The Qianlong Emperor has always been sentimental, and has loved countless women in his life, but only 42 can really enter the harem. However, entering the palace as a concubine does not mean sitting back and relaxing, some of them are favored by the emperor, while some of them are not favored all their lives. There was a woman who, when she was only 14 years old, was lucky enough to receive a favor from the emperor, and then left the house alone for 78 years, but in her later years she became the real winner of the harem.
This woman is The Wan Concubine Chen, the Qing history does not record much about her before entering the palace, posterity only knows that her father is Chen Yanzhang, from the surname can be seen that she is a Han woman, so the family lineage at that time should not be high. When Qianlong had not yet ascended the throne, she had already married into the royal palace, and at the age of 14, she was favored by her husband for the first time, and she thought that she would be loved by her husband in the future, but she did not expect that Qianlong seemed to forget her from then on.
After Qianlong ascended the throne, according to the palace regulations, he was to be canonized for his wives and concubines, and other women were crowned concubines, and she only got the status of "constant presence", and only a year later was crowned as a "nobleman". It was not until the 13th year of Qianlong that the emperor named her a "concubine" and made her the head of the court, but after that, she ignored her for 46 years, which also made her heart no longer have expectations for the emperor.
Later, in order to fulfill his promise, Qianlong never exceeded his grandfather Kangxi for the time of emperor, so he abdicated and became the Emperor Taishang. Before abdicating, Qianlong ordered that all harem women be canonized once, and she was promoted to the position of "Concubine Wan" this time. In the harem for many years, she had long understood that the emperor was ruthless to herself, and all would not be sad because of being snubbed, but would live in the harem plainly and leisurely.
In the 6th year of Jiaqing, she was already more than 80 years old, and became the highest-ranking concubine in the harem with her longevity, and was also respected by the six palaces. The emperor was also very filial to her, and ordered her to be honored as a "graceful princess". After another 6 years, she finally came to the end of her life and died at the age of 92. It was only at this time that people realized that she had been alone in the harem for 78 years, which was really regrettable.
Looking at her life, the grace of 14 years old also made her have a glimmer of hope for the future life, but the days of being alone in the 78 years shattered all her desires, and her life was not pampered, let alone her own children. Fortunately, she did not grieve because of this, but spent her life open-mindedly, not only becoming a rare long-lived concubine, but also being respected by everyone in the harem in her later years, which can be described as the real winner of the harem.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty