Shen Yi'an, the second legitimate son of the Shen family, welcomed a daughter named Shen Taozhi. After Taozhi's birth, Shen Yi'an passed the palace examinations with flying colors, placing third and receiving an appointment as an editor at the Hanlin Academy, a seventh-rank post. Because Taozhi was born prematurely and was frail, her biological mother did not care for her.
