in 51, the woman who would eventually become his empress – consort ma, the youngest daughter of famed general ma yuan – would become a consort of his. she was 12, and he was 23. she would become a favorite of his, but never bore a son. her niece (the daughter of her older sister), consort jia, also a consort of crown prince zhuang, did give birth to a child—liu da (劉炟). at crown prince zhuang's direction, consort ma adopted consort jia's son as her own.