In 1889, Guangxu Emperor was already 19 years old and his formal reign could no longer be retarded.(According to Qing rules, young emperors should begin their formal reign at 14 years old, however, Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to grip power in her hands as long as possible). What would come alongside formal reign of the emperor was his marriage.Cixi planned both Guangxu's formal reign and marriage tactically. She published an edict in Guangxu's name announcing that though the Empress Dowager would retire, she would still give supreme rulings on important state matters, which meant that Cixi would still be the ruler de facto of China.
Cixi threw yet more influence on the marriage of her nephew. She made Guangxu Emperor marry his own cousin, Lady
Yehenara Jingfen, who was also her niece, which was totally out of Guangxu's will. By making this alliance, Cixi meant to unite the
Aisin-Gioro and Yehenara clans, as well as to restrict the emperor more through her own niece. Jingfen thus became Longyu Empress. The new empress had a horse face,a crooked back and was 2 years older than Guangxu. The deemed unhappiness of this arranged marraige could already be perceived even before the wedding.
Yet the wedding ceremony cost the treasury a lot of money, which added considerable burden on the Chinese empire already under siege.
Besides Longyu Empress, the Tatala sisters were called into the palace to become Guangxu's concubines. Lady Tatala the elder was made Jin Consort and the younger Zhen Consort (which litterally means 'the Pearl Consort').At first, Guangxu Emperor felt so disappointed for being bound by Cixi that he didn't like any of the three women. However, he would soon discover that the then 14-year-old Pearl Consort was by every means a delightful creature: Pretty, intelligent and outgoing, her exuberant nature wasn't left in ruins by strict court courtesies. On the contrary, she became a sort of 'rebel' against that system, which implicitly formed an empathy with the constrained emperor.
Guangxu Emperor and Pearl Consort respected and loved each other. And they were both loyal and devoted to their romance. Guangxu Emperor simply ignored any other woman including Longyu Empress (He even detested her as she was meant to fill in the role of a 'spy') and Jin Consort. He would never select more concubines and after the tragic death of his beloved, he would abstain from any woman until his death (Which was so rare a phenomenon among Chinese emperors)
In ancient China, the relationship between an emperor and his concubine was usually based on very unequal terms, that the concubine was no more than a sexual object in the eyes of the emperor. However, it was totally not the case here. Guangxu Emperor allowed the Pearl Consort to eat with him by the same table and to accompany him not only throughout the night, but also when he was working. The Pearl Consort, in return, would often put on men's clothes to delight the emperor. And it is said that it was her who first introduced photography into Chinese imperial court. Only for fun, she would often lead the emperor to the royal garden to take photos together.
At first, Empress Dowager Cixi quite liked the Pearl Consort as she had always favored clever people. Hearing that the Pearl Consort could draw, she even ordered private tutors for her. And seeing that Guangxu Emperor loved the Pearl Consort, Cixi would often led the other two women of Guangxu to live in the Summer Palace with her while leaving the loving couple in the Forbidden City. However, political conflicts would soon arise between the so-called 'Emperor's party' and 'Empress Dowager's party' as both internal and external crisis drew close, which would shed a shadow even on this beautiful love story.
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