In her role as empress consort, she accompanied the Qianlong Emperor on many leisure and hunting trips, as well as ancestral worship ceremonies.

Although never officially deposed, she lost her authority as chief of the imperial harem in 1765, reputedly because she cut her hair, an act that was considered a grave offense according to ancient Manchurian custom.

[4] However, the Draft History of Qing is noted to be riddled with errors, due to a hasty publication that precluded an editing process.

[3] After the death of Yongzheng, Hongli succeeded him as the Qianlong Emperor, and Lady Nara was granted the title "Consort Xian" (嫻妃) on 23 January 1738.

[b][9] Her pleasant character also won the favour of Qianlong's mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing,[12] and on 9 December 1745, she was promoted to "Noble Consort Xian" (嫻貴妃).

The Emperor later promoted Lady Nara to the position of "Imperial Noble Consort"[15][12] (皇貴妃) via an edict issued on the 5th day of the 4th month of the 13th year of his reign,[d] giving her administrative powers over the harem as acting empress.

[19] According to the Draft History of Qing, in 1765, during the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, the Step-Empress accompanied the Emperor on a tour to Southern China.

[19] After the incident and following the Step-Empress's return to the capital, she was still granted the same amount of daily food and charcoal rations as would be accorded to an empress, and she was given five eunuchs and two cooks.

The Draft History of Qing, which has accuracy and reliability concerns, states that she died on the Jiawu,[j] while modern works typically list her death as having happened on the 14th day of the 7th month.

By the Qianlong Emperor's order, the Step-Empress's funeral was treated as that of an Imperial Noble Consort,[28] but in reality, the ceremony was a much more scaled-down affair.

For example, the usual cancellation of imperial cabinet meetings for five days was not carried out, and the requirement for princesses, nobles, and high-ranking court officials to attend the mourning sessions was waived.