He was adopted by his uncle Miankai (??), the third son of the Jiaqing Emperor, because Miankai had no surviving sons to succeed him. Upon Miankai's death in 1838, Yicong inherited his adoptive father's peerage and became known as "Prince Dun of the First Rank" (???).

Following the death of the Daoguang Emperor in 1850, Yicong's fourth brother Yizhu succeeded their father and became historically known as the Xianfeng Emperor.