As the only son of Emperor Xianfeng, Zai Chun has enjoyed the favor of everyone in the palace since he was a child. It is precisely because of his status as the only son that Zai Chun avoids the hardships of fighting for power in the palace.

The Tongzhi emperor was named Aixinjueluo Zaichun and was the eighth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. As the only son of Emperor Xianfeng, Zai Chun has enjoyed the favor of everyone in the palace since he was a child. It is precisely because of his status as the only son that Zai Chun avoids the hardships of fighting for power in the palace.

But even so, Zaichun's life was not as smooth sailing as we thought, so much so that in the end he was designed to die by Empress Dowager Cixi .

Emperor Tongzhi

In 1861, Emperor Xianfeng died of illness in Chengde at the age of 31. As the only son of Emperor Xianfeng, Zaichun inherited the throne in a hurry when he was only five years old. From then on, Zai Chun's miserable life began.

After Zaichun came to the throne, because he was too young to handle the affairs of the court, Zaichun's biological mother (the Empress Dowager Ci'an of the West Palace) and the Empress Dowager Cixi of the East Palace jointly handled the affairs behind the curtain. And Emperor Tongzhi Zai Chun's biological mother Empress Dowager Ci'an was not nostalgic for power, but Cixi, on the contrary, attached great importance to power and tried every means to control Emperor Tongzhi's every word and deed.

Empress Dowager Cixi

It was precisely the Tongzhi Emperor Zai Chun who never gained corresponding freedom in both government and life, which made Zai Chun rebellious from an early age and seldom obeyed Ci Xi's teachings. On the contrary, he often made some concessions. Things that Cixi was dissatisfied with.

As time went by, Cixi began to hold a grudge in her heart. After Zaichun got married, he loved his queen very much, but neglected the concubines Cixi arranged for him. When Cixi found out, she tried every possible means to make things difficult for Zaichun's queen. In order to protect the queen, Zai Chun simply lived alone in Qianqing Palace , neither looking for the queen nor paying attention to the concubines arranged by Cixi.

Queen Xiaozheyi

But Zai Chun was young after all. Rumor has it that Zai Chun often visited brothels in order to satisfy his physical needs. As time went by, Zai Chun, who was lingering among rougevulgar fans, began to slowly appear on his body. Feeling unwell and having no other choice, Zai Chun had no choice but to summon an imperial doctor to treat him. After some examination, the imperial physician discovered that Zai Chun actually had Hualiu disease. The imperial physician knew that this disease should not be publicized casually, so he reported it to the Empress Dowager Cixi and asked Cixi to make a decision.

Empress Dowager Cixi

After Cixi learned about Zai Chun's condition, she was worried that she had no way to retaliate against Zai Chun, so she ordered the imperial physician to treat the disease as smallpox. As Cixi was the powerful Empress Dowager at the time, the imperial physician did not dare to say anything more, so she just ordered the imperial physician to treat the disease as smallpox. Treat Zaichun for smallpox. However, Zai Chun took the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, but his condition did not improve at all. So he asked the imperial doctor what medicine he was taking, and the imperial doctor told Zai Chun that it was for the treatment of smallpox. After hearing this, Emperor Tongzhi sternly questioned the imperial doctor: "What I have is not smallpox at all. Can't you all see that?"

The imperial doctor was greatly condemned in his heart. When he told Zai Chun the truth, it was Empress Dowager Cixi who ordered them to do so. After hearing this, Zai Chun was speechless for a while and couldn't speak for a long time.

Emperor Tongzhi

It was only because Zai Chun knew the truth too late that there was no time for treatment. Soon, Zai Chun's lower body began to rot, and a big hole appeared in his waist, and the organs in his body could be clearly seen. Tongzhi also knew that he would die soon, so he made a will before his death: "If you appoint an emperor again, you must appoint an older one to avoid repeating his own mistakes."

Not long after, the terminally ill Emperor Zaichun of Tongzhi, who was only 19 years old, died of illness. However, what he didn't know was that the edict he issued not only failed to restrain Cixi, but also allowed Cixi to control the behemoth of the Qing Dynasty, step by step. headed for destruction.