Lv Zhi married Liu Bang, curator of Surabaya Pavilion, and gave birth to Liu Ying and Princess Luyuan. After Liu Bang ascended the throne, Lv Zhi participated in the killing of Han Xin and Peng Yue. After Emperor Liu Ying ascended the throne, she was honored as the Empress Dowager, becoming the first empress and empress dowager recorded in history, and the first woman to become an imperial concubine after Qin Shihuang unified China. During her reign, she respected Huang Lao's learning, implemented the policy of sharing interest with the people, supported Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty to abolish carrying calligraphy, encouraged folk books to collect donations, and restored old books. Doing nothing laid a solid foundation for the governance of Wenjing later. In the later period of the rule, Lu brothers and sisters were reused, which opened the precedent of the exclusive rights of consorts in the Han Dynasty.
In August 180 BC, Lv Zhi died and was buried in Changling. "Historical Records of Lv Hou" commented that during her administration, "the government can't leave the government, and the world is silent; Punishment is rare, and sinners are hope; Personnel have self-cultivation, food and clothing have self-cultivation, which has given great affirmation.