The mystery of the deat.h of Empress Fuca, suspected plot to 'seize favor'

In the secret palace history of the Qianlong period, the deat.h of the first Empress has raised many questions. Because of the two palace dramas that were recreated, the Empress's departure was so different that it raised many suspicions about a conspiracy in the harem.

Empress Xiaoxianchun, or Fuca Empress (1712 - 1748), was the first empress of the Qianlong Emperor, descended from the noble Fuca clan. She became the direct consort of Prince Baoshen Hongli (later Qianlong) at the age of 16. In 1735, when Qianlong ascended the throne, she was granted the title of empress.

For Qianlong, Empress Fuca was the ideal wife: gentle, kind, dignified, industrious, thrifty, and especially kind to her concubines, without competition or scheming. However, this virtuous Empress passed away suddenly at the age of 36, leaving behind many mysterious legends about her sudden departure.

In "Story of Yanxi Palace", Empress Fuca was a woman of great virtue, talented and beautiful, understanding people's hearts but longed for a life of freedom. The pai.n of losing her two sons caused her to collapse. The clima.x was when Er Qing, her sister-in-law and also her close maid, revealed her affair with Qianlong, Empress Fuca committed suicid.e in anger.

On the contrary, "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" depicts Empress Fuca as a "hypocritical" person, with a kind exterior but a sinister interior. She also fell ill after the deat.h of her two sons. During the Winter Tour, despite her declining health, she still tried to follow her to maintain her dignity. However, she was harmed by Mai Qin and pushed into the water. The heartbreaking thing was that no one came to her aid until a guard discovered her. Her serious illness and the fall into the water caused her to di.e. Before she died, she was worried about Consort Xian becoming the next Empress and recommended someone else, making Qianlong angry and questioning her about her crimes. Suspected, the Empress died in anger.

In addition to the stories in movies, there are many other popular theories about the sudden passing of Empress Fuca, in which the pressure of the throne and the suspicion of adulter.y by Qianlong are the two biggest highlights.

One theory is that she was too tired of being the Empress, and was under so much pressure that she collapsed. Another theory speculates that her deat.h was related to Qianlong secretly having an affair with her sister-in-law, Fu Heng's wife.

According to this legend, Fu Heng's wife was very favored by Qianlong (this was also recorded in official history), and she often went in and out of the palace to visit Empress Fuca. Once on the way back, she was sexually assaulted by Empress Fuca. It was even rumored that Fu Kang'an, Fu Heng's third son, was Qianlong's biological son. When Empress Fuca found out about this, she was extremely miserable and withered away day by day. Later, during his southern tour, Empress Fuca was still the same, secretly looking for a singing gir.l. Empress Fuca could not bear it any longer and committed suicid.e.

A folk legend says that after Empress Fuca learned about Qianlong's love affair with her sister-in-law, she felt extremely resentful towards Qianlong. However, the Emperor could not justify himself, so she had to endure and give in.

Then, on the Southern tour, traveling by water, seeing Emperor Qianlong drinking and partying with a singing gir.l on the boat, Empress Fuca tried to persuade the Emperor but failed, so she resentfully brought up the story of Qianlong's past pleasures with his sister-in-law and scolded the Emperor.

In a fit of anger, Emperor Qianlong pushed the Empress into the water, causing her to suffocate. And the grand funeral that Emperor Qianlong gave her was to cover up the truth.

Many people reject the legend that Qianlong pushed Empress Fuca into the water, because historical records show that Qianlong loved her very much, even "respecting each other like guests, with sincere feelings and great affection". After her deat.h, Qianlong wrote more than 100 mourning poems, and kept Changchun Palace - where she lived - intact, not allowing any other concubines to stay until he abdicated. This shows Qianlong's deep attachment and infinite sorrow for Empress Fuca.

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