At the time, Empress Dowager Chu was burning incense in the Buddha Hall of Chongde Palace. A palace eunuch announced, "The Prince of Langya has an urgent memorial." Empress Dowager Chu stepped out of the Buddha Hall and saw Sima Yu, Prince of Langya, and Emperor Sima Yi standing below the steps before the hall, their expressions unusual. She asked, "What is it, young imperial uncle?"
Sima Yu, Prince of Langya, sighed and said quietly, "Grand Marshal Huan Wen has submitted a memorial. It concerns a matter of great importance. I ask Your Majesty to decide." With that, he presented Huan Wen's memorial.
Empress Dowager Chu lived in Chongde Palace, eating vegetarian meals and chanting Buddhist scriptures, and had long ceased attending to affairs of state. She knew Sima Yu would never have disturbed her unless something earth-shattering had happened. Leaning against the doorway, she immediately read several lines of the memorial: "-The emperor has long suffered from impotence and studied the Male-Female Qi Harmonization Technique under Lu Song, a sorcerer from Pengcheng. His favorites Xiang Long, Ji Hao, Zhu Lingbao, and others attended him in his private bedchamber. The two court beauties, Lady Tian and Lady Meng, bore three sons, whom he intends to appoint as heir apparent and princes, shaking and displacing the imperial foundations. The common people marvel in bewilderment, and all at court harbor doubts. Slander destroys virtuous conduct, and wickedness corrupts morality. This is a grave threat to the imperial inheritance, upon which its survival or destruction depends-"
The hand in which Empress Dowager Chu held the memorial trembled slightly. She said, "I myself had already suspected this-"
Emperor Sima Yi asked, trembling, "Your Majesty, does Grand Marshal Huan Wen intend to rebel and usurp the throne?"
Empress Dowager Chu looked sorrowfully at Emperor Sima