Zhengde Emperor
The Zhengde Emperor, who was childless, lacked an heir and Zhu had been pushing for his son to take over as heir apparent. The rumors were ignored by the emperor, who did not respond to the allegations. By the end of 1514, Zhu was so emboldened that he began to refer to himself as emperor and issued his commands as imperial edicts. This too was ignored by the Zhengde Emperor.