Rebirth of the General's Granddaughter Chapter 75.2An Wangfei's Intentions [1]
Empress Liu could be said to be a virtuous andshrewd woman.
On the matter of naming a Taizi, she wavered. Afterall, First Wangzi was a Di son and the eldest.
Other women would have certainly killed First Wangziwhile her husband was in power. But Née Liu did not do so and actually treatedher husband's deceased wife's son well. Even when the Emperor was discussingnaming a Taizi, she prevented her family from interfering.
Finally, the Emperor named Née Liu's eldest son asTaizi. She was afraid that First Wangzi would be upset, so she took her Taizison and swore an oath in front of First Wangzi to never harm his big brother.
So when Xuanwu Emperor ascended the throne, heimmediately bestowed the title "Ning Wang" to his older brother.
Ning Wang and Née Liu had a very good relationship.They were as close as biological mother and son.
Actually, this Liu Empress Dowager was Zi You's AuntNée Liu's distant cousin. Née Liu's father, Liu Ruiyuan, was a second-ranksenior minister. He was the Empress Dowager's cousin's son, from a differentbranch of the family.
There was another Wei Wang, the Emperor's thirdbrother. Wei Wang's mother was the previous Emperor's favored Liang Fei.
This Wei Wang was one of the powerful contenders ofthe throne then. If not for Empress Dowager Liu and her father Duke Anguoobtaining the previous emperor's trust and respect, the throne would not be thecurrent Emperor's.
To make a metaphor: the previous Emperor was like LiShimin, Empress Dowager Liu was like Empress Changsun, and Liang Fei was likeLi Ke's mother: Yang Fei [all historical figures and references].
The last to mention was the Emperor's youngerbrother: An Wang.
An Wang, Shangguan Yixuan, was the previousEmperor's sixth son. He was thirty-four years old and the current EmpressDowager's most beloved son.