Aixinjueluo Zaichun was the only son of Emperor Xianfeng. He ascended the throne at the age of six and took charge at the age of seventeen. He lived in the shadow of his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Cixi, all his life.
He longed for rights and freedom, and was not afraid of his mother's power to fight against her. At the age of 14, he collaborated with the Empress Dowager Ci'an and Prince Gong to kill the eunuch An Dehai who often stirred up dissension and bullied the palace people around his mother. At the age of 16, with the help of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, he was married in a draft and took the first step in pro-government.
He is smart, wise, has his own thoughts, and aspires to become a wise king.
But in the eyes of the Empress Dowager Cixi, he was just a child who had not grown up. He would still sneak out of the palace and cry angrily to his elderly master. More importantly, his biological son is closer to his aunt, Empress Dowager Ci'an, which makes the extremely possessive Empress Dowager Cixi incompatible.
The young emperor once again had a disagreement with the Empress Dowager Cixi due to the post-election issue. The relationship between mother and son further deteriorated due to this matter. Coupled with the different ways of handling state affairs in the previous dynasty, mother and son turned against each other and became tit-for-tat, incompatible enemies.
Later, the young emperor succumbed to his mother's power, gave up his promise to work diligently and love the people, stopped caring about government affairs, drank and had fun every day, and lived extravagantly. He eventually contracted smallpox and died at the age of nineteen, reigning for only thirteen years.
Huangque is homophonic to "yellow bird". It is said to be like a mantis hunting a cicada, with the oriole behind. Everyone in the palace wanted to be the oriole who strategized, but in the end everyone lost.
Purpose: Even a hundred-foot palace wall cannot imprison a young man's desire for freedom.