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

Late at night.

The night in the capital was like a splash of thick ink, an impenetrable darkness.

The daytime hustle and bustle had long since subsided, with only the watchman's clapper echoing lonely through the empty streets.

The lights in the Qianqing Palace have been extinguished.

That hunched, desolate figure, which had been watched by countless people, finally disappeared into the darkness, giving everyone the illusion that they could sleep peacefully.

However, beneath this silence, something, like mold in a sewer, is quietly growing.

The southern part of the city is the filthy and dilapidated slum.

A toothless teenager leaned against the corner of the wall, humming a tune he had just learned from a drunkard.

The tune was simple and catchy, with a strange rhythm.

"Pomegranate flowers, blooming profusely on the branches,"

"Young prince, no one knows."

"A cry, a sob."

"Who pushed him into the mud?"

Several children who were chasing and playing stopped and curiously gathered around.

"Ergou, what are you singing?"

"I just learned it!" The gap-toothed child proudly puffed out his chest and sang it again, this time even louder.

This time, he sang the last few lines.

"Lord Duke, please lower your head."

"The ministers are all smiles."

"The Widow's Gate: Trouble Arises."

"Let's have someone else as emperor!"

"Hey!"

The child's voice was clear and crisp, yet every word pierced the heart.

The children didn't understand the deeper meaning; they just found the song catchy and fun, so they started singing along.

"Your Excellency, lower your head..."

"The Widow's Gate Incident..."

The singing, like a ghost with legs, drifted from this dirty alley to another.

Soon, all the children in the slum were singing this song.

At first, the adults didn't pay much attention, but after hearing it more often, some of the literate children, or those who usually enjoyed listening to stories, gradually changed their expressions.

Pomegranate flower? The nickname of Crown Prince Zhu Jianji was "Little Pomegranate"!

The young prince, nobody knows? This refers to the prince's mysterious and unclear death!

Duke? Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, Yu Qian, the Junior Guardian, had just been granted the title of Junior Guardian and the additional title of "Duke of Loyalty" for his meritorious service in the defense of Beijing!

Ministers? Grand Secretary Chen Xun and Minister of Personnel Wang Wen, weren't they both ministers?

A widow's affair? The biggest widow in the palace right now, isn't she Empress Dowager Sun, who rules from behind the curtain?

When trouble arises, a new person is chosen to be emperor!

These few sentences, when put together, create a sinister and terrifying picture that unfolds in the minds of all who understand it!

A terrible rumor took shape amidst the singing: ministers Yu Qian, Chen Xun, and Wang Wen colluded with Empress Dowager Sun to kill Crown Prince Zhu Jianji, with the aim of replacing the current emperor Zhu Qiyu!

hiss!

Those who understand the intricacies of the matter gasp involuntarily, feeling a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.

This...this is going to turn the world upside down!

……

At midnight, at the residence.

Yu Qian had just finished dealing with military affairs and was preparing to rest.

He rubbed his aching temples, a persistent sense of irritation lingering in his heart.

Today in the palace, he agreed to grant a general amnesty, but something felt off, as if he had stepped into a carefully laid trap.

But he couldn't see clearly what the trap was.

Just then, a faint, indistinct child's singing drifted in from outside the window.

"...The Widow's Gate, a storm is brewing..."

"...Let's have someone else as emperor..."

Yu Qian paused.

He listened intently; the singing was intermittent, yet becoming clearer and clearer.

When Yu Qian heard the words "Lord Duke, lower your head," his face instantly darkened.

He suddenly pushed the window open!

A cold wind rushed in, causing the candlelight to flicker wildly.

On the long street outside the government office, a minor official returning home late was drunkenly humming a nursery rhyme. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

Yu Qian's pupils suddenly contracted to a dangerous pinpoint.

He is not stupid.

On the contrary, he was extremely intelligent!

In an instant, he understood the murderous intent hidden in this nursery rhyme, which was sharper than swords and more vicious than arsenic!

To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit!

This is to nail Yu Qian, and the entire group of heroes who contributed to the defense of Beijing, to the pillar of shame for "murdering the emperor and plotting rebellion"!

"puff!"

Overwhelmed by anger, Yu Qian felt a sweet taste in his throat and vomited blood, which splattered onto the windowpane, resembling specks of plum blossoms in the dim light.

"What a...what a vicious plan!"

He gripped the window frame tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

He's got it!

He finally figured out what the trap was!

A general amnesty is hereby granted!

The emperor used the irresistible tactic of granting a general amnesty to attract everyone's attention.

But the real killer move is this nursery rhyme that grows in the dark night!

who is it?

Is this the emperor who played shuttlecock in the Southern Palace, coughed up blood in the Golden Hall, and seemed like he could die at any moment?

No...it doesn't look like it!

How could a person with a mental breakdown devise such a vicious and precise series of schemes?

Who is that?

The retired emperor Zhu Qizhen in the Southern Palace? He wants to be restored to the throne, disrupt the court, and fish in troubled waters.

possible!

Or are they henchmen of the officials purged during the defense of the capital? Do they hate me to the core and want revenge?

More likely!

In an instant, countless faces flashed through Yu Qian's mind.

The entire capital city seemed to have become a giant spider web, and he was the prey trapped in the center of the web.

Enemies are everywhere!

……

The same night.

The residence of Grand Secretary Chen Xun was in complete chaos.

"Master! Master! Listen to what's happening outside! What...what are we going to do?!"

Chen Xun's face was deathly pale. He paced back and forth in the study, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Unlike Yu Qian, who had military merits to protect him, he relied on his reputation as a civil official and his position as the chief minister.

This nursery rhyme is essentially digging up his roots!

At the home of Wang Wen, the Minister of Personnel, a loud crash of shattering porcelain could be heard.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! Who is slandering me? Investigate! Investigate for me! Arrest all these troublemakers who are singing!"

……

Cining Palace.

As Sun Ruowei listened to the palace maid's trembling report, the teacup in her hand shattered with a crash.

"A widow's door is always a source of gossip?"

Her face was contorted with extreme anger, and her chest heaved violently.

The first person she thought of was Zhu Qiyu!

That madwoman! That madwoman who just lost her son and then went to play shuttlecock with her grandson!

It must be him!

He resorted to such despicable means to retaliate against me! To smear me!

But then I thought about it again and realized that wasn't right.

While the ballad criticized her and Yu Qian, its biggest target was the idea of ​​"changing the emperor to someone else."

Isn't this forcing her and Yu Qian, among others, to desperately protect Zhu Qiyu's throne in order to prove their innocence?

Is this... is it a case of injuring the enemy by a thousand, or damaging oneself by eight hundred?

Sun Ruowei's mind was completely in chaos.

She suddenly thought of someone else.

In the palace, her biological son, Zhu Qizhen!

Could it be that he's the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, trying to muddy the waters so that he, the "fisherman," can reap the benefits?

……

Nangong, a quiet courtyard.

Zhu Qizhen also heard this song.

He overheard it when a guard outside the wall was humming in a low voice.

He was stunned at first, then his face lit up with uncontrollable elation!

"Great! Well sung!"

"Yu Qian! Chen Xun! Wang Wen! You bunch of traitors, you've finally met your match!"

He paced excitedly in the courtyard.

In his view, this must be because there were still loyal ministers in the court who were using this method to speak out for him and to curb the arrogance of Yu Qian and others.

hope!

He saw hope for a reinstatement!

……

Overnight, a simple nursery rhyme spread to every corner of the capital.

The powerful Duke was furious.

The shrewd and calculating Grand Secretary was thrown into a panic.

The empress dowager, who ruled from behind the curtain, was suspicious and paranoid.

The deposed emperor, imprisoned in the Southern Palace, saw a glimmer of hope.

The entire capital was shrouded in a dark cloud of suspicion and resentment.

Everyone became a chess piece on the board, manipulated and confused by an unseen hand.

Nobody knows who's playing this game.

No one knows whose hand that is.

At this moment, the owner of this hand is lying peacefully on the dragon bed in the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Dijun's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady, as if he had been fast asleep for a long time.

But in the darkness, a cold and cruel smile silently curved his lips.

The first step is to lull the enemy into a false sense of security.

The second step is to stir up trouble.

Everything is done.

Next comes the third step.

While everyone thought he was on the first or fifth level, he had already overturned the chessboard.

"Yu Qian..."

In the darkness, a barely audible murmur escaped.

"The pillars of the nation, is that it?"

"I want to see..."

"When the people all want you dead, can you, the pillar of society, still hold up?"