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

The night in Nangong was deathly silent.

The phrase "beheading banquet" hung like an invisible knife over Zhu Qizhen's head, sending chills down his spine.

He looked at the "younger brother" in front of him, who had changed into a blue cloth robe. His calm face was even more unfathomable than the deep night outside the palace.

"How...will they make their move?"

Zhu Qizhen's voice was hoarse as he forced himself to ask the question. He needed to know when that sword hanging over his head would fall.

Zhu Dijun did not turn around. He continued to gaze in the direction of the brightly lit areas in the capital, as if admiring a painting that was about to be completed.

"Brother, what do you think is the best way to ensure that these two people die cleanly, without controversy, and in a way that silences everyone?"

Judy's question, though seemingly minor, struck Zhu Qizhen's heart like a boulder.

In an instant, countless ways to die from palace secrets flashed through Zhu Qizhen's mind.

Poisoning? It will be checked.

Assassination? It would leave traces.

"An accident."

Zhu Qizhen uttered these four words with difficulty.

"Yes, it was an accident."

Zhu Dijun finally turned around, a cold smile on his lips.

"For example, a big fire."

He said calmly, "Nangong, this place that imprisoned the Emperor Emeritus for several years, was already in disrepair. Isn't it reasonable for a fire to burn away all the evidence and two people who 'shouldn't exist'?"

Zhu Qizhen's pupils suddenly contracted!

He understood everything!

"Yu Qian, Chen Xun, Wang Wen... they'll go find that poisonous woman, Sun Ruowei!"

His voice rose in fear.

"They'll join forces once the interests are agreed upon!"

"Whether it's today or tomorrow or the day after, the day will be the day the Nangong Palace catches fire!"

"At that time, the retired emperor and the current emperor will 'unfortunately' perish in the flames!"

The more Zhu Qizhen spoke, the uglier his face became.

This plan is too vicious!

It's so perfect!

A mad emperor and a deposed retired emperor died in an accident. Then, the young crown prince Zhu Jianshen naturally ascended the throne, with Yu Qian and others acting as regents as "elder statesmen who make decisions," and Empress Dowager Sun ruling from behind the curtain.

All the obstacles were burned away by a great fire!

"The speed is too fast, and the time is too tight!" Zhu Qizhen paced anxiously in place.

Looking at Judy Jun's calm face, he felt an overwhelming anxiety welling up inside him.

"Brother, do you have a way to break this deadlock?"

"Currently, the military power of the capital's main camp is in Shi Heng's hands, but Shi Heng is a fence-sitter. If Yu Qian and the others offer him great rewards, he will surely switch sides! The three major camps of the capital's garrison have probably already been infiltrated by them!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are nothing but lackeys of Empress Dowager Sun and those civil officials!"

"Even though I, your elder brother... still have some trusted old subordinates in the palace and the army, our manpower and influence are far inferior to theirs!"

Zhu Qizhen laid all his cards on the table, only to find utter despair.

He looked at Judy Jun, with a last glimmer of hope.

"And you?"

Zhu Dijun smiled and shook his head.

"I?"

"Brother, please don't joke."

He pointed to the old eunuch who stood with his hands at his sides in the shadows.

"Now, apart from my chief advisor, whose loyalty or treachery is still unknown, I have no other trusted confidants."

"Otherwise, they would have died long ago."

"Either they've already betrayed us."

The color drained completely from Zhu Qizhen's face.

It’s over.

This is truly a dead end.

He looked at his younger brother, who had dragged them into this deadly situation, and his throat went dry.

"And you still dare?!"

You have absolutely nothing, so why do you dare to flip the table?! Why do you dare to drive everyone to the brink of despair?!

"Why wouldn't you dare?"

Zhu Dijun countered with a question, his eyes shining brightly in the darkness.

"Brother, don't you understand yet?"

"If you dare to do it, there's still a way to survive."

"To dare not is to certain death!"

He walked step by step to Zhu Qizhen, the two of them no more than a foot apart.

Zhu Qizhen could clearly sense the aura emanating from the other party—a wild yet calm aura that didn't belong to this era.

"Brother Emperor."

Judy Jun's voice was very low, carrying a bewitching magic.

"You wouldn't mind if I... set fire to this Nangong Palace and burned it down, would you?"

"Um?"

Zhu Qizhen abruptly took a step back, staring at him as if he were a monster.

"What...what are you going to do?!"

He thought he had misheard.

The enemy wanted to burn them alive, but his own brother actually wanted to... set the fire himself?

"Of course... to put on a good show."

A sinister smile spread across Zhu Dijun's lips.

"A great show for the whole world."

His voice was filled with an indescribable mix of excitement and cruelty.

"Aren't they trying to make us die in an 'accident'?"

"They're getting off too easy."

"I will give them an even more exciting script."

He leaned close to Zhu Qizhen's ear and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, uttered the insane plan word by word.

"To publicly announce..."

"Emperor Emeritus Zhu Qizhen, unwilling to be deposed and filled with resentment, murdered himself in the night!"

"But Emperor Zhu Qiyu, with his fiery temperament, rose up in rebellion!"

"In the end, the two brothers killed each other in the Southern Palace, perishing together!"

boom!!!

Zhu Qizhen's mind went blank.

He froze, his blood seemingly freezing at that moment.

Revenge...revenge killing?

perish together?

Is this a plan even a human could come up with?!

This is a hundred times, a thousand times, more insane than Yu Qian's wicked scheme!

"You...you're insane..."

Zhu Qizhen's lips trembled, and he could not utter a complete sentence.

"Yes, I've gone mad."

Zhu Dijun straightened up, spreading his arms as if embracing the boundless darkness.

"Only a madman can deal with another group of madmen!"

"Brother, think about it." His voice was filled with cold logic.

"If we die in an 'accident,' who will benefit? It will be Yu Qian and Sun Ruowei. They can calmly clean up the mess, take control of the court, and do so legitimately."

"But what if we die from 'mutual vendettas'?"

"A tyrannical emperor who murdered his own father, an emperor who killed his brother—the Zhu family will lose all face!"

"The entire court, the entire world, will be plunged into immense chaos and panic!"

"And in this chaos, who is the prime suspect?"

Zhu Qizhen's breathing stopped.

As he followed Zhu Dijun's logic, a cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

It was Yu Qian and his group!

They were the ones who just forced the emperor to make Zhu Qizhen's son the crown prince!

In the blink of an eye, the emperor and the retired emperor died in a "mutual killing" feud?

There's no such thing as a coincidence in this world!

This is not acting at all!

This is using their "death" to forge the sharpest knife, stabbing it viciously into the hearts of Yu Qian and Sun Ruowei!

This is telling the whole world: Look, it is this group of people who forced my brother and me to our deaths in order to support a young emperor!

"This...this is..."

Zhu Qizhen looked at Zhu Dijun and made a "clucking" sound in his throat.

He finally understood.

This is not a survival plan at all.

This is a scheme... using death as a trap, using oneself as bait, and dragging all enemies down with her...

Suicide attack!

"So, Your Majesty."

On Zhu Dijun's face, a strange smile appeared that Zhu Qizhen would never forget.

"Our script is finished."

"Next, it's our turn, the two 'main characters'..."

"Going up on stage to die."