Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

In the twenty-first year of the Jiajing reign, Zhu Houcong stayed overnight in Consort Cao's palace. Deep in his sleep, he had no idea that more than a dozen palace maids were quietly strangling him with ropes.

These palace maids had planned this all along, and even some concubines were involved. They worked together, some holding down Zhu Houcong's limbs and chest, some covering his mouth and nose with a yellow silk cloth, and some tightening the noose.

[Perhaps due to the panic, or perhaps because Zhu Houcong struggled too violently, the palace maids tied another knot, which became a dead knot. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't strangle Zhu Houcong.]

Seeing that they couldn't strangle Zhu Houcong, several palace maids pulled out their hairpins and stabbed him wildly. Unable to kill the emperor, some became frightened. A palace maid named Zhang Jinlian ran out and headed straight for Empress Fang's residence to surrender.

Seeing the situation was dire, the palace maids scattered and fled. Empress Fang arrived with her men, rescued Zhu Houcong, and arrested the mastermind, Consort Wang Ning, along with all the palace maids involved, executing them by slow slicing.

hiss~

Why does it feel like everyone wants to kill Jiajing?

Was Emperor Jiajing (Zhu Houcong) a cruel and inhumane monarch?

Or is there some conspiracy involved?

Li Shimin shook his head slightly, marveling at the sight.

"The assassination attempt on Zhu Houcong was very similar to the death of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, Sima Yao, both of whom were assassinated by concubines in the harem."

"Sima Yao's assassination attempt was a spur-of-the-moment decision by Consort Zhang, but Zhu Houcong's this time..."

"These palace maids had planned this all along. How could a dozen palace maids be so meticulous in their actions, leaving no trace and preparing everything perfectly?"

"That's really strange."

Li Shimin was now somewhat frightened; who knew that the emperors of later generations would live such difficult lives?

Instead of considering how to govern the country, the emperor was forced to focus solely on saving his own life.

What's the point of being an emperor then?

Or perhaps, someone simply doesn't want the emperor to govern the country properly?

He now felt that the future was a bit dark; even he couldn't defend against these open and hidden swords.

However, subsequent developments added an air of conspiracy to this palace coup.

After the assassination of the Jiajing Emperor, the imperial physicians dared not administer any medicine, fearing that if they did, the emperor would die and they would be punished for the heinous crime of regicide.

That's strange, how come Liu Wentai is alright? He killed the emperor twice, you know.

[Zhu Houcong died, lying unconscious and stiff, while the civil officials had already made plans for Crown Prince Zhuangjing to succeed him before his coffin. It is worth mentioning that at this time, Crown Prince Zhuangjing was six years old and was Zhu Houcong's eldest son.]

At this time, Xu Shen, the Imperial Physician whom Zhu Houcong had personally promoted and trusted, stepped forward and prescribed a strong medicine. After taking it, Zhu Houcong vomited several liters of purple blood, gradually regained consciousness, and recovered after several days of taking the medicine.

[In a dramatic turn of events, five months later, Xu Shen suddenly fell seriously ill, and two months after that, he died. At this point, seven months had passed since the Renyin Palace Incident. He himself stated that the cause of his illness was the shock and trauma inflicted on his body by the Renyin Palace Incident, which was beyond the reach of any medicine.]

Han Dynasty

"I don't believe it!"

Liu Che (Emperor Wu of Han) put himself in Zhu Houcong's shoes at the time, especially Zhu Houcong after the Renyin Palace Coup, and he was filled with suspicion.

He was already extremely suspicious, not to mention that he didn't even bother to fake the many events that occurred during the Jiajing era.

Now he's even afraid that palace maids might come and strangle him.

"What the sky is saying is true. Didn't Liu Wentai set a good example for you? He wouldn't be punished for treating the emperor to death, yet he said he dared not treat him."

"Those ministers have a good idea. A six-year-old emperor—they're the ones who call the shots!"

[Because this palace coup was an internal affair of the palace, it was a taboo subject, and historical records are unclear, with many doubts. For example, Consort Cao was assassinated in her palace, but there is no record of Consort Cao herself. It is unknown what role she played in the coup. Some say she was a participant, while others say she was an innocent victim.]

The prevailing belief is that the Jiajing Emperor liked to use the menstrual blood of palace maids to make elixirs, and to maintain their purity, he only allowed them to consume dew.

However, this claim is purely unofficial historical fact. Historical records never mention that Emperor Jiajing liked to use menstrual blood to make red lead cinnabar. It only appears in some scholars' notes. At the very least, Hai Rui's memorial on maintaining order did not mention this.

In the end, Empress Fang swiftly had Consort Wang Ning, Consort Cao Duan, and the palace maids all executed by slow slicing.

[In the 26th year of the Jiajing reign, a fire broke out in the Empress's palace. Zhu Houcong stopped the eunuchs from going to the rescue, but the specific reason is still unknown.]

[Perhaps the Jiajing Emperor discovered something, and it was a deliberate act of revenge, or perhaps there was another reason.]

[After this, the Jiajing Emperor lost all his former ambition and moved to the Western Garden, devoting himself to Taoist cultivation and neglecting state affairs, or at least outwardly ignoring them. Surprisingly, he lived for another twenty years, passing away in the forty-fifth year of his reign at the age of 59, making him the longest-lived emperor of the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Di.]

In the twentieth year of Jiajing's reign,

The otherworldly air that Zhu Houcong had cultivated through long-term Taoist practice had vanished completely; his previous serene demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

"This is outrageous!!!"

"That's outrageous!!!"

"Call him Lu Binglai!!"

"Call Lu Binglai!!!!"

The furious roar made the pen holder on the table tremble slightly.

Zhu Houcong hadn't expected these people to be so audacious. The entire palace was like a leaky sieve, open to anyone who could stab him in the back.

The Empress, Consort Cao, Consort Wang, and those palace maids!

There was only one palace maid? I don't know the names of the others?

simple!

Just kill them all, or rather, exterminate everyone in the palaces of these concubines.

It's even said that sand was mixed in with the palace guards.

Zhu Houcong's unease was completely aroused. He didn't want to stay in the palace for even a minute longer, fearing that a few more people who wanted to kill him would suddenly appear from somewhere.

Huang Jin, with a bowed back, instructed his godson to summon Lu Bing, without leaving Zhu Houcong's side.

At this time, all he wanted was to stay by Zhu Houcong's side.

In case those people resort to desperate measures, he could at least buy them some time.

At the very least, it can block a knife!

The numerous emperors beneath the canopy remained silent after witnessing Zhu Houcong's series of misfortunes.

They really didn't know how to evaluate it, and they all thought of themselves.

What to do if the emperor doesn't want to be emperor anymore?

The main reason is that emperors before the Ming Dynasty had never seen this kind of operation.

It was even common for them to beat and scold the palace maids around them and to disregard the imperial physicians.

In their eyes, these were nothing more than their servants; they wouldn't dare assassinate the king even if they had ten lives.

The result was a bright, glaring example in the sky.

It wasn't there before? Now it is.

What if the palace maids and concubines around them start to follow suit?

There were even imperial physicians!!

It's still essential to have a trusted imperial physician; they're crucial in critical moments. Such physicians should be trained from a young age.

Many emperors learned from this experience: palace maids were relatively easy to manage—their treatment could be slightly improved—but nighttime security had to be increased.

Then came the investigation of the Imperial Medical Academy to eliminate quack doctors!

To be a royal physician, one must be skilled in medicine!