I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Empress Ma with some fear.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little apprehensive.

After all, he single-handedly killed the girl's most beloved fifth brother.

"Girl!"

"Don't you also think we did something wrong? Don't you also think we're a tyrant?!"

Empress Ma raised her head, holding Zhu Muying's corpse in her arms, her eyes devoid of light, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

The atmosphere inside the Fengtian Hall was extremely oppressive.

Everyone knew that a major storm was about to hit.

The attitudes of these six military generals and Empress Ma had pushed Zhu Yuanzhang to the brink of disaster.

Zhu Yuanzhang's hands, gripping the hilt of his sword, were covered in sweat.

He gasped for breath, staring intently at the people in front of him, while the demon inside him, clamoring for slaughter, struggled frantically.

He wanted to order all these people arrested and beheaded.

But he didn't dare.

He knew that if he dared to touch these six people today, the army outside would immediately mutini.

The Ming Dynasty was truly finished.

The air inside the Fengtian Hall was so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.

The stench of blood on the ground mingled with the murderous aura emanating from Zhu Yuanzhang, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still panting heavily, waiting for Empress Ma's reply and for the six military generals to back down.

He believed that as long as he raised his voice loud enough and acted like an emperor, these people would eventually have to obediently bow their heads.

But he was wrong.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's furious state, Xu Da felt all the remaining affection between the emperor and his subject vanish.

He turned his head and glanced at Chang Yuchun beside him.

Chang Yuchun understood and nodded emphatically.

Then, Xu Da looked at Li Wenzhong, Tang He, Deng Yu, and Lan Yu.

All five of them looked over at the same time.

Six people, six pillars of the Ming Dynasty, reached a tacit understanding at this moment.

A tacit understanding that disregards life and death.

Xu Da turned around and faced Empress Ma, who was kneeling on the ground.

He lifted the hem of his blood-stained official robe, bent his knees, and knelt down.

Chang Yuchun knelt down as well.

Li Wenzhong knelt down.

Tang He, Deng Yu, and Lan Yu all knelt down behind Xu Da.

Six burly men, as tall as iron towers, knelt in the very center of the Fengtian Hall, facing the back of Empress Ma.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Da took a deep breath, opened his throat, and shouted out a sentence with all his might.

"Big sister!"

Chang Yuchun and the other four also shouted at the top of their lungs, "Big Sister!"

These six men have incredibly loud voices; their battle cries can be heard miles away.

Now, shouting in unison in the closed Fengtian Hall was like a thunderclap from nowhere!

With a loud "whoosh," the paper windows of the main hall trembled violently.

That one word, "elder sister," stunned the entire court.

Apart from this echo, no other sound could be heard in the entire Fengtian Hall.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Li Shanchang, who was lying on the ground, trembled with fear upon hearing those two words and almost wet his pants.

His mind raced: Oh no, oh no, these military officers have gone mad!

Where is this place?

This is the Fengtian Hall!

This is where the emperor held court!

The one sitting on top is the Emperor, and the one kneeling on the ground is the Empress!

According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, here, one can only address Your Majesty and Your Majesty!

Should I call her "Big Sister"?

What does this mean?

This is telling the whole world that they no longer recognize this emperor!

They no longer respect the rules of this imperial court!

They only recognize the older sister who used to sew and mend clothes for them and cook soup for them back in Haozhou!

This is even more insidious than directly drawing swords and rebelling!

Zhu Yuanzhang froze completely.

The golden knife in his hand clattered onto the gold brick without him even noticing.

He stared wide-eyed at the six people kneeling on the ground, his mind blank.

Miss?

These two words were like two awls, piercing Zhu Yuanzhang's ears and straight into his heart.

He recalled something from many years ago.

Back then, he was a poor soldier, and these guys followed him to get food.

Everyone was so hungry they were skin and bones, and it was Ma Xiuying who saved her own food rations and secretly fed them.

Back then, they called her "Big Sister" affectionately.

But things are different now!

He's the emperor now!

The whole world is his now!

Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if his face had been ripped off and thrown on the ground, where it was then stomped on.

He was trembling with rage, pointing at Xu Da and his men. His lips quivered for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You... what did you call her? Do you even respect yourselves as the emperor?!"

Xu Da ignored Zhu Yuanzhang's questioning.

He knelt on the ground, watching Empress Ma's retreating figure, his eyes bloodshot.

"Big sister! Stand up for fifth brother!"

Xu Da shouted again, his voice trembling with tears, "We rough men may not be good with words, but we know what we're doing! You know what kind of person Fifth Brother is, and we know it too! He's been righteous since he was a child, and he's guarded the north for so many years without ever complaining! How could he possibly rebel!"

Chang Yuchun also shouted at the top of her lungs, "Elder sister! Fifth brother died unjustly! He was forced to his death! He didn't want to put eldest brother in a difficult position, he didn't want to put us old uncles in a difficult position, so he gave his own life! Elder sister, you have to seek justice for him!"

Lan Yu, with tears streaming down her face, cried out, "Big sister! Please say something! Just give us your nod, and we'll risk our lives to get justice for Lao Wu! We can't let him die like this, without knowing why!"

The six people, one after another, were all shouting at Empress Ma.

They completely ignored Zhu Yuanzhang, treating him as if he didn't exist.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood there, looking at his old brothers who were crying to their wives, his anger mixed with fear rising in waves.

He suddenly realized that he was a terrible emperor.

He held the power of life and death; he could have tens of thousands of people beheaded with a single word.

But at this point, not a single one of his closest brothers or the generals he trusted most stood by his side.

They all ran to the Queen to beg for her intervention!

"This is outrageous...it's really outrageous..."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself.

"Xu Da, are you trying to rebel? You call her 'elder sister,' and you expect her to be in charge? Whose world is this? Whose court is this? We're not even dead yet! And you're already changing sides?"

Xu Da turned his head.

The awe he once held was gone from his eyes; only deep disappointment remained.

"Your Majesty, I dare not rebel."

Crown Prince Zhu Biao knelt to one side, his hands resting on his sword.

He turned to look at his mother, who had remained silent.

Empress Ma remained in the same position, holding Zhu Muying, her head bowed, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding arguments.

But Zhu Biao saw that his mother's hands, which were holding his fifth brother, were trembling with heartbreaking pain.

Her magnificent phoenix robe was stained with dark red blood clots.

The Empress Dowager's heart is bleeding right now.

Just like Zhu Biao, he too is bleeding.

This cry of "elder sister" not only shocked the imperial court, but also broke Empress Ma's heart.

As she listened to Xu Da and the others, thinking of her already cold son in her arms, tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back.

She knew now was not the time to cry.

If she were as volatile as Zhu Yuanzhang, the world would descend into chaos.

The affairs of the Zhu family should not disturb the common people!

"Big sister!"

Tang He also shouted. He was a mature and steady man who rarely lost his temper, but today he was also furious. "Big sister, say something! Fifth Brother can't just die like this! We old brothers, even if we have to give our lives in this Fengtian Hall today, we will get justice for Fifth Brother!"

Deng Yu nodded in agreement, gritting his teeth as he said, "Yes! Eldest sister, as long as you agree, we'll drag out those treacherous officials who framed Fifth Brother right now and skin them alive!"

These six people kept calling Zhu Yuanzhang "elder sister" and saying "wronged," completely ignoring him.

Their attitude is now very clear: the emperor has gone mad, we won't reason with you anymore, we'll only listen to our eldest sister.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his six old brothers who had fought alongside him through thick and thin, and now they were willing to risk their lives for a son.

His anger, resentment, and panic were all mixed together.

"You...you're rebelling! You're trying to force me to abdicate!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he stamped his feet and pointed outside the door, shouting, "Guards! Guards! Where are the Embroidered Uniform Guards? Seize these traitors! Seize them all!"

Upon hearing the shouts, Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the door, led dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guards and rushed in.

Empress Ma knelt on the ground, turned around suddenly, and beneath her phoenix crown, her phoenix eyes revealed the might of a dragon.

This turn of the head was like a phoenix turning its head back.

The tiger roared and the phoenix cried: "I am here! Let's see who dares to act recklessly!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment. He wanted to roar, but he held it in his throat and dared not utter the word "kill"!