During the Qing Dynasty, the concubines of the Daoguang Emperor's harem were frequently struggling, 13 people were demoted, some concubines were demoted and depressed, and soon died, while some people were optimistic and lucky to obtain high positions.
Cheng Guifei's surname is Niu Hulu, and her family lineage is unknown, so why is Cheng Guifei's family history unknown? Presumably related to her experience of being demoted twice, the Daoguang Emperor deleted her family lineage information. The NiuHulu clan was the largest descendant of the Qing Dynasty, and the Hongyi Gongyuan was also the most prominent, and it was likely that The Noble Concubine Cheng was from this family.
In the eighth year of Daoguang, the Daoguang Emperor ordered the third draft since the succession, in this draft, the 16-year-old Cheng Guifei was lucky to be selected, was named a nobleman, and lived in the Yanxi Palace. Logically, the young and beautiful Cheng Guifei should be very favored, but after only one year, the Daoguang Emperor demoted her to Yu Changzai, and it was obvious that Cheng Guifei had done something wrong. This mistake made Concubine Cheng taste bitterness, and it was not until the sixteenth year of Daoguang that she was re-crowned as a nobleman.
Yanxi Palace belongs to one of the Six Palaces of the East, adjacent to the Cangzhen Gate, is a place where accidents are frequent, and generally speaking, the pet concubine will not live in this palace. At that time, the main seat of the Yanxi Palace was the Concubine Fucha clan, and The Concubine Cheng Guifei (whose status was noble) lived in the side hall, so it can be seen that both The Concubine and the Concubine Cheng were unfavored people.
It is said that in the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang, a fire broke out in Yanxi Palace, this time the fire was extremely fierce, and the concubine Fucha clan was also killed in the fire, however, Cheng Guifei, who lived in the side hall, escaped the disaster, and then the Daoguang Emperor ordered Cheng Guifei to change to Xianfu Palace, and promoted her to a position and promoted her to concubine. It can be seen that it is a great difficulty for a noble concubine not to die, and there will be a blessing!
However, for some reason, this concubine seemed to be a master who did not have a long memory, and just after ascending to the throne, she began to get carried away, so that the Daoguang Emperor demoted her to a nobleman again in the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang, and the next year the Daoguang Emperor died, and Cheng Guifei also became a widow.
In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, there was a custom that after the new emperor succeeded to the throne, he would honor the concubines of the former emperor, and Cheng Guifei finally ushered in the opportunity to make a comeback and was honored by the Xianfeng Emperor as an imperial concubine. After that, Cheng Guifei leisurely lived a life as a princess in Shoukang Palace, and after the Tongzhi Emperor succeeded to the throne, he once again honored this old concubine, successively as Emperor Zu Chengfei and Emperor Zu Cheng Guifei, Cheng Guifei finally relied on a good mentality and healthy physique to obtain the title of noble concubine, which is really rare!
In the fourteenth year of Guangxu, Cheng Guifei, who had already been jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu five dynasties, died of illness in the Forbidden City at the age of 76, which is also a high lifespan, which is simply a kind of creation for Cheng Guifei, who was demoted by the emperor twice, it is worth mentioning that the harem of the Daoguang Emperor has a concubine who has a very similar fate to Cheng Guifei, she is Jia Guifei. Jia Guifei was also demoted by the Daoguang Emperor, but after five dynasties, she was honored as a noble concubine and lived for 75 years.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty, Manuscript of the Concubines of the Qing Dynasty