relented and spared Empress Yang. In 580, Emperor Xuan, who had by then passed the throne to his young son Emperor Jing (by his concubine Zhu Manyue) and become retired emperor, but who was retaining imperial powers, died suddenly. Yang Jian seized power as regent. It was at that time when Duchess Dugu sent Yang Jian a message that stated, "This is like riding a wild beast. You will not be able to come off of it. You need to fight hard to stay on." After Yang Jian defeated the general Yuchi Jiong, who rose against him after he took power, he had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him in 581, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen. He named Duchess Dugu Empress and their oldest son, Yang Yong, Crown Prince, while granting their other children, including Northern Zhou's Empress Yang, royal titles. Life in power as an empress Early in Emperor Wen's reign Empress Dugu was said to be studious, and she and Emperor Wen often conferred with each other the important matters of state and rewards and punishments. Emperor Wen favored and respected her, and she and Emperor Wen became known as "the Two Holy Ones" inside the palace by officials, because she was openly interfering in the governing and she was helping to alleviate the problems. As a result, she excelled in her role as a wise counselor, a virtuous assistant, and the mother of the empire. It was not infrequent that when he hosted imperial meetings she would accompany him almost all the way into the meeting hall and she often asked eunuchs to listen in on the meeting. When she believed that he made the wrong decisions, she would advise him to change. She would also usually wait near the meeting hall for the meeting to be done and then return with him to the palace. Whenever the emperor accepted the proposals and petitions sent by the officials, she was by his side and talked to the emperor and the accepted official in many matters. As she lost her parents early in her life, she was particularly touched when she saw officials with both parents, and she would pay due respect to the officials' parents when she saw them. When officials suggested that, in accordance with rules set in Zhou Dynasty, that the officials' marriages must be approved by the