During the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (1796-1820), it was the transition period of the Qing Dynasty from prosperity to decline, and along with the problems in society and the boiling of public resentment, negative news about members of the imperial family continued to appear, which greatly reduced the image of the imperial family. In order to reverse this bad situation, the Jiaqing Emperor severely punished the "absurd princes", and one of them who was punished very seriously was Yuxing the Prince of Yu. So, what ridiculous things has Yuxing done? What kind of heavy punishment did he end up with?
The first Prince of Yu, Duoduo
Yuxing was the fifth grandson of Duoduo the Prince of Yutong, the third son of Prince Xiuling of Yuliang, and his biological mother was the Li clan of The Lateral Fujin. Since Yuxing was a prince of Shu chu and had two older brothers in front of him, there was theoretically no possibility of inheriting the title. Because of this, Xiu Ling neglected to discipline Yu Xing, always by his nature, and gradually made him a ridiculous prince who was idle. There are many problems with Yuxing's body, especially lust, which is the most reprehensible, and it is this that eventually led to his disgrace.
In the fifty-second year of Qianlong (1787), Prince Xiu Lingxue of Yuliang died, and the title was inherited by his eldest son Yufeng. Yu Feng'an served as a prince for 26 years, and did not make mistakes during this period, only because in the eighteenth year of Jiaqing (1813), when Lin Qing, the leader of the Tianli Sect, led people to attack the Forbidden City, his subordinates accompanied him in rebellion, so he was removed from the throne. Coincidentally, also because his subordinates accompanied Lin Qing in rebellion, Yu Feng's younger brother Yu Rui was also dismissed from his post and punished with a knighthood. As a result, the title of Prince Yu fell to the absurd prince Yu Feng.
Yuxing raped the maid and caused her to commit suicide, committing a major crime
After Yu Feng attacked the knighthood, he was cautious and careful at first, but as time went on, he gradually revealed his true nature. Seven years later (1820), while still guarding his mother's funeral, Yufeng, who was full of courage, took advantage of his family's lack of attention and raped one of his long-coveted servants. Unexpectedly, this lady was a virtuous woman, and because she was ashamed and indignant after her loss, she actually committed suicide in the palace. Just as the so-called "good things do not go out, bad things spread thousands of miles", Yufeng's ugly deeds were soon discovered by the Zongren mansion and played to the Jiaqing Emperor.
When the Jiaqing Emperor heard the report, his nose was crooked with anger, and he repeatedly scolded Yufeng for being absurd and shameless and a beast. Soon, the old emperor issued an edict announcing that Yufeng had been stripped of his title and imprisoned forever on the grounds that Yufeng had committed despicable and ugly acts on the grounds that he had "not cherished himself and acted arbitrarily during the funeral of his mother", in accordance with the principle of "the prince breaking the law and committing the same crime as the common people". Since the title of Prince of Yu belonged to the "hereditary succession" of the hereditary title, after Yufeng was deposed, the Jiaqing Emperor had his younger brother Yuquan take over.
The Jiaqing Emperor angrily rebuked Yuxing and imprisoned him
There is another theory that when Yuxing did the ugly deeds, it was at the beginning of the death of the Jiaqing Emperor and the ascension of the Daoguang Emperor to the throne, because it coincided with the period of national mourning, so the new emperor was furious and made a severe punishment for him. However, according to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", it was the Jiaqing Emperor (Qing Renzong) who made the decision to cut the knighthood and imprison Yuxing, and the edict used "relatives mourning" (death of parents) rather than "national mourning" (death of the empress), so this statement is doubtful.
Zi Yufeng, attack. In the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, Lin Qing's change belonged to the rebels and sat on the throne. Brother Yuxing, attack. Twenty-five years, adultery, suicide. Emperor Renzong said: "The decree of the state, the prince and the common people share it." Yu xing does not cherish himself, arbitrarily interferes with discipline, and the funeral is not enough, the national service has not been removed, and the crime is great! "Sit and take the knighthood, and imprison it." Released three years later. Brother Yu quan, attack. See Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 218, Liechuan No. 5.
Although the Daoguang Emperor hated Yuxing, he still released him
But no matter what, Yufeng was stripped of his knighthood and imprisoned, and his life was completely ruined. However, Yu Feng committed a major crime, but did not want to stay in the prison honestly for a lifetime, in order to regain his freedom, he bribed the empress dowager Niu Hulu (Empress Gongci, the stepmother of the Daoguang Emperor) to help her turn around. The empress dowager took people's money and eliminated disasters for others, so she often said good things for Yuxing in front of the Daoguang Emperor, and the emperor did not want to disobey his stepmother's will, so he ordered a pardon for Yuxing three years later.
After his release, Yuxing was discredited and resembled the living dead
Although he lost his knighthood and lost face, for Yuxing, whose family was well off, surviving was not a problem. In this way, Yuxing lived without skin and face for N years, until he finally died at home. It is only during these days that he has been ridiculed and ridiculed, and whether he can live peacefully with his wives, concubines, and children is unknown to outsiders. After all, a discredited person who lives only to live, from the moment the image goes bankrupt, he is actually dead.