King Jing was the son of Consort Huo, and King Xin was the son of Consort He Zhaoyi. Both Consort Huo and Consort He Zhaoyi were recommended to the Emperor by Empress Jin to help her vie for favor. At that time, she already had the prince and was competing fiercely with the Empress, fearing that the Empress would come up with some new tricks. So, she deliberately chose these two women, both attractive and of good character, that were easy to control as their backgrounds weren't noble and they weren't fiercely independent. To win them over, she allowed them to bear children and left them a path to retreat, so that they would be grateful and do their best to help her.
Between Consort Huo and Consort He Zhaoyi, the Emperor favored Consort Huo slightly more and also held King Jing in high regard. This caused Empress Jin to feel suspicious and discontent towards Consort Huo. After overthrowing the Empress, she couldn't wait to make her move against Consort Huo.
