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

"No...no way..."

In the first year of the Xuande reign, Zhu Zhanji, distraught, muttered to himself.

He couldn't accept that his mother, who had been kind to him since childhood and always protected him when his grandfather Zhu Di scolded him, was a vicious woman who murdered her husband.

However, Judy Jun's cold and ruthless voice from above was shattering his last shred of illusion.

"Family members, I know that many people will be deceived by those four words in the history books."

"A female Yao and Shun (legendary sage rulers)."

A mocking smile curled at the corners of Zhu Dijun's mouth.

"What high praise!"

"Having served under four emperors—Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, and Zhengtong—she possessed exceptional political wisdom, yet never abused her power. It sounds like she was the perfect empress, the perfect empress dowager."

"But family members, don't forget, who wrote the history books?"

"It was written by a civil official!"

"How would they write a story about a 'good empress dowager' who aligns with their interests, helps them suppress imperial power, and even helps them get rid of the emperor?"

"Of course they'll elevate her to a pedestal! They'll portray her as the greatest virtuous empress of all time!"

"This is what I meant before: the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' style of historical writing! It's the trick of those lousy academics to distort history and fool future generations!"

At this moment, countless people across all times and spaces suddenly realized the truth!

Yes!

History is written by the victors!

If Zhang was truly in cahoots with the civil service, then the history books written by those civil officials would naturally try their best to glorify her!

"Let's look at another key point of doubt."

Zhu Dijun's voice, like a scalpel, precisely dissects the threads of history.

"My beloved grandson Zhu Zhanji passed away shortly after the New Year's Day in the tenth year of the Xuande reign. After his death, his son, the war god emperor Zhu Qizhen of the Great Ming Dynasty, was only seven years old."

"It was impossible for a seven-year-old child like Zhu Qizhen to preside over the compilation of his father's 'Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming'."

"So, according to the rules, who should bear this responsibility?"

"It should rightfully fall upon Empress Dowager Zhang, who held immense power and prestige at the time!"

"Just like back then, Zhu Zhanji personally supervised the compilation of the Veritable Records for his father Zhu Gaochi and his grandfather Zhu Di!"

"But what happened? Family, guess what?"

"This 'female Yao and Shun,' this Empress Dowager Zhang with 'extraordinary political wisdom,' turned a blind eye to this matter!"

"With a wave of her hand, to whom did she relinquish the supreme honor of compiling the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming,' a task that held the ultimate right of interpretation?"

"It was given to the Grand Secretary, Yang Shiqi!"

"Is this normal?!"

Zhu Dijun's question was a wake-up call!

"Would a mother entrust the writing of her son's life's merits and demerits to an outsider, someone who might even have been her son's lifelong political enemy?"

"Isn't she afraid that Yang Shiqi might smuggle in his own agenda, distort the truth, and tarnish her son's reputation?"

"Of course she's not afraid!"

"Because they were in cahoots from the very beginning!"

"She needs Yang Shiqi to cover up the real cause of Zhu Zhanji's death! To cover up the disgraceful roles she and Sun Ruowei played in it!"

"Yang Shiqi, on the other hand, needs to use the revised Veritable Records to portray Zhu Zhanji as a 'conservative ruler,' thus solidifying the victory of their civil service group!"

"This is a dirty political deal!"

Inside Yongle Palace, Zhu Di's fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.

He stared intently at the sky, his face, which had once been gratified by his daughter-in-law's virtue, now contorted beyond recognition.

He remembered the dream he had when Zhu Zhanji was born.

He dreamt that Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed upon him a large jade tablet inscribed with the words, "To be passed down to one's descendants, may they prosper for eternity."

He always believed that this was a sign from heaven that his grandson would be an unparalleled sage ruler.

But he never dreamed that this holy ruler would be surrounded by wolves from the very beginning!

There were foreign officials, palace officials, and even... his own mother and wife!

"Let's push the timeline back a bit further."

How did Zhu Zhanji die?

Historical records state that in October of the tenth year of the Xuande reign, Emperor Zhu Zhanji led troops on a border inspection tour. He died suddenly from an illness less than two months after returning to the capital.

Zhu Dijun gave a cold laugh.

"Family members, doesn't this plot seem familiar?"

"How similar his death is to that of his father, Ming Feizong!"

"Another sudden death!"

"And this time, who is by his side?"

"The Cabinet, the Three Yangs!"

"In the harem, there's his 'good empress,' Sun Ruowei, whom Zhang Shi promoted!"

"Another classic scene of the cabinet colluding with the empress dowager!"

"The Three Yangs came up with the idea, and the wicked Empress Sun Ruowei made the move!"

"As for Sun Ruowei and her beloved son Zhu Qizhen, there is also a huge mystery surrounding them in history."

Zhu Dijun dropped another shocking secret.

Many people suspect that Zhu Qizhen was not Sun Ruowei's biological son at all!

"Rumor has it that Zhu Zhanji happened to favor a palace maid, and after the maid became pregnant, Sun Ruowei forcibly took the child from her, then killed the mother and seized the child!"

"There are also rumors that the child was born to the deposed Empress Hu, Hu Shanxiang. It was Zhang who orchestrated this, giving Hu Shanxiang's son to the childless Sun Ruowei, in order to consolidate Sun's position as empress and lay the most important piece for their future 'dual regency'!"

"Regardless of which rumor is true, they all point to one fact—Sun Ruowei had no genuine maternal affection for Zhu Qizhen!"

"This also explains why, after Zhu Qizhen was captured in the Tumu Crisis, she, as the Empress Dowager, reacted so coldly, and even rushed to establish Zhu Qiyu as the new emperor!"

"Because, to her, this son was, from beginning to end, merely a tool to climb the social ladder!"

"What was the first thing Sun Ruowei did after Zhu Zhanji's death?"

"Just like her kind mother-in-law, Zhang!"

"Order that all ten concubines with official titles in the palace, except for Consort Wu, Zhu Qiyu's birth mother, and the former Empress Hu Shanxiang, who has since become a nun, be buried alive with him!"

"Another cover-up!"

"That familiar, bloody smell again!"

At this moment, Zhu Zhanji, the first emperor of the Xuande reign, had bloodshot eyes and looked like a madman!

He looked at his mother, his wife, and his son Zhu Qizhen, who was still in swaddling clothes.

It turns out, all of this was a setup!

A vast and inescapable trap that began to be set up in his father's generation!

He is not the emperor!

He is a sacrifice that is about to be offered up!