Wu gave birth to a son. Then another.
Each son strengthened her position.
Then she gave birth to a daughter.
Weeks later, the infant was found dead in her cradle.
Wu accused Empress Wang of murdering the child out of jealousy.
The accusation was devastating. Servants testified that the empress had visited the chamber.
Gaozong, furious and grieving, turned against his wife.
Historians debate the truth.
Some later sources claim Wu herself killed the infant to frame the empress. These accounts were written decades later by Confucian scholars hostile to female rule.
Modern historians question the story. The baby may have died naturally. But politically, the event was decisive.
In 655, Empress Wang and Consort Xiao were deposed.
Wu Zhao became empress.