On September 13, the 39th year of Wanli, Empress Xiaojing Wang, who had been imprisoned in Jingyang Palace for 10 years and was not free (in fact, the highest position of the Wang family during his lifetime was the imperial concubine, but no matter whether the position was a concubine or an imperial concubine, he was not allowed to be free) was seriously ill and dying, and the crown prince Zhu Changluo asked his father Emperor Wanli to allow him to see his mother for the last time. Emperor Wanli agreed, and when Zhu Changluo rushed to Jingyang Palace, the palace door was still locked. Zhu Changluo only broke through the lock and saw his blind mother.
After many years, Empress Xiaojing finally saw her son, she touched her son Zhu Changluo's clothes, cried and said: "My son has finally grown up, and I will die without regrets!" The mother and son hugged and cried together, and the palace maids and eunuchs around them also cried together.
The mother and son originally had something to say, but Empress Xiaojing noticed that there was someone in the house, so she could only remind her son in a low voice: Someone in the Zheng family was in the house. In this way, until Empress Xiaojing breathed, the mother and son just looked at each other silently, but they didn't dare to say anything.
On this afternoon, Empress Xiaojing ended her tragic life.
After 30 years of hard work in the deep palace, he couldn't get through it after all.
As the biological mother of the crown prince, why was the future queen mother imprisoned for many years without freedom?
Could it be that Empress Xiaojing committed something illegal that Emperor Wanli treated her like this?
非也非也!
Empress Xiaojing kept to herself and never exceeded the rules, but even so, because she gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, she was the thorn in the side of Emperor Wanli and Emperor Wanli's favorite concubine Zheng Guifei. Because according to the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" left by Emperor Taizu, there is a rule that there is a grandson and no grandson, and when the queen Wang Xijie failed to give birth to a son-in-law, her son Zhu Changluo is the most qualified to be named the crown prince.
In this article, let's take a look at it together: What kind of existence was the Empress Xiaojing Wang, who gave birth to the eldest son of the Wanli Emperor in the Wanli Dynasty? Why can't "the mother be more expensive than the son"? On the contrary, because she gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, she suffered in the deep palace for 30 years?
(Due to the changing identity, the following article will unify the Empress Xiaojing as the Wang family)
Emperor Wanli was reluctant to make Wang a concubine
In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565), Wang was born, and Wang's father, Wang Chaoyao, was admitted to the martial arts before his daughter's draft, and achieved the rank of six brocade clothes and one hundred households.
In the second year of Longqing (1568), when Wang was only 4 years old, he moved to the capital with his father.
Ming Shizong Zhu Houxi, year name Jiajing
Ming Muzong Zhu Zaikun, the year name Longqing
Mingshenzong Zhu Yijun, year name Wanli
Emperor Wanli ascended the throne at the age of 10 and became emperor, and at the age of 15, that is, the fifth year of Wanli began the draft. The top three in this draft will have a queen and two concubines: the queen is Sister Wang Xi, and the two concubines are named Concubine Liu Zhao and Concubine Yang Yi respectively. The Wang family did not enter the top three, and according to the rules, naturally they could not enter the palace and become the concubine of Emperor Wanli.
However, according to the ancestral system, some of the outstanding show girls who are not selected will stay in the palace as palace maids, and most of the rest will be repatriated to their hometowns. Because the Wang family was not bad in all aspects, he was assigned to Cining Palace to serve Empress Dowager Li (the biological mother of Emperor Wanli).
In February of the sixth year of Wanli, the Wang family officially entered the palace, and it was also this month that the Wanli Emperor got married and married the queen Wang Xijie.
In the ninth year of Wanli, it has been three years since the Wang family entered the palace, and once the Wanli Emperor went to Cining Palace to ask for peace, and met the Wang family by chance and pampered the Wang family. According to the rules, after being favored by the emperor as a palace maid, the palace maid should be rewarded, and the specific time of the favored palace maid should be recorded. But in order to conceal this matter, Emperor Wanli not only did not give any reward to the Wang family, but also did not tell the people around him that he had favored a palace maid.
However, this time, Wang was pregnant, but he didn't dare to say it directly.
When she was a month old, she couldn't hide it, so Empress Dowager Li called Wang to ask him: Who is the child in the belly?
In this way, the Wang family told the process of Emperor Wanli pampering him, and afterwards, Empress Dowager Li found an opportunity to ask Emperor Wanli if he favored the palace queen in his palace? Emperor Wanli wanted to fool the past, but refused to admit it. But according to the record of the "Living Note", Emperor Wanli did go to Cining Palace on that day.
Emperor Wanli had no choice but to admit that he favored the Wang family, and the Empress Dowager Li did not blame her son, after all, the Empress Dowager Li was old, so she naturally looked forward to her grandson. Then he said to Emperor Wanli: I am old and have no grandchildren, if she can give birth to a boy, it can be regarded as worthy of the ancestors and ancestors, and it is the blessing of the community.
But Emperor Wanli still hesitated: but she was a palace maid.
When Empress Dowager Li heard her son's words, she was unhappy: What's wrong with the palace maid, you can seal her, the mother is more expensive than the son.
In this way, in June of the tenth year of Wanli, Wang was named Concubine Gong.
Two months later, the Wang family lived up to expectations and gave birth to Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of Emperor Wanli.
It was in this year that the initiator of the tragedy of Wang's life, Zheng, was named a concubine, Zheng not only looks charming and moving, but also has a lively personality, other concubines are respectful and cautious when they see Emperor Wanli, and Zheng is different not only to talk and laugh freely with Emperor Wanli, but also to joke often. For such an unusual Zheng family, Emperor Wanli can be said to have a soft spot and is very fond of it.
However, after all, at this time, the Zheng family was only a concubine, and he had not given birth to a prince, so there was nothing to fear for the Wang family, but after a few years, because of the Zheng family, the Wang family began his miserable life.
02
In the eleventh year of Wanli, Zheng was named Concubine De because she was pregnant, and she was also in the position of concubine with Wang. And in November of this year, she gave birth to Princess Yunhe, who was the second princess of Emperor Wanli.
In July of the following year, the Wang family gave birth to a child for Emperor Wanli again, but it was not the prince but Princess Yunmeng, the fourth daughter of Emperor Wanli.
It was in the month that Princess Yunmeng was born, and the Zheng family was once again promoted to the title of concubine because of pregnancy. And five months after the concubine was crowned, she gave birth to the second son of the emperor, but unfortunately the second son died on the day of his birth.
But this did not affect Emperor Wanli's favor for the Zheng family, and in the fourteenth year of Wanli, Zheng became pregnant again and gave birth to the emperor's third son, Zhu Changxun.
Zheng's mother was once again promoted by virtue of her son's noble position, and was named the imperial concubine second only to the queen.
After the queen Wang Xi gave birth to the eldest daughter of the emperor, Princess Rongchang, she never got pregnant. The son-in-law was not born for a long time, and according to the "Emperor Ming Zuxun", Emperor Wanli wanted to crown the eldest son Zhu Changluo as the crown prince. And Wang's mother was named the imperial concubine by virtue of her son, but because of the favor of the Zheng family, he wanted his son Zhu Changxun to be named the prince.
Whether it is the ministers or the Empress Dowager Li, they all support the title of the eldest son Zhu Changluo as the crown prince.
However, Emperor Wanli favored the Zheng family and refused to canonize the crown prince.
And from the year of the birth of the third son of the emperor, Zhu Changxun, the Wanli Dynasty began a fifteen-year battle for the crown prince. Emperor Wanli struggled with his ministers for fifteen years, and during these fifteen years, Emperor Wanli forced out four cabinet chiefs, more than a dozen important ministers, and more than 300 local officials, of which more than 100 officials were dismissed, exiled or put on the cane. This shows how fierce the struggle is.
It was not until the twenty-first year of Wanli that the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo, was 12 years old, and he was able to study at the request of the ministers many times. However, not long after Zhu Changluo started studying, he lost the opportunity to study again.
As a prince, even if he is not favored, he has the qualifications to read and write, but Zhu Changluo, as the eldest son, is already 12 years old and has not even read for a few days, and he almost became an illiterate person.
The ministers and the eldest son of the emperor are still like this, let alone an unfavored concubine Wang?
It can be imagined how difficult the life of the Wang family in the harem is when the Zheng family is favored.
However, year after year, Emperor Wanli still had no intention of canonizing the crown prince.
It stands to reason that when the Wang family gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, he should be promoted to the title of concubine, but Emperor Wanli just refused to be promoted, and for a long time, until the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo was crowned prince for 20 years, the Wang family was condescended to the position of concubine, and the position did not change in the slightest.
In addition, the Zheng family secretly made a bad move, allowing the Wang family to live in Jingyang Palace, which was far away from the Qianqing Palace, with his son, and not allowing Emperor Wanli to see Wang's mother and son, so that Emperor Wanli's feelings for Wang's mother and son became more and more cold.
Wang did not compete with Zheng for favor, because she cared most about her son, and she was very worried about his son's safety, so she still slept in the same bed with her son until he was 13 years old.
However, even if the Wang family does not compete for favor, as long as the son she gives birth to is the eldest son of the emperor, he is the thorn in the side of the Wan family, and he wants to deal with it quickly. In the twenty-second year of Wanli and the thirteenth year of Zhu Changluo, the Zheng family slandered Zhu Changluo in front of Emperor Wanli for a long time and had been mixed with the palace maids. Emperor Wanli was very angry and sent someone to investigate, and Wang cried when he saw this: "In the past thirteen years, my son and I have been sleeping in the same bed, not daring to slack off in the slightest, nor daring to leave for a moment, I was worried that something would happen;
Fortunately, the people sent by Emperor Wanli did not stand on the side of the Wan clan and truthfully informed Emperor Wanli of the situation of the eldest son, so that Zhu Changluo's innocence could be preserved. If it weren't for this, the situation of Wang's mother and son would only be even more difficult.
03
Empress Dowager Li, as the biological mother of Emperor Wanli, learned that the courtiers requested to canonize the emperor's eldest son as the crown prince, and she was very sympathetic to the Wang family, so she took the initiative to come forward and directly asked her son: The Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces have repeatedly asked the emperor's eldest son to be the crown prince, why do you always drag it?
Emperor Wanli said: The eldest son of the emperor was born to a palace maid and came from a humble background!
Hearing her son's words, Empress Dowager Li was very angry, pointed at her son and scolded: Have you forgotten that you were also born to a palace maid?
Emperor Wanli's biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, was also born as a palace maid, and Emperor Wanli's maternal grandfather was just a mason, if you were born Empress Dowager Li, she was not as good as Concubine Wang Gong. Empress Dowager Li gave birth to two sons and three daughters for Ming Muzong, because Empress Chen of Muzong did not give birth to a son-in-law, so Empress Dowager Li's eldest son Zhu Yijun inherited the throne.
Hearing his biological mother's words, Emperor Wanli was so ashamed that he couldn't say a word.
Empress Dowager Li had no choice but to persuade her son: Concubine Wang Gong made contributions to the Zhu family, so why didn't you make her the imperial concubine? Isn't the son she gave birth to your son?
Under the persuasion of his biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, and the repeated requests of the ministers, Emperor Wanli finally decided to make his eldest son Zhu Changluo, who was already 20 years old, the crown prince in the 29th year of Wanli, and at the same time, Zhu Changxun, the third son of the Zheng family, was named King Fu.
However, his son was named the crown prince, and the Wang family was not only not named the imperial concubine, but was imprisoned in Jingyang Palace because his son was named the crown prince. Because the Zheng family was favored, Emperor Wanli treated the Wang family coldly, and the people in the palace naturally saw the wind and made no one dare to take care of the Wang family. In this way, the Wang family was in a very miserable situation in the cold palace.
And Zhu Changluo, who was named the crown prince, did not have a good time.
Emperor Wanli didn't want to see this son, and the favored Zheng family deliberately embarrassed, it can be said that Zhu Changluo was humiliated and excluded for more than ten years.
Moreover, since the twenty-ninth year of Wanli, the Wang family, who is not free, has not been able to see his son, let alone take care of and protect his son personally.
Fortunately, Zhu Changluo had the care and care of his grandmother, Empress Dowager Li, and his mother-in-law, Empress Wang Xijie, and was able to live safely to the throne as emperor.
04
In the thirty-fourth year of Wanli, Zhu Changluo, who had been named the prince for five years, gave birth to his eldest son Zhu Youxiao (later Xizong), the prince had a son, and the Wanli Emperor had a grandson.
Emperor Wanli reluctantly named Wang as a concubine, and then as an imperial concubine.
In this way, the position of the Wang family can be the same as that of the Zheng family, but no matter whether the Wang family is a concubine or an imperial concubine, there is no title but he does not enjoy the treatment of being a concubine and an imperial concubine. is still living a miserable life in Jingyang Palace, even if the Wang family is seriously ill, Emperor Wanli did not visit him.
In September of the thirtieth year of Wanli, Wang was seriously ill and dying, and Zhu Changluo saw his biological mother for the last time before she died.
However, because of the Zheng family, Zhu Changluo and his mother Wang could only look at each other and didn't dare to say anything.
The Wang family has been suffering in the harem for more than 30 years, and before he died, he couldn't say a few words to his son, and he died with hatred.
If the Wang family can hold on to the throne until his son inherits the throne, he can be respected as the queen mother and regain his freedom, but history is always full of regrets, Wang did not see his son sit on the throne with his own eyes, and he could not leave the cage that imprisoned him after all.
It stands to reason that the Wang family died of illness, as the biological mother of the crown prince, even if she is not buried according to the queen's specifications, she must be buried according to the specifications of the imperial concubine; According to the meaning of Emperor Wanli: just choose a place for the Wang family to be buried.
But the ministers once again objected: the crown prince's biological mother, Wang, died of illness, and the funeral should be generous. According to the specifications of Emperor Sejong's imperial concubine Wang (the biological mother of Prince Zhuang Jing, Emperor Sejong was the grandfather of Emperor Wanli), Wang was buried.
However, Emperor Wanli did not agree and wanted to be buried according to the specifications of Emperor Sejong's imperial concubine Shen (who did not give birth to a son and a half daughter). In this way, Wang's funeral was delayed again and again, because it happened to be August when Wang died of illness, the weather was very hot, the coffin stayed for too long, and Wang's body was seriously decomposed.
Finally, Emperor Wanli agreed to choose a cemetery for the Wang family to be buried.
In the end, the Wang family was buried according to the specifications of Emperor Shen's burial, and was nicknamed "Wensu Imperial Concubine".
Although it was buried according to the specifications of Emperor Shen's concubine, in fact, the specifications of the funeral goods in Wang's coffin were very low, except for some silk fabrics, some silver ingots, silver utensils, and none of the gold ingots.
According to archaeological discoveries, a silver kettle was unearthed in Wang's coffin, and the date engraved on the silver kettle is: Wang Ming Wanli Renwu year. That is, in 1582, it can be seen that from the beginning of Wang's mother being named Concubine Gong by virtue of her son, until Wang's death, whether she was named a concubine or an imperial concubine, she has been using this silver kettle for more than 30 years.
This silver kettle is not decorated, and even the artifacts unearthed from the tombs of Emperor Wanli's other concubines are much more luxurious than those of Wang's biological mother. There is also a gold-plated silverware in Wang's coffin, and the silverware is also full of holes and chips, which looks like a vessel that has been used for many years.
Not only that, Emperor Wanli did not intend to let people guard the tomb for the Wang family, so he did not allocate the cost of guarding the tomb.
It was not until the forty-third year of Wanli that the "Attack Case" (a man named Zhang Cha rushed into the Ciqing Palace where the prince lived with a wooden stick and wanted to kill the prince) broke out, and the spearhead was directly aimed at the Zheng family and Zheng's maiden brothers. The prince's difficult situation once again received the attention of the ministers, and the Zheng family panicked all of a sudden, and Emperor Wanli took the initiative to lower his posture to beg the prince for the sake of the Zheng family, and even asked the queen Wang Xi to persuade the prince. In the end, Emperor Wanli only executed the two eunuchs around Zheng, and the case was hastily ended.
In order to appease everyone's anger, Emperor Wanli issued an order in June of this year: to offer incense to the crown prince's biological mother.
In the forty-eighth year of Wanli, the crown prince Zhu Changluo finally ascended the throne and sat on the throne, known as Mingguangzong in history.
After Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, the first thing he thought of was to fight for his biological mother and posthumously crown his biological mother as the queen.
"My heir inherits the emperor's rule, cares for the world, and recalls the roots, then my biological mother Wen Su Duanjing Chunyi Emperor Guifei is unmatched.... In accordance with the precedent of Emperor Muzong's biological mother, Concubine Rong Shukang, the Ministry of Rites carefully agreed before reporting the news. ”
However, Zhu Changluo died because of the "Red Pill Case" after only a little more than a month on the throne, and the posthumous ceremony of his biological mother was not completed. After Zhu Changluo died of illness, his eldest son Zhu Youxiao succeeded to the throne, known as Ming Xizong in history.
Zhu Youxiao complied with his father's edict and posthumously named his grandmother Wang as "Empress Xiaojing" and registered it as a treasure.
After being posthumously crowned as the queen, the Wang family was also moved to the Dingling underground palace and buried with Emperor Wanli. For the burial of the emperor's mausoleum, Zhu Youxiao specially added three boxes of burial goods for his grandmother:
One box puts three dragons and two phoenix crowns, as well as jade belts, jade pendants, jade valley gui, gold lei silk pearl curtains, gold incense and other things, and another box puts twelve dragons and nine phoenix crowns
Among them, the crown of twelve dragons and nine phoenixes is called "the most beautiful phoenix crown", but Wang has not worn it for a day.
epilogue
It stands to reason that as the biological mother of the heir emperor, even if she is not favored by the emperor, she can spend the rest of her life in peace. However, Empress Xiaojing Wang is an exception, not only did she not get the treatment she should have as the biological mother of the crown prince during her lifetime, but she was not free for ten years, and was confined to Jingyang Palace, which was not as good as an ordinary concubine.
And all of this is thanks to Emperor Wanli and Concubine Zheng.
Emperor Wanli favored the Zheng family, and even did not hesitate to violate the ancestral system for the sake of the Zheng family, and did not hesitate to canonize the eldest son as the crown prince. And the Wang family is even more indifferent, before the son was crowned the prince, the Wang family can still have the respect of the imperial concubine, at least he can see his son from time to time, but after the son was named the prince, he completely lost his freedom.
As the biological mother of the crown prince, she is the future queen mother.
However, fate always likes to joke, even if the Wang family has been working hard for many years, they have not waited for the day when their son will inherit the throne.
This is a big regret in Wang's life, but what Wang didn't expect was that even if his son sat on the throne, Emperor Wanli had died of illness at this time, but his son died in just over a month on the throne.
Among the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he was the emperor with the shortest reign.
And this is probably because of the Zheng family (historians speculate that the Red Pill case is related to the Zheng family).
Wang's mother and son have not been able to escape the Zheng family's grasp from beginning to end, which is really regrettable and hateful.
Empress Xiaojing Wang became the most tragic queen of the entire Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Changluo of Mingguangzong was not only the emperor with the shortest reign, but also the most aggrieved emperor.