After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, the consorts were good at politics, and almost all major policies were in the hands of the Queen Mother, which laid the foundation for Wang Mang to usurp the Han Dynasty, and peasant uprisings and iron official uprisings broke out one after another in various places. Emperor Han Chengdi was very strong, but only lived for 44 years, so Zhao and her sister Zhao Hede were called "witches" and "femme fatale", which killed them. The key is the death of Liu Ao, which led to the demise of the Western Han Dynasty.
Zhao was born in a poor family. When she was born, her parents didn't want to raise her, so they abandoned her and took her back for three days. When I was a little older, a good woman in Chair Zhao entered the palace as a maid-in-waiting, belonging to Yang Afei's family, and studied singing and dancing. Because its dance is as light as swallow and phoenix dance, it is named "Feiyan".
In 18 BC, Emperor Hancheng ascended the throne for more than ten years, at the age of 30, but there was no surviving prince in the harem. I once went incognito and came to Yang Agong's mansion. Yang Afei called out all the good women who were locked in the house to please Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty. Zhao's charming eyes, beautiful voice and graceful dance suddenly fell into the emperor's eyes.
Emperor Han Chengdi took her back to the palace. Zhao played hard to get and refused to be emperor for three consecutive nights, which aroused the emperor's desire to conquer, and he was lucky every night and could never leave her. Later, I heard that she had a sister named Zhao Hede, who was very beautiful, gentle and charming. Even Zhao was ashamed, so I ordered her to be recruited into the palace. The sisters were "all family members, all people who specialize in harem".
When the pregnant concubine in the harem was discovered by Queen Xu's sister, Zhao took the opportunity to report that Queen Xu and others cursed the harem woman and asked for help. The queen mother was furious when she learned that, and ordered a thorough investigation, so she abolished Queen Xu. Later, Emperor Han Chengdi wanted to make Zhao the queen, but the Queen Mother disliked her humble birth, not a noble woman, and disagreed, but in fact Wang was also a civilian.
Later, Emperor Cheng of Han Dynasty first named Zhao's father as the Hou of Chengyang, which changed her humble status. After that, Zhao Yanfei was made queen, and Zhao Hede was made Zhao Yi, who granted amnesty to the whole world. Zhao became a queen. Although she gained the most prominent position among women, the emperor's love for her gradually declined, and he loved her sister Zhao Hede more.
Zhaoyang House, the palace where Zhao Hede lived, was extremely luxurious, with bright red atrium and fresh paint. The threshold is decorated with brass and painted with gold. The steps of the upper temple are made of white jade, and the bars exposed on the inner walls of the temple are decorated with gold rings. At the same time, it is embedded with lantian jade wall, pearls and jade feathers, which is the most luxurious of all palaces. There has never been such a luxurious palace since the harem.
Although Zhao's sisters have been spoiled for more than ten years, they have no children. Later, Liu Xin, the king of Dingtao, came to Chang 'an, and her grandmother, Empress Fu, bribed Zhao's sister with many gold and silver jewelry and precious cloth before she got through the joints. With their help, the childless Han Emperor named his nephew Prince Wei Liu.
In 7 BC, Emperor Han Cheng died in Zhao Hede's bed. Emperor Cheng has always been strong and has never been ill. He was fine the night before he died. He got up in the morning and got dressed, ready to see Ada, the king of Chu Si. But Liu Li, the king of Liang who just put on pantyhose and couldn't wear clothes, suddenly froze and couldn't speak. He was bedridden after a stroke and died soon. When the ruling and opposition parties shook, the minister denounced Zhao's disaster. Zhao Hede committed suicide.