Within a short period, she became his only concubine and bore him a son, which gave her the opportunity to usurp the empress and take the throne for herself, in a series of maneuvers completed around her 27th birthday.
緊接著，她利用王皇后與蕭淑妃爭寵之際，「卑辭降體事後」、「屈身忍辱，舉順上意」，據獲了皇后和高宗的信任；又善待宮女，每有御賜，就全分給她們。她最後終於得到專寵，陸續為高宗生子，促成廢后，取而代之。這年她廿七歲左右。