He Lingsi came from a humble background, born into a butcher’s family. She later entered the palace through the imperial selection process and eventually became empress.
Since the reign of Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a vicious cycle of alternating dominance between maternal relatives and eunuchs had taken shape. By the time of Emperors Huan and Ling, the eunuch faction led by Cao Jie and Wang Fu (precursors to the Ten Regular Attendants) monopolized court affairs, sold official…