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How the process went is not exactly clear, but at some point, at the recommendation of Bing Ji (丙吉), Huo reached out to a commoner—the grandson of former Crown Prince Liu Ju, the son of Emperor Wu and Empress Wei Zifu who committed suicide in 91 BC after being forced into an unsuccessful rebellion against his father—and therefore Empress Shangguan's grand nephew.
At the suggestion of another senior official Bing Ji (丙吉), Huo made a great-grandson of Emperor Wu (whose grandfather Liu Ju had been Emperor Wu's crown prince by Empress Wei but who subsequently fell out of favor and was killed in a disturbance, with his issue being removed from the imperial household), Liu Bingyi (later Liu Xun 劉詢) emperor.