Sky Curtain: The opening scene explains the four major cases of the Ming Dynasty plus the early Ming

Fifteen minutes later. Zhu Dijun came out of the bathroom, his face refreshed after being rinsed with cold water. 36 Ji handed him a towel, and 50 Ji waited by the door with a freshly brewed strong tea. He took it, took a sip, and pushed open the door to the live broadcast room.

The comment section was in an uproar. The first ten minutes were filled with requests for more episodes, interspersed with arguments between feminists and anti-feminists, and at the end, history enthusiasts were fiercely debating whether Zhang Juzheng actually slept with Empress Dowager Li.

Zhu Dijun sat down, placed the tablet on the table, and spoke to the camera.

"Welcome back, family."

He unscrewed the marker cap and wrote four characters on the whiteboard: "Unofficial History and Official History".

"Next, I'll talk about the unofficial histories from the transition period between the Longqing and Wanli reigns. First, Empress Dowager Li. As mentioned before, Ming Dynasty history was extensively revised and destroyed. In this fragmented information, unofficial histories are actually considered official histories, and official histories are actually considered unofficial histories. Everyone has their own opinion."

Three more words were added to the whiteboard—Li Caifeng.

"Empress Dowager Li of the Wanli Emperor, popularly known as Li Caifeng. There are four main categories of unofficial histories about her. We will break them down one by one, with each one accompanied by the truth of official history and a conspiracy theory interpretation."

He took a sip of tea, and Princess 50 pushed the teacup two inches further in from the side, afraid that he would knock it over with his elbow.

"The first category. The number one unofficial history that has been passed down for four hundred years - Empress Dowager Li's affair with Zhang Juzheng. There is a saying among the people: 'The black-hearted prime minister lies on the dragon bed.'"

The live chat exploded instantly.

Zhu Dijun was in no hurry and wrote a couplet on the whiteboard.

First line: Ai Zixiu, self-study or not, pale-faced scholar carrying a tiger-shaped list.

Second line: Zhang Juzheng, a man of integrity who was not truly upright, a black-hearted prime minister lying on the dragon's bed.

"Legend has it that the scholar Ai Zixiu was ridiculed for his studies by Zhang Juzheng in his early years, and he harbored resentment. One day, he visited Zhang's residence and unexpectedly discovered a secret passage leading directly to Empress Dowager Li's bedroom in Cining Palace. He wrote this couplet on the spot, which spread throughout the capital and confirmed the affair between the two."

He put down his pen and turned around.

"Interesting, isn't it? But a quick look at the timeline reveals the truth. Ai Zixiu passed the imperial examination in the 28th year of the Wanli reign, while Zhang Juzheng died in the 10th year of the Wanli reign. There's a sixteen-year gap, meaning the two never even met in their lifetimes. The secret passage story is pure fabrication."

"But this is not unfounded. During the period when Emperor Yingzong of Ming lost power and became a puppet after the Tumu Crisis, there were unofficial historical accounts about Emperor Daizong of Ming, Zhu Qiyu, having an affair with Empress Sun Ruowei. There were also rumors about Yang Shiqi and Empress Zhang, the wife of Emperor Renzong of Ming."

"Given these precedents, the rumors that Zhang Juzheng and Li Caifeng were having an affair were not entirely false; it's just that the people who spread them delayed until the person in question died before daring to speak out."

"It's the same principle as some other cases."

The comment section was filled with "Wow!"

"Let's talk about ambiguous tokens. Popular legend has it that the Empress Dowager gave Zhang Juzheng a black brocade with two dragons intertwined around the neck. Dragons are traditionally associated with emperors, and the two dragons symbolize a romantic relationship. Zhang Juzheng presented her with the poem 'White Swallow'—'White swallows fly, two by two, their jade-like brilliance shining, bringing joy to the mother's chamber,' which was interpreted as a love between a man and a woman. During Zhang Juzheng's serious illness, the Empress Dowager pricked her finger to copy the Avatamsaka Sutra in her blood to pray for his well-being. She also visited him alone in the palace late at night, personally serving him soup and medicine, which exceeded the proper etiquette between emperor and subject."

He counted them off one by one on his fingers.

"There was also the usurpation of the imperial robe. Only princes were allowed to wear five-clawed python robes, but Empress Dowager Li specially bestowed upon Zhang Juzheng a python robe that was almost identical to the imperial robe. Officials impeached him for 'coveting the imperial regalia and having an affair with the Empress Dowager.' Finally, there is evidence of the harem relinquishing power—in the sixth year of the Wanli reign, when the emperor married, according to custom the Empress Dowager should have returned power to the emperor, but she still held onto power for a long time. This was all because Zhang Juzheng secretly entered the palace to manage state affairs, and the two of them governed both inside and outside the palace and were of one mind."

These lines were all listed on the left half of the whiteboard, and Zhu Dijun started writing the refutation on the right half.

"Official history objectively refutes the rumors. First, there's a serious chronological inconsistency; as mentioned, Ai Zixiu and Zhang Juzheng were sixteen years apart. Second, the Ming Dynasty's palace was extremely strictly controlled. Officials entering the palace were always recorded by the Directorate of Ceremonial, historians, and guards. The Empress Dowager's palace was guarded by eunuchs 24 hours a day; there was no secret passage connecting to the outer palaces, making late-night rendezvous a complete fantasy. Third, he clearly distinguished between public and private matters—Zhang Juzheng repeatedly rejected the Empress Dowager's requests, preventing her from spending vast sums to build Buddhist temples, and impartially investigated the corruption case of the Empress Dowager's biological father, Li Wei, showing no leniency whatsoever. If there were any personal feelings involved, who would dare to be so defiant?"

He drew an arrow on the whiteboard.

"Fourth, there is no evidence to support the accusation. After Zhang Juzheng's death, the Wanli Emperor went to great lengths to confiscate his property and investigate him. All the impeachment memorials only mentioned corruption and abuse of power; no one dared to mention the Empress Dowager's private affairs. If true, it would have been a serious crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, and political enemies would have seized upon it to launch a fierce attack. The fact that no one mentioned it at all indicates that it was not true. Fifth, the blood-written scriptures and the python robe were political honors. The Empress Dowager was grateful to Zhang Juzheng for his ten years of assisting in governing and stabilizing the young emperor's reign. Copying the scriptures was a favor from the imperial family to a high-ranking official, and the python robe was a customary reward from the court to meritorious officials, not a private exchange."

He stepped back and looked at the contents of the whiteboard.

"but--"

At the bottom of the whiteboard, Zhu Dijun wrote the words "Conspiracy Theory Interpretation".

"Read it backwards. Who fabricated this rumor? It was a morally motivated scheme concocted by powerful figures, nobles, and conservative civil officials. Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law was used to survey land and strip large landowners of their tax evasion privileges. When the court couldn't bring him down with political charges, they fabricated palace scandals to destroy his reputation and sow discord between the Empress Dowager and the Grand Secretary."

He tapped the whiteboard and said:

"Now let's look at Empress Dowager Li. Her deliberate excessive favoritism towards Zhang Juzheng was itself a tactic of imperial checks and balances. The young emperor was unable to control the court, or rather, she did not want the young Zhu Yijun to gain imperial power, so she elevated Zhang Juzheng's status and gave him extraordinary privileges to suppress the nobles and the civil officials of the Censorate. She created the illusion of 'the two being very close' to the outside world, so that the officials would not dare to easily attack the chief minister, thus consolidating the new policy structure."

"This is why we have the joke about Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty's regent, as we know him today."

Zhu Dijun walked in front of the camera, his voice lowered.

"The most insidious layer—Wanli's frantic purge of Zhang Juzheng after assuming power was deeply rooted in his childhood trauma. From a young age, the Empress Dowager constantly told him, 'Let Mr. Zhang discipline you,' placing Zhang Juzheng above imperial authority. Wanli suppressed this for a long time, harboring suspicion about the relationship between his nominal mother and the Grand Secretary. The purge was both a power grab and a subconscious revenge for this embarrassing hierarchical relationship between the emperor and his subject."

The comment section exploded.

"Therefore, rumors are weapons, not gossip."

[Was the Wanli Emperor's purge of Zhang Juzheng essentially a stress response from a victim of domestic violence?]

"This psychological analysis is too ruthless."

["Upstairs, this isn't that harsh. Think of the purge that Shunzhi carried out after Dorgon's death, it's exactly the same, just with a different character."]

"Don't forget, Empress Dowager Li wasn't Zhu Yijun's biological mother! Isn't this a familiar scenario just like that of Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Qizhen?"

Zhu Dijun ignored the comments and continued pushing.

"The second category. Unofficial histories related to those from humble backgrounds."

Two lines were written on the whiteboard.

"Rumor 1: When Li was young, her family was poor. Her head was covered with sores and her hair fell out. The children in the village ostracized her. She often sat alone by the earthen wall, holding a domestic chicken. She was regarded as an oddity by her neighbors. Later, she met a fortune teller who said she had the appearance of a 'dragon mother'. Her father then sent her to the royal palace to be a maid."

"Comparison with official history: It only records that Li was a peasant girl from Tongzhou who entered the Yu Prince's mansion as a palace maid, and there is no record of her having sores or disfigurement. The fortune teller's prediction is a later folk embellishment."

"Conspiracy theory interpretation: The literati deliberately exaggerated her humble origins and vulgarity in her early years, subconsciously looking down on the empress dowager who came from a palace maid background and belittling the legitimacy of her rule."

He took a sip of tea.

"Rumor 2: At palace banquets, Empress Dowager Li could only eat standing up, while Empress Dowager Chen, the legitimate empress, was seated in the highest position. Empress Dowager Li had no right to sit on equal footing. Popular rumors say that because she came from a palace maid background, she was inferior to the legitimate empress in terms of etiquette and felt inferior, so she lavishly worshipped Buddhism and proclaimed herself the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva to elevate her status."

"Comparison with official history: When Wanli ascended the throne, he directly honored the two empress dowagers as Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Renxi, and the rites were completely equal. The Veritable Records repeatedly recorded that the two sat together to receive congratulations, without the custom of standing to serve meals."

"Conspiracy theory interpretation: This theory is that later Donglin literati constructed a narrative of 'legitimate and illegitimate children, superior and inferior' to deliberately weaken Empress Dowager Li's political status and emphasize that the legitimacy of the harem lies with the original empress."

Zhu Dijun put the pen cap back on, then unscrewed it.

"The third category is unofficial histories of self-proclaimed Nine-Lotus Bodhisattvas who worshipped Buddhism. This category is the most widespread, and is half true and half false."

The words "Nine Lotus Bodhisattva" were added to the whiteboard.

"Core Legend: Empress Dowager Li dreamt in the middle of the night that the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva descended from nowhere and orally imparted to her the exclusive 'Nine Lotus Sutra.' Upon waking, she recited it word for word and declared that she was the reincarnation of the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva, descended to earth to protect the Ming Dynasty imperial family. A statue of the Nine Lotus Guanyin was cast in the palace, its appearance completely modeled after Empress Dowager Li herself."

"The imperial treasury and the funds raised by officials and palace maids were used to build the Yong'an Wanshou Pagoda at Cishou Temple, which was popularly known as the Linglong Pagoda. It was publicly claimed to be a birthday celebration for Wanli's mother, but in reality, it was a temple built for her to worship a Bodhisattva. The pagoda stele directly listed her as the pagoda's master, using divine authority to elevate the status of the commoner empress dowager and offset the disadvantage of her humble origins."