However, she was domineering, ruthless, exceedingly powerful, and influential during her husband's reign, and assisted the emperor in running the empire.
Yang Jian and Lady Dugu loved each other dearly, and it was when they were both young that he swore an oath that he would never let another woman have his children.
It was at that time when Duchess Dugu sent Yang Jian a message that stated, "This is like riding a wild beast.
Empress Dugu was said to be studious, and she and Emperor Wen often conferred with each other the important matters of state and rewards and punishments.
Also once, when he wanted to reward the wife of his official Liu Song (劉嵩) with a gold-decorated dress, she also had none to give.
When her cousin, Cui Changren (崔長仁), committed crimes that called for the death penalty, Emperor Wen was initially considering pardoning on Empress Dugu account, but she stated that she could not, based on familial relations, break the laws, and Cui was executed.
She had, however, a poor relationship with her sister-in-law, the wife of Emperor Wen's brother, Yang Zan (楊瓚), the Prince of Teng—Northern Zhou's Princess Shenyang (daughter of Yuwen Tai, the father of the first three Northern Zhou emperors)–and Princess Shenyang used witchcraft to curse her.
At this time, both Empress Dugu and Yang Su's wife, Lady Zheng, was seriously ill, and it was suspected that they were afflicted by cat spirits.
Emperor Wen ordered Dugu Tuo and Lady Yang to commit suicide, but Empress Dugu went on a three-day hunger strike to try to save them, stating, "If Tuo had harmed the people, I would not dare to say anything, but his crime was on my account, and therefore I dare to beg you to spare his life."
However, on one occasion, when Emperor Wen happened to see the beautiful granddaughter of Yuchi Jiong, who had been forced into slave labor after her grandfather's death, he had sexual relations with her.
When Emperor Wen did return to the palace after midnight, Empress Dugu was still waiting for him, and she wept and begged him for forgiveness.
When Empress Dugu heard that Gao Jiong, whom she had respected previously, refer to her as "a woman," she became secretly resentful of him.
Empress Dugu pointed out that, in effect, he was not truthful, and Emperor Wen began to distance himself from Gao.
Another person who began to draw Empress Dugu's ire was her son, Yang Yong, the Crown Prince.
The second son of Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu, Yang Guang, the Prince of Jin, who had ambitions of displacing his older brother, put on pretenses of living frugally (which pleased Emperor Wen) and loving no one but his wife Princess Xiao (which pleased Empress Dugu).