 Lady Arute's maternal grandfather, Duanhua, was a former political rival of the emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi.It was said that there was an argument between the Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an over the choice of empress.Ci'an, who favoured Lady Arute, claimed that the empress should possess high moral standards, while Cixi felt that the empress should be wise and shrewd.