The word mother and son are not without reason, some people in the palace are favored by virtue of beauty, and some people rely on family lineage to make the emperor treat each other differently, but these two ways of getting favored are not safe in the palace that deceives me, and the women in the palace can rely on their children the most.
If her child one day ascends to the throne, then this woman will be completely turned over, so the child is even more important to the women in the palace than the emperor's favor. Most of the children here refer to the crown prince, after all, china's feudal society is almost always a man as an emperor. However, there are exceptions, such as the Qianlong Emperor's concubine Wang Shi, who relied on his daughter to gain favor.
Wang's origin is not high, she is a woman under the Manchurian White Banner, and the opportunity to enter the palace to serve the emperor is the greatest luck in her life, so she does not have the luxury of getting the favor of the emperor after entering the palace. She and Qianlong had an age difference of more than thirty years, and after she entered the palace, some of the more senior concubines who accompanied Qianlong when she was in the palace had already died, so it was reasonable to say that her chances of being favored were very high.
I don't know whether it was because the appearance was not outstanding enough or the personality was not appetizing to the emperor, and the Wang clan was not favored. Judging from the portrait she left behind, Wang's appearance is indeed very general, and it does not even meet the image of beauty in most people's minds. If it weren't for her daughter Gu Lun and Princess Xiao, her desire to become a concubine could be said to be far away.
In the forty years of Qianlong, the Wang clan gave birth to the youngest daughter of Qianlong, the Tenth Daughter of the Emperor, that is, Princess Gulun and Princess Xiaoxiao, and Qianlong especially loved this daughter. It should be known that only the concubine born to the empress is eligible for the title of Gulun, and Princess Hexiao's mother, Wang Shi, is only an ordinary concubine, which shows how much Qianlong loves this daughter, and because of Princess Hexiao, Qianlong is extremely tolerant of Wang's family, even if she later committed the crime of murder, she did not tell her what happened, what is the matter?
It is recorded in the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty: (Qianlong) forty-three years, Concubine Huan, Wang Shi. The concubine died and was demoted to a concubine. Not much, resealed. The gist is that in the forty-third year of Qianlong, Wang Shi killed a palace girl, Qianlong bluntly said that he was the head of a country and did not casually execute his subordinates, Wang Shi was just a concubine and so vicious, if she was not severely punished, wouldn't everyone be able to flout palace rules? Qianlong spoke harshly, but in the end Wang Shi was only demoted by one level, and was not substantively punished.
As for the reasons, the "Qing Shilu" records that Qianlong said: "Because he remembered that he had given birth to a princess, he was treated leniently, and if it is based on the facts of the case, it is not too much to depose the name of Yi. ”
This sentence translated because she raised the princess, Qianlong would turn a blind eye to her, otherwise according to the original law, even if she was deposed and demoted to the cold palace, it would not be too much. There was no one in the harem who gave birth to a princess, not only the Wang clan could be tolerated to this point, from which it became more and more visible that Princess Hexiao's position in Qianlong's heart was more and more obvious.
Moreover, after the Wang clan was degraded, Qianlong was worried that Princess Hexiao would be discriminated against or treated unfairly because of the inferior grade of her birth mother, so it was not long before the Wang clan was restored to her position, which was only two or three months before and after, and Qianlong's partial attitude could be said to be Sima Zhao's heart.
Qianlong also kept explaining to everyone that he was a monarch who attached great importance to the fairness of the law, which made people cry and laugh a little.
Resources:
"Qing History Manuscript Biography of a Concubine", "Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty"