Wenning decided to marry Lingnu into a new family. So great was her desire to preserve her honor and her allegiance to the Cao family that she cut her hair and ears as a sign of refusal. In 5 February 249, Cao Shuang and his two brothers, Cao Xi (曹羲) and Cao Xun, left the imperial capital Luoyang to accompany the emperor Cao Fang to pay respects to his ancestors at the Gaoping Tombs (高平陵). After that, they proceeded to go on a hunting expedition outside Luoyang. Sima Yi, a famous general who Lingnu's father admire, seized the opportunity to launch a coup d'état and take command of the military forces stationed in Luoyang. When Sima Yi took control of the capital city of Luoyang and issuing a memorial which listed out the various crimes Cao Shuang had committed. Cao Shuang surrendered and gave up his powers after further receiving reassurance that he and his family would be spared. After this, Sima Yi then went to see Empress Dowager Guo and coerce her into issuing an imperial order for the arrest of Cao Shuang and his brothers under charges of treason. In 9 February, Cao Shuang, his brothers, and his supporters were charged with treason and executed along with their families. After Cao Shuang's death, Xiahou Lingnü cut her nose in response to her family's request to sever ties with the disgraced Cao clan. Aghast at her actions, they said, "Our life in this world is like a particle of light dust on a blade of weak grass. Why torment yourself to this extent? Besides, your husband’s family is completely exterminated. What purpose does it serve for you to persevere in your chastity?". Insulting her family's cowardly act, Lingnu replied:"I have heard that a person of worth does not renounce his principles because of changes in fortune, nor a righteous person change his mind with a view to preservation or destruction. While the Cao flourished, I was bent on keeping my chastity. Now that they have declined and perished, can I bear to renounce them? Even animals do not act this way; how can I?" When Sima Yi heard of Lingnu's heroic action, he praised her loyalty and allowed her to adopt a son, relative to Cao Shuang, to continue the Cao lineage. The coup d'état increased the Sima family's influence and paved the way for the eventual replacement of