In the 21st year of the Jiajing reign (1542), a shocking event occurred in the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty. That year, Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houzhao was almost killed by several palace maids. Such behavior shook the court and the public, and this event was known as the “Renyin Palace Incident”.
However, Emperor Jiajing had a great fate and did not die. In the end, he survived and saved his life. The palace maids who participated in the killing of the emperor had an extremely tragic fate and were all executed by Lingchi. Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
And the favored concubine of Emperor Jiajing, the exceptionally beautiful Cao Duan, was also involved in this great disaster. She was falsely accused of participating in the palace maids’ killing of the emperor, and was ordered to be executed by Empress Fang at that time. A generation of beautiful women with unparalleled beauty and national beauty were subjected to extreme punishment, with countless cuts and bloody deaths.
It is worth mentioning that Empress Fang, who ordered the execution of Concubine Cao Duanxi by Lingchi, did not have a good ending. Later, she was burned to death by a large fire and had no good fate.
What exactly happened to this incident? Is Concubine Cao Duan wrongly accused or a true participant? Why was Empress Fang, who executed Concubine Cao Duan, ultimately burned alive by the raging fire?
Zhu Houzhao was the eleventh emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was the cousin of Emperor Wu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao. In the 16th year of the Zhengde reign (1521), Emperor Wu of the Ming Dynasty passed away without a son. His birth mother, Empress Dowager Zhang, and the chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe, decided that Zhu Houzhao, the cousin of Emperor Wu of the Ming Dynasty, would inherit the throne. After Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, he was given the reign name Jiajing and was therefore known as the “Emperor Jiajing”.
In the early days of Emperor Jiajing’s reign, his performance was quite good. He was wise and harsh, strict in governing officials, lenient in governing the people, rectifying the court order, reducing taxes and corv é es, and revitalizing the country’s politics, creating a situation of revival in Jiajing. However, in the later period, this Emperor gradually deviated from the normal track and became incompetent. He began to believe in alchemists and worship Taoism. In addition, he favored corrupt officials such as Yan Song, which led to corruption and chaos in the court.
This incompetent Emperor Jiajing, in order to achieve immortality, blindly believed in the teachings of alchemists and practiced elixirs. As a result, he not only failed to achieve immortality, but also died himself.
Emperor Jiajing believed in the witchcraft of sorcerers and recruited a large number of palace maids aged thirteen to fourteen to collect and replenish their virgin menstrual blood, refine elixirs, and in order to maintain cleanliness, only allowed them to eat mulberry leaves and drink a little dew, just like raising silkworms. They were not allowed to eat. Who could bear this?
In order to receive pure dew for alchemy, the palace maids woke up in the middle of the night, holding plates to collect dew outside. The palace maids suffered from hunger, cold, and unbearable suffering. Even the slightest mistake was whipped, and many people were beaten to death as a result.
In the end, these palace maids could no longer bear it and conspired to kill Emperor Jiajing first. Thus, a palace coup began.
On the night of October 21st in the 21st year of the Jiajing reign (November 1542), after taking a refined pill, Emperor Jiajing spent the night with the young and beautiful Consort Cao Duan. Due to her beauty, Consort Cao Duan was deeply loved by Emperor Jiajing. After Emperor Jiajing fell asleep, Consort Cao Duan went out for something. At this time, a palace maid named Yang Jinying took the lead and sneaked in with more than ten palace maids. While Emperor Jiajing was sleeping soundly, she wrapped his neck with a rope and pulled him hard, attempting to strangle him to death. However, due to nervousness and panic, the palace maids made a big mistake and even tied a knot, which prevented them from dying. Emperor Jiajing, seeing this situation, the palace maids also took risks and fiercely stabbed Emperor Jiajing with hairpins and other objects.
As the saying goes, we are not afraid of opponents like gods, but we are afraid of opponents like pigs. At this time, a palace maid named Zhang Jinlian, who was timid and afraid, sneaked out to report to Empress Fang. Upon hearing this, Empress Fang was shocked and frightened, and quickly brought people to rescue her. When the palace maids saw the Empress bringing people, they quickly fled and were soon captured.
At that time, Emperor Jiajing was injured and unconscious, unable to serve as a councilor. Therefore, Empress Fang had full authority to handle the matter and ordered the execution of all the palace maids who participated, and the extermination of the nine clans. The palace maid Zhang Jinlian who reported was also executed by Lingchi.
At that time, Concubine Cao Duan and Concubine Wang Ning, who served Emperor Jiajing together, were also executed by Lingchi.
The Annals of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty record: Twenty one years On the day of Dingyou in the tenth month of winter, palace officials plotted rebellion and were executed. Consort Cao and Consort Wang were sent to the city.
In fact, the death of Consort Cao Duan was very unjust. She was not aware of it at first, because after Consort Wang Ning, who conspired with the palace maids, was captured, Consort Wang Ning deliberately falsely accused Consort Cao Duan of being an accomplice due to conflicts with her and jealousy towards her beautiful appearance. Empress Fang also envied Consort Cao Duan for being favored by the emperor, became jealous, and hated Consort Cao Duan in her heart. When the opportunity for revenge came, she deliberately executed Consort Cao Duan by torture.
The “Tongguan Shiyi” records: In October of the 21st year, during the reign of Emperor Shang, there was a sudden change in the fate of the palace people, who were afraid. Concubine Cao and Concubine Wang Ning went to bed at the clubhouse. Sleeping soundly, palace maid Yang Jinying and others plotted to assassinate the rebels by tying their necks together and stabbing their hips with hairpins. The Xingxi group acted hastily, mistaking it for a life and death, and ended up with an unbreakable bond. Jin Yinghao, colleague Zhang Jinlian, was defeated by the governor and left after being sued. After rushing to Jiezu, I went up to Su, but I couldn’t speak of my illness and fear. Later, eunuchs Zhang Zuo and Gao Zhong were ordered to arrest palace officials for miscellaneous treatment. Although she did not associate with Wang Ningpin and Yun Caofei at the beginning of the poem, she still knew about them. Later, it was announced that more than ten people including Cao Fei and Jin Ying would be sent to the city. And more than ten members of his clan were captured and beheaded, and registered with his family.
After Emperor Jiajing woke up, he was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of his beloved Consort Cao Duan. He knew that Consort Cao Duan would not harm him and was innocent, but it was too late. He could only suffer silently and could not express his grievances. From then on, Emperor Jiajing developed a deep resentment towards his empress.
The History of Ming Dynasty
The Biography of the Empress “records that in the twenty-first year, palace maids such as Yang Jinying plotted to assassinate the rebels. The emperor relied on the empress to save them and was granted the title of Marquis by his stepfather Taihe Borei. At the beginning, Consort Cao was colored and loved by the emperor, so she was registered as Consort Duan. It’s the evening, and the Emperor resides in the Palace of Empress Dowager Duan. Jin Ying and others waited for the emperor to retire to bed, but mistakenly formed a tie to hang the emperor’s head, resulting in endless gains. Colleague Zhang Jinlian, please inform us after leaving. Go ahead, disband, Emperor Su. Later, the eunuch Zhang Zuo and others were ordered to arrest palace officials for miscellaneous governance, and Jin Ying and others were accused of treason, with Wang Ning as the chief strategist. It is also said that although Consort Cao Duan did not cooperate, she knew how to plan. The Emperor’s illness and fear were indescribable, and later the Emperor ordered the reception of Concubine Duan, Concubine Ning, Jin Ying, and others in the city. And executed more than ten members of his clan. However, the empress was unaware of it. After a long time, the emperor finally realized his injustice.
As the saying goes, good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be punished with evil. It’s not that the time hasn’t come to not repay. Empress Fang cruelly executed Concubine Cao Duan out of jealousy, and soon had bad luck. In the end, she did not receive a good reward. Five years later, the Kunning Palace suddenly caught fire. Someone reported to the emperor and requested to put out the fire as soon as possible. However, Emperor Jiajing remained calm and stopped sending people to put out the fire, watching helplessly as Empress Fang was burned alive.
According to the “Tongguan Shiyi”, in November of the 26th year, there was a fire in the palace. After the central palace requested rescue, the upper palace did not respond and later collapsed. He mourned and said, “Please save me later, but I cannot save you later
Another theory is that this great fire was likely intentionally set off by Emperor Jiajing, with the clear purpose of seeking revenge for the wrongful death of Consort Cao Duan.
However, Emperor Jiajing, who had a superstitious belief in longevity, absurdly refined elixirs to take. Not only did he not live long, but he also died quickly. In December of the 45th year of Jiajing (January 1567), Zhu Houzhao passed away in the Qianqing Palace. He reigned for 45 years at the age of 60 and was given the temple name Shizong.
Emperor Jiajing was enlightened in the early stage, but incompetent in the later stage, and failed to start and end well.
