Yongzheng was diligent in government and loved his post all his life, and after he took the throne, he was busy with government affairs all day long, almost even the harem had no time to take care of it, he took the throne in his prime, and became emperor for 13 years, during which the harem only gave birth to 2 children, which shows how much he ignores the harem. Therefore, in his harem, almost all the women who were high were with him in his early years, but there will always be people who are exceptions, and the one I want to talk about today is his favorite concubine in his later years. Yongzheng, who was 51 years old at the time, fell in love with a 14-year-old girl, pampered her for 6 years, and left her 5 words before her death, which was touching.
This fortunate young girl was The Humble Concubine Liu Shi, born in the 53rd year of the Kangxi Dynasty, and her father was the steward Liu Man. It can be seen from her surname that she is a Han woman, and the Qing Dynasty respected the Manchus, so even if a Han woman in the harem enters the palace, she does not have a high rank, and the same is true of the Liu clan. In the 7th year of Yongzheng, she entered the palace at the age of just 14, and was given the title of Liu Promised, ranking at the lowest rank of concubines. However, Liu Shi's appearance is beautiful, his personality is lively and spirited, even the majestic Yongzheng cannot avoid being attracted to him, and he feels good about her, so he often flips her brand.
According to historical records, she was promoted to Liu Guiren in the 8th year of Yongzheng, which shows that the emperor was very fond of her. It is also true that in the 11th year of Yongzheng, she was pregnant and gave birth to a son in the Yuanmingyuan, which was also the last son in Yongzheng's life, when he was 56 years old. Yongzheng, who had come to get a son, was very excited, and named him Hongyao, the mother factor gui, on the second day after giving birth, Liu Shi was promoted to concubine, named "Qian", and successfully became a high-ranking person in the harem.
Hongyao has been smart and studious since childhood, and Yongzheng is also particularly fond of him, and their mother and son are proud of the spring breeze in the harem for a while. Unfortunately, the good times were not long, Yongzheng in his later years due to obsession with Dan medicine, long-term taking after the loss of body, coupled with years of staying up late work, he soon fell seriously ill, on the verge of death, he called Liu Shi to the front, looked at his young face, and reluctantly said 5 words to her, that is: I can't bear you! On his deathbed, for the emperor, what he did not want to give up and missed must be Jiangshan, but Yongzheng could still say goodbye to her, which showed that he really liked Liu Shi, and the 5 words he was dying also intended to protect Liu Shi and want future emperors to treat her kindly.
In the 13th year of Yongzheng, Yongzheng died, and Hongli took the throne, which was for Qianlong. Due to the age difference, Qianlong was also very fond of his youngest brother Hongyao, and even respected Liu Shi, so at the beginning of his reign, he promoted Liu Shi to concubine. The higher the position, the better the treatment, and the Liu clan continued to live in the harem until Qianlong died in 32 years, at the age of 54.
I have to say that Liu's luck in life was good, Yongzheng was also particularly fond of her, and the records of historical records also confirmed this, Yongzheng harem, there were only 8 concubines, of which 7 were rewarded by Kangxi, and the remaining one was Liu. Xiaobian feels that the reason why Liu Shi can be favored, in addition to his appearance and personality, is also related to Yongzheng itself. Yongzheng's early concubines were all given by Kangxi, and most of them were political marriages, Yongzheng thought carefully, naturally he also took more precautions against these concubines, and in his later years, the court and imperial power tended to be stable, and at the right time, he met such a naïve and lively girl, and he naturally felt pity.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty