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

"Captain... there seems to be more than one skeleton in this coffin."

Ma Jun's bewildered voice was like a depth charge dropped on a calm lake.

More than just a skeleton!

A second skeleton was discovered inside the coffin of the Daoguang Emperor!

This discovery, transmitted instantly through the camera, spread throughout the world and transcended time and space.

Everyone was stunned.

In modern live streaming rooms, after a three-second pause, the barrage of comments bursts out with an unprecedented density!

"Holy crap?! What am I seeing? Two corpses in one coffin? There's someone else stuffed into the emperor's coffin?"

"Wait a minute, let me sort this out! According to historical records, there should be Emperor Daoguang and his three empresses in the Mu Mausoleum's underground palace, but they are all in separate coffins! Who...who is this extra one?!"

"Exciting! This is so exciting! This is even more bizarre than a tomb raiding novel! Is it some kind of funerary sacrifice?"

"Impossible! The Mites abolished human sacrifice early this morning! This is an absolute scandal!"

Beneath the sky, emperors from all dynasties were so astonished that they stood up from their seats.

The joint burial of emperors was governed by strict rules and etiquette.

Even married couples often share the same mausoleum but different burial plots, or the same burial plot but different outer coffins.

To stuff someone directly into a coffin like this is simply unheard of!

This is no longer a matter of etiquette and law; it is the most blatant trampling on the dignity of imperial power!

The Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at the sky, then at the well-read scholars around him, his face filled with incredulity.

"This...this Tartar emperor, is he playing such elaborate tricks?"

"They're already dead, why would they want to be embracing someone in their coffin?"

Zhu Di also looked on with disdain and confusion.

"Father, this matter is strange. Judging from the slenderness of the skeleton, it should belong to a woman. But what kind of logic is there in stuffing a concubine into the emperor's coffin? This is simply the most ridiculous thing imaginable!"

The Qing Dynasty era was already a desolate wasteland.

Daoguang stared blankly at the other skeleton in his coffin, his mind completely blank.

He doesn't remember!

He has absolutely no recollection of this!

Meanwhile, Qian Xiaosi, Kang Mazi, and others from other timelines had turned from ashen to purplish-brown.

They wanted to hurl insults, but found they didn't even know what to say.

This is a family scandal!

It is the most shameful scandal in the Aisin Gioro family!

Just as the world was caught up in a frenzy of speculation, Judy Jun's voice broke the silence at the scene.

His tone remained calm, even carrying a hint of cold inquiry.

"Ma Jun, do not move that newly discovered skeleton."

"Preserve the scene and take stratified samples of the water and silt inside the coffin."

"Group A, immediately retrieve all records concerning Emperor Xuanzong's consorts from the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty and the archives of the Imperial Household Department, especially the information on all concubines who died around the 30th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, and compare them!"

One command after another was issued clearly and swiftly.

The chaotic speculation was instantly brought back to the track of science and verification.

Zhu Dijun walked to the mobile experimental cabin and looked at the enlarged image of the skeleton on the screen.

Beside him, an elderly archaeology professor with glasses and gray hair was trembling with excitement.

"A truly extraordinary event! A truly extraordinary event throughout history!"

"Captain Zhu, this...this completely overturns our understanding of the Qing Dynasty's imperial tomb system!"

Zhu Dijun's gaze, however, fell on the dilapidated coffin.

He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Professor, perhaps we were wrong from the very beginning."

"We tend to use the same thinking we use to analyze a normal dynasty."

"But is there any possibility...?"

A mocking smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"This is neither a secret nor a romantic affair."

"Or was it... a simple... burial accident caused by shoddy workmanship, corruption, and incompetence?"

A funeral accident?!

These four words are more damaging than "palace scandal"!

The old professor was stunned.

The viewers in front of the live stream were also stunned.

The emperors and generals of ancient times were completely dumbfounded.

What does that mean?

Zhu Dijun looked at the camera like a teacher explaining a simple common sense question to a student.

"Don't forget what kind of project we're working on."

"A shoddy construction project that leaks and collapses."

"A project whose budget was repeatedly cut by the emperor himself in the name of 'frugality'."

"So, under the bureaucratic system of layers of exploitation and deduction, the officials in charge of the burial, in order to save money, or simply out of laziness and negligence, would simply stuff a low-ranking concubine who happened to die around the same time into the emperor's coffin, in order to save on the cost of a coffin and the corresponding ceremonial expenses..."

He paused, looked around, and finally his gaze returned to the screen.

"Isn't this quite in line with the typical practices of this dynasty in its final stages?"

To destroy their spirit!

These words were absolutely piercing!

It shattered people's sensual fantasies about "palace secrets" and presented a bloody and extremely humiliating reality to everyone!

There is no love, hate, or grudges.

There was no one to accompany them through life and death.

Yes, it was just an absurd black comedy staged by a dynasty that was rotten to the core from top to bottom!

The Qing Dynasty era.

"puff--"

Emperor Daoguang suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his entire figure dimmed.

He was so angry he was almost scared out of his wits!

He would rather have a real romantic affair than accept this reason!

Because this meant that, as an emperor, he couldn't even guarantee his dignity after death! He was treated like trash by his own ministers!

"Impossible... Absolutely impossible!"

Qian Xiaosi roared hysterically.

"This is the imperial mausoleum, a place of utmost importance! Who dares to be so audacious! This is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of their family!"

However, his roar seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Judy's next move on the sky.

"To verify this hypothesis, we need evidence."

"That's what Judy said calmly."

"Ma Jun, use a precision probe to gently probe the bottom of the silt inside the coffin."

"See if there's anything else besides bones."

"yes!"

Inside the underground palace, Ma Jun received his orders and took out a long, thin metal probe with a miniature camera at the tip from his toolbox.

He held his breath and carefully inserted the probe into the murky water mixed with bones and mud.

The screen displayed the image from the probe camera.

Turbid and dark.

The probe was slowly stirred in the silt.

suddenly!

A soft "ding" sounded.

The probe seemed to have hit something hard.

Ma Jun immediately stopped what he was doing and used the miniature clamp at the tip of the probe to clamp the object.

He slowly pulled the object out of the mud.

When that object, under the strong light of the spotlight, had its grime washed away and revealed its true appearance...

The world has fallen silent once again.

It was a small, blackened silver medal.

Several characters are clearly engraved on it in both Manchu and Chinese.

— "Consort Tong".