She was the first wife of Liu Cong (Emperor Zhaowu).
[1][2] Her clan, the Huyans, were probably a noble clan of Xiongnu, as a large number of Han-Zhao officials were named Huyan.
[4] However, he did not create Liu Can crown prince because he had promised to make Liu Ai (劉乂), son of Liu Yuan's second wife Empress Dan, who had yielded the throne to him after Liu He's death, crown prince.
(He also had an affair with Liu Ai's mother Empress Dan, and this affair was part of the reason.)
When Empress Dowager Dan died in 310, Empress Huyan began to try to secure the crown prince position for her son, telling him: Liu Cong did not follow her suggestion at this point, but the seeds were sown, and eventually in 317, long after her death, he would depose Crown Prince Ai and make Liu Can crown prince.