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

On the city tower.

That edict, which read "fabricated charges," denounced the absurdity and cold-bloodedness of an emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang held a golden sword, his eyes vacant, like a clay sculpture stripped of all its vitality.

He was ambitious and scheming throughout his life, never imagining that he would one day be so abandoned by everyone and surrounded by enemies.

The army he trusted most betrayed him.

His most trusted and meritorious official criticized him.

Even the crown prince, on whom he had placed all his hopes, stood against him.

He felt like a lonely man abandoned by the whole world.

This profound isolation and deep-seated loneliness and despair caused him more pain than any sword or blade.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, a choked voice, suppressing endless grief, rang out.

"Jungpachi..."

It was Empress Ma.

The woman who had accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang from a penniless beggar to the powerful Empress of the Ming Dynasty was now in tears.

With the support of her family, she walked step by step, with great difficulty, to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Behind her followed Xu Da, Chang Mao, Lan Yu, and a group of founding fathers with somber expressions.

They no longer hurled accusations, but their disappointed and indignant gazes were like invisible steel needles piercing Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

"Zhongba, look at yourself! Look at yourself now! What have you become?"

Empress Ma knelt down, looking at her husband who had once been a pillar of strength but was now a pathetic figure, her voice filled with endless heartache and disappointment.

"Do you remember? Back at Huangjue Temple, you told me that your greatest wish in this life was to ensure that all the poor people in the world could have enough to eat and live with dignity."

"Do you remember? Back then, when we were besieged in Yingtian by Chen Youliang's army, the city was running out of food, and everyone was almost in despair, it was you who stood up and told everyone that as long as the people's hearts were united, we would definitely win."

"Back then, you were so full of vigor and so convincing. Back then, your heart was filled with the world, the people, and the brothers who had risked their lives for you!"

Empress Ma's tears, like beads from a broken string, streamed down her wrinkled face.

"But what about now? You've become emperor, you possess the world, yet your heart has grown smaller and smaller, so small that it can only hold your own little bit of suspicion and fear."

"Zhongba, tell me, what is the purpose of all this? Is it really what you want to be a lonely ruler, a tyrant feared and hated by everyone?"

Every word Empress Ma spoke was like a gentle knife, slowly dissecting Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, which had long been hardened by power and suspicion.

"No... I'm not..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's lips trembled; he wanted to refute, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.

Before Empress Ma, all his imperial pretense was completely stripped away.

He was just a husband who did something wrong but refused to admit it.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is right!"

Xu Da stepped forward and knelt heavily before Zhu Yuanzhang.

He, the Duke of Wei of the Ming Dynasty, had only ever knelt before Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, and Parents in his entire life. But now, he was kneeling to advise his own monarch.

"Your Majesty! Wake up! Stop being so stubborn!"

"Thump! Thump!"

As Xu Da knelt down, Chang Mao, Lan Yu, and all the surviving military officers behind him knelt down without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, please rescind your decree and exonerate His Highness the Prince of Ying!"

"Your Majesty, please acknowledge your mistakes and issue an edict of self-reproach to the people!"

"Your Majesty, please treat your meritorious officials well and restore a bright and just world to the Ming Dynasty!"

The requests, one after another, merged into a huge wave of sound, echoing repeatedly on the city tower of Chengtianmen.

This is not a coup.

This is the most poignant and final piece of advice from a group of brothers who helped him conquer the country, to this monarch who had gone mad with delusion.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his wife kneeling before him, and at his brothers who had once shared life and death with him.

His heart was trembling violently.

His heart, which had long been frozen, seemed to be showing signs of softening.

perhaps……

Maybe I really was wrong?

For the first time, this thought appeared so clearly in his mind.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the layers of people and landing on the white-robed youth who had been quietly watching everything from beginning to end.

Zhu Muying.

His fifth son.

He is also the biggest "victim" who single-handedly caused this situation today.

Zhu Muying's face remained calm.

There was no triumph of the victor, no satisfaction of the avenger.

His eyes were as deep as the sea, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him, his lips moved, and his eyes were filled with guilt and regret, as if he wanted to speak up to show weakness and apologize in order to save his last bit of imperial dignity.

At this moment, Zhu Muying still harbored feelings of fatherly affection for his son.

He originally intended to let it go, using the evidence before him to prove his innocence, forcing Zhu Yuanzhang to admit his mistakes and repent, thus restoring order to the court and the country, leaving his father with a last bit of dignity, and not exposing all his sordid deeds to the public.

Just as Zhu Muying's resolve wavered and she was about to back down, Empress Ma suddenly concealed the sorrow in her eyes, replacing it with utter disappointment and indignation.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang still hesitant and unwilling to fully admit his mistakes, she could no longer suppress the grief and indignation that had accumulated in her heart for many years.

Empress Ma abruptly turned her head, looking at the silently standing Zhu Muying, then glared sharply at the disheveled kneeling Zhu Yuanzhang. Her voice was icy and piercing, devoid of any gentleness: "Chongba, even now, you still dare to try to preserve your imperial dignity? Do you deserve it?"

Everyone was shocked, never expecting that the usually kind and benevolent Empress Ma would publicly rebuke the emperor in such a way.

Empress Ma stepped forward, her words sharp and piercing, tearing away Zhu Yuanzhang's last veil of pretense: "Ask yourself honestly, in all these years, you have fabricated charges, slaughtered meritorious officials, and distrusted even your closest relatives. Which of these acts has been truly aboveboard?"

"You treated your own son with indifference, framing him at will and subjecting him to slow slicing at the drop of a hat, never showing Mu Ying a shred of mercy. You treated your soldiers on the battlefield withholding their rations and showing cold indifference, leaving their loyal souls to languish on the frontier, never giving them a shred of dignity. You treated the founding heroes with ruthless cruelty, slaughtering loyal and virtuous men on trumped-up charges, never giving your brothers who followed you a shred of dignity?"

"You have been suspicious and bloodthirsty throughout your life, and have long since lost the emperor's favor and chilled the hearts of the people! Since you never leave any room for maneuver, do not care about family ties, and disregard the bond between ruler and subject, why should others go to great lengths to preserve your illusory imperial dignity?"

This furious rebuke resounded throughout the entire city tower, each word striking Zhu Yuanzhang's heart like a hammer blow, utterly crushing his last shred of hope and dignity.

Zhu Muying paused slightly, the last trace of warmth and concession in her eyes completely vanishing.

He was reluctant to expose all of his father's scandals out of consideration for their blood ties, but Empress Ma's accusations revealed Zhu Yuanzhang's cold-heartedness and absurdity over the years, and completely shattered his last bit of forbearance.

Yes, kindness and dignity are never one-sided.

Empress Ma's eyes were filled with icy coldness. She no longer looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who was lost in thought and looked ashen-faced. Ignoring the silence of the civil and military officials in the hall, she walked straight to the bronze masked man who was still kneeling on one knee.

She bent down and took the sandalwood box containing the "evidence" of Zhu Muying's crimes from the man's hand.

Then he turned around and slowly walked up to Li Shanchang.

"Prime Minister Li."

Her voice had lost all its gentleness, leaving only a chilling calmness and coldness.

"There must be more than one here, right?"

Li Shanchang's heart skipped a beat.

He glanced subconsciously at the box in Empress Ma's hand, then at the stern-faced empress, and nodded with difficulty.

"Yes...yes, Your Majesty. There are...there are many more in here."

"Then, let's continue reading."

Empress Ma spoke calmly, her tone devoid of any hesitation, only resolute coldness.

"Let everyone listen. Let our benevolent and wise Emperor Hongwu secretly do some glorious things, such as fabricating charges against us."

What?!

Do we still have to read it?!

Everyone was stunned.

Everyone originally thought that His Highness the Prince of Ying would only stop there, considering the relationship between father and son and between ruler and subject, and would end the matter by proving his innocence and forcing the Emperor to admit his mistake. Even Empress Ma, who had previously only felt grief, never expected that he would become so angry.

After Empress Ma's stern rebuke and seeing her resolute demeanor, everyone understood that there was no turning back now.

Empress Ma was determined to give Zhu Yuanzhang no more face and to expose to the public all the emperor's secrets, fabricated crimes, and sordid acts of slaughtering loyal officials hidden deep in the palace and beneath the facade of prosperity.

This is to completely tear off the last fig leaf from the emperor!

This is to ensure that he will never be able to rise again!

Zhu Yuanzhang collapsed to the ground, his body ice-cold. He listened to the impending sounds of reckoning in the silence around him, looked at his wife who had once been gentle and loving but was now utterly heartbroken and resolute, and then at his son who stood silently to the side, unmoved.

The last glimmer of light in his eyes was completely extinguished.

He understood completely.

He originally had a chance to be forgiven and shown mercy, but it was his own cold-heartedness and absurdity over the years that led him to destroy the bond between husband and wife, father and son, and ruler and subject, ultimately forcing his wife to take action and personally settle all his sins.

Today, no one shows him any mercy, no one covers for him anymore.

His wife was no longer the empress who would only silently tolerate and earnestly advise him.

She's here to settle scores.

Yes, let's nail this selfish, cold-hearted, bloodthirsty, and suspicious emperor to the pillar of historical shame!

Empress Ma personally settled scores with Zhu Yuanzhang!