Misfortunes seemed to follow one after another; in the eleventh year of Qianlong's reign, neither of the two pregnant women in the palace were able to give birth to a prince.
In May of the twelfth year, less than a year later, Consort Jia gave birth to the eleventh princess.
However, because her two pregnancies were too close together and she was constantly worried during her pregnancy, the child died just three days after birth.
In June, there was finally a happy event in the palace: the eldest daughter of Empress Fucha, Princess Gulun Hejing, married Sebutengbaljur, the Duke of the Borjigit Clan of the Khorchin.
This was the first time since the beginning of the dynasty that an imperial heir had married, and the bride was the beloved daughter of the emperor and empress, so the wedding was extremely extravagant, causing endless discussion among the people.
But the joy didn't last long. At the end of the twelfth year, Princess Hejing's younger sister, Ninth Princess, tragically died of smallpox.
Empress Fucha's health was already poor after giving birth at an advanced age, and the death of her young daughter made her health even worse.
Perhaps it was because of the many unfortunate events that had occurred in the palace in the past two years, or perhaps he felt that the palace was not a good place, so Qianlong decided to take a southern tour to relax.
At the beginning of the thirteenth year, just after the New Year, Emperor Qianlong took his mother, wives, concubines, and children on an eastern tour.
This eastern tour serves two purposes: first, to inspect the land of Qi and Lu and investigate the people's conditions; and second, to travel and relax.
As Yunyi rode the boat all the way, breathing in the air outside the palace, she felt refreshed and her mood improved considerably.
But thinking of the Empress's condition, she felt a pang of sadness. The Empress was still alive on this trip, but on the return journey, she...
This means that she is about to ascend to the position that all women in the world dream of.
But all of this depends on the death of the original empress, so that she, as the successor empress, can take the throne.
In fact, Lady Fucha was a very good person, but because of the mission, Yunyi knew that she would die on this trip, but she could do nothing and could only watch her die.
Everything went well in the early stages of the Eastern Tour. The Empress's complexion was much better than when she was in the palace, as she had the rare opportunity to leave the palace for a trip.
Emperor Qianlong was in a good mood, feeling that he had achieved the purpose of his trip.
However, things didn't always go well. When the imperial ship reached Mount Tai, Lady Fucha began to fall ill.
Upon discovering this, Emperor Qianlong immediately decided to stop the journey as planned and instead stay in Jinan Prefecture, where the Empress could recuperate.
The Empress did not want to delay the Emperor's important state affairs because of her, so she repeatedly urged Qianlong to return to the capital. After resting for several days and finding that the Empress was gradually recovering, Qianlong finally ordered her to return to the capital on the eighth day of the third month.
But then came the devastating news: a few days later, on March 11, the Empress tragically passed away in Texas.
The death of his beloved wife left Emperor Qianlong deeply grieved, and he became somewhat delirious.
When a large entourage escorted the Empress's body back to Beijing, Emperor Qianlong even ordered that the boat the Empress had ridden in during her lifetime be brought back to Beijing as well. In order to allow the boat to enter the capital, he even ordered the city gate to be sawed off.
It was in this atmosphere of grief that the Empress's funeral was held in a grand and elaborate manner. Emperor Qianlong spared no expense in giving the Empress the highest honors.
During Empress Fucha's funeral, Emperor Qianlong even dismissed, deposed, imprisoned, and executed many officials, simply because he felt they were not respectful enough during the mourning period.
Finally, Emperor Qianlong bestowed upon Empress Xiaoxian the posthumous title "Xian".
Yunyi coldly watched as Qianlong was overcome with grief, watched him punish officials of all ranks, and watched him stay alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, ignoring the concubines in the harem.
Since Empress Xiaoxian passed away, Consort Yunyi naturally became the best candidate to manage the harem, given the precedent set before her.
Unlike her previous experience managing the harem, this time there was no help from the laborers and Princess Jing, and it was also the mourning period for Empress Xiaoxian. With Emperor Qianlong, who was driven mad by his wife, around, Yunyi was extremely busy.
One of the original owner's tasks was to secure her position as empress and keep Emperor Qianlong satisfied.
Therefore, Yunyi cannot afford to make any mistakes this time. During the Empress's mourning period, she must do her best and not make the slightest error.
Yunyi not only had to arrange things for all the concubines in the harem, but also for the noblewomen from outside the palace who came to mourn the Empress. She herself also had to mourn the Empress before her spirit tablet.
In just half a month, she lost more than ten kilograms. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Consort Xian had overworked herself for the funeral of Empress Xiaoxian.
Half a month later, Emperor Qianlong finally emerged from the grief of losing his beloved wife and resumed attending court as usual. It was only then that he finally saw Yunyi's sacrifices.
During this period of mourning, concubines from both within and outside the country, as well as wives and consorts of princes and ministers, all spoke highly of Consort Xian.
Emperor Qianlong saw all this and was very satisfied with Nara. She was beautiful, had a quiet personality, and was just as good at managing the household as Empress Xiaoxian. Her family background was also good, as she came from an old Manchu family.
He was the emperor, and although he was still grieving the loss of his beloved wife, he did not forget important matters.
With the passing of the original empress, the harem could not remain unmanaged; the establishment of a new empress was imperative.
After much deliberation, Emperor Qianlong felt that Consort Xian, of the Nara clan, was the most suitable candidate.
The imperial harem was abuzz with discussion about this, with many believing that the successor would inevitably be chosen from among Consort Xian.
They did not accept the other outcome, which was that the emperor would directly select a new empress from outside the palace and marry her.
When a new empress is brought into the palace from outside, the concubines know nothing about her character, personality, behavior, or style of doing things. If she is difficult to get along with, it will be the concubines who suffer.
But things were different when Consort Xian rose to power. They all knew each other and were familiar with each other. Consort Xian was as virtuous as the Empress and the Empress, and she managed the harem very peacefully, which made their lives easier.
Therefore, everyone hoped that Consort Xian could become the Empress Dowager, rather than marrying a new Empress.
After waiting for another two months, Emperor Qianlong finally issued an edict to move Consort Xian's entire family from the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner to the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner.
From the Lower Five Banners to the most prestigious of the Upper Three Banners, everyone understood the meaning behind the Emperor's move.
Then Emperor Qianlong issued an edict promoting Consort Xian to Imperial Noble Consort, in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, making her "Imperial Noble Consort in Charge of the Affairs of the Six Palaces," a title even more prestigious than that of an ordinary Imperial Noble Consort.
At this time, Yunyi was already a Noble Consort of the same rank as the Empress, only one step away from becoming Empress, but this step would take at least three years.
Because of Emperor Qianlong's deep affection for his first empress, Empress Fucha, even if he wanted to establish a successor empress, he would only issue an edict after the three-year mourning period.
After the investiture ceremony and the kneeling homage of the ladies of the court, Yunyi officially took up her post as Imperial Noble Consort.
She's been racking her brains lately trying to figure out how to implement her plan. After all, Empress Yuan has passed away, and it's already the thirteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. It's time for her to...
Soon, a plan emerged, and Yunyi set her sights on Princess Hejing, who was five months pregnant.
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