Empress Dowager Hu poisoned her own son, Emperor Xiaoming

After the death of Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke, he was succeeded by his only 5-year-old son, Yuan Xue, as the 9th emperor of Northern Wei.

Yuan Xue's biological mother, Hu Chunhua, and her son Yuan Xu were made crown princes at the age of 2. In order to prevent foreign relatives from interfering in politics, according to the ancestral system of "the death of the son and the noble mother" of the Northern Wei Yanting, Hu Chonghua was to be given death. And Xuanwu Emperor Yuan Ke loved this beautiful and extraordinary woman too much, plus Hu Chonghua also had a high literary talent, and now the "Dictionary of Chinese Literature and Art", she is also included in the Chinese female lyricist, whose representative is "Yang Baihua Song".

Yuan Ke, in order to protect Hu Chonghua's life, also ordered the abolition of the old law, and from then on, Northern Wei no longer followed the Han Dynasty's decree to kill the mother of the crown prince. Coupled with the protection of eunuchs and courtiers, Hu Chonghua was not given death.

Due to The young age of Yuan Xue, his birth mother Hu Chonghua took charge of the imperial government as empress dowager. Empress Dowager Hu took pleasure in squandering and liked to reward her with a fast. At one event, the empress dowager spoke to open the imperial court treasury. The princes and concubines who let her play with her can do their best to carry the silk veil, and there is no restriction on taking more or less. Several officials were overwhelmed by silk because they had taken too much, one fell and injured his leg, and the other sprained his waist.

Empress Dowager Hu was an indulgent woman, and she married Zheng Yu and Xu Qi, two lovers, and ordered them to take turns to sleep and have fun night and night. As he grew older, Yuan Xue became increasingly disgusted with the political dictatorship of his mother and the erosion of life.

In the first month of 528, Yuan Xue secretly ordered the governor Erzhu Rong to lead troops to Luoyang and coerce Empress Dowager Hu to hand over power. Because of the leaks, Empress Dowager Hu was furious when she found out, so she ordered her confidants to poison her son Yuan Xue to death.

Yuan Xue reigned for 14 years, died at the age of 19, and was given the title of Emperor Xiaoming and emperor Suzong.

(History Of Writing 107, March 18, 2021)