As Consort To The Crown Prince
As a consort to the crown prince, Consort Ma was described to be excellent at serving her mother-in-law, Empress Yin Lihua, and she quickly became Empress Yin's favorite. She was also cordial and warm to her fellow consorts. As a result, she also became a favorite of Crown Prince Zhuang. One of her virtues was said to be her willingness — indeed, eagerness — to find appropriate beautiful ladies in waiting for Crown Prince Zhuang to have sexual relations with, because at that point Crown Prince Zhuang had not had many sons—something that might be considered unusual in modern times but was considered a major virtue at the time.
Consort Ma herself was childless. Her older sister's daughter, Consort Jia, was also a consort to the crown prince, and Consort Jia bore a son named Liu Da (劉炟). Crown Prince Zhuang instructed Consort Ma to adopt Prince Da as her son, and she did so. She raised him so carefully and lovingly that he never regarded anyone but her as his mother.
Read more about this topic: Empress Ma (Ming)
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