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In 180 BC, after the death of her mistress, Emperor Gao's wife Grand Empress Dowager Lü, and after the officials then slaughtered the Lü clan, they offered the throne to Prince Heng over his nephew Emperor Houshao -- whom they accused of not being imperial blood.
She was the daughter of Princess Yuan of Lu (the only daughter of Emperor Gao (Liu Bang) and his wife Empress Lü) and her husband Zhang Ao (張敖, son of Zhang Er), the Prince of Zhao and later Marquess of Xuanping.
The Lü Clan Disturbance (Traditional Chinese: 呂氏之亂) (180 BC) refers to a political disturbance after the death of Grand Empress Dowager Lü of Han Dynasty, the aftermaths of which saw the clan of the deceased empress' family, the Lü consort clan being overthrown from their seats of power and massacred, the deposing of the puppet Emperor Houshao, and the accession to the throne of Emperor Wen.
He tried to protect Ruyi, Prince Yin of Zhao, his younger half-brother, from being murdered by Empress Dowager Lü, but failed.
(Princess Yuan of Lu's husband and Zhang Yan's father, Zhang Ao (張敖), had, during Emperor Gao's reign, been the Prince of Zhao, but was removed as part of the policy against non-Liu princes, so Grand Empress Dowager Lü might have felt that making Zhang Yan a prince would be considered to be more justified; when Zhang Ao died in 182 BC, he was posthumously honored as a prince.
Liu Ruyi, (198 BC – 194 BC) fourth son of Emperor Gaozu of Han, killed by Empress Dowager Lü.