He was largely responsible for carrying out her actions to wipe out senior members of Tang's Li imperial clan, but, in a turnabout, was in 691 himself accused of crimes and, under threats of a torture technique himself developed, confessed.
He studied law in his youth, and as of the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, he was serving as the magistrate of Heyang County (河陽, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan).
However, Li Jingye's rebellion caused Empress Dowager Wu to suspect many people of opposing her, and she began to encourage secret reports.
Zhou had been serving as a low-level secretary (尚書都事, Shangshu Dushi) at the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng), and he became involved in serving as a secret police official for her, eventually promoted by her to be deputy minister of justice (秋官侍郎, Qiuguan Shilang).
Zhou found Hao Xiangxian guilty and sentenced his entire family to death.
(On the way to the execution field, Hao Xiangxian tried to flee and also loudly yelled out insults against Empress Dowager Wu and accusations that she was committing immoral acts; he was eventually killed by the guards, but as a result of what Hao Xiangxian did, thereafter until her death, whenever prisoners were to be executed, their mouths would be stuffed with wood so that they would not be able to yell out insults.)
Then, at the instigation of Empress Dowager Wu's powerful nephew Wu Chengsi, he accused Emperor Gaozong's sons by concubines, Li Shangjin (李上金) the Prince of Ze and Li Sujie the Prince of Xu of treason.
Yet later that year, the prefectural prefect Li Xingbao (李行褒) and his brothers were falsely accused and sentenced to have their clan executed.
A subordinate of Zhou's at the ministry of justice, Xu Yougong (徐有功) tried to get the judgment reversed but was not able to.
(This incident inspired the Chinese proverb "invite the gentleman into the urn" (請君入甕, qing jun Ru Weng), now used for the concept of putting a person into a trap that he himself or she herself had set.)