It is not known when the future Empress Wang was born, although it is known that she was from Bing Prefecture (并州, roughly modern Taiyuan, Shanxi).
Emperor Taizong agreed, taking her to be the wife and princess of his ninth son Li Zhi, the Prince of Jin.
Her father Wang Renyou was promoted to the post of prefect of Chen Prefecture (陳州, roughly modern Zhoukou, Henan).
Empress Wang was able to persuade Emperor Gaozong's powerful uncle Zhangsun Wuji to support the plan, and in 652,[8] Li Zhong was created crown prince.
After Emperor Taizong's death, all of his concubines who did not bear children were housed at Ganye Temple (感業寺) to be Buddhist nuns.
In either 650 or 651,[9] when Emperor Gaozong was visiting Ganye Temple to offer incense to Buddha, when he saw Consort Wu.
Consort Wu was intelligent and full of machinations, and therefore, when she first returned to the palace, she acted humbly and flattered Empress Wang, who trusted her greatly and recommended her to Emperor Gaozong.
In particular, Empress Wang was described as being unable or unwilling to make friends among Emperor Gaozong's other concubines, ladies in waiting, and servants, a situation aggravated by the fact that her mother Lady Liu and uncle Liu Shi were disrespectful to the other concubines.
By contrast, Consort Wu cultivated relationships with other concubines, ladies in waiting, and servants, particularly those that Empress Wang had offended, and she further distributed the rewards she received with them.
So, Consort Wu took virtual control of the palace from the hands of Empress Wang, who was in charge of it, without her getting a whiff of the matter, and Consort Wu encouraged the crew both near her and at the palace door to spy on and slander Empress Wang.
Chu fervently opposed deposing Empress Wang and pointed out that Consort Wu was previously Emperor Taizong's concubine and, therefore, taking her was considered incest.
(When Empress Wu heard of Consort Xiao's curse, she forbade the palace personnel from keeping cats as pets, and even ordered the banning of cats as pets in the capital, Chang'an, but thereafter often dreamed of Empress Wang and Consort Xiao, with scattered hair and bleeding limbs, seeking to kill her.
Is a leading character in the historical novel "Green Dragon, White Tiger", where Empress Wang is known conversationally as Paulownia, a socially awkward girl whom Wu Zetian- known in the book as Black Jade - initially tries to help, but her attempts at a genuine friendship are hampered by the scheming Pure concubine.