In 649 the Emperor T’ai Tsung lay dying; consequently, the heir apparent, Kao Tsung ( ne Li Chih), a good-natured young man of not strong character, frequently went to the palace to receive instructions from his father. On one of these occasions he met and fell passionately in love with Wu Chao. Court gossip had it that she had intimate relations with him during that time. She must have been fully aware of what was to become of her upon the Emperor’s death; the dynastic law mandated that all concubines must shave their heads and enter a Buddhist convent for the rest of their lives. She could not have failed to see that an alliance with the heir to the throne might be her one mean of escaping this fate.