She was the daughter of Hu Changren (胡長仁) the Prince of Longdong, who was the brother of Gao Wei's mother Empress Dowager Hu—making her and her husband cousins.
Empress Dowager Hu had been discovered by Gao Wei to have carried out an affair with the Buddhist monk Tanxian (曇獻) in 571, and he put her under house arrest.
Ashamed and wanting to please her son, she summoned Hu Changren's daughter to the palace and dressed her in the best clothes.
Not confident that she had sufficient persuasive power, however, she had to flatter and give gifts to Lady Lu, requesting her help.
However, Lady Lu did not relent in her hopes of making Consort Mu empress, stating to Gao Wei, "How can a son be crown prince and a mother be a servant girl, a concubine?"
It was said that within a month, Empress Hu began to show symptoms of psychosis, often mumbling to herself or laughing without cause.