In 1586, Zheng was pregnant and the emperor decreed that she should be made Imperial Noble Consort. His advisers argued that doing so was not appropriate, as this would raise her in status above
Consort Gong, who had given birth to the emperor's eldest son. This was widely perceived as a precursor to the emperor declaring Zheng's son,
Zhu Changxun,
heir apparent, skipping over his eldest son by Gong. Officials argued that, if Zheng were to be made Imperial Noble Consort, then the emperor should simultaneously elevate Gong to Noble Consort. The emperor, however, rejected his officials advice. Over the succeeding decade, the emperor's officials also attempted to persuade him that abandoning the tradition of
primogeniture had made Zheng the object of anger and disgust, not only in the court, but also across the country. Finally, the emperor declared his eldest son heir apparent in 1601 and gave Zhu Changxun the title Prince of Fu (福). However, he was not made to leave the imperial court in keeping with tradition until 1614, when Zhu's household moved to
Luoyang. From 1613, the
Wanli Emperor had persisted in making his disapproval of
Zhu Changluo evident by preventing the burial of
Crown Princess Guo in a manner befitting a crown princess — she was finally interred in 1615, after Noble Consort Zheng's son left the palace. Zhu was killed by
Li Zicheng in 1641. == Titles ==