empress deng and all of the imperial consorts were sonless for a long time. (emperor he was described to have had a number of sons who died in young age; it is unclear whether empresses yin or deng ever gave birth, but it appears that they did not.) late in emperor he's reign, he had two sons—whose mothers were not mentioned in history—liu sheng (劉勝) and liu long (劉隆). under the superstition of the time, it was thought that they might survive better if they grew up outside the palace in light of their other brothers' early deaths, so both were given to foster parents.