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Starting from Emperor Yongzheng, the Qing Dynasty adopted a secret method of appointing the successor to avoid cruel disputes over the throne. That is, the emperor personally wrote the edict of succession while he was alive, and then hid it in a box behind a plaque with the words "正大光明". At the same time, another copy was written and carried with him to prevent the edict from being tampered with, and to announce the succession of the new emperor at any time.

Jiaqing also adopted the secret system of appointing the crown prince during his lifetime. Logically, he would carry a "copy of the will" with him when he was away from home, but the princes and ministers who accompanied him searched through Jiaqing's bedroom and could not find the will. The country could not be without a king for a day, so the ministers quickly sent people back to Beijing, first to inform the queen of Jiaqing's death, and second to look for the will, but they still could not find it.

At the Mountain Resort, at a time when everyone was extremely anxious, Jiaqing's attendants found the secret box containing the will from their personal place. The princes and ministers took out the will and found that the successor was officially the second son of the emperor, Mian Ning. So, the ministers supported Mian Ning to succeed the throne and he became Emperor Daoguang.

Empress Xiaohe had no way of knowing the situation in the Mountain Resort. When she heard the news of Jiaqing's death, she immediately issued an imperial decree in the name of the Empress Dowager:

"I weep over the late emperor's ascension to the throne, and he has worked diligently and conscientiously, always thinking of the country and the people. Now that he has passed away, the succession is particularly important. The second son of the emperor, Prince Zhi, is kind, filial, intelligent, brave, and upright. He is accompanying the emperor and should be entrusted with the task... For this reason, I have issued an imperial decree to instruct the princes and ministers who remain in Beijing to send a letter to the second son of the emperor, so that he can immediately ascend to the throne to comfort the spirit of the late emperor and meet the wishes of the people of the world."

The Empress Dowager's biological sons were not Daoguang, but the third son Miankai and the fourth son Mianxin. Why did she make Daoguang, who was not her biological son, the successor? Didn't she want her own son to succeed to the throne?

Daoguang was the legitimate son of Jiaqing's original wife, and he had made great contributions in the Tianli Rebellion. He had long been famous and popular. It was almost an open secret that he would succeed to the throne. The two sons of the empress dowager were not as senior and prestigious as Daoguang. If the imperial edict conflicted with the will of succession, it would cause great turmoil. At that time, not to mention her own son's succession, I am afraid that the three of them would become sinners of the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the empress dowager might as well go with the flow and establish Daoguang, the undisputed heir, so that she could receive courtesy from the new emperor in the future. Later facts also proved that the empress dowager's investment in "betting on Daoguang" was quite correct. Daoguang was extremely filial to her, and the empress dowager was naturally able to enjoy her old age.

When Daoguang first ascended the throne, he promoted his third son Miankai to the rank of Heshuo Dun Prince. One month later, he conferred the title of Wei Ru Ba Fen Gong on Miankai's son Yi Zun. According to the imperial clan practice, the legitimate son of a Heshuo Prince could be conferred the title of Wei Ru Ba Fen Gong only when he was 16 years old, and Yi Zun was only 3 years old at that time. He also ordered Yi Zun to be awarded the first-class hat and double-eyed peacock feather after he was released from mourning.

At the beginning of the third year of Daoguang's reign, the two brothers had a disagreement over a trivial matter. Miankai's family members made a mistake, and Daoguang punished Miankai slightly, but Miankai continued to work behind the scenes. Daoguang ordered that all his duties be dismissed and his salary be fined for five years, with half of his salary each year, which would be deducted over ten years. Later, the Empress Dowager mediated, and Daoguang summoned Miankai back to serve as an inner court official and exempted him from the fine for three years.

Later, although Miankai was punished for many things, Daoguang still treated him well, showed mercy to him many times, and did not punish him according to the law. Later, Miankai's son died, and Daoguang even adopted his own son to him.

After Daoguang ascended the throne, he was still relatively kind to his fourth son, Prince Rui Mianxin, and let him manage the affairs of the Imperial Calligraphy Office in the Wuying Palace. He was awarded a red velvet hat. However, in the eighth year of Daoguang's reign, Mianxin died of illness at the age of 24.