Thirteen years after Qianlong, Empress Fucha died of illness, and Qianlong was devastated. The affairs of the harem could not be left unattended, and on the recommendation of the empress dowager, Qianlong promoted Concubine Xian to imperial concubine and let her temporarily manage the six palaces as empress. At the same time, the Huifa Nara clan was raised from a blue flag to a yellow flag.
After three years of investigation, the Huifa Nala clan successfully passed the Qianlong pass and was officially made empress. Logically, huifa nara became empress, and her son was a concubine, and it was likely that he would become a prince in the future. However, we all know that the last to sit on the throne was Concubine Ling's son Yongyan (Jiaqing).
The Huifa Nara clan had two sons, the eldest son was the twelfth son of Qianlong, Ai Xin Jue Luo Yong Xuan, and the second son was the thirteenth son of the Emperor Ai Xin Jue Luo Yong Jing. Yongjing only lived for nineteen months, and then unfortunately died prematurely, so huifa nara clan had only one son left. After she became empress, she gave birth to Yong Xuan, so Yong Xuan can also be regarded as a righteous concubine.
Not only that, Yong Xuan was also deeply loved by Qianlong, and the history books recorded him: "The talent is pure, and the sex is outstanding." On the day he was born, Qianlong rushed back from Changchun Garden. After Qianlong saw his son, he specially wrote a poem to commemorate it, and also shared his joy with the courtiers.
Yong Xuan was Qianlong's concubine, and Qianlong was also very fond of Yong Xuan, so it can be seen that it is still very likely that Yong Xuan will inherit the throne. However, after Qianlong's succession, why didn't he make his successor son the crown prince, but pass the throne to Jiaqing? In my opinion, there are several reasons.
First, did not come out of grief
The relationship between Qianlong and the Fucha clan has always been rumored to be a good story, and since he took the throne, Qianlong has always wanted to make his eldest son the crown prince. Because before this, the Qing Dynasty had not yet appeared as the emperor who succeeded to the throne as the eldest son. Therefore, as soon as Qianlong ascended the throne, he secretly established a reserve and made his eldest son YongLian the crown prince.
Unfortunately, Yonglian died at the age of nine, and later Empress Fucha gave birth to Yongzhen, and Qianlong intended to make him crown prince. However, Yong Chun was even more miserable, and he died before he was two years old. After that, Empress Fucha did not give birth to a son, and even not long after, even she herself died. Qianlong suffered the pain of losing his son and wife one after another, and a series of blows had already made him disheartened.
Even when Yong Xuan was born, it had been several years since Empress Fucha had died, but Qianlong still did not come out of his grief. First, he was afraid of repeating the mistakes of Yong Lian and Yong Chun, and second, his feelings for his successor were far less deep than those for Empress Fucha, so it was not very easy for Yong Xuan to become the crown prince.
Second, the gap between concubines
Qianlong had a strong paranoia about making his eldest son the Crown Prince. If this is the case, and the next son is also a concubine, why didn't he choose Yong Xuan? Because in ancient times, although the concubine and the son of the successor were counted as the emperor's concubines, the gap was still very large.
Even if Huifa Nara became empress, she was still inferior to Empress Fucha. In the same way, Yong Xuan's concubine is incomparable with Yong Lian and Yong Chun. In addition, Qianlong did not like to follow up very much, and in his heart, Yong Xuan might not be a real concubine.
Third, there are more suitable candidates
There is also a very important reason, that is, at this time in Qianlong's heart, there is already a more suitable candidate, that is, the fifth son of the emperor, Yongqi. As we all know, Qianlong attaches great importance to Yongqi and is bent on cultivating him as an heir. With Yongqi present, Yongxuan is also difficult to become a prince.
Thirty years after Qianlong, Yongqi was made the Prince of Heshuorong, when he was twenty-four years old. What happened that same year? At the beginning of this year, Qianlong was on the southern tour road, and there was a fierce conflict with his successor, and finally the hair was cut off, and Qianlong confiscated four copies of his treasures. As soon as the Huifa Nara clan fell, Yong Xuan was one step away from the position of crown prince.
In March of the thirty-first year of Qianlong, Yongqi died of illness, and in July of the same year, huifa Nara died. First, when Yongqi died, Qianlong had no intention of thinking about other princes, and second, he died later, and qianlong gave her a funeral that was not as good as an ordinary concubine. It can be seen from this that Qianlong was extremely disgusted with him, and Yong Xuan's situation could be imagined.
Fourth, there is nothing to do
Some time after Yongqi's death, Qianlong fell into grief again. However, as he grew older, Qianlong also had to consider choosing a crown prince among the remaining princes. Logically, at this time, Yong Xuan may still have hope, after all, he is also Qianlong's son, and if he can be better than other princes in all aspects, it is also possible to become a crown prince.
But in the forty-first year of Qianlong, Yong Xuan died at the age of twenty-five. That is to say, by the time Qianlong really wanted to establish a reserve, Yong Xuan was already gone, and there were few remaining princes. Among the few remaining princes, Qianlong had to choose the relatively excellent Yongyan to inherit the throne.
When Yong Xuan was just born, he was indeed favored by Qianlong, but unfortunately, he gradually lost his father's love, and he did not even have a knighthood before his death. The author believes that Yong Xuan's subsequent encounters are inseparable from his birth mother. Many princes of the Qing Dynasty were "precious by their mothers", but Yong Xuan was disliked by Qianlong because of his mother.
If he could get Qianlong's favor in the future, Yong Xuan's status could also be improved, and if there was no haircut, Yong Xuan might still have a knighthood. Of course, even if he really became the crown prince, he could not escape the tragic fate of his untimely death, in that case, Qianlong would have to experience a blow. Overall, Yong Xuan's fate was indeed miserable.
(Reference"Qingsushi")