Empress Wu Huifei was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, why didn’t she become the empress

Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has prepared the story of Empress Wu Huifei for everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look!
Before Yang Yuhuan entered the palace, Empress Wu Huifei was most favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. However, even though she was highly favored by the emperor, she was still a concubine before her death, not an empress. Since Tang Xuanzong loved her very much, why not crown her as empress?
Empress Wu Huifei was born into a prestigious family. She was the granddaughter of Empress Wu Zetian and the niece of Empress Wu Sansi, so her status was still very prestigious. However, it was precisely because of her prestigious status that she was unable to ascend to the throne as she had hoped.
At that time, she was very popular with the emperor, Tang Xuanzong, who was also willing to make her a queen. But it was not only the emperor’s the final say to choose the mother of a country, but also the whole country. So Tang Xuanzong also had to ask the ministers for their opinions. But at that time, the ministers in the court still hated people with the surname of Wu.
Just use your brain to think about it. After ascending to the throne, Empress Wu Zetian slaughtered many descendants of Li Tang and changed the name of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, those who were loyal to Li Tang still hated Empress Wu Zetian. They did not want a second Empress Wu Zetian to appear in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, when Emperor Xuanzong proposed to make Empress Wu Huifei the empress, these ministers refused to agree, and Emperor Xuanzong gave up this idea.
Another reason is that at that time, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang already had a crown prince, and Empress Wu Huifei also gave birth to several sons for him. If Empress Wu Guifei is appointed as the empress, then the mother will prioritize her son, and Empress Wu Huifei will definitely consider her own son from her own interests. In this case, the position of the crown prince will be very awkward. But at that time, Crown Prince Li Ying did a good job. Even if he wanted to be deposed, he had to find a legitimate reason. Therefore, Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling stood up resolutely to oppose Tang Xuanzong’s decision to appoint Empress Wu Huifei as his empress.
Because he believed that deposing the crown prince would shake the foundation of the country, and from a broader perspective, Empress Wu Guifei was not suitable to be the empress. Although Empress Wu Huifei did not become the empress, her treatment was actually the same as that of the empress, except that she lacked a proper title. We say that some people just care about superficial things, after all, there is still a big difference between empresses and concubines. The empress is the emperor’s legitimate wife. However, a concubine is just a concubine. In ancient times, people attached great importance to this etiquette because it symbolized a status and glory.
But will those who obtain this identity necessarily be happy? not always. Meng Guqing, the first empress of Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, was a legitimate empress. However, her husband did not like her at all and instead favored Empress Dong E, who was also a concubine, so her life was not happy. Her union with Shunzhi was just a political product, and later her position as empress was abolished by Shunzhi and she became a concubine. It seems that marrying into the royal family is not enough for glory alone. To be happy, one must be able to receive the emperor’s favor and love.
Therefore, although Concubine Wu Huifei failed to become a queen during her lifetime, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty still loved her very much. When she was alive, she had enjoyed enough splendor and wealth. In the harem, she still had the the final say. Isn’t this a blessing in disguise? In addition, after her death, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang still gave her the title of empress, which can be considered as fulfilling her wish. Empress Wu Huifei should actually be satisfied. If she doesn’t harm the Crown Prince in the end, perhaps she will still be very happy in her life. But in the end, she had malicious intentions and risked her own life.