Reporter- Hello Empress Wu. How are you? Would you like some coffee?
Empress Wu- Hello. I am fine. A cup of coffee sounds delicious. Cream, no sugar.
Reporter- I’ll be sure to get that for you. In the meantime, I have a couple questions to ask, if you don’t mind.
Empress Wu- I’d be glad to answer any of your questions.
Reporter- Well, I’d like to start off with how you gained your fame and your role of empress. Your daughter helped little, didn’t she?
Empress Wu- Well, as a child I was very well educated. I was beautiful and smart. Emperor Taizong chose me to be a cai ren.
Reporter- What is a cai ren?
Empress Wu- A cai ren is a woman who lives with the emperor, but is not married to the emperor. She has the emperor's children.
Reporter- Oh I see. How did you get from being a cai ren to being an empress?
Empress Wu- Well, the Emperor seemed to take a liking to me, and I to him. I also wanted more power then a cai ren, so I decided to work my way up to be an empress. The Emperor already had a wife, which ruined my chances. I'm not one to give up easily, so I spent weeks conjuring a plan. Finally, I was forced to a decision. I could frame the Emperors wife. Around a year later, 3 nights after I gave birth to my daughter, I strangled her to death. The next morning, I ran to the Emperor, weeping.
I started to cry and weep to the Emperor, lying to him and telling him how his wife killed my child. The Emperor foolishly believed me, and he dethroned Empress Wang- who was his wife.
Reporter- Do you feel like you have made the right decision by killing your own daughter?
Empress Wu- Being an empress is hard, but it has its perks. Those perks are definitely worth the taking of a life, no matter who's life it is.
Reporter- I see. I also understand that you became the most powerful woman in ancient China. Care to elaborate?
Empress Wu- During my time as an empress, my husband became very sick. He passed on his power to me until he became well again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My husband died after a few years, and I kept my position as the empress of China.
Reporter- I'm very sorry about your husband. Unfortunately, that is all we have time for. Thank you for answering my questions.
Empress Wu- You're welcome, well have a goodnight.
Reporter- Goodnight.
Reporter- Oh I see. How did you get from being a cai ren to being an empress?
Empress Wu- Well, the Emperor seemed to take a liking to me, and I to him. I also wanted more power then a cai ren, so I decided to work my way up to be an empress. The Emperor already had a wife, which ruined my chances. I'm not one to give up easily, so I spent weeks conjuring a plan. Finally, I was forced to a decision. I could frame the Emperors wife. Around a year later, 3 nights after I gave birth to my daughter, I strangled her to death. The next morning, I ran to the Emperor, weeping.
I started to cry and weep to the Emperor, lying to him and telling him how his wife killed my child. The Emperor foolishly believed me, and he dethroned Empress Wang- who was his wife.
Reporter- Do you feel like you have made the right decision by killing your own daughter?
Empress Wu- Being an empress is hard, but it has its perks. Those perks are definitely worth the taking of a life, no matter who's life it is.
Reporter- I see. I also understand that you became the most powerful woman in ancient China. Care to elaborate?
Empress Wu- During my time as an empress, my husband became very sick. He passed on his power to me until he became well again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My husband died after a few years, and I kept my position as the empress of China.
Reporter- I'm very sorry about your husband. Unfortunately, that is all we have time for. Thank you for answering my questions.
Empress Wu- You're welcome, well have a goodnight.
Reporter- Goodnight.
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