Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

Under the tough measures of Empress Wu Zetian, the administration of the Tang Dynasty gradually became clear and everything returned to normal.

A prosperous country and a strong people

Although the two emperors were in power, Li Zhi completely retreated behind the scenes.

During the ten years she came to power, Wu Meiniang gave birth to six children for Li Zhi.

The Tang Dynasty was forced back on track by this couple.

If you employ cruel officials, you will naturally be criticized by the world.

However, the scolding did not fall on Li Zhi, but instead fell on Wu Meiniang alone.

Chang'an in late spring is wrapped in a thin mist woven from willow catkins. The gargoyles of the Hanyuan Hall in the Daming Palace pierce the leaden clouds, and the gilded eaves glow coldly in the twilight.

The copper bells on the eaves were rustled by the draft, making a small and hollow sound, as if telling an unknown story within the palace walls.

Wang Can and Zhang Xiaojing were wearing moon-white robes, and the palms of their swords were already oozing with cold sweat. They looked at the closed vermilion-painted palace gate with frowns on their faces.

Since the beginning of spring, Li Zhi's rheumatism has become more serious.

This morning, he suddenly had a violent cough, and there was even blood.

The two of them were so shocked that their faces changed drastically.

At this moment, there was a dead silence in Hanyuan Hall, with only the occasional suppressed cough hitting the two people's hearts like a heavy hammer.

Zhang Xiaojing leaned closer to Wang Can and lowered his voice, saying, "Doctor Li from the Imperial Medical Bureau just came out. His face is uglier than a dead person. He said that your Majesty's rheumatism is terminal..."

Before he could finish his words, the crisp sound of porcelain breaking was suddenly heard in the hall, followed by the dull thud of a heavy object falling to the ground.

The two looked at each other and were about to push the door open when it creaked and slowly opened.

The dim candlelight illuminated Li Zhi's paper-pale face. He was wearing a thin moon-white nightgown, and his bony fingers were tightly gripping the edge of the bed. His originally handsome figure was now hunched over, his hair was scattered messily on his shoulders, but his eyes were burning with the fire of unwillingness.

"Someone come here!" His voice was hoarse and weak, but still majestic.

Wang Can and Zhang Xiaojing hurried in, only to see the floor in a mess. In the broken medicine bowl, dark brown medicinal juice was flowing through the cracks in the blue bricks.

Li Zhi struggled to get up, but his legs were so weak that he almost fell. Zhang Xiaojing rushed forward to support him, but he was pushed away: "Change your clothes, change my clothes!"

Zhang Xiaojing looked at the dark clouds rolling outside the window and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, it is already three quarters past midnight, and the wind is strong outside. Your health..."

"It's okay!" Li Zhi's jade ruyi slammed heavily on the blue brick, stirring up a few wisps of dust.

"I want to go to Liangyi Palace."

His gaze passed through the layers of gauze curtains and fell on the direction of the Liangyi Palace in the distance. The lights there were brightly lit, like a lighthouse that never went out in the dark night.

Wang Can caught a glimpse of the medicine bag exposed under the dragon robe - it was a benzoin bag sewn by the Empress Wu Meiniang, but at this moment it could not cover up the strong medicinal smell that was coming towards him.

He exchanged a glance with Zhang Xiaojing and reluctantly began to change Li Zhi's clothes.

The gold and jade belt hung loosely around Li Zhi's increasingly thin waist. The dragon robe that once fitted him well now dangled empty, like an empty shell.

Green smoke curled up from the bronze crane incense burner in front of the Liangyi Hall. Shangguan Wan'er lowered her eyes and counted the ripples in the water in front of the steps.

Ever since Wu Meiniang stayed here to handle government affairs, the palace lanterns in the corridor flickered, and three figures emerged from the shadows.

She hurriedly straightened her clothes and saluted, but was stunned when she looked up. Li Zhi's hair crown was askew, his black hair was untied, his pale face glowed strangely bluish-white in the moonlight, his steps were unsteady but he refused to let anyone support him.

"Is the Queen Mother in there?" Li Zhi's gaze penetrated the carved wooden door, and the occasional sound of flipping through memorials came from the hall.

Shangguan Wan'er looked at the emperor's thin back and suddenly remembered the same scene on a snowy night two years ago. At that time, Li Zhi was able to put a fox fur coat on Wu Meiniang with his own hands, but now he seemed to have no strength to even raise his hand.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is reviewing the memorials."

Li Zhi nodded slightly and raised his hand to signal everyone to leave.

He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Wu Meiniang's fingertips hovered over the cinnabar pen, and drops of ink fell on the edge of the memorial of "Order to Dismiss Cruel Officials", spreading a dark red color.

The smell of ambergris mixed with medicine drifted in. When she looked up, she met Li Zhi's sunken eye sockets, where two pools of crumbling moonlight were filled.

"Pheasant..." Wu Meiniang stood up subconsciously, but saw Li Zhi waving his hand and walking straight to the mountain of memorials in front of the desk.

The candlelight suddenly flickered violently, casting the overlapping shadows of the two people on the silk of "Qianwu Zhengyao". In a trance, it was impossible to tell which one was the king and which one was the queen.

"Mei Niang, you've worked so hard these past few years..." Li Zhi's fingers traced the densely packed red comments on the memorial, his handwriting as sharp as a knife. "Everyone blames you for employing cruel officials and using ruthless methods, but they don't know that this world..."

He suddenly started coughing violently.

"It is all thanks to you that the world has Qingming today."

Wu Meiniang's eyes were slightly hot. The young emperor who had had a secret meeting with her in Ganye Temple ten years ago had already been tortured beyond recognition by time and illness.

But those eyes were still as fiery as they were back then, full of love and care for her.

"Your Majesty, why do you..."

"Hey."

Li Zhi sighed, and Wu Meiniang slowly helped him onto the throne.

Li Zhi felt much more at ease when he sat on this chair.

This was the chair his royal brother sat on back then, and it has never been changed.

Later, his father also sat on it, and he also sat on it.

Every day, important matters of the Tang Dynasty are discussed in the Liangyi Hall, and this tradition has been passed down to this day.

"Mei Niang, I suddenly wanted to come and see you today."

"Time flies by so fast! In the blink of an eye, I have reached the age of knowing my destiny. At fifty, one knows one's destiny. I don't have much time left."

"I know better than anyone that the Li family's disease has tortured me to the point of wanting to die."

"Sometimes, I think it would be better to die early and avoid suffering from illness."

After hearing what Li Zhi said, Wu Meiniang frowned.

"Your Majesty, please stop talking nonsense. Your Majesty will be fine."

Li Zhi shook his head and was silent for a moment.

"Mei Niang, my mind hasn't been clear lately, so I want to ask you something."

"What's your name now? Mei Niang? Or..."

"Wu Zhao?"

Hearing Li Zhi's words, Wu Meiniang felt her heart tremble with fear. She looked at the weak emperor sitting on the armchair.

"His Majesty……"

She was about to say something to explain, but Li Zhi smiled and shook his head.

"Don't say anything, Mei Niang. There's nothing to explain between you and me as husband and wife."

"This word is good. The sun and the moon are in the sky, just like our two saints are here to rule."

"Among our children, Hong'er can shoulder the responsibility of supporting the Tang Dynasty."

Hearing Li Zhi's words, Wu Meiniang nodded.

"I know, Your Majesty."

"I inherited the entire prosperous Tang Dynasty from my brother, and I live in fear, deeply afraid that I might do something wrong and bring about the downfall of this prosperous era."

"Fortunately, I have lived up to my brother's last wish. This burden on me will soon be lifted."

Having said this, Li Zhi felt relieved.

This position is too tiring.