Wei Qing
After Princess Pingyang offered the singer Wei Zifu to Emperor Wu as a concubine c. 139 BC, Wei Qing followed as an accompanying gift and served as a horseman at Jianzhang Camp (建章營, Emperor Wu's Royal Guards). However, as his sister gained the Emperor's love and fell pregnant, near-disaster would befall Wei Qing. The powerful Grand Princess Guantao (館陶長公主) Liu Piao (劉嫖), the mother of Empress Chen Jiao, angry that Wei Zifu had siphoned off the imperial favor from her daughter, kidnapped Wei Qing and wanted to kill him privately as retaliation. However, Wei was rescued at the last moment by his friends, a group of fellow palace guards led by Gongsun Ao (公孫敖). In response to the incident and as a sign of annoyance towards Empress Chen and her mother, Emperor Wu appointed Wei Qing the triple role of Chief of Jianzhang Camp (建章監, equivalent to a chief security officer), Chief of Staff (侍中) and Chief Councillor (太中大夫), effectively making him one of Emperor Wu's closest lieutenants. He also publicly made Wei Zifu a consort (夫人, a concubine position lower only to the Empress), and rewarded other members of her family. This marked the beginning of the rise of one of the most influential clan in the political history of Western Han – the Wei/Huo family.