From an ordinary woman to the queen of the Ming Dynasty, Hu Shanxiang's experience can be called the ups and downs of life. The intrigues and power changes in court life made her go through tempering again and again, and she was able to meet the calmness of fate in the end.
Her story is not only a unique interpretation of history, but also an in-depth understanding of human nature. Let's walk into the life of this woman with "Ruizhao", experience her mental journey, and feel the shock and inspiration brought by her story.
In the court of Yongle in the fifteenth year, a selection of concubines for the imperial concubine is being carried out intensely. Zhu Di, who leaned towards the government and the opposition, personally selected Zhu Zhanji's concubine, and the scene was very lively.
Among the many beauties, Hu Shanxiang and Sun stood out. Hu Shanxiang was born in Wujin, Changzhou, with a good family education, smart and dignified, generous manners, good at female popularity, natural beauty, and outstanding beauty.
But what really made her stand out in the selection of concubines was a ruizhao circulating around her. It is said that the place where Hu Shanxiang lived once appeared colorful phoenixes to cast, and five-colored auspicious clouds surrounded his house, which was regarded as a ray of heaven favored.
Therefore, in the midst of the controversy, Zhu Di ignored the anger of the public and personally selected Hu Shanxiang as the imperial concubine. This selection of concubines is like a microcosm of the brilliant Ming Dynasty, and the battle for the harem is dazzling.
At the concubine selection ceremony, the ownership of the imperial concubine touched the hearts of countless people. Among the many candidates, they are both beautiful and intelligent, and their qualifications have their own merits. However, God rewards hard work, and manpower is hard to defeat Heaven's will.
Among these many concubines, Hu Shanxiang stood out, in addition to relying on his own talent, he also had a rare opportunity and the help of the right time and place. She has outstanding appearance and talent, and has long been the focus of attention.
And the "Ruizhao", which heralded God's favor, made her stand out in this concubine selection. With such a blessing, how could she let other concubines be equal to her?
Therefore, in the controversy between the government and the opposition, Zhu Di chose Hu Shanxiang without hesitation and introduced the noble princess to Zhu Zhanji. Since then, her life trajectory has been very different from others, and she has started a royal career like no other.
Despite this, the controversy never stopped. Because during the same period, Yang Shiqi, the daughter of Yang Shiqi, the first assistant of the court, was appointed to marry as the concubine of the four princes. Rumors spread around, and it was rumored that Zhu Di's move was to elevate the crown prince and support the fourth elder brother.
For a while, ** was in an uproar, thinking that Zhu Di's move was very problematic. However, after twists and turns, Zhu Di finally clarified the matter and confirmed that there was no conspiracy, and the Yang family was still married to the fourth elder brother and did not pose a substantial threat to the crown prince.
It can be seen that the complexity of the interests involved in this concubine election is beyond the imagination of ordinary people. The seemingly noble title of the imperial princess is full of endless scheming and calculations behind it.
Only those who have a firm destiny and have a good fortune can stand out in this battle. It is no accident that Hu Shanxiang was able to become the imperial concubine in the end. This is the arrangement of destiny, and she must go through an extraordinary fate to be worthy of this honor.
Second, the crown harem, Yongle 22 years, Ming Xuanzong ascended the throne as the emperor, inherited his grandfather's eloquent style, won the hearts of the people. Under his wise rule, the Ming Dynasty was prosperous and peaceful, Confucianism was prosperous, and the rule of Xuande was famous all over the world, and it was known as the most prosperous country in the world at that time.
In this brilliant prosperous era, the crown princess Hu Shanxiang was also promoted to the queen. She is gentle and virtuous, courteous and thoughtful, exuding the brilliance of a happy mother, and is deeply loved by Xuanzong.
In the past few years, she gave birth to two daughters in a row, and Xuanzong doted on her, and no one in the harem could compare.
She sits firmly on the throne of the harem, controls the overall situation, and personally arranges the education of her children. This not only shows that she is deeply loved by the king, but also proves that she has the power of the harem, and can be called the king of the harem.
Her soaring prosperity is largely due to her natural blessings. Compared with Queen Hu's smoothness, the Sun family has experienced ups and downs. She was born beautiful and charming, but she lived in a simple place and was not favored by the king.
She vowed to become a queen since she was a child, but Hu Shanxiang robbed her of the opportunity. Since then, she has been jealous and unable to eat and sleep, so she can only quietly wait for the opportunity to come.
Empress Hu's generosity and gentle personality made her turn a blind eye to the threat of the Sun family, immersed in the glory and wealth of the queen and the joy of her mother's family, and did not care about the unspoken rules and undercurrents of the harem.
However, her simple personality has also become her fatal weakness. Many historians believe that as an empress, if she could be scheming and aware of the turbulent dark tide of the harem, she would have been more cautious and beware of hidden dangers from all sides.
Unfortunately, her naivety left her ignorant of the darkness of the court, so she was blindly optimistic when she was triumphant, and behaved especially miserably in desperate situations. From this point of view, her simple personality laid the groundwork for her later tragedy.
In the third year of Xuande, the queen gave birth to two daughters in a row, but she did not have children for many years, which made Xuanzong feel anxious. The question of royal succession rests entirely on this only royal bloodline, and if there are no children, the consequences will be unimaginable.
This unease lingered in Xuanzong's mind, and he began to consider the possibility of deposing the empress. At the same time, the favorite concubine Sun secretly instigated, which once again triggered Xuanzong's idea of changing the queen.
The news spread quickly, and there was a lot of discussion among the government and the opposition. The ministers expressed concern about this move, believing that the abolition of the queen simply because he had no children could lead to an intensification of harem struggles and would pose a threat to the stability of the country.
Xuanzong was resolute and decisive, once he made up his mind, no one could change it. There are also Empress Dowager Zhang and Sun who are troubled by it, and the emperor's decision is a certainty. In the end, under the strong persuasion of the ministers, Xuanzong still realized his wish to abolish the queen.
When the news reached Hu Shanxiang's ears, she instantly collapsed and almost fainted. Years of favor and glory disappeared in an instant, and her life seemed to end abruptly. The sudden blow almost broke her, and she almost lost her mind, which had always been gentle and submissive.
She knelt in front of Xuanzong, crying silently, hoping to save the disaster, but everything was irreparable. In the end, she could only watch herself fall from the top of the harem into the abyss from which she could never recover.
This earth-shattering reversal plunged her into endless despair and pain, and she grieved all day and night.
In the face of ** pressure, Xuanzong claimed that Empress Hu Shanxiang voluntarily resigned as empress, but the people were skeptical. Hu Shanxiang's tragic experience is thought-provoking, and her former elegance is now gone.
Rumors are rife, and it is regrettable that her whereabouts are unknown. In the end, Hu Shanxiang quietly left, the queen's position disappeared, and her story disappeared with her in the long river of history, leaving only the sighs and endless regrets of the people.