Is “Empress Wei and Wu Sansi had an affair, playing a game of double sixes while Emperor Zhongzong kept score.” true?
The New Book of Tang, Biographies of the Five Princes, records: 'Moreover, Sansi and [the Empress] engaged in licentious acts, and thus they slandered others with strange accuracy.' The official history records that Sansi entered the palace to play double sixes with Empress Wei, and Zhongzong kept score for them. The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Chapter 75, details that when Zhongzong returned from hunting and entered the palace, he saw Wu Sansi and Empress Wei 'playing a game of double sixes,' with Zhongzong standing by, laughing and giving advice. Later, Empress Wei and Princess Anle poisoned Zhongzong, and they were executed in the Tanglong coup, all according to historical facts.
In the official history, Empress Wei had an affair with Wu Sansi, and Emperor Zhongzong even kept score for them; they also plotted rebellion. The novel depicts their debauchery and disruption of court affairs based on historical facts.
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