Family Background and Marriage To Emperor An
Yan Ji's father Yan Chang (閻暢) was the son of Yan Zhang (閻章), an official under Emperor Ming whose two sisters were imperial consorts, and who was described as a capable official whose promotion however was halted by Emperor Ming, who did not want to appear nepotistic.
When Ji was young, she was described as intelligent and beautiful, and in 107, she was selected as an imperial consort for Emperor An, who was 13, and she quickly became his favorite. In 108, he created her empress—even though she was also described as jealous, to the extent that that year, she poisoned Consort Li, who had given birth to a son of the emperor, Liu Bao (劉保).
Read more about this topic: Empress Yan Ji
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