Daoguang was a very thrifty emperor, even before Daoguang became emperor. He will send people out to buy sesame cakes and then eat them with boiling water. Later, when he became emperor, he advocated thrift. He stipulated that the annual expenditure of the Imperial Palace should not exceed 202,000 silver. Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can only save money desperately, and concubines can't buy new clothes casually. Even the queen's clothes are patched for another three years.
When Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her birthday, it was even crowdfunding. Ministers raised money, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs didn't spend a penny. Even on such a big festival as the Spring Festival, there are only five dishes. Five dishes that can't be shaken, duck and cabbage pot, sea cucumber tumor spinal cord, pheasant balls, small fried meat and spinach stewed mutton, are all hard dishes, but there is no harm without comparison. The last emperor Puyi lived a very luxurious life. There are six tables of dishes and staple food, and a table of hot pot is prepared separately in winter.
Therefore, in comparison, Daoguang was too hard on himself, and even the ladies-in-waiting suffered. Before he ascended the throne, the imperial palace would prepare more food for the ladies-in-waiting, but since Daoguang ascended the throne, the life of the ladies-in-waiting has become more and more bitter, and they can't even eat a bite of meat. Therefore, most of the other emperors are natural in bearing and extraordinary in temperament, and they can see at a glance that they are people with status, so Daoguang is different. He is too thin. As for giving people a feeling of sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, it is as thin as lightning in modern terms.