Consort Wu

Consort Wu, imperial consort rank Huifei, posthumously Empress Zhenshun, was an imperial consort of the Chinese Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. She was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine during her lifetime, and after the death of his wife Empress Wang in 724, she became honored like an empress inside the palace, court, by the emperor and among the public until her death; Thus, she was the undisputed mistress of the palace, and wielded political power in the court and influence over the decisions of Emperor Xuanzong. She never formally became empress on account of her father Wu Youzhi (武攸止) being a nephew of Emperor Xuanzong's grandmother Wu Zetian, the memory about whose takeover of the Tang throne terrified the officials. But the power she gained within the palace and the political circles of the court, and the love of Emperor Xuanzong for her, made her authority and respect equal to the authority and respect of the empress.