In people's impressions, Qianlong should be a very filial to his mother Empress Xiaoshengxian (Zhen Huan's prototype) emperor, but what is played in the "Biography of Zhen Huan" is only superficial harmony, in fact, if you carefully read the relevant historical materials, you will find that Qianlong is not so obedient to his mother, for example, after his death, Empress Xiaoshengxian asked her son Qianlong to choose another noblewoman in the Eight Banners and be made empress, this noblewoman is likely to be the later Shungui, but Qianlong did not appoint an empress in the end.
Today's author is talking about a very favored concubine in the early years of Qianlong, for her, Qianlong also turned his face with his mother, Empress Xiaoshengxian, and this woman was Yi Concubine.
On the sixth day of April in the 60th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Yi Concubine Bai was born in a relatively solid family in Jiangsu, and there were nine servants in the family, if there were no accidents, Yi Concubine would most likely marry a door-to-door prince when she grew up, because with her origin, she was not eligible to enter the imperial palace.
However, during the Kangxi to Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, officials in the Jiangnan region had the custom of offering beautiful women to the imperial court, but they did not expect that Yi Concubine would become one of these tribute women, so in about the fifth year of Qianlong, the 19-year-old Yi Concubine was sent to the imperial palace, and the historical records for this are as follows:
"The general official Jin Puzhu said that Emperor Hu was a nineteen-year-old beauty last night, and she was very spoiled. The empress dowager rebuked him for confusing the emperor, and for this reason, he did not enter his mother. Frequently make the original journey, threaten this Ji to play tricks, and avoid the blame of his mother. ”
According to the "Diary of the Chengzheng Yuan" and the records of the officials who visited the Qing Dynasty, at that time, Qianlong could be said to be addicted to wine and was very fond of Yi Concubine, and the empress dowager (Empress Xiao Shengxian) was worried that Yi Concubine would seduce the emperor and delay the government, so she punished this favored concubine (Yi Concubine), but what people did not expect was that Qianlong was actually angry about this and did not see his mother, and led his favorite Concubine (Yi Concubine) to the Yuanmingyuan frequently to play, in order to avoid the punishment of the empress dowager.
There are four things that can be seen in Qianlong's favor for Concubine Yi at that time.
Second, in February of the sixth year of Qianlong, just a few days after Yi Concubine was made a concubine, Qianlong gave the empress and the concubines the milk cakes, candied hawthorns and black dates sent from Shengjing, in addition to the additional reward to Yi Concubine's second box of dried fruits, which was not even given to Empress Xiaoxian.
Third, in the seventh year of Qianlong, Qianlong issued a decree that Yi Concubine's family should be included in the banner and incorporated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the leadership of Tongyuan Zuo of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and subsequently, Si Anning, the right envoy of Jiangnan Province, took all of Yi Concubine's family to Beijing, and Qianlong rewarded her with certain fields, houses, and property, and arranged for several of Yi Concubine's brothers to enter the Ministry of Internal Affairs as errands.
Fourth, in the tenth year of Qianlong, Yi Concubine's sister Xiao Bai entered the imperial palace through the draft of the palace women of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in the thirteenth year of Qianlong, she was given the title of Chang zai, called Bai Chang Zai.
However, just ten years after Qianlong, Yi Concubine seems to have lost her favor, and it is difficult to see any records related to her in the historical records, the only record is that in the seventeenth year of Qianlong, Yi Concubine went to Tanglin with Qianlong, his successor, Jia Guifei, and Ying Concubine to attend the ceremony of Consecration of Empress Xiaoxian, Emperor Huixian and Emperor Zhexian.
Five years later, on May 15 of the twenty-second year of Qianlong, Yi Concubine died of illness in the palace at the age of 36, and Qianlong ordered her to quit the dynasty for two days. As for Concubine Yi's sister Xiao Bai (柏常居), she was not promoted for a long time, and it was not until the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong that she was symbolically promoted to the title of White Nobleman, and was a truly unfavored person.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, Diary of the Chengzheng Yuan, Song And Sale of the Qing Palace Internal Affairs Office