A 98-ton stone monument towers over the resting place of the most powerful woman in Chinese history, carved with intricate dragons and oysters. Yet its face is completely blank. The only woman to rule China as sovereign in her own right left no words to define her legacy.

This episode dives into the life of Wu Zetian, who ruled her self-styled Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705. Her story forces a hard question about leadership: where is the line between ruthless ambition and necessary political genius, especially for a woman operating in a system designed to keep her powerless?

• Educated in politics and history, she entered court at 14 and revealed her mindset with the lion stallion anecdote, demanding a whip, hammer, and dagger to tame it
• Exiled to a convent after the emperor's death, she returned as a pawn of a rival empress  ...