Speaking of the most famous prince of the Qing Dynasty, everyone will invariably think of Qianlong's son who is both literate and martial, the fifth brother Yongqi, since the son is excellent, his mother Yu Guifei must also be very favored. You are wrong, in fact, Princess Yu guifei was an unloved person, who had been a concubine for 47 years, but she had twice become the head of the concubines in the Qianlong harem.
The house of sinners came out of the beard
Regarding the origin of Princess Yugui, the main history records it very simply, saying that she was a Native of Nanyuan Haizi and her father was Erjitu, a member of the Outer Lang. Deeply picking up historical materials, it turned out that Yu Guifei was still a sinner. According to the "Eight Banners of Manchurian Clan Genealogy", Princess Yu guifei's ancestral name was Haichaolong, who was originally a subordinate of Wu Sangui, who participated in the San Francisco Rebellion, and was punished for his crimes and clothed with blue flags and became slaves.
However, since Princess Yugui's father, Erjitu, was able to serve as a foreign minister, this showed that the crimes of her ancestors were not too serious.
On the fourth day of the first month of May in the fifty-third year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Yu Guifei was born, three years younger than Qianlong, and according to records, in the fifth year of Yongzheng, Qianlong, who was the fourth son of the emperor, married the Fucha clan of Concubine Fujin, and at this time there were already eight or nine concubines around him, and it was speculated that Yu Guifei should be among them. However, although Princess Yugui was also a beautiful woman, her origin affected her position in the palace to a certain extent, and at that time, Princess Yugui was a low-ranking concubine next to the fourth son of the Emperor, Hongli.
Twice he became the head of the concubines
In September of the thirteenth year of Yongzheng, Hongli, the master of Princess Yugui's service, ascended to the throne and became the lord of the Qing Dynasty. Immediately, she moved into the Forbidden City, and her initial name was Chang Zai, which was called Hai Chang Zai. Often in the harem, only higher than promised, it can be seen that the status of Princess Yu guifei at the beginning was indeed very low.
However, after only two years, Princess Yugui was made a nobleman, and her treatment began to improve, and she gradually had the opportunity to serve and sleep. On the sixth day of the first month of February in the sixth year of Qianlong, it was a day when the fate of Princess Yugui changed, on this day, she gave birth to the fifth brother Yongqi, and was immediately crowned as a concubine of Yue, and finally obtained the throne of the inner court, and Princess Yugui also moved into the Yonghe Palace and became the main seat of the Yonghe Palace.
In the first month of the tenth year of Qianlong, Qianlong was canonized on a large scale for the first time, and Yu Guifei went further, promoted to Yu Concubine, and after Jia Guifei, became the head of the concubine throne. However, with the passage of time, as well as the rise of ShuFei, Lingfei and others, the status of Yu Guifei began to decline, and this situation lasted for forty-seven years.
In the first month of the fortieth year of Qianlong, the Emperor Ling, who was favored by Qianlong, died, and at this time there were no empresses, imperial concubines and noble concubines in the Qianlong harem, and it was Yu Guifei who ranked first in the concubine position, and Yu Guifei once again became the first of all the concubines. But at this time, Yu Guifei's son Yongqi had been dead for nearly ten years, and her health was not as good as before, but life would continue, and on May 21, 57, Qianlong, who had just celebrated her birthday, died of illness in the palace at the age of 79.
At that time, Qianlong was not in the palace, but he issued four edicts in succession, arranged a funeral for Concubine Yu, and posthumously named her a noble concubine. Regarding the funeral of Princess Yugui, one thing is more puzzling, that Qianlong did not arrange for Yongqi's wife Xi Lin Jue Luoshi to wear filial piety with his son Mianyi.
The loss of a beloved son
Speaking of The life of Princess Yugui, the luckiest thing is to give birth to the fifth brother Yongqi, but the most regrettable thing is the early death of Yongqi. Yongqi was Qianlong's older son, with outstanding talent, and was among Qianlong's many sons. Moreover, Yongqi also saved the life of his father Qianlong during the Dragon Boat Festival in the twenty-eighth year of Qianlong, and if he could live in peace, it was very possible to inherit the throne.
However, what is unexpected is that when Yongqi was 25 years old, she suffered from a stubborn disease called epistemic gangrene, so she died young, which became the biggest regret of Princess Yugui's life. Since Yongqi's death, Princess Yugui has been living in seclusion, and even though she was the first concubine for more than ten years, she recorded very few activities.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, General Genealogy of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty