Yunyi was one of the reasons why Emperor Qianlong began to be wary of Yonglian.
In the past few years, he had been too indulgent, and coupled with his advancing age, Emperor Qianlong could clearly feel that his health was not good.
While he focused on restoring his health, he discovered that Prince Duan's power in the court was far too great when he was not involved in affairs of state.
That's why Emperor Qianlong was so wary of Yonglian. His anxiety and fear overwhelmed him because of death, and his impression of his son changed.
Besides being wary of his son, his attitude towards the Empress also changed in the inner palace.
The former empress was his wife, but now in his eyes, she has become the crown prince's mother and the future empress dowager.
After thinking this way, Qianlong felt something was off every time he faced Fucha Anrong.
Yonglian's life was no longer smooth sailing. Faced with his father's change in attitude, there was nothing he could do but try harder to do better.
His concession did not please Emperor Qianlong; instead, he thought his son was too weak and lacked the demeanor of a crown prince.
At this point, his mindset had changed. No matter what Yonglian did, he would not be pleased with it and would always find fault with it.
The eldest son became a threat, so Qianlong began to dote on his youngest son, trying to find the feeling of fatherly affection in him.
The youngest prince in the palace was the twelfth prince, born to Consort Wen, of the Dong E clan. He was born in the seventeenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign and is only two years old this year, which is the most adorable age.
Because of this son, Consort Wen became one of the most favored concubines in the palace, enjoying unparalleled popularity for a time.
With some standing out, others naturally become jealous, because of Qianlong's actions, the people in the harem are restless.
Yonglian was originally a formidable obstacle, but with Qianlong's favor and support, he was undoubtedly the future emperor.
But things are different now. Qianlong has become wary of him, often scolding him, and clearly no longer likes Yonglian.
Therefore, the concubines in the harem who had princes were tempted. Prince Duan was in danger of falling from power, so why couldn't they fight for it and climb to that position?
With so many people thinking this way, Yonglian's days in the court became even more difficult. He could clearly sense that these ministers were beginning to have ulterior motives and were no longer wholeheartedly supporting him.
The prince's concubines were focused on dealing with Yonglian and getting their sons to compete for the father's favor.
Meanwhile, the concubines without children set their sights on Emperor Qianlong, hoping to gain his favor and give birth to a prince as soon as possible.
Emperor Qianlong was willing but unable to perform; his health was indeed not as good as before. The imperial physicians advised him to rest and recuperate, and to abstain from excessive sexual activity.
The concubines, vying for the emperor's favor, thought they weren't being clever enough, so they used every trick in the book, which annoyed Emperor Qianlong to no end.
Having no other choice, he simply issued an imperial edict to tour the south, attempting to adjust his mindset and escape the concubines vying for his favor through travel.
Fearing that Yonglian would cause trouble, Qianlong brought all his sons along, along with their respective mothers.
He didn't bring any of the other concubines, especially the few who were most competitive for his favor; Qianlong didn't bring any of them.
Upon arriving in the Jiangnan region, local officials continued to present him with beautiful women, but Emperor Qianlong refused them all due to his health condition.
After only a few days of sightseeing in the area, the imperial ship arrived in Suzhou. The officials there knew about the emperor's previous actions and, although they were puzzled by the emperor's decision not to take the beauties, they dared not ask why.
They dared not offer the beauties they had prepared, so they could only rack their brains to prepare delicious food and fun things, fearing that the emperor would find it boring and punish them.
Fortunately, the outing outside the palace was quite enjoyable, so Emperor Qianlong didn't blame the officials and was in a good mood throughout the trip.
The incident occurred at night. That night, Emperor Qianlong went out alone with his personal eunuch Li Yu, without his ministers, concubines, children, or others.
He was in a good mood when he went out, but when he came back, he seemed a bit absent-minded.
Yun Yi was puzzled, as this was the first time she had ever seen such an expression on Qianlong's face.
On the third day, local officials presented a beautiful young woman to Emperor Qianlong, who surprisingly accepted her.
This is even more puzzling. Emperor Qianlong had been unmoved by the many officials who presented him with beautiful women along the way, so why did he change his mind today and accept that girl?
Yunyi was very curious and wondered what the girl who made Qianlong make an exception for her looked like, so unique.
That very day, Emperor Qianlong went to the girl's room and favored her. Afterwards, as everyone knows, the emperor bestowed upon her the title of Consort Yi.
Yi Changzai was a Han Chinese, whose original surname was Wang. She was truly remarkable; she was able to become a concubine in the harem simply because she caught the emperor's eye, a meteoric rise indeed.
But Yunyi found it strange that when Consort Yi came to pay her respects the next day, Yunyi could sense a strange aura emanating from her.
If someone is favored by the emperor, they will be extremely happy. Even if they try their best to hide it and not make it too obvious, their demeanor and actions will still reveal it.
But this Lady Wang was too calm and composed, which seemed strange. Yunyi felt that she probably did not enter the palace voluntarily.
Driven by this curiosity, Yunyi used a prop and discovered the truth of the matter.
Lady Wang was already engaged, but Emperor Qianlong fell in love with her at first sight that day and had a good impression of her. However, he did not ask Li Yu to investigate the girl and kept his feelings to himself.
Emperor Qianlong could tell that the girl was Han Chinese. As an emperor, he sent people to investigate a young girl, but she was not very attractive, so he did nothing.
However, a local official found out and conducted a private investigation. He learned that Wang was engaged, so he ordered Wang's parents to break off the engagement and prepared to offer Wang to the emperor.
Wang's parents were also ambitious and sought to marry into wealth. Upon learning that their daughter had a chance to rise to prominence, they immediately dissolved the engagement and handed their daughter over to an official.
The official boldly presented Lady Wang, even lying that she had a clean background and was unmarried, thus deceiving Emperor Qianlong.
Thus, Wang was used by her parents as a tool to climb the social ladder, forced to separate from her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, and became the concubine of the old man Qianlong.
She was threatened by officials with the lives of her parents, brothers, and fiancé, and dared not disobey. She could only suppress her disgust and serve the old emperor, Qianlong.
That's why Yunyi found it strange when she went to pay her respects, because Wang Shi was indeed not there voluntarily, but was threatened into coming to serve Qianlong.
She was about the same age as her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, and they had grown up together. She was supposed to be his principal wife, but now she had become one of Emperor Qianlong's concubines, a lowly concubine of low rank.
Emperor Qianlong was already in his forties and had several grandsons, while Lady Wang was only seventeen, in the prime of her youth. How could she be happy?
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