Zhang, from Henan, was intelligent, capable and honest. Having lost his mother in early childhood, Emperor Xizong Zhu Youxiao was brought up by his wet nurse Ke. When Emperor Xizong grew up, he had adultery with Ke. Ke ganged up with the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and they created confusion in state affairs. Some courtiers...

Ma was from Suzhou. She lost her mother in early childhood, and her father entrusted her to Guo Zixing, who adopted her as daughter. Fond of reading classics and history, she was talented and knowledgeable. In the twelfth year of Zhizheng of Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Zixing married her to Zhu Yuanzhang....

Wan was from Zhucheng, Shandong. Since Zhu Jianshen was designated as crown prince at the age of two, he had been taken care of by Wan. In 1464, Zhu Jianshen mounted the throne and became Emperor Xianzong, when he was eighteen years old while Wan was thirty-five. Designated as Consort and much favored by the...

Beautiful and virtuous, Tiemuzhen’s grand empress Boertai Xuzhen was Texuechan’s daughter from the tribe of Hongjici, Mongolia. When they got married, there was a black marten coat in Boertai Xuzhen’s dowry. Tiemuzhen presented it to Wanghan of the tribe of Kelie. With pleasure, Wanghan sent an army to help Tiemuzhen restore his father’s cause. Texuechan’s...