After fu plotted against Cao Cao, the matter was revealed, and the whole family was imprisoned. At dawn, Cao Cao sent the yulin general Xi Wei (郗郗郗) into the palace to collect the empress's seal.
Emperor Xian, worried and sleepless, wandered in the apse, and when he saw Xi Wei bringing troops into the palace, he asked Xi Wei, "Why did you break into the palace without following the edict?" Xi Wei bowed down and echoed, "On the orders of Duke Wei, collect the Empress Seal." Emperor Xian, knowing that the matter had been exposed, collapsed to the ground.
Xi Huan rushed to the harem, and Empress Fu had just gotten up. Xi Huan also ignored Empress Fu, went straight to the female official in charge of the seal, asked for the queen's seal, and fled away.
Empress Fu knew that the matter was exposed, and was very anxious, and she could not think of a countermeasure, so she hid in the inner wall of the pepper room behind the palace.
After a while, Shang Shu ordered Hua Xin (Zi ZiYu) to lead five hundred soldiers to the apse and forced the maids to ask about the whereabouts of Empress Fu, but the maids only said that they did not know.
Hua Xin arranged for all the soldiers to search for Empress Fu everywhere, but none of them were missing. Hua Xin expected that Empress Fu must be hidden in the wall of the secret room, so he asked the soldiers to smash the wall to find it. Not long after, Empress Fu was found.