Around late May or early June 247, Cao Shuang wanted to further dominate the Wei government, so he used a series of political manoeuvres to consolidate and concentrate power in the hands of himself and his clique. He heeded the advice of his close aides He Yan, Deng Yang, and Ding Mi (), and relocated Empress Dowager Guo (Cao Rui's widow) to Yongning Palace () so that she could not interfere in politics. Sima Yi was unable to stop this, among other contrivances, pushing the relationship between him and Cao Shuang to a breaking point. Cao Shuang himself became increasingly distrustful and wary of Sima Yi. At the time, there was a saying in Luoyang which went: "He (Yan), Deng (Yang) and Ding (Mi) create turmoil in the imperial capital."