Which Qing empress died just because 2 days ago?

Hieu Y Nhan, Queen of Dong Thi (year of birth unknown) is the cousin of Emperor Kangxi. Her father is Dong Quoc Duy – the younger brother of Empress Hieu Khang Chuong (the mother of Emperor Kangxi), and her mother is the First Lady of Hach Xa Ly Thi.

The Dong family can flourish like a kite and meet the wind in the Qing Dynasty, to mention the merits of Empress Hieu Khang Chuong. Although she died early and was not properly cared for by Thuan Tri, at least she was pregnant and gave birth to an extremely talented son Huyen Diep (aka Emperor Khang Hy).

Coming from such an illustrious background, from a young age, Empress Hieu Y Nhan inherited a good education and entered the palace very early. History books do not record the specific time she entered the palace, only know that in the 16th year of Kangxi (1677), she was made a concubine, and Niu Hu Loc was established as an empress.

After Hieu Chieu Nhan’s death, Empress Niu Hu Loc died, basically, the power of the harem was held by Dong Thi.

After the death of Queen Hieu Chieu Nhan, Niu Hu Loc’s wife, basically the power of the harem was held by Dong Thi, so why didn’t Khang Hy directly make her Empress but let her be Hoang Quy consort?

In fact, Khang Hy loved his cousin very much, but after many events in his life, he was a bit superstitious, feeling that his destiny was not good – or worse, Khang Hy found himself number of dead relatives. The evidence is that he lost his father at the age of 8, lost his mother at the age of 10, less than 25 years old, he lost both queens in a row.

The loss of both queens consecutively at a very young age, no matter how strong a person is, he will think: If he made his cousin Queen now, would he suddenly die like two wives? before yours? If so, will people think their destiny is too unlucky?

Therefore, Khang Hy decided to let Dong Thi enjoy the treatment as an empress in the name of Hoang Quy consort, both “helping” to keep her life and preserving her reputation.

In other words, the fact that Dong Thi sat in the position of Hoang Quy consort for 8 years is not because she is not qualified to take the throne, but because Khang Hy does not dare or does not have the heart to let her become Empress.

It is a pity that Dong Giai was favored by Emperor Kangxi but never had children. Later, she gave birth to a little princess, but died young. To help the pet concubine calm down, the Emperor entrusted her to raise a number of children born to low-ranking concubines. According to official records, the Dong Jia family raised many princes, including Emperor Yongzheng.

Despite having the highest status in the harem, Dong Giai still always treated her concubines, palace maids and eunuchs peacefully, never being jealous or using her power to suppress others. That’s why she was respected by both the harem and the front court.

In the 28th year of Khang Hy (1689), Hoang Quy Dong Thi became seriously ill. At this time, Emperor Kangxi gave up worrying about his wife, immediately issued an edict instructing Le to establish Dong Thi as Empress in order to celebrate, hoping that she would soon overcome the great tribulation.

Unfortunately, after the ceremony was completed, only a day and a half later, the Empress Hieu Yi passed away, becoming the empress with the shortest reign in the history of the Qing Dynasty.

After the death of Dong Jia, Emperor Kangxi deeply mourned, and many years later he wrote many poems expressing his feelings for her. Also from that time, Emperor Kangxi no longer established any woman as Empress.