 Wang and Zhao then accused Empress Dowager He of having carried on an affair with Jiang.Zhu secretly ordered them put the empress dowager to death by strangulation, with Aqiu and Aqian beaten to death, and had Emperor Ai issue an edict claiming that she was having affair with Jiang and committed suicide to offer apology, posthumously demoting her to commoner status.Besides this, Emperor Ai suspended business for three days to show his mourning for her.