Her maternal grandfather was Later Han's first emperor Liu Zhiyuan.
Her paternal grandmother was a daughter of Later Tang's first emperor Li Cunxu.
According to chronicles of the time, Empress Song, therefore, ordered that one of the princes (her husband's sons) be sent for - Zhao Defong.
[3] Instead, the eunuch she sent (a man named Wang Ji'en) brought back Taizu's brother, Zhao Guangyi, the Prince of Jin, who had been manoeuvring to take the throne, and who Wang Ji'en felt would be more suited to ruling.
[3] Upon seeing Zhao Guangyi, she acquiesced to his appointment, possibly afraid that he might harm her and her son if she refused.