Did Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Sima Yao really be strangled to death by his wife?

Sima Yao, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty, is considered to be one of the funniest emperors in China. He was actually suffocated to death by his wife in bed because of a drunken joke.

Sima Yao was the third to last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, with the courtesy name Changming. When he first became emperor, he also worked hard to govern, be diligent in government affairs, and care for the people. Xie An and Xie Xuan also defeated the invading former Qin army and saved Jiangnan from falling. This is the famous Battle of Feishui.

But since the victory in the Battle of Feishui, Sima Yao has completely fallen. He first squeezed out the hero Xie An, causing Xie An to die of depression. Then Sima Yao ignored the government affairs and handed over all national affairs. Handed to his brother Sima Daozi and nephew Sima Yuanxian. These two people were a pair of treacherous ministers, causing confusion among the courtiers and widespread complaints among the people. Sima Yao was immersed in drinking and having fun, drinking and sleeping all day long, rarely awake.

Sima Yao has three thousand beauties in his harem, but the one he loves most is Zhang Guiren, and he is tired of being with her every day. Zhang Guiren relied on pampering to become a coquettish person, behaved domineeringly, and said everything in the harem. Everyone in the harem was afraid of her. One night Sima Yao and Zhang Guiren were drinking together. Zhang Guiren was too drunk and tried his best to refuse. Sima Yao also drank too much, so he joked with Zhang Guiren: "You are old and have not given birth to a son. I should have given up on you a long time ago. There are many young and beautiful concubines in the palace. If you don't drink with me anymore, , I will change to another concubine."

This was just a drunken joke, but Zhang Guiren took it seriously. She was afraid that she would be abandoned by the emperor because of her old age and beauty, so she even considered regicide. That night, after she got all the eunuch guards responsible for guarding drunk, she sneaked into the palace with a few confidants and maids, and suffocated Sima Yao, who was sleeping soundly, to death with a quilt. Poor Sima Yao was only 35 years old when he died.