Li Guo'er dominated his reign and their lifestyle was completely promiscuous and extravagant, both tried to imitate Wu Zetian: The Empress Wei successfully imitated Empress Wu position during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, who listened to politics with a curtain at court next to the emperor, and effectively participating in both military and civil decisions, and the Li Guo'er brought chaos to his father's administration with rampant lawlessness and corruption, and in an unsuccessful attempt she tried to convince Emperor Zhongzong to make her crown princess; Both sold government posts, enslaved common people, executed anyone who insulted them or disobeyed their orders, and committed adultery with different men in the palace. Princess Taiping tried in vain to open Emperor Zhongzong's eyes to the activities of this mother and daughter, and her efforts were so unsuccessful that she rarely attended in the imperial palace for fear of their attack. In 707, after Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongjun the Crown Prince, angry over Li Guo'er's repeated attempts to displace him to become crown princess, failed in a rebellion to arrest Empress Wei and Li Guo'er, Li Guo'er and Zong Chuke (now chancellor again) tried to implicate Princess Taiping and Li Dan in Li Chongjun's plot, Emperor Zhongzong requested Xiao to investigate, but after Xiao Zhizhong spoke on their behalf, weeping, responded: Emperor Zhongzong stopped investigations against Princess Taiping and Li Dan. From this time on, Princess Taiping with Li Longji spent time to cultivate relationships with some imperial guard commanders, and she began to attract a some of middle-ranking officials around her. As a result, she expand her power to compete with Empress Wei and Princess Anle and their faction, and sought to protect herself and her brother Li Dan. During Empress dowager Wei's regency: A coup against her Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly in 710 — a death that traditional historians believed to be a murder carried out by Empress Wei and Li Guo'er so that Empress Wei could become emperor and Li Guo'er could become crown princess. In the aftermath of Emperor Zhongzong's death, Empress Wei, who initially kept the death secret, tried to consolidate power; she immediately ordered that the palace and the capital be sealed. All the gates were blockaded and exit of the capital forbidden, and summoned the her allied officials into the palace, and mobilized a total of 50,000 soldiers from various prefectures to be stationed in