Concubine Dun gave birth to a princess and was rewarded with a cheap gift by Emperor Qianlong. Why was the harem jealous?

When Qianlong was over 60, a concubine gave birth to a beautiful princess, but was not rewarded with gold, silver, or jewels. Instead, she was given a gift of little value, but still made others jealous.

Similar to previous emperors, after ascending the throne, Qianlong also possessed a harem of thousands of beauties, all of whom were talented and beautiful women who were carefully selected. Of course, among those thousands of beauties, there would be those who were especially favored by the emperor and those who were neglected until death without anyone knowing.

For that reason, concubines often used every means to compete for favor, wishing to be the only one in the king's heart. One of the fastest ways to gain favor was to get pregnant because then the emperor would favor, care for, and reward them a lot. Moreover, as long as the concubines successfully gave birth to princes or princesses, their position in the harem would be consolidated.

In the 28th year of the Qianlong reign (1763), the emperor was very fond of Consort Uong, a descendant of the Manchu army's Zhengbai Banner. She entered the palace at the age of 17, when Qianlong was 52, and was given the title Yongchangtai. In the 36th year of the Qianlong reign (1771), she was promoted to Yongguiren, then Yongbin.

Three years later, Uong Thi was promoted to Concubine Don. Receiving constant favor, Concubine Don quickly became pregnant. In the 40th year of the Qianlong reign, she gave birth to Princess Co Lun Hoa Hieu - the princess that Qianlong loved the most. He even sighed: "I hate that you are not a man, otherwise, the throne would be yours."

According to historical records, the princess born to Uong Thi was the 10th and youngest princess, so everyone called her: "Tenth Princess". After seeing his daughter born, Qianlong felt even more secure and loved her very much. If Uong Thi gave birth to a son, Qianlong would not show his love so clearly. Because she was a princess, in the future she would not "interfere" in the battle for the throne.

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To show his favor to Dun Fei, Qian Long tried to think of the most special reward to give her. After thinking for a while, he sent someone to bring two cucumbers to give to Uong Thi. This made Dun Fei extremely happy, and all the concubines in the palace could not help but be jealous.

Why is that? The answer is that this fruit is very rare. In feudal China, the capital was located in the north, but this place could not grow delicious fruit trees like in the south, and cucumbers were one of them.

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In the past, growing vegetables and fruits was not as modern as it is now. Planting and caring for them depended on the climate of each region. Especially in winter, it was difficult for Qianlong to eat a piece of green vegetable, let alone cucumber.

It was also through his visits and patrols of Jiangnan that the emperor was able to experience the delicious fruits that could only be found here. Being a connoisseur and fond of Manchu-Han banquets, when he returned to the capital, he was determined to grow cucumbers.

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After discovering a hot spring in the north that could help maintain the temperature of vegetables, Qianlong immediately ordered people to plant melons. However, each harvest yielded only a few. Therefore, it could be said that this crop of melons was truly precious. Qianlong used it as a reward for Consort Dun to show his care and love for her.

Nowadays, when hearing the story of "The Emperor giving two cucumbers to his concubines", many people will find it funny and curious, however, at that time, they showed Qianlong's supreme favor, and the concubines in the palace were all very jealous of Concubine Uong Thi.

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Speaking more about Concubine Dun's daughter, Princess Gulun Hexiao was born on January 3 (lunar calendar) of the 40th year of the Qianlong reign. At this time, almost all of Emperor Qianlong's daughters, including Princess Gulun Hejing and Princess Heshu Heke, the two daughters of Emperor Qianlong with Imperial Noble Consort Wei Jia, had either passed away or had married and left the Forbidden City. The Emperor was therefore very happy to have another little princess by his side.

Since birth, Princess Hoa Hieu has been pampered by Emperor Qianlong, having fun with the royal ladies or the royal brothers. The little princess was also very attached to her father, so she was often present at meetings of the mandarins.

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At the age of 10, Hoa Hieu was given the title of Princess Hoa Thac. When she turned 12, the emperor elevated her status to Princess Co Luan. Originally, Princess Hoa Thac was a title given to secondary daughters born by concubines, with a rank equal to that of a Prince; while Princess Co Luan was a title given to the direct daughter born by the Empress, with a rank equal to that of a Prince.

In addition, Emperor Qianlong also allowed Hexiao to use a golden palanquin - the type of palanquin that princesses could only use after they got married, showing his favor for his youngest daughter. Hexiao was often commented to look very similar to Emperor Qianlong, had a decisive personality, and often disguised himself as a man to accompany his father on hunting trips outside the city.

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One of Qianlong's favorite concubines, Princess Dung Phi Hoa Trac Thi, was of Muslim origin and loved the grasslands and royal hunting events. Therefore, when she realized that Hoa Hieu had a strong personality, unlike the usual princesses, and was somewhat similar to herself, she sympathized with her and considered her as her own daughter.

During the period when Consort Dung was seriously ill and could hardly recover, she felt extremely regretful about the upcoming wedding of Hoa Hieu, so before passing away, she gave the precious jewelry she had kept to the princess. It is known that Consort Dung also divided the gold, silver, and jewels she had accumulated over many years among her sisters, but Hoa Hieu was the one who received the most, up to more than 200 pieces.