In the late Western Han Dynasty, Dong Xian, a young, handsome, and sycophantic courtier, gained the deep favor of Emperor Ai. Whenever the emperor went out, he would always ride in the same carriage as Dong Xian; in the palace, he could not be without Dong Xian for a moment, they were virtually inseparable.

After Dong Xian gained favor, his family also prospered. His wife was summoned to the palace to enjoy luxuries, his sister was chosen as a concubine, his father was enfeoffed and granted noble titles, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law also became high officials. Emperor Ai even specially built a magnificent residence for him, exquisitely decorated, with pillars and window lattices wrapped in brocade. Of the treasures presented from all directions, the emperor would rather use lesser ones himself and bestow the most precious upon Dong Xian.

Despite all this, Emperor Ai felt he had not been good enough to him and sought an opportunity to make him a marquis. Soon, an opportunity arose. Emperor Ai had no sons and was frail and often ill. The King of Dongping and his queen conspired in superstitious activities, secretly cursing the emperor to die early so that the King of Dongping could ascend to the throne. Unexpectedly, this treasonous act was discovered by two court officials, who jointly wrote a memorial, reporting it to Emperor Ai through the chief eunuch Song Tong. As a result, the King of Dongping committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the queen was executed.

Afterward, rewards for merit were to be distributed. Someone, catering to Emperor Ai's wishes, suggested changing the record to state that the memorial was delivered through Dong Xian instead of Song Tong, thus making it possible to enfeoff Dong Xian as a marquis. Emperor Ai was delighted to hear this and personally drafted an imperial decree, enfeoffing Dong Xian along with the two court officials. After the decree was issued, Prime Minister Wang Jia and Censor-in-Chief Jia Yan vehemently opposed it. They suggested that court officials should discuss whether Dong Xian had contributed to exposing the conspiracy and whether he deserved to be enfeoffed. Emperor Ai, feeling guilty, dared not do so and had to shelve the matter for later discussion.

In 2 BC, Emperor Ai's grandmother, Empress Dowager Fu, passed away. Emperor Ai, claiming Empress Dowager Fu's dying wish, further granted Dong Xian an additional two thousand households. Wang Jia received the decree, sealed it, and returned it to Emperor Ai, offering further remonstrance. In his memorial, he wrote: “Dong Xian, relying on Your Majesty's favor, has become arrogant and dissolute, showing no restraint. His ill reputation has spread far and wide, inciting public indignation. As the saying goes, 'pointed at by a thousand people, one dies without illness.' This subject is chilled by his future fate. I hope Your Majesty considers the difficulty of our ancestors' founding the dynasty and refrains from acting in this manner any further!”

Wang Jia's action greatly angered Emperor Ai. Emperor Ai sent envoys to force Wang Jia to commit suicide by poison, but Wang Jia sternly refused and died of starvation in prison. After Emperor Ai caused Wang Jia's death, no one dared to directly remonstrate with him anymore. Thus, he appointed Dong Xian as one of the three grand ministers, the Grand Marshal, even though Dong Xian was only twenty-two years old at the time.

From then on, Dong Xian manipulated court affairs; all memorials had to pass through him to reach Emperor Ai, and even the newly appointed prime minister feared him. His power grew ever greater, almost on par with Emperor Ai's. However, Dong Xian's good fortune did not last long. This situation continued for little more than a year. In 1 BC, Emperor Ai fell ill and died, and Dong Xian lost his patron. Empress Dowager Wang dismissed him from office. On the very day he was dismissed, Dong Xian and his wife, consumed by fear, committed suicide. The confiscated family property, when sold, amounted to forty-three million coins.