CDJMM – Volume 4 – Chapter 37 Filming in the Interstellar Era (37)

【Another year passed. It was now the second year of Tianshou.

Peony had gradually gotten used to her life as a dog.

Being reborn as a dog wasn’t bad at all. She had been a lowly life even when she was human; now that she’d become a dog, she was dressed in silks and brocades and pampered with utmost care.

Her days were so blissful that they felt like a dream. The only downside was that her master was His Majesty the Martial Emperor — the very person who had indirectly caused her death.

But she did not hate His Majesty.

How could she possibly hate His Majesty?

It was she who had made the mistake.

Her Lady had become the Emperor, an existence akin to a divine being, sanctioned by the heavens. Someone like her — low-born and insignificant — had no right to speak carelessly about such a figure. It was her own loose tongue that had brought about her death. She could not blame anyone.

Though she did not hate His Majesty, she feared and revered her deeply.

To serve a ruler was like accompanying a tiger — and now she was even reborn as a mere beast, a creature far more fragile than a human. This second chance at life, as a dog, she cherished dearly.

So she was especially clever and obedient. Though she could not speak, she did everything she could to please His Majesty. In return, she gradually earned a bit of the Emperor’s affection, and her status within the palace rose accordingly. Some eunuchs and palace maids even secretly addressed her as: “Lord Imperial Dog.”

Who would have thought that after becoming a dog, she would actually become a “lord”? The novelty delighted her to no end.

…

By June, the weather grew hotter and hotter. Peony could only pant with her tongue out to cool herself.

Even in this heat, His Majesty had no leisure.

Each day, she faced endless memorials to review, state affairs that never ceased. Although Lord Shangguan, the Imperial Attendant, helped handle government matters, His Majesty was still overwhelmed and constantly busy.

Peony watched and could only click her tongue inwardly. No wonder only the Son of Heaven could be an emperor — ordinary people could never handle such grueling work.

One day, His Majesty dismissed everyone, held Peony in her arms, and fell into a quiet daze, seemingly deep in thought.

Peony was used to this by now.

For His Majesty, such moments of solitude were rare and precious time to relax. All Peony could do was stay still and silent, not disturbing her peace.

“The world sees Us as their enemy. They all want to drag Us down.” His Majesty gripped her fur. Peony felt the pain but didn’t dare make a sound, quietly listening to words that could not be spoken to anyone else: “So We must make them understand that Our rule is ordained by heaven.”

“…It seems We have no choice but to make a deal with the Buddhist sect.”

Peony blinked blankly, not understanding what His Majesty meant.

After saying this, His Majesty left in haste. That night, the lights in the council hall burned bright — the Emperor did not return the entire night.

Then came July.

With His Majesty away, Peony slipped out of the sleeping chambers to stroll and clear her mind.

After becoming a dog, her hearing had grown much sharper, and she could catch many whispered palace conversations.

Passing by a certain palace hall, she vaguely heard maids whispering inside:

“Have you heard? A few days ago, a monk offered up the Dayun Sutra. The scripture says His Majesty is the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha!”

“No wonder His Majesty could become emperor! So it turns out she’s Maitreya descended to save the world.”

“What does the scripture say?”

“How would I know? But His Majesty has already ordered Dayun Temples to be built in both capitals and all the prefectures, and monks are explaining the sutra everywhere. If you’re curious, you can go listen sometime.”

Peony’s body stiffened.

For some reason, His Majesty’s whispered words suddenly resurfaced in her mind:

“We must make them understand that Our rule is ordained by heaven.”

“…It seems We have no choice but to make a deal with the Buddhist sect.”

Could this be the “deal”?】

Liu Yinxiu thought immediately: This is the “deal”!

As a well-informed modern person, Liu Yinxiu instantly saw through Wu Zetian’s maneuver—self-deification.

She was packaging herself as a divine being walking among mortals, mythologizing herself to gain the people’s worship and belief, thus solidifying her rule.

Many religions used similar tactics in their early days.

Not very original, but good enough to fool the common folk.

After all, as a woman emperor, Wu Zetian stood on unstable footing. Using religion to legitimize her rule was understandable — exactly the kind of tactic a competent ancient politician would employ.

At this point, Liu Yinxiu’s interest in Wu Zetian was fully ignited. This legendary empress truly had skills.

【…】

His Majesty was angry.

Just moments ago, a palace maid had merely made a bit too much noise while walking, and she was dragged out and given a beating on the board.

Peony hid under the bed, trembling, not daring to come out.

She was afraid she would become the target of His Majesty’s wrath.

Just yesterday, His Majesty had been in high spirits.

Because the leader of the Tubo tribe requested to surrender with his entire tribe, His Majesty was delighted. She even specially sent General Zhang with twenty thousand elite troops to receive them. In private, she was also very pleased as she spoke to Peony.

“Tubo admires the Heavenly Might and comes to surrender with their whole tribe. This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that will surely be remembered in the annals of history.” His Majesty had lifted her chin proudly, her expression bright. “Though I am a woman, in strategy and ability, which part of me is inferior to the late Emperor?”

Yet only a single day later, everything changed.

His Majesty flew into a rage, and the bedchamber fell deathly silent.

His Majesty paced back and forth in an empty room, growling in a low voice, “It’s them! They see me as their enemy, even colluding with foreign nations to leak information, unwilling to let me build merit!”

Peony was filled with doubt, but could only pray His Majesty wouldn’t remember her. She didn’t want to become the punchbag.

…

A few days later, Peony heard from a few guards that the news of Tubo planning to surrender had somehow been leaked. People within Tubo found out, seized their leader Hesu, and dragged him back home. Naturally, the surrender failed.

Only then did she understand.

His Majesty suspected that someone within the empire had leaked the information, causing the surrender to fail?

That day’s fury now felt like a dream. His Majesty soon returned to that unreadable, emotionless sovereign she always was. Later, when yet another Qiang tribe leader brought his people to surrender, His Majesty’s mood improved greatly.

Peony slowly pushed that incident from her mind.

However, she forgot—His Majesty certainly had not.

In the ninth month of the first year of Changshou, His Majesty sent the army to the northwest, attacking Tubo to reclaim Kucha, Kashgar, Khotan, and Suyab— the Four Garrisons of Anxi.

When the news of victory arrived, Peony was dozing off against His Majesty’s leg when she suddenly heard an explosive, hearty laugh.

“Good!” His Majesty’s eyes burned as though aflame. “Now, let’s see who still dares defy me.”

His Majesty soon summoned the court, announcing the victory and proclaiming her decision: to increase troops by thirty thousand in the Four Garrisons of Anxi. This triggered a huge uproar, with ministers protesting the decision, begging His Majesty to reconsider and not exhaust the people and resources further.

His Majesty was resolute, harshly rejecting their objections. She insisted on her course and issued the decree.

In private, when no one else was around, His Majesty held Peony and sneered, “They look down on me. Then I shall show them—though I am a woman, my iron will and harsh methods are no less than any man’s! With this war, I will kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, establish my authority, and make them too afraid to dare disobey again!”

Luo Lan’s eyes sparkled, filled with admiration as she looked at Wu Zetian.

As a face-connoisseur, she had once disliked that the Empress was older and past her prime. But now she had no choice but to admit—charisma has nothing to do with age! Her Majesty was simply too handsome! Luo Lan felt she was practically being bent!

She also finally understood why the Empress ruled with such a strong hand. Because people of the time underestimated women—if Her Majesty was not forceful to the extreme, not only would officials within the empire feign obedience while defying her, even foreign nations might treat the Empress as a soft target and launch attacks!

So the Empress had struck all of them hard, so they wouldn’t dare provoke imperial authority again, while simultaneously warning certain restless people within the country.

【In the first month of the second year of Changshou, palace maid Tuan’er secretly reported to His Majesty that Crown Prince Li Dan’s consort Lady Liu and Concubine Dou practiced witchcraft to curse His Majesty.

Tuan’er was lying.

Peony knew His Majesty also knew she was lying.

Yet His Majesty chose to believe it.

Recently, Crown Prince Li Dan had been making too many small moves in private, and His Majesty had long lost patience, wanting to teach him a lesson and make him more obedient. Tuan’er’s accusation fit His Majesty’s intentions perfectly.

…Was Tuan’er’s accusation suggested by His Majesty?

In the past, Peony would never dare harbor such treasonous thoughts. But after witnessing conspiracy after conspiracy with her own eyes, and understanding His Majesty’s nature more deeply, she could not help but make such a connection.

His Majesty executed the two consorts and demoted the Crown Prince’s sons to regional princes.

The Crown Prince secretly met two officials. When His Majesty learned of it, she had the two officials cut in half at the marketplace. Then, someone secretly reported that the Crown Prince harbored treacherous intentions.

When His Majesty heard this news, her expression remained calm, as if she had long anticipated it.

Only when she was alone did a flicker of sorrow flash in her eyes. “Such is the imperial family…”

The sorrow came quickly and faded just as quickly. Soon her eyes regained their usual calm rationality. She summoned her confidant Lai Junchen and ordered him to interrogate the people by the Crown Prince’s side.

Peony knew of Lai Junchen’s notorious cruelty; he excelled at extracting confessions and was deeply trusted by His Majesty. This time, those close to the Crown Prince would surely confess that he intended to rebel.】

…

A few days later, a severely injured man was carried into the palace. His Majesty ordered people to treat him.

The next day, His Majesty commanded Lai Junchen to halt the interrogation, and the Crown Prince was spared.

Peony understood what had happened.

The rumor had already spread throughout the palace.

That severely injured man was An Jinzhang, a worker of the Ministry of Rites and also someone close to the Crown Prince. During Lai Junchen’s interrogation, he slit open his own chest with his dagger, exposing his heart and liver to prove his innocence.

Such an act of loyalty, once spread, made officials and palace servants praise An Jinzhang’s heroic courage, while also stirring sympathy for the Crown Prince. Even among the common people, murmurs began to rise.

His Majesty said to An Jinzhang: “Because I doubted my own son’s character, you have suffered this great torment.” Her tone seemed regretful.

But in private, His Majesty had already grown tired of the Crown Prince and began planning to replace him.

Peony understood—His Majesty was a sovereign.

A sovereign is always suspicious.

Thus His Majesty relied heavily on harsh officials, selected commoners for government posts, and encouraged denunciations.

In this world, no one could be trusted. She trusted only herself.】

In just a few minutes, a full court intrigue rose and fell in waves—dangerous, thrilling—and Luo Bao felt utterly exhilarated.

It seemed that being history’s first female emperor was anything but easy. She dared to do what no one before her had done, which meant she also had to face conspiracies no one before her had faced.

Though the turmoil seemed to have settled, Luo Bao could sense that beneath the calm surface of the lake, a greater storm was brewing.

【……

When His Majesty learned that Xue Huaiyi, enraged over losing favor, had set fire to the Tiantang and Mingtang halls, she had been reviewing memorials. After hearing the eunuch’s report, she casually nodded and said, “He truly is bold.”

“Send Wu Youning to see me.”

Xue Huaiyi had been her first male favorite. Although rumors claimed His Majesty doted on him, only Peony—who stayed by her day and night—knew exactly how much weight Xue Huaiyi held in her heart.

He was nothing more than a plaything.

His Majesty used him to reinforce her imperial authority. If an emperor could have three palaces and six courts, why shouldn’t a female emperor have a harem of male favorites? Perfectly reasonable, right?

Xue Huaiyi’s only merit was his loyalty.

Back then, he was the one who discovered the Great Cloud Sutra and presented it to Her Majesty.

But now he nursed resentment, and even that loyalty seemed to have vanished.

So His Majesty casually told Lord Wu, “Go kill him. Then send his ashes to White Horse Temple to build a pagoda.”

That same year, in the tenth month, the Turks sent envoys to submit. Two months later, His Majesty conducted the Fengshan sacrifice at Mount Song and changed the reign title to Wansui Dengfeng.】

Liu Yinxiu felt as though, in this mere hour or so, he had accompanied the Empress through the last glorious chapter of her life.

The legendary empress’s reign had peaks and brilliance, honor and triumph—yet also valleys, humiliation, and sorrow.

Liu Yinxiu watched rebellions rise across the land, Wu Zetian struggling to respond, her armies suffering repeated defeats. He saw her exhaust herself navigating the rival factions, desperately upholding her authority; he saw her rely on harsh officials, gather allies, yet in solitude show fear and helplessness.

By the end, Liu Yinxiu had long forgotten his earlier displeasure toward Wu Zetian. Instead, he now truly admired her—and pitied her.

What she fought against was never just a handful of enemies.

She fought the entire world.

She fought thousands of years of rules and traditions born from a patriarchal society.

What strength could one person have?

Even though she was the emperor, ruler of all under heaven, rich beyond measure, she was still too small, too powerless.

Though she had conquered the realm, the realm would ultimately return to the Li Tang.

When she ascended the throne, she was already sixty-seven.

She could no longer bear children—never again could she have a child of her own.

Her heirs all carried Li Tang blood, naturally holding the people’s loyalty.

Her nephew harbored schemes and was utterly unfit.

In the end, she could only submit—accept fate.

She named Li Xian as Crown Prince.

Not long after, she fell ill.

She was eighty-two, no longer young.

The moment this mighty lioness showed a hint of weariness, the young lion—whose wings were now fully grown—immediately bared his fangs and launched a coup.

Crown Prince Li Xian led troops to surround Wu Zetian’s chambers, forcing her to abdicate.

After losing the throne, Wu Zetian aged rapidly.

Power, to her, was her foundation, her lifeblood, her soul.

It was said that a great man cannot go a single day without power—and it was no less true for her.

She no longer wore makeup nor had the heart to dress herself. Her attendants were all agents of the new emperor. Her only confidant now was an old dog.

Peony had grown old as well. She had accompanied this unparalleled woman through her final years of splendor, and now faced the end alongside her.

Even if no good ending awaited her.

【On the twenty-sixth day of the eleventh month in the first year of Shenlong (December 16, 705), the great Empress Wu Zhao passed away. In her final edict, she renounced her imperial title and instructed future generations to call her Empress Zetian Dasheng.

Peony did not cry when Her Majesty died, but when she heard the eunuch read the final edict, tears silently fell.

Her Majesty…

Later, another coup occurred. Lady Shangguan died—rumor said she cried out for Empress Wu in her final moments.

Later still, Peony fell ill and approached death.

Before she died, she heard the palace maids whisper that the new emperor and his ministers had yet to decide what words to inscribe on Empress Zetian’s stele. Thus, before Qianling, there remained only the Blank Stele.

The Blank Stele…

If Her Majesty were still here, she probably wouldn’t care.

In her lifetime, she accomplished so many unprecedented, unparalleled deeds. Whether history praised or condemned her, it no longer mattered.

She only wanted to be a good emperor.

And she succeeded.

So—the stele needs no words. History itself bears her name.】

The film ended. Liu Yinxiu sat in silence for a moment, then removed his helmet. The hall echoed with thunderous applause.

The siblings seated on his right were crying so hard they could barely clap, yet they still clapped with all their strength.

Even Liu Yinxiu himself felt moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes. Director Shi had made another masterpiece.

After watching The Empress and Her Imperial Dog, he too felt himself captivated by the Empress’s charm—willing to be her loyal hound.

How could one not fear a woman like her?

How could one not love a woman like her?