In the Qing Dynasty, after the death of the former emperor, the newly succeeded emperor would often honor the concubines of the former emperor as concubines and arrange their pension work properly. However, on the 15th day of Kangxi's death, Yongzheng issued an edict and severely reprimanded Kangxi's concubine, the 58-year-old Concubine Yi. Not only that, yongzheng and Qianlong also excluded concubines when they honored emperor xiandi's concubines.
(Yifei stills)
According to the Qing History Manuscript, the reason why Yongzheng wanted to humiliate Concubine Yi was because Concubine Yi did two things after Kangxi's death: one was that she did not obey the state ceremony and went on a soft bed with four people; and the other was to kneel in front of Concubine De when she performed the ceremony in front of the spirit.
When Yongzheng saw this, he was quite displeased, so he specially issued an edict to criticize her, saying that she was "similar in temperament to the empress dowager, completely ignorant of the state system, and even more arrogant." ”
In fact, before Kangxi's death, Concubine Yi was seriously ill and had difficulty walking. Therefore, after Kangxi's death, she could not walk with other concubines, so she had to take a soft car with four people. Moreover, her soft palanquin was also given by Kangxi himself, and allowed her to take the soft palanquin when walking in the palace.
As for kneeling in front of Princess De, if it is according to the rank, among the four concubines of Kangxi, she is already the second, ranking before Princess De.
Therefore, it seems that there is nothing wrong with what Concubine Yi has done.
Among the Kangxi concubines, Concubine Yi was actually a person with the most exquisite skills. Therefore, soon after she entered the palace, she was favored by Kangxi, and in the absence of an heir, she was awarded the title of Yi Concubine, becoming one of the seven concubines of the harem, and also the earliest of the concubines.
Yifei was not only the earliest to be canonized, but also the fastest one to be sealed.
In the eighteenth year of Kangxi, Concubine Yi gave birth to the fifth son of the emperor, Yin Qi, and Kangxi was crowned a concubine in the twentieth year.
At that time, in addition to her, there were also Huifei Nalashi, Defei Wuya and Rongfei Majia, which is known in history as the "four concubines of the harem". Among the four concubines, Concubine Yi ranked second, followed by Concubine De.
(Princess De stills)
In the twenty-second year of Kangxi and the twenty-fourth year of Kangxi, Concubine Yi gave birth to the ninth son of the Emperor Yin Yu and the eleventh son of the Emperor Yin Yu, and the position of Concubine Yi was further consolidated by the merits of the heir.
Of course, just by looking good and having children, it does not necessarily make the emperor's favor more lasting. For example, Princess De, she not only gave birth to three princes, but also gave birth to three princesses, it can be said that she is the best in the history of fertility in the harem of the Qing Dynasty.
However, Princess De was generous, did not like to compete for favors, and did not read much, so Kangxi did not treat her like Concubine Yi.
Concubine Yi was intelligent and knowledgeable, and she was very good at comforting Kangxi, and whenever Kangxi was anxious about state affairs or the affairs of the princes, she could always resolve kangxi's displeasure with two words. Therefore, Kangxi liked to confide in her his troubles and unhappiness the most, and Concubine Yi gradually became a small cotton jacket that Kangxi could not live without.
Even when Kangxi went out on expeditions, in addition to writing letters to the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince, he would also send Yifei a "letter to the family to report safety", and at the same time send her some souvenirs seen along the way.
This grace is very few among the harem concubines, and only the concubines can enjoy such treatment.
At the same time, from another point of view, in Kangxi's heart, he regarded Concubine Yi as a wife in the family. Therefore, even if you go out on the expedition, you are still worried about Concubine Yi.
Concubine Yi walked in the palace in a soft palanquin of four people, which was also a unique grace.
Kangxi saw that Concubine Yi was frail and sickly, and pity that she still had to routinely greet the empress dowager and the empress every day. In order not to make her too tired, the emperor gave four people a soft palanquin and allowed her to walk in the palace.
In short, the treatment of Concubine Yi was beyond the reach of other concubines.
(Kangxi stills)
Although Princess Yi is very beautiful, she has never been pampered and proud, and she gets along well with other concubines, and she has no hatred with Concubine De. So, did Yongzheng really deliberately humiliate her because she "went in a sedan car" and "knelt before Princess De"?
In fact, this is related to the ninth son of the Emperor Yinyu she gave birth to.
In his later years, Kangxi deposed Yin Rong as crown prince, triggering the seizure of the nine sons. Among them, the most fiercely fought among them were the fourth son of the emperor, Yin Yu, the eighth son of the emperor, Yin Yu, and the fourteenth son of the emperor, Yin Yu, among whom the eighth son of the emperor, Yin Yu, was the most powerful, had the best reputation, and had the greatest hope of winning the concubine.
Yin Yu knew that he was not an imperial talent, but he was quite brainy and could make money, and he was the broadest of the princes. After he saw this situation, he immediately turned to Yin Yu and did not hesitate to pay for it, buying people's hearts for the emperor's eighth son, Yin Yu, with the hope that Yin Yu would succeed.
After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he was quite annoyed with the imperial brothers who had once seized the concubine, especially Yin Yu and Yin Yu, and they were the two he wanted to get rid of quickly. Therefore, he hated Wu and Wu, and it was difficult to behave politely towards Yin Yu's birth mother, Concubine Yi.
Later, after Princess Yi succeeded to the throne in Yongzheng, she was not only humiliated, but also deprived of her honorific title. Then, he saw his son Yin Yu being tortured to death by Yongzheng changing his name to "Seth Hei".
Under this successive blows, Yi Concubine, who was originally seriously ill, soon died of depression.
(Reference historical materials: "Kiyoshi's manuscript"))