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

"Bang!"

Inside the Fengtian Hall, there was deathly silence.

Liu Sanwu, the Minister of Rites who always hunched over, spoke softly, and wore a friendly smile, used all his strength to crash into the huge golden pillar carved with dragons and phoenixes.

Blood flowed down the dragon pillar, staining his gray hair, his scarlet official robe, and the golden dragon pillar that symbolized the supreme imperial power.

His frail body, as if its bones had been removed, slid limply off the pillar and collapsed onto the cold gold bricks, falling silent.

"Lord Liu!"

Hu Weiyong was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He scrambled over and, with trembling hands, tried to check Liu Sanwu's breathing.

"Quickly! Summon the imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician immediately!"

Hu Weiyong's voice changed, filled with sobs, as he roared towards the outside of the hall.

They believed that the greatest tragedy of the day was the death of His Highness the King.

But who could have imagined that, while the King of England's body was still warm, a highly respected Minister of Rites, who was in charge of the laws and etiquette of the realm, would actually commit suicide by striking his head against a pillar in the Fengtian Hall, in front of all the civil and military officials and the Emperor!

What fierce determination!

How tragic and magnificent this is!

Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others were also stunned by this sudden scene.

But today, they witnessed with their own eyes a scholar who used his life to defend the "Dao" in his heart.

The shock was no less than that of a thousand troops charging into battle.

Zhu Biao staggered forward, looking at Liu Sanwu lying on the ground, and then at the cold corpse of his fifth brother beside him. He felt his world collapsing piece by piece.

A younger brother, a loyal subject.

All gone in one day.

And the one who started all of this was his high and mighty father, the emperor!

"Father..."

"Are you...are you satisfied?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood blankly on the imperial steps, staring at the golden pillar stained with blood, and at Liu Sanwu lying in a pool of blood, his life hanging in the balance. His mind was completely blank.

he……

He just wanted to scare Ma Xiuying.

He just wanted to regain his dignity as emperor.

He simply wanted to show these disobedient ministers who the real ruler was!

He didn't want Liu Sanwu to die!

This old man, who usually seems so weak and obedient, why is he so irrational today?

If you disagree, you can kneel down and kowtow, you can cry, you can beg for mercy!

Why do you want to die?!

If you die here, what are we supposed to do?

You're not helping us, you're harming us!

"What are you standing there for!"

"Where are the imperial physicians?! What are we keeping them for?! Get them in here!"

Several imperial physicians, who had been waiting outside the palace, rushed in as soon as they heard the emperor's roar, each carrying their medicine chest.

Seeing the horrific scene inside the hall, they were so frightened that their legs went weak, but they still managed to stay upright and surround Liu Sanwu.

For a moment, the only sounds in the entire hall were the urgent examinations of the imperial physicians and Hu Weiyong's suppressed sobs.

Empress Ma watched all of this quietly.

She didn't look at Liu Sanwu lying on the ground, nor at her husband who was now acting like a madman.

Her gaze fell on her son, who was already cold, in her arms.

She reached out and gently straightened Zhu Muying's clothes, which were already soaked with blood.

There were no tears or expression on her face.

But everyone present could sense his sorrow.

One of my sons died.

A loyal minister, for her sake and for her son's sake, died in front of her.

What's the point of her being empress?

What's the point of her being a wife?

"Reporting to Your Majesty..."

The leading imperial physician stood up shakily, his face even paler than Liu Sanwu's on the ground.

"Liu... Minister Liu... he..."

"What's wrong with him?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a hoarse voice, "Is he dead?!"

The imperial physician was so frightened by his roar that he trembled and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Minister Liu... he was hit so hard, his skull... his skull is completely shattered... he's... he's already dead..."

boom!

Although it was expected, when the words "no breath" came from the imperial physician's mouth, a collective gasp still filled the entire Fengtian Hall.

died.

really dead.

The first minister in the history of the Ming Dynasty to die for his country in the imperial palace!

Upon hearing this, Hu Weiyong could no longer hold back and burst into tears, embracing Liu Sanwu's body.

"Lord Liu! You're foolish! Why are you doing this to yourself!"

The other civil officials also knelt down, weeping all around.

They were not just crying over the death of a colleague.

They were crying not only for the broken social order, but also for the tyrannical emperor and the precarious Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Yuanzhang's body swayed slightly.

He felt the gold bricks beneath his feet become scorching hot, making him unsteady on his feet.

He lost.

They lost miserably.

He used every means at his disposal to try and prove himself right.

But the result was that he forced a son to his death and a minister to his death.

He has cemented his place on the pillar of historical shame.

Just then, an untimely sound rang out.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

At the end of the civil official's line stood a young man with a thin face and exceptionally bright eyes, dressed in a blue official robe.

Dong Lun was a historian in the Hanlin Academy who recorded the emperor's daily activities.

His duty was to record the emperor's every word and action.

At this moment, he is holding a thick book in one hand, and writing history with the other.

Dong Lun remained completely unmoved; the scene of bloodshed before him had no effect whatsoever.

Dong Lun remained expressionless, and lines of fine, bold characters appeared on the paper.

He wrote slowly, but every word was powerful and penetrating.

All eyes were focused on the tip of his pen.

They knew that this young historian was writing history.

And they are all witnesses to this history.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked up to Dong Lun and bent down to look at him.

He stared intently at Dong Lun's pen, and he could see that the words had turned into sharp knives, carving themselves into his spine.

"In the autumn of the fifth year of Hongwu's reign, the Emperor suspected Prince Ying, Mu Ying, of plotting a rebellion and summoned him back to the capital. The Emperor falsely accused him of treason, but Prince Ying proved his innocence and died in the Fengtian Hall."

"Empress Ma, holding a sword, entered the palace and questioned the Emperor."

"Liu Sanwu, the Minister of Rites, died after striking his head against a pillar while remonstrating with the emperor in front of the palace."

Do not!

You can't write it like that!

Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

"stop!"

"Who told you to write it like that?!"

Dong Lun didn't even look up at Zhu Yuanzhang, but simply said, "Your Majesty, I am recording historical facts."

"historical facts?"

Zhu Yuanzhang heard an outrageous joke. Pointing to Liu Sanwu's corpse on the ground, then to Zhu Muying's corpse in his arms, his eyes bloodshot, he exclaimed, "This is the historical fact you're talking about?!"

"Yes."

Dong Lun's answer was only one word, yet it carried immense weight.

"fart!"

Zhu Yuanzhang roared, "Liu Sanwu killed himself! What does it have to do with us?! He was old and frail, he was careless, he tripped and fell, and died!"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the entire hall looked at Zhu Yuanzhang as if he were a madman.

Was it an accident?

Did you trip and fall?

He was killed in the accident?

Have you ever seen anyone wrestle and smash their skull to pieces?

Have you ever seen anyone fall and smash their brains out?

Do you think the entire court of officials are fools?!

Hu Weiyong knelt on the ground, his crying stopped, and he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in disbelief, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He knew the emperor wanted to shirk responsibility, but he never expected the emperor to be so shameless!

This is simply calling a deer a horse!

"Did you hear that?!"

Seeing that Dong Lun remained silent, Zhu Yuanzhang tightened his grip even more. "Liu Sanwu died of illness! He died suddenly from a disease that could not be cured!"

"Write. Died of disease!"

This is an order, a blatant order to the historians to distort history!

Dong Lun finally raised his head.

His thin face showed no fear, only an almost rigid calm.

"Your Majesty, the duty of a historian is to record events truthfully."

"Will you change it or not!"

Ignoring Zhu Yuanzhang's roar, Dong Lun continued writing furiously.

Dong Lun wrote and responded to Zhu Yuanzhang at the same time.

It was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.

"I have recorded the facts truthfully without altering a single word!"