Sima Daozi
By 396, Emperor Xiaowu was spending so much of his time on drinking and women that he was not tending to important matters of state. His favorite consort was the beautiful Honoured Lady Zhang. In late fall 396, when she was almost 30 years old, Emperor joked at a feast saying, "Based on your age, you should yield your position. I want someone younger." That night, after Emperor Xiaowu fell drunk, she ordered all the eunuchs away, bribing them with wine, and then ordered her servant girls to suffocate Emperor Xiaowu by putting a blanket over his face. She further bribed the attendants and claimed that the emperor died suddenly in his sleep. The death was not investigated and the next day, Sima Dezong assumed the throne as Emperor An, with Sima Daozi as regent.