First year of Shenlong. Shangyang Palace in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital[1].
She felt that she was really old. The white hair reflected in the bronze mirror seemed to be overflowing, and fire was roaring in the heater but it couldn't dispel the annoying chill.
She dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs, leaving only herself in the huge palace with the man in green before her who had popped out of nowhere.
"You're that wine vessel, aren't you?" She showed no surprise about the identity of this visitor, instead recalling many memories from the past that she'd almost forgotten. People tend to reminisce when they get old.
"Your hair is so pretty. Heaven has given it the most beautiful color," she said with a slight smile. The wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes were so deep that they seemed engraved into her skin.
"I've come to express my gratitude," the man said slowly. "Regardless of what you did back then, you are ultimately a woman of your word, which has given me several decades of peace and quiet to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth beneath the lotus pond and restore my body." He paused and asked, "Where is Monk Sanjie?"
She thought for a long time before saying, "Oh, he seemed like he went mad not long after. I found that monk troublesome and cut off his head."
That makes sense. Although the Spirit Decaying Grass harmed him greatly, this demonic grass has a peculiar trait of backlashing against the poisoner. While it is not as bad as causing the poisoner to lose all their magic power, ending up mad is a given. Harming others will ultimately harm yourself is a universally effective, albeit mundane, truth.
"If you hadn't come, there are many things I wouldn't have remembered." Her body was slightly hunched as she leaned on a dragon-headed cane and walked to the covered corridor outside the palace hall. Gazing at the city shrouded in the depths of the night under her feet, her eyes were murky and vacant.
He stood behind her and asked, "Today, you still stand at the highest position. But I want to know, what do you see when you look down from here?"
She remained silent for a long time and then said, "Emptiness."
He gave a faint smile and said, "I should take my leave. I don't know when our paths will cross again."
The next day, Emperor Wu Zetian of Great Zhou died of illness in Shangyang Palace at the age of eighty-two.
It is said that before the emperor's death, she issued a secret edict. The contents have never been revealed. However, the stone tablet that was supposed to stand outside Qianling Mausoleum, engraved with Wu-shi's life achievements, was replaced with a blank stele, devoid of any inscription…
Some say that when Emperor Wu Zetian was buried, a book named "Lan Ting Collection: Preface," was placed under her pillow and it was the original work.
[1] Shenlong (January 30, 705 to October 5, 707) was the fourteenth reign title of Wu Zetian. Dongdu (Meaning Eastern Capital) is another name of Luoyang. Wu Zetian moved the capital of her Zhou dynasty to Luoyang and named it Shen Du (Capital of the God). Luoyang is among the oldest cities in China and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. It is the earliest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
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