The current Empress of Great Yong, from the prominent Ruan clan of Jiangling. Her father was the Commander of the Step Guards and her uncle was the Duke of Bohai, the most distinguished of the titled nobility. The Ruan clan had produced high-ranking officials for four generations. She is described as kind, ignorant of the world's evils, possessing the virtue of forgiveness, and like a white lotus. She has no sons of her own. She grew gardenias. Years ago, she had no son and lived in fear, unable to speak up before the Emperor. She was pushed to extremity by the Imperial Noble Consort's ambitions. A year later she requested her own deposition and was sent to a royal nunnery with the title Miaoshan Zhenren.
