Let's take a look at other concubines who can take charge of the harem besides the queen in history.
Biographies of Southern History and Song Imperial Clans:
If the word "Xun" is unclear, it must be a birth. There are voices on the house, and all they hear are demons. In the thirteenth year of Yuanjia, he was eight years old and was named Xing Wang. I have good literary achievements and good qualifications, and my mother Pan is even more favored. When there was no owner in the Sixth Hospital, Pan was in charge of internal affairs. Your talent is beautiful, your mother loves you, and Emperor Wen attaches great importance to it. Yuhong, Monk Chuo, Zhong Shulang and Cai Xingzong. And return it with words and meaning.
Chen Shu's Biography of Empresses;
After sex, she was quiet, lacking in lust, intelligent and easy to remember, dabbled in classics and wrote a good book. At the beginning, my father was in the East Palace, and then my father finally died, and then I was worried that I would be in a different hall again, mourning for ruining the ceremony. After his death, Zhang Guifei loved the harem, and the administration of the harem belonged to it, but he never resented it again. And frugal, clothes are not decorated with brocade, there are only a hundred people around, just looking for reading the history of pictures and chanting Buddhist scriptures. When Chen died, he entered Chang 'an with his predecessor. And after the Lord, after the funeral, the text is very sour. Everywhere Emperor Yang Di went, he always ordered him to follow. Yang-ti was harmed by Yu Wenhuaji, so he crossed the river from Guangling and returned to his village.
Biography of Empresses and Concubines of Sui Shu;
Madame is also the daughter of Emperor Chen. Sexual intelligence, unparalleled appearance. And Chen was destroyed, followed the court, and then chose to enter the palace as a concubine. The queen is jealous when she is alone, and the harem rarely enters the palace. Only Chen is favored. The appearance of Jin in the capital also shows that Yin has plans to seize the clan, and the rules are internal help, and every ceremony is polite. Enter golden snakes, golden camels and other things to impress Chen. When the crown prince was abolished, he was still quite powerful. The queen of Wen collapsed, which was carried by the nobles. The special room was good at spoiling, and the main thing was broken. The Sixth Palace was unparalleled. And was worshipped as Mrs. Xuanhua in junior year.
Mrs Cai is also from Danyang. After Chen was destroyed, she was elected to the palace and became a woman on earth. I am very satisfied with her elegance. I hope to be lucky because I am the queen of literature. After the collapse, he gradually met his pet, worshipped him as a noble, participated in palace affairs, and lived in peace with Chen. Sleeping sickness and Mrs. Hua Rong. Asking for advice after the collapse was also praised by Emperor Yang.
Biography of the Twenty-two Children of Old Tang Gaozu;
Wang Chu Zhiyun, the fifth son of Gaozu. Mother Wan Guifei was obedient by nature, and her great-grandfather kissed her specially. Everything in the palace was discussed and the princesses were respectful. Later, it was named Chu Fei, coffin and mausoleum.
"New Tang Book, Biography of Empresses";
Princess Wechsler of Dezongxian, the old clan is in Qiliye. Zuzhuo, Princess Shang Ding 'an. At first, he was a good girl. Dezong Zhenyuan four years, worship the virtuous princess. I listen to everything in the palace pot, but I am sensitive and gentle, and everything I say and do has a rope moment. The emperor likes it very much, and the harem must learn from it.
A record of Ming Taizu:
(Sun Guifei) is the throne, the book is the imperial concubine, and all the concubines are on it. Caution and respect, help each other to be vigilant in the world, assist the Queen in reasoning and manage Su Yong's palace.
Biography of concubines in Ming Dynasty:
Li is from Shouzhou. My father, Jie and Hong, went north with Emperor Guangwu and died in the battle. In September of 17th year, Empress Xiao took off, conferred the title of Shu Fei, and took photos of the Sixth Palace. Soon, you.
Ning, daughter of Guo. Fu Shan is very friendly to people. Mao went to his house when he was young, and Fu Shan met him. He was surprised and said, "Gonggui." Because it is said that philosophers are prosperous, the British said, "I like you and Cao Can to seal the marquis." Send him across the river and send his concubine to serve Mao. After sealing ning Fei. Princess Li took photos in the sixth palace. Fu Shan-Lei was given to Ying Guogong, and both Xing and Britain were awarded the title of Hou with merit, which has a legend.
Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty:
(Wang Guifei) The princess is virtuous and always respectful to Empress Renxiao. She was courteous and generous in the palace, and she was very serious in overall management. When I was sick in my later years, I was sometimes angry. The imperial secretary was afraid of the task and the princess took care of it. Because the crown prince, the prince and the princess all depend on him. So, I mourned for it because of illness, dropped out of school for five days, offered sacrifices, and ordered people to have a funeral, which is known as the story that Hongwu became the imperial concubine of A Mu.
The Qing Shi Lu Shunzhi Shi Lu:
Dong Eshi, the imperial concubine, died on August 19. Under the orders of the Empress Dowager, the imperial concubine has been in charge of internal affairs for many years. Hearing the news of her husband's death, Shu was very sad. It is right to crown the queen.
A record of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty:
In April this year, the imperial concubine was conferred the title of Sixth Palace. Today is Jiaqing. Meet auspicious times. Jinxian's galleon. I am deeply grateful to this palace. All manners should be observed. I am writing about the Ministry in detail.
Biography of Empresses and Concubines in Qing Draft;
Empress Xiaocheng, Niu Zhilu, second-class bodyguard, first-class male and female. After the funeral, Xuanzong proclaimed himself emperor and all the books were published. Progressive imperial concubine. In the eleventh year of Daoguang, June was ugly and Wen Zongsheng was born. Thirteen years, into the imperial concubine, taken six hospitals. In fourteen years, he became a queen. In the first month of the twentieth year, Ren Yin collapsed and was thirty-three years old.
According to historical records, the reason why concubines except the queen in history can master the right to run the harem has nothing to do with their status and family background in the harem, only the mind of the emperor. For example, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, because he loved Mrs. Xuanhua and Mrs. Ronghua, let them "decide" and "participate" in harem affairs. Judging from the wording, at that time, the harem affairs were mainly handled by Mrs. Xuanhua, assisted by Mrs. Ronghua. For example, Wan Guifei was valued by Tang Gaozu because of her obedience, so the harem affairs were handled by Wan Guifei. For example, Li and Guo Ningfei were neither favored by the emperor nor treated differently, but Zhu Yuanzhang asked them to take charge of the harem one after another.
But beyond that, concubines are not qualified to take charge of the harem in the absence of the Sixth Hospital, even if their rank is higher and they are second only to the queen. The most typical example is Guo Guifei of Tang Xianzong. Guo Guifei was originally Tang Xianzong's original match. It stands to reason that after becoming an emperor, he should make his wife Guo the queen. However, Tang Xianzong is romantic and affectionate. In order not to let the queen who has the right to manage the harem interfere with her romantic hunting, she refused to make Guo the queen anyway, only made him the imperial concubine.
Therefore, if you can be the imperial concubine, you can naturally take charge of the harem without a queen. Why bother to do everything possible to get rid of the minister and let Guo be the queen and only let her be the imperial concubine?
Therefore, when there is no owner in the harem, even the highest quality imperial concubine cannot "naturally" represent the harem unless there is special permission from the emperor. Once the emperor's permission is obtained, she can still manage the harem, even if she is not a first-class princess or a third-class lady, but only a second-class concubine. For example, in the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Wen doted on Pan (in Liu Song Dynasty, there were only nine wives, but no three wives). Despite the pressure of the imperial concubine, your wife and your three ladies, Pan was still in charge of the harem.
Not only that, if the queen falls out of favor to the extreme, the emperor can also deprive the queen of the right to manage the harem and give it to his favorite concubine. For example, Chen Houzhu dotes on Zhang Lihua and doesn't like Shen Wuhua, so even though Queen Shen is alive and well, her temperament and morality are impeccable, Chen Houzhu still treats her as a decoration, and then gives the management of the harem to her favorite Zhang Guifei-historical facts have proved that the emperor will always be in charge of the harem.
Only the queen is the natural ruler of the harem. If there is no queen, then the emperor can take care of himself. Concubine in charge of the harem is a special favor given by the emperor, which is not their natural right. So it is the privilege of concubines. Whether the emperor let one concubine or several concubines manage the harem together, it will be recorded in the history books. For example, Zhang Guifei in Chen Houzhu was in charge of the harem, while Mrs Xuanhua and Mrs Ronghua in Sui Wendi were in charge of the harem at the same time. Sun Guifei in Ming Taizu was in charge of the harem, and Wang Guifei in Ming Chengzu was in charge of the harem. Li, Guo Ningfei, Dong Efei and other things in charge of the harem are clearly recorded in the history books. Liu Jun Biography also devoted some time to recording the situation that his mother Pan was in charge of the harem, which was also mentioned in Li Zhiyun Biography.
Not only will it be recorded in the history books, but even the epitaph, which has always been very popular, will certainly be written in detail. Therefore, if Wei Guifei is really in charge of the harem, such a special and glorious deed will not be mentioned in the biography of her son Li Shen, let alone in her epitaph. Even if Wei Guifei doesn't have that much authority to manage the harem, she just has some rights to participate, and her epitaph can't say nothing. For example, Sun Guifei, Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite concubine, only helped Ma Huanghou manage the harem. This incident is not only recorded in the Record of Ming Taizu, but also recorded in unofficial history's notes on the history of dynasty victory. Song Lian did not let go of this great honor when writing the epitaph of Sun Guifei: "Cheng Muguifei Sun Shi ... assisted the queen with reason and ruled the palace, salty but without complaint."
Wei Guifei's epitaph has long been unearthed, and there are many high-sounding words about her in the epitaph, but there is no mention of the so-called presiding over the harem. And the glory that even the epitaph is used for gold plating is embarrassed to talk nonsense. Today, some people take it for granted and directly buckle it on Wei Guifei's head.
Of course, some people will ask, if there is no queen, the imperial concubine is not qualified to manage the harem without the permission of the emperor, then who should manage the harem?
In fact, as early as the second year of Emperor Wendi's accession to the throne, Emperor Wendi set up three posts in the harem, namely Shangliu, Si Liu and Liu Dian, to be responsible for the administration of the harem. Therefore, even if the Sixth Palace has no owner, the affairs of the harem can be handled by Shangliu, Si Liu, Liu Dian and other departments. It is not necessary for the emperor to appoint concubines to represent the harem, let alone handle these trivial matters for himself.
After all, the emperor and queen are state leaders, not harem nannies. The harem is managed by special departments and officers. On weekdays, everyone performs their duties and operates normally. There is no need to disturb the emperor and queen unless there is something important to ask the emperor and queen or the concubine with agency authority. Otherwise, the emperor and the queen would not be neighbors who worry about everything.