Her father, Zhen Yi (甄逸), served as the Prefect of Shangcai County in the late Eastern Han dynasty.

[4] Lady Zhen's mother, whose maiden family name was Zhang (張), was from Changshan Commandery (常山郡; around present-day Zhengding County, Hebei).

Once, when she was eight years old, her sisters went to the balcony to watch a group of horse-riding performers outside their house but Lady Zhen did not join in.

Lady Zhen replied, "I heard that virtuous women in history learnt from the successes and failures of those who lived before them.

"[6] Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, after the death of Emperor Ling, China entered a chaotic period because the central government's authority weakened, and regional officials and warlords started fighting each other in a bid to gain supremacy.

The common people suffered from poverty and hunger, and many wealthy households who owned expensive items such as jewellery offered to sell these valuables in return for food.

Lady Zhen's mother was so deeply touched that she cried, and she started treating her daughters-in-law better and allowed them to accompany and wait on her.

Lady Zhen did not follow her husband and remained in Ye (in present-day Handan, Hebei), the administrative centre of Yuan Shao's domain, to take care of her mother-in-law.

She also often urged Cao Pi to take more concubines so that he would have more descendants, citing the example of the mythical Yellow Emperor.

Once, Cao Pi wanted to send Lady Ren (任氏), one of his concubines who fell out of favour with him, back to her family—which meant that he was divorcing her.

She constantly sent messengers to inquire her mother-in-law's condition, but refused to believe them when they reported that Lady Bian was getting better, and she became filled with greater anxiety.

Later that year, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian, whom he paid nominal allegiance to, to abdicate in his favour, effectively ending the Han dynasty.

On 4 August 221,[b] he sent an emissary to Ye (in present-day Handan, Hebei) to execute Lady Zhen by forcing her to take her own life.

One year after Lady Zhen's death, Cao Pi instated Guo as the empress despite opposition from an official, Zhan Qian (棧潛).

[20] The historical text Han–Jin Chunqiu (漢晉春秋) mentioned that Lady Zhen's body was desecrated after her death: her face was covered by her hair and rice husks were stuffed into her mouth.

[21] The Wei Shu (魏書) mentioned that Cao Pi issued an edict to Lady Zhen, asking her to move to the newly constructed Changqiu Palace (長秋宮) in Luoyang.

Cao Pi intended to fetch Lady Zhen from Ye to Luoyang in autumn, when the weather was cooler.

He believed that there were specific reasons as to why Cao Pi did not instate Lady Zhen as the empress after he became the emperor, and why he forced her to commit suicide.

He suspected that Lady Zhen had probably committed an offence, which was not recorded in the official histories of the Cao Wei state.

[27] Xi Zuochi's historical text Han–Jin Chunqiu mentioned that Cao Rui had all along been aware of his mother's fate, and he was angry and sad about it.

He had her buried with the funeral rites befitting that of an empress, but also ordered her dead body to be treated in the same manner as she did to his mother: hair covering face, mouth stuffed with rice husks.

Cao Rui was deeply aggrieved and he ordered Guo's dead body to be treated in the same manner as she did to his mother.

[29] Historian Lu Bi (盧弼) commented that Cao Rui – seventeen at the time of his mother's death – should have been aware of the circumstances rather than waiting for an explanation from Lady Li.

[30] The authoritative historical source on Lady Zhen's life is Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), which was written by Chen Shou in the third century.

In the fifth century, Pei Songzhi annotated Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other texts and adding his personal commentary.

[32] The attachment of the names "Fu" (宓; Fú) and "Luo" (洛; Luò)[33] to Lady Zhen came about due to the legend of a romance between her and Cao Zhi, which Robert Joe Cutter, a specialist in research on Cao Zhi, concludes to be "a piece of anecdotal fiction inspired by the [Luo Shen Fu (洛神賦; Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo)] and taking advantage of the possibilities inherent in a triangle involving a beautiful lady, an emperor, and his romanticised brother.

[35] If true, this would be a forename unique to early China, as the Chinese character 洛 has been a toponym since it entered the language.

[36] The poem contains references to the spirit of the Luo River, named Consort Fu (Chinese: 宓妃; pinyin: Fúfēi),[37] interpreted as a proxy for Empress Zhen by those who believed in Cao Zhi's infatuation with her.