally reveal the emperor’s thoughts. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was furious and immediately executed Jiang Jiao.
Queen Wang realized that her position was precarious and was worried. Her brother Wang Shou had a lot to do and obtained a prescription from a sorcerer in the martial arts world. He took a piece of wood with a thunderbolt and engraved it with witchcraft language, and asked Queen Wang to wear it with her. He made up a lie and said, “Wearing this kind of wood, you will surely have children, and having children is comparable to Wu Zetian
Empress Wu Huifei kept a close eye on the actions of Queen Wang. She detected that the Queen was wearing wooden pieces engraved with witchcraft language and immediately reported to the Emperor, accusing the Queen of engaging in “witchcraft”. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was furious and personally questioned the empress. He then issued an edict declaring: “The empress’s mandate is not blessed by heaven, she is extravagant but not practical, and she has no will to inherit the ancestral temple. Her mother is the ruler of the world, and she is deposed as a commoner.” The matter involved Wang Shouyi, who was executed.
Empress Wu Huifei was eager to become the empress and instead sought to depose the crown prince, taking the shortcut of a mother valuing her son. For this reason, she colluded with the treacherous minister Li Linfu and the eunuch Gao Lishi, asking them to come forward and incite Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to depose Li Ying and appoint her own son Li Mao as the crown prince. Li Mao has been granted the title of King of Longevity. He is intelligent and clever, and deeply loved by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
At that time, Crown Prince Li Ying had a good relationship with his two younger brothers, Prince E Li Yao and Prince Guang Li Ju. Empress Wu Huifei, Li Linfu, Gao Lishi and others made a big fuss based on this, slandering the Crown Prince and the Second Prince’s camp for forming a private party and plotting evil. Zhang Jiuling, the commander of the Imperial Secretariat, advised the Crown Prince and the Two Princes based on reason, which enabled them not to be deposed. Wu Huifei was still unwilling and carefully designed a trap in the 25th year of Kaiyuan (737 AD). On the one hand, she falsely claimed that there were thieves in the palace and sent people to summon Li Ying, Li Yao, and Li Ju, ordering them to quickly lead troops into the palace to catch the thieves; On the one hand, she flew to the emperor again, saying that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were plotting rebellion and were coming with armored troops.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang hurriedly sent people to investigate, and the results were as he had promised. Tang Xuanzong was greatly shocked and asked Li Linfu beside him, “What should we do?” Li Linfu hypocritically replied, “Your Majesty’s family affairs should not be interfered with by my subordinates.” Tang Xuanzong immediately issued an edict: “Crown Prince Ying, Prince E Yao, and Prince Guang Ju are all guilty of wrongdoing and deposed as commoners.” Subsequently, he ordered the execution of his three sons.
The wrongful deaths of Li Ying, Li Yao, and Li Ju were the result of Empress Wu Huifei’s manipulation of power and conspiracy. Afterwards, Li Mao failed to become the crown prince, and she also failed to become the empress. She is guilty of causing harm, plagued by nightmares, and constantly feels like Li Ying and other evil spirits are demanding her life. She fell into endless terror, her body and mind shattered, and she passed away at the end of this year.
