In the twenty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, during the Dragon Boat Festival, a fire broke out in the Hall of Serene Waters in the Old Summer Palace. Qianlong, who had been resting inside after watching the dragon boat races, nearly burned to death. The Fourth Prince, Yongcheng, had been on duty at his side at the time.
Qianlong and Yongcheng were soon trapped in the blaze. Thick smoke billowed everywhere as the two cried desperately for help. The Fifth Prince, Yongqi, who had been playing chess nearby with the Eighth Prince, Yongxuan, rushed over at once. He smashed through a window, charged into the fire, and carried Qianlong out on his back.
By then, Yongcheng had already escaped by breaking a window himself, leaving Qianlong alone amid the flames. Once the two emerged, the Empress Dowager and the other princes all rushed over, and the fire was quickly extinguished. Not long afterward, Qianlong adopted Yongcheng out to Prince Lü, who had no heir. Four years earlier, he had already adopted Yongrong out to Prince Zhi. Together with the Second Prince's early death and the First and Third Princes' breaches of decorum at Empress Fuca's funeral after her death from illness, Yongqi suddenly became the "eldest son," and thus the most likely heir to the throne.
Unfortunately, Yongqi died of illness three years later. The Sixth Prince, Yongrong, the young prince's maternal uncle, had no blemished record like Yongcheng's. Moreover, he presided over the compilation of the Complete Library of the Four Branches. Although Ji Xiaolan served as an editor, Yongrong was responsible for mobilizing the manpower, funds, and administrative resources. Under his management, the Imperial Household Department also functioned normally. Overall, Yongrong was capable and talented in many fields. Other than the fact that he had already been adopted out,