Empress Zhen (simplified: 甄氏, traditional: 甄氏, pinyin: Zhēn Shì), posthumously Empress Wenzhao (文昭皇后), was from Wuji in Zhongshan. She married Yuan Xi, Yuan Shao’s son; when Cao Cao took Ye in 204 and the Yuan brothers fled north, she remained in Ye. Cao Pi took her as a consort; she bore Cao Rui (the future Emperor Ming of Wei) and a daughter (Princess Dongxiang). Cao Pi favoured another consort, Lady Guo (Empress Guo). In 221, after Cao Pi became emperor, he ordered Empress Zhen to commit suicide. Lady Guo was made empress. When Cao Rui succeeded (226), he posthumously honoured his mother as Empress Wenzhao and built a temple for her. Her story is often cited as an example of the precarious fate of imperial consorts.
Empress Zhen甄氏
Yuan Xi's wife; after Ye fell became Cao Pi's consort and mother of Cao Rui; forced to commit suicide in 221 when Cao Pi favoured Empress Guo; posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao.