Her younger half-brother Wei Qing, born not long after her, was an illegitimate child from an extramarital affair by her mother with a low-level official serving the Princess's household.
After conducting an annual ceremonial ritual at Bashang (灞上, between present-day Baqiao District and Lantian County of Xi'an, Shaanxi) in the spring of 139 BC, Emperor Wu took the opportunity to pay a casual visit to his older sister Princess Pingyang, whose household happened to be nearby.
Upon hearing the arrival of the new girl, the extremely jealous and intolerant Empress Chen threw a tantrum and made sure Emperor Wu would abandon his idea of keeping Wei Zifu as a concubine.
By this point, Emperor Wu had just scored his first political victory with the successful intervention of Dong'ou and consolidated enough power, and thus no longer needed to appease Empress Chen and Princess Guantao.
His throne was previously under threat due to his political clash with conservative factions led by his grandmother during the failed 140 BC reform, and many nobles schemed of deposing him under the excuse of "being incapable of fathering children" (the inability to propagate royal bloodline was a serious matter), and making his distant uncle Liu An the successor.
Empress Chen's mother, Princess Guantao, then attempted retribution by kidnapping Wei Qing, who was then serving as a horseman in Jianzhang Camp (建章營, Emperor Wu's royal guards), and have him murdered.
However, Wei Qing was rescued from the princess' estate by his friends – a group of fellow palace guards led by Gongsun Ao (公孫敖), who reported the entire incident to Emperor Wu.
Following an investigation/crackdown under the widely feared prosecutor Zhang Tang (張湯), which saw the execution of more than 300 people, Empress Chen was officially deposed for this misconduct against imperial moral standards, and exiled to the remote and lonely Long Gate Palace (長門宮), a suburban household that Princess Guantao once offered to Emperor Wu as a gift for tolerating her scandalous relationship with her godson Dong Yan (董偃).
In 129 BC, Wei Qing, who was already a member of Emperor Wu's "insider circle" (內朝) of government officials, led an army of 10,000 cavalry and scored the first proper Han victory against the Xiongnu.
The legendary historian Sima Qian, despite often displaying a sceptical and condescending attitude towards Emperor Wu's extended families, described Empress Wei as "fine in virtues" (嘉夫德若斯).
The first trial began in early 91 BC involving Prime Minister Gongsun Ao (Empress Wei's brother-in-law) and his son, leading to their unexplained suicide in jail and the execution of their clan.
Because the physically deteriorating Emperor Wu was then staying at his summer palace in Ganquan (甘泉, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), he relied heavily on Jiang and Su for day-to-day information.
Jiang, with the approval from Emperor Wu, searched through various palaces, planted voodoo dolls and pieces of cloth with mysterious writings in the house of the "perpetrators", then condemned the victims on the spot.
His teacher Shi De (石德), invoking the infamous story of Zhao Gao's scheme to murder Ying Fusu and raising the possibility that Emperor Wu might already be deceased, suggested to Liu Ju to start an uprising to get rid of the villains.
Liu Ju initially hesitated and wanted to speedily proceed to Ganquan Palace and explain himself to his father, but when he found out that Jiang Chong's messengers were already on their way to report the false accusations, he decided to accept Shi's suggestion.
Emperor Wu, not believing it and correctly (at this point) concluding that Liu Ju were merely angry at Jiang Chong, send a messenger back to Chang'an to summon his son for an explanation.
By now enraged and really believing his son was going to overthrow him, Emperor Wu ordered his nephew, Prime Minister Liu Qumao (劉屈犛), to lead the regular Han army and put down the rebellion.
Crown Prince Liu Ju was later tracked down and cornered in Hu County (湖縣) by local officials eager for rewards, and committed suicide when it became obvious he could not escape.
Furious over the realization that the conspirators exploited his trust and plotted his son's death, he had Su Wen burned alive, Jiang Chong's immediate and extended family executed, and killed every official promoted for tracking down the Crown Prince.
To express his regret over causing his son's death, Emperor Wu also built the Palace of Son-Grieving (思子宮) and Platform of Longing for Return (歸來望思台), officially rehabilitating Liu Ju's name.