During the Southern Dynasties, Xiao Yi, Prince of Xiangdong of the Liang Dynasty, grew estranged from his consort, Xu Zhaopei, and for years refused to visit her chambers. Unable to bear the loneliness, Xu Zhaopei grew deeply despondent. She warmly befriended other neglected concubines but treated those favored by Xiao Yi with bitter hatred, as if they were mortal enemies.
In 547 AD, Xiao Yi, the Prince of Xiangdong, was stationed in Jingzhou. By then, his consort Xu Zhaopei had reached middle age. During a visit to the Yaoguang Temple in Jingzhou to burn incense, she began an affair with the monk Zhiyuan. From then on, she often had her trusted maid secretly bring Zhiyuan through a side gate into her chambers at night, only to have him slip away at dawn.
Not long after, she became involved with another young man, He Hui, and they often met secretly at the Puxian Nunnery outside the city. Soon, she noticed that Xiao Yi had a trusted aide named Ji Jijiang, who was young, handsome, and exuded an air of elegance. Lady Xu used her charms to seduce him. Ji Jijiang was over a decade younger than her, but with heavy makeup and deliberate styling, she still appeared youthful. Ji Jijiang once sighed and remarked, "The old dog of Baizhi can still hunt; the old horse of Xiaoliyang can still gallop as if flying; I never expected that Lady Xu, though half-old, still retains her charm and remains so amorous!"
Consort Xu's debauched and shameless behavior eventually reached Xiao Yi's ears, but to save face, he tolerated her for a long time. Later, when his beloved Consort Wang died suddenly, someone secretly reported that Consort Xu had poisoned her. Unable to endure any longer, Xiao Yi ordered Consort Xu to commit suicide. After she threw herself into a well and died, Xiao Yi's anger remained unquenched, so he returned her body to the Xu family, refusing to recognize her as his consort any longer. She ultimately met a tragic end.
Later, the idiom "Xu Niang in Her Prime" came to describe a woman who, though older, still retains her charm.
Source: *History of the Southern Dynasties*, "Biography of Emperor Yuan of Liang's Consorts"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "徐娘半老" came to describe a woman who, though older, still retains her charm.