What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Ai Xin Jueluo Hongli, the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, during his reign the era name was "Qianlong". Qianlong was also one of the long-lived emperors in Chinese history, aged 89.
Because of his longevity, Qianlong's successors, The two concubines of Empress Fucha and the fifth prince Yongqi (both of whom Qianlong had once favored as crown princes), died before Qianlong. Especially long after the death of the fifth prince, Qianlong did not consider the matter of establishing a crown prince. When he was old and had to consider a successor, there were actually very few princes who could choose for Qianlong.
Compared with Qianlong's longevity, the concubines in charge of the harem did not live longer than Qianlong.
The first empress was Empress Xiaoxianchun of the Fucha clan, and her affection for Qianlong was deep and deep, and Qianlong also looked up to her.
The harem is a place of beautiful women, and gentle women are sometimes like a mighty sea, able to quickly drown rigid men.
Wei Jiashi received Qianlong's blessing. After the clouds and rain, the rainbow is charming. Wei Jiashi was loved to death by Qianlong. In the tenth year of Qianlong (1745), Wei Jia was made a nobleman, and in the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), Wei Jia was made a concubine. In the same year, Qianlong's original concubine, Empress Xiaoxianchun of the Fucha clan, died, and the Nala clan, who was then a noble concubine, was promoted to imperial concubine, and in the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), she was crowned as the second lord of the harem. In the thirtieth year of Qianlong (1765), the "Empress Dowager Contradiction" broke out, and the successor Empress Nala clan was "abolished without abolishing", while the linggui concubine at that time was promoted to imperial concubine and became the new lord of the harem.
However, this situation did not last long, and soon there was another change, Qianlong forty years (1775), ling guifei, who had been in charge of the harem for ten years, died of illness at the age of 49, and Qianlong's harem once again appeared in the situation of "no owner in the middle palace".
The work of the lord of the harem in commanding the concubines of the harem and in charge of the affairs of the six palaces is very tedious and extremely important, and the harem must not be left without a master for a day, so it is inevitable to continue to select the lord of the middle palace.
The harem has no owner, and it must be a chicken feather.
However, after forty years of Qianlong (1775), Qianlong was no longer crowned as an imperial concubine and a noble concubine. After Ling Guifei, who would be in charge of Qianlong's harem?
In the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), many ministers asked for "sealing the queen", and Qianlong made his attitude clear - "no longer seal the queen".
First of all, Qianlong's feelings for Empress Fucha were very deep, and after Empress Fucha's death, Qianlong did not want to stand up again, but only because of the insistence of the empress dowager and the "side room fu jin given by the imperial examination, the rank is equal", so he had to do it.
Secondly, Qianlong was already 68 years old at that time, and the Manchurian ministers and Mongol princes at that time were almost all the children and grandchildren of Qianlong, and their daughters were even younger and younger, and Qianlong thought that "it is better to be comparable to Qianlong and honored."
Third, Qianlong believed that among the harem concubines at that time, there was indeed no one who could assume the position of the lord of the harem.
Of course, there is also the most important reason, that is, the negative impact of the "empress contradiction" on Qianlong, Qianlong's series of ruthless performances and unfair treatment of the successor empress Nala clan have made her criticized by the imperial historians and public opinion, and in the face of such a public opinion environment, if Qianlong has the idea of choosing the lord of the middle palace again, is it not equivalent to putting a shackle on himself?
The matter of sealing was directly vetoed by Qianlong. But this does not mean that the harem will not be ruled by anyone. According to the "Biography of the Later Concubines", the harem system of the Qing Dynasty was "the empress in the middle of the palace; the imperial concubines one, the noble concubines two, the concubines four, the concubines six, the nobles, the constant presence, and the promises are not fixed", and the empresses, imperial concubines, and noble concubines are no longer crowned, so the concubines have become the highest-ranking concubines in the Qianlong harem.
Let's take a look at the women who were called "concubines" in the Qianlong harem at that time.
The first is Princess Yu, who was crowned "Concubine" in the Tenth Year of Qianlong (1745), the biological mother of the Fifth Brother Yongqi. The second was Concubine Shu, who was crowned "Concubine" in the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), the biological mother of the Emperor's tenth son. The third was Concubine Ying, who was crowned "Concubine" in the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong (1759), the adoptive mother of the seventeenth son of the Emperor, Yong Xuan. The fourth is Concubine Rong, also known as the "Fragrant Concubine" in history, who was crowned as a "Concubine" in the thirty-third year of Qianlong (1768). The fifth was Concubine Huan, who was crowned "Concubine" in the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong (1774), the biological mother of the Tenth Princess.
From the time when they were crowned concubines, it can be seen that Princess Yue is undoubtedly the most senior of these five concubines, and can be called the first of all concubines. According to the records of the "Rules and Regulations of the Great Qing Dynasty", in the forty years of Qianlong (1775), the ranking of "concubines" in the Qianlong harem was also: YuFei, Shufei, Yingfei, Rongfei, and Concubine Huan.
Therefore, the concubine who gave birth to the fifth brother Yongqi, "temperamental and cautious, quality Bing roujia", is a low-key, rigorous and unobtrusive person. She is virtuous and gentle, never flaunting and competing for favors, and she does not participate in the palace fight between yin and yang and her face. After Wei Jia, Princess Yue was the de facto lord of the harem. In the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong (1792), Princess Yu died of illness at the age of 79. She reigned as a concubine for 47 years and ran the harem for 15 years.