Chapter 397 Commanding the Hundred Flowers

The reason why the Fairy of Flowers left this magical jade talisman was because Wu Zetian really loved flowers, so she taught her magical powers to keep a memory.

At first, after Wu Zetian learned the Jiemu Order, she followed the instructions of the Fairy of Flowers and never showed it to anyone, but occasionally used her magical powers in private to entertain herself.

As time passed, Wu Zetian's power in the court became more consolidated, and her prestige among the people of the world reached its peak.

However, in this environment, she has always had a knot in her heart that she has not been able to untie.

When she was young, because of her background, she suffered a lot of torture in the palace, and the concubines in the harem also insulted her a lot. It was not until she was made queen by Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, that this situation changed.

Before Gaozong passed away, he knew that Wu Zetian hated his concubines very much, so he specifically told her to treat the concubines who had a grudge against her well.

After ascending the throne, Wu Zetian did abide by the agreement with Emperor Gaozong and did not take action against any concubines in order to appease the people and show her magnanimity.

However, after Wu Zetian's power was consolidated, her hatred for the concubines who had insulted her increased dramatically. Unfortunately, these concubines knew that their lives and deaths were only in her mind, so they did not dare to make any dangerous moves, which prevented Wu Zetian from taking any chances to attack.

Later, one day, she heard from the eunuchs that the concubines of Emperor Gaozong mentioned the poem "Farewell at Yishui" at a party.

The author of this poem was Luo Binwang, a famous Tang Dynasty poet who wrote "On Behalf of Li Jingye to Send a Proclamation to the World" to attack Wu Zetian!

Wu Zetian also hated Luo Binwang. When she heard that someone was reading his poems in the palace, she felt that her dignity was offended, so she decided to find an opportunity to intimidate these concubines and consolidate her authority in the palace again.

Soon, the opportunity came.

One day, after a heavy snowfall, Wu Zetian suddenly became very excited and ordered the concubines and palace maids to go to Shangyuan to drink and enjoy the snow.

At that time, the rockery, pavilions, and palaces in Shangyuan were all covered with snow, and everywhere was a spectacular scene of silver.

Not far from where Wu Zetian sat, there was a red plum blossoming in the snow, which made her feel very happy, so she wrote a poem about plum blossoms under the influence of alcohol.

At this time, a concubine said with regret: "No matter how beautiful the plum blossom is, there is only one in this winter. If all flowers can understand your majesty's decree and bloom in this cold winter, the scene will be spectacular."

Wu Zetian was moved when she heard this, and felt that it was time for her to punish these concubines and establish her authority, so she smiled and said: "How difficult is this? Let me write a poem and let these flowers compete for splendor tomorrow!"

Everyone thought Wu Zetian was drunk, so they advised her to rest in the palace. However, Wu Zetian asked the palace maid to bring the four treasures of the study, and immediately wrote a five-character poem:

Tomorrow I will visit Shangyuan, and quickly announce the arrival of spring.

The flowers must be bloomed overnight, and don't wait for the morning breeze to blow.

This poem is extraordinary, and the concubines praised it repeatedly, but there was a hint of ridicule in their eyes.

Wu Zetian also noticed the expressions of these concubines, but she didn't care, but ordered to visit Shangyuan again tomorrow to appreciate the flowers.

At night, Wu Zetian dismissed her attendants and toured the Shangyuan Garden alone. She used the magical power taught by the Fairy of Flowers to order the flowers to bloom at night, determined to shock the concubines.

The next day, Wu Zetian came to Shangyuan Garden again and urged the eunuchs to invite the concubines from all palaces to enjoy the flowers.

The concubines thought it was nonsense. Now it was the cold winter, and only the plum blossom was in full bloom. What good scenery could they enjoy?

But due to Wu Zetian's status, the concubines did not dare to disobey her order and had to go to Shangyuan reluctantly.

However, when they came to the outside of Shangyuan Garden, they first smelled a strong fragrance of flowers, which had different smells. Obviously, it was not the same kind of flowers blooming.

The concubines entered Shangyuan Garden curiously, but the colors in front of them suddenly became wonderful.

I saw a colorful scene in Shangyuan Garden, with all kinds of flowers blooming, showing off their uniqueness in this snowy winter!

At this moment, the concubines looked at Wu Zetian with awe. After a brief moment of unconsciousness, they all bowed to Wu Zetian, shouting "Long live the emperor" and dared not stand up for a long time.

Through this incident, Wu Zetian finally subdued the concubines in the harem. At the same time, the strange news that she commanded the flowers spread to the court and the people, and she became more famous for a while.

However, after this incident spread all over the world, it brought a lot of trouble to the Fairy of Flowers.

After the Fairy of Flowers returned to heaven, she was busy running the Flower Shop and never asked about the movements in the mortal world.

Unexpectedly, one day an immortal official sent a message saying that the Jade Emperor summoned her to inquire about something.

The Fairy of Flowers had never held an official position in the Heavenly Court, so the Jade Emperor's summons seemed very unusual.

After arriving at the Lingxiao Palace, she learned about Wu Zetian's command of the flowers from a fairy who had just returned to heaven.

Because this matter had a huge impact on the mortal world, and the technique used by Wu Zetian was very similar to the magical power of the Fairy of Flowers, "The Order of Jie Mu", so she was summoned to ask questions.

The Fairy of Flowers did not defend herself, and publicly admitted that Wu Zetian's magical power was taught by herself, and was willing to accept the punishment.

Because the Fairy of Flowers did not work in the Heavenly Court, the Jade Emperor had no actual punishment method. After summarizing the opinions of the immortal officials, he made the decision to ban the Fairy of Flowers from coming to the mortal world for three thousand years from now.

After punishing the Fairy of Flowers, the immortal officials proposed to punish Wu Zetian because she did not abide by the agreement with the Fairy of Flowers, and used the immortal law to order the flowers to bloom against the season, which was an act against the will of heaven and must be punished.

This time, the Fairy of Flowers did not plead for Wu Zetian. After all, she had seriously warned her not to use this magical power to do anything that would harm the harmony of heaven. However, in order to establish her authority, Wu Zetian threw her warning behind her. Now that she had violated the heavenly rules, it was only natural that she would be punished.

After some discussion, the Jade Emperor personally issued an order to the underworld, ordering the King of Hell to take away twenty years of Wu Zetian's life, and sent an immortal official to quietly take away the magical power granted to her by the Fairy of Flowers as a warning.

After this incident, Wu Zetian's magical power became ineffective, and she remembered the Fairy of Flowers' warning, and she felt extremely regretful.

Unfortunately, this matter could not be reversed. Even if she believed in Buddhism and Taoism in her later years, she still could not atone for her sins.

Finally, seven years later, this only extraordinary woman in the world ran out of life and ended her treacherous life.

After hearing this story, Chu Yang couldn't help but sigh. It turned out that Wu Zetian and Fairy Baihua had such a deep connection. No wonder Fairy Baihua seemed very hesitant when teaching him "Jie Mu Ling", and even repeatedly reminded him not to abuse his magical powers to avoid any unexpected consequences.

While Fairy Baihua paused, Chu Yang sighed: "Alas, Sister Baihua, you are so unlucky. I remember that after Xuanzong, the heaven closed the passage to the mortal world. If it was later, it would not be discovered by the heaven, and you would not be punished."

The story written in this chapter is actually a wild history related to Wu Zetian. I adapted it in this article. It may be a little different from the legend, but it is all made up stories, just for fun. If you are interested, you can search for Wu Zetian's deeds of commanding Baihua.