Empress, she declined, believing that it was inappropriate for her to overly interfere in political matters. She also lived frugally, and once, when Emperor Wen needed medicine for diarrhea that required ground pepper—then an exceedingly expensive spice that was more expensive than gold and which ladies of the court used for cosmetic purposes—he sought the ground pepper from her and found that she did not use it, on account of its overly expensive cost. Also once, when he wanted to reward the wife of his official Liu Song (劉嵩) with a gold-decorated dress, she also had none to give. When her cousin, Cui Changren (崔長仁), committed crimes that called for the death penalty, Emperor Wen was initially considering pardoning on Empress Dugu account, but she stated that she could not, based on familial relations, break the laws, and Cui was executed. She respected the official Gao Jiong, as his father, Gao Bin (高賓), served on her father's staff and was a trusted advisor for him. She had, however, a poor relationship with her sister-in-law, the wife of Emperor Wen's brother, Yang Zan (楊瓚), the Prince of Teng—Northern Zhou's Princess Shenyang (daughter of Yuwen Tai, the father of the first three Northern Zhou emperors)–and Princess Shenyang used witchcraft to curse her. When Emperor Wen ordered Yang Zan to divorce Princess Shenyang, Yang Zan refused, and when Yang Zan died in 591, it was commonly believed that Emperor Wen poisoned Yang Zan. Late in Emperor Wen's reign In 595, the luxurious summer vacation palace, Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), was completed by the general Yang Su. When the frugal Emperor Wen saw how luxurious the palace was, he was unhappy and angrily stated, "Yang Su expanded the efforts of the people to construct this palace. The people will despise me." Soon thereafter, however, when Empress Dugu arrived at the palace as well, she advised Emperor Wen to comfort Yang Su, and when he subsequently summoned Yang Su to the palace, she stated, "You know that this old couple had little to enjoy, so you decorated this palace in this way. Is it not that in doing so, you are being both faithful and filial?" She gave him a large award of money and silk. In 598, Empress Dugu and her younger brother, Dugu Tuo (獨孤陀), born of different mothers, were embroiled in a mysterious scandal. It was said that Dugu