Her father Shen Yizhi (沈易直) had, at one point, served in the imperial government as Dali Zheng(大理正), second-in-command of the Emperial Court, and later was honored by Emperor Daizong as Mishu Jian (秘書監), the director of the Palace Library.
She was not designated Li Chu's wife—and neither was any other consort of his, including the most prominent one, a Consort Cui whose mother was the Lady of Han, a highly honored woman at court due to her status as the sister of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Yang Guifei.
Consort Shen was left at Chang'an, and she was captured and taken by Yan forces to Luoyang and detained in the palace jail.
Emperor Daizong designated Li Kuo as crown prince, and he repeatedly sent imperial messengers throughout the realm to try to locate Consort Shen, but was unable to do so.
In 765, a Buddhist nun named Guangcheng (廣澄) claimed that she was Consort Shen—but after interrogation, it was shown that she merely served as Li Kuo's wet nurse.
Li Zhenyi thought she might have been Empress Dowager Shen, and reported this to Emperor Dezong.
Emperor Dezong thus sent an adoptive grandson of Gao Lishi's, Fan Jingchao (樊景超), to meet her.
After the attendants left, Lady Gao protested to Fan that she was forced to claim herself to be Empress Dowager Shen.
[8] Starting in January 2017, The Glory of Tang Dynasty (大唐荣耀) aired on Beijing Satellite TV.
Jing Tian (The Great Wall (film)) starred as Shen Zhenzhu with Ren Jialun playing her husband.