Family Background and Marriage To Cao Rui
The future Empress Guo was from Xiping Commandery (西平, roughly modern Xining, Qinghai). Her family was a powerful clan in the area, but during the reigns of Cao Rui's father Cao Pi (Emperor Wen), it was implicated in a rebellion, and she, among others in her family, was confiscated by the Cao Wei government. She somehow became a concubine of Cao Rui, and he greatly favored her.
In 237, Consort Guo was involved an incident that led to the death of Cao Rui's first empress (and second wife), Empress Mao. Once, when Cao Rui was attending a feast hosted by Consort Guo, Consort Guo requested that Empress Mao be invited to join as well, but Cao Rui refused and further ordered that no news about the feast is to be given to Empess Mao. However, the news leaked, and Empress Mao talked about the feast with him anyway. He became exceedingly angry, and killed a number of his attendants whom he suspected of leaking the news to Empress Mao, and, inexplicably, ordered Empress Mao to commit suicide.
After Empress Mao's death, Consort Guo became the de facto empress, and her family members were given honorific titles (however, with little power). She was not created empress, however, until Cao Rui grew ill around the new year of 239. He died a month later, and Empress Guo became empress dowager, but not regent, over his adopted son Cao Fang.
Read more about this topic: Empress Guo (Ming)
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