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

The third day, early morning.

The sky over the capital was so gloomy it looked like it was about to collapse.

After two nights of fermentation, the poisoned nursery rhyme has transformed from a ghost in the dark into a sword hanging over everyone's head.

The atmosphere inside the Fengtian Hall was extremely oppressive.

The civil and military officials stood in formation, but no one spoke; they even deliberately held their breath.

Everyone's gaze, intentionally or unintentionally, drifted toward the three figures standing at the head of the officials.

Yu Qian, Junior Guardian and Duke of Zhongguo.

Grand Secretary Chen Xun.

Wang Wen, Minister of Personnel.

The three once powerful and influential officials now resembled defeated roosters. Yu Qian's eyes were sunken and bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept all night; Chen Xun's face was ashen, his lips pressed tightly together; Wang Wen's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his eyes burned with uncontrollable rage.

They became the laughingstock and the object of suspicion for the whole world.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

With a sharp, drawn-out "Greeting" from the eunuch Xing'an, everyone knelt down.

A thin, hunched figure slowly walked out from the side hall.

Zhu Dijun wore a plain white dragon robe, without a crown, and his hair was simply tied up. His face was as pale as paper, his eyes were sunken, and he seemed to have been drained of all his energy, like a puppet being pulled along by strings.

His grief-stricken and utterly despondent appearance made everyone who saw him feel a pang of unease.

He swayed as he sat on the dragon throne, his empty eyes sweeping over the kneeling officials below, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

"My lords... rise."

The officials thanked the emperor and rose, and the hall fell silent once more.

Everyone held their breath and waited.

They knew that something big was going to happen today.

Zhu Dijun didn't say anything unnecessary. He just stared at a point in the void with his empty eyes, as if looking at something distant through the magnificent palace.

After a long pause, he spoke.

"My Ji'er... is gone."

The sound was very soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"After much thought, I've come to realize that sitting on this throne... is meaningless."

boom!

The courtiers were in uproar!

"Yesterday, I went to see the Emperor Emeritus."

Another bombshell!

"I have decided..."

Judy paused, as if using all her strength, and said, word by word,

"Reinstate Zhu Jianshen, the Prince of Yi, as Crown Prince!"

These words, once spoken, were like a thunderclap that exploded within the Hall of Supreme Harmony!

The entire court instantly erupted in commotion!

"Your Majesty! You mustn't!"

"The foundation of the nation must not be touched lightly!"

Countless officials knelt on the ground, pleading with the authorities.

However, three people stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

Yu Qian, Chen Xun, Wang Wen!

Their minds went blank!

They understood instantly!

Nursery rhymes are the first cut!

The second blow was the reinstatement of Zhu Jianshen as crown prince!

This madman used the most vicious means to slander them, and then used the posture of "returning power to his brother" to completely absolve himself and nail them to the pillar of shame as "traitors and rebels"!

"Zhu Qiyu!"

An uncontrollable roar erupted from Wang Wen's throat!

His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a mad tiger. He no longer cared about the etiquette between ruler and subject, and pointed at Zhu Dijun on the dragon throne, questioning him sharply:

"Was it you?! Did you spread those rumors yesterday?! You'd resort to such despicable means to ruin our reputations!"

Chen Xun also realized what was happening, and stepped forward, his voice trembling as he shouted:

"Your Majesty! We, your subjects, may not inquire about your own desires, but you cannot slander us, your loyal ministers, in such a manner!"

Yu Qian's body trembled violently. He stared at the expressionless emperor on the dragon throne, a surge of anger rising to his head, a sweet taste rising in his throat, almost making him vomit blood again. He forced it down, his voice hoarse as he questioned, "Your Majesty...why are you doing this?"

In an instant, three powerful ministers confronted the emperor in court!

The air in the entire hall seemed to freeze.

Everyone was so frightened by this earth-shattering change that they dared not utter a sound.

In the live broadcast room, viewers from all times and spaces had their hearts in their throats!

"They're here! They're here! It's a face-to-face confrontation!"

"The three giants have been driven mad! This is a fight to the death!"

"How is Brother Jun going to respond? This is a dead end!"

On the dragon throne, facing the thunderous questioning of three high-ranking officials, Zhu Dijun slowly, very slowly, turned his stiff neck.

For the first time, his gaze focused on Yu Qian and the other two.

There was no anger, no guilt in those eyes, only a kind of...coldness as if looking at a dead person and an extreme, heartbreaking sorrow.

Then he smiled.

His lips curled into an extremely ugly arc, and his laughter was hoarse, like the mournful cry of a night owl.

"Heh...hehe..."

He looked at them and spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice not loud, but every word was piercing to the heart!

"In the world..."

"What kind of beastly father would use his own recently deceased son to make a fuss?"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Zhu Dijun's gaze swept from Wang Wen to Chen Xun, and finally settled on Yu Qian's ashen face.

He leaned forward, and with all his might, let out a deafening roar!

"Do you take me for Ji Chang, that beast who ate his own eldest son, Boyi Kao?!"

"You Confucian scholars still praise Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, as a beast who killed his own wife and four children for the throne!"

boom--!!!

These words, like the sharpest knife and the most vicious curse, pierced the hearts of Yu Qian, Chen Xun, and Wang Wen!

The three of them were struck dumb, frozen in place!

The color drained completely from his face!

yes……

Who would use their own recently deceased son to make such a fuss?

This is a father's most grief-stricken, most frantic, yet most ethically sound act after losing his son!

Their previous questions seemed so pale, so ridiculous, so... disloyal, unjust, and utterly inhuman in the face of this one sentence!

They actually questioned a father who had just lost his son, asking if he was using his son's death to scheme against them!

Moreover, King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, were virtuous and sage rulers praised by Confucianism. If we were to say that now, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Confucianism and to all those who praise these two Confucian sages?

At that moment, the way the officials looked at them changed.

From doubt, it turned into contempt, and then into disgust!

"puff--"

Yu Qian could no longer suppress his emotions and spat out a mouthful of blood, which splashed onto the ground of the Golden Hall, its crimson color glaringly bright.

He lost.

A crushing defeat.

It wasn't the power struggles that caused the defeat, but rather these four words—

The bond between father and son!