On January 12, 1875,
Tungche "Ascended Upon The Dragon, To Be A Guest On High," Without Leaving
Any Offspring To Succeed Him.
There were rumors that his illness was only
a plausible excuse, and that he was really the victim of foul play; but it
is not likely that the truth on that point will ever be revealed.
Whether
he was the victim of an intrigue similar to that which had marked his
accession to power, or whether he only died from the neglect or
incompetence of his medical attendants, the consequences were equally
favorable to the personal views of the two empresses and Prince Kung. They
resumed the exercise of that supreme authority which they had resigned
little more than twelve months. The most suspicious circumstance in
connection with this event was the treatment of the young Empress Ahluta,
who, it was well known, was pregnant at the time of her husband's death.
Instead of waiting to decide as to the succession until it was known
whether Tungche's posthumous child would prove to be a son or a daughter,
the empresses dowager hastened to make another selection and to place the
young widow of the deceased sovereign in a state of honorable confinement.
Their motive was plain. Had Ahluta's child happened to be a son, he would
have been the legal emperor, as well as the heir by direct descent, and
she herself could not have been excluded from a prominent share in the
government. To the empresses dowager one child on the throne mattered no
more than another; but it was a question of the first importance that
Ahluta should be set on one side.
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