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

The night wind, carrying the sounds of burning and clamor from afar, blew through the dark corners of the Forbidden City.

Zhu Dijun and his entourage had already changed into the most inconspicuous palace maid and eunuch costumes that had been prepared in advance.

The rough fabric rubbed against my skin, bringing a cold, real sensation.

"Fire! Fire in Nangong!"

Xing'an's shrill voice echoed through the empty palace road as he ran, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The shout sounded like a command.

Countless palace servants and guards, awakened by the commotion, instinctively rushed towards the South Palace, where the fire was at its fiercest, like iron filings drawn by a magnet.

That was the epicenter of the incident.

There, they must save "His Majesty" and "Emperor Emeritus".

But the real eye of the storm is going against the current.

Zhu Dijun held Zhu Jianshen's hand with one hand and protected Empress Qian with the other. He mingled among several equally "panicked" eunuchs, head down, and moved quickly toward the Donghua Gate.

Zhu Qizhen carried a bundle containing their only travel expenses and a change of clothes. He followed closely behind his wife and children, his eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

His heart was pounding wildly in his chest.

It's not because of fear.

It was because of a kind of ecstasy called "freedom" that had been absent for seven years!

Each breath carried the chill of the night, washing away the decaying aura of Nangong's seven years.

Every inch of land beneath our feet is no longer an extension of the prison, but a road leading to new life!

The chaos became their best cover.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the raging fire.

No one would notice the few minor characters who were frantically running towards the palace gates, trying to "escape for their lives."

Donghua Gate is getting closer.

The guards at the gate, already alarmed by the firelight and the deafening shouts of battle from Nangong, were craning their necks to look inside, discussing amongst themselves.

"Quick! Open the door! The palace is on fire! Chaos has broken out!"

Xing An rushed to the front, his face showing just the right amount of fear, and shouted at the guards.

The guard frowned, about to reprimand him.

Xing'an then pulled out a token from his sleeve and flashed it in front of them.

That was a waist tag used for purchasing items to leave the palace. Although it wasn't of high rank, in such chaotic times, it was enough to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"The fathers-in-law sent us out to deliver a message and ask for help! If we delay any longer, can you bear the consequences?!"

Xing'an's voice suddenly rose, carrying an air of arrogance.

The guards exchanged glances, looking at the flames in the distance that were almost burning half the sky red, and then at the few panicked "little eunuchs" in front of them. In the end, they decided to let them pass.

After all, if something really happened to the two people imprisoned in the Southern Palace, the entire capital would be turned upside down.

No one dared to cause any trouble at a time like this.

"Squeak—"

The heavy palace gates were pulled open a crack.

Zhu Dijun grabbed Zhu Jianshen and was the first to dash out.

Zhu Qizhen and Empress Qian followed closely behind.

As the last person stepped out of the palace gate, the gate slowly closed behind them.

Two worlds were separated.

Inside the gate was a cage ablaze with flames, a purgatory entangled with the lust for power.

Outside the door lies the dark, inky capital city, a new battlefield teeming with unknowns and deadly dangers!

The group dared not linger and quickly disappeared into a dark alley.

They stopped when they could no longer hear the commotion inside the palace and could only see the ominous red light on the distant horizon. They leaned against the cold wall and gasped for breath.

Zhu Qizhen put down the bundle, looked at his wife and son beside him, and then at the distant flames, his eyes bursting with immense joy at surviving a calamity.

Out!

He finally emerged from that tomb of the living dead!

However, this joy did not last long.

"Profound insight."

Zhu Dijun's icy voice rang out in the quiet alley, like a poisoned icicle.

He crouched down, bringing his line of sight to be level with that of his young nephew.

He hugged Zhu Jianshen, but the hug was devoid of any warmth.

"Jian Shen, your uncle and your father are going to risk their lives."

Zhu Dijun's voice was very calm, so calm that it sent chills down one's spine.

"This journey is fraught with peril, with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death."

"If we fail, if we really 'die,' you will be put on the throne by them."

Zhu Jianshen's small face looked particularly pale in the moonlight. He looked at his uncle, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"After you ascend the throne, do not cry, nor rush to avenge us."

Zhu Dijun stared into his eyes, each word as if carved with a knife.

"The first thing you need to do is to purge! Purge Sun Ruowei's cronies! Purge all Jiangxi officials, led by Yu Qian, Chen Xun, and Wang Wen!"

"You must use the 'death' of me and your father, and the experience of our failures, to earn yourself a chance for victory!"

"Remember, as emperor, there are three things you must hold onto tightly!"

"Military power! Personnel power! Financial power!"

"Of these, the most important, and indeed the only fundamental, is military power!"

These words left Zhu Qizhen and Empress Qian, who were standing nearby, feeling suffocated.

They never imagined that someone would teach a child in such a blunt and cruel way.

This is hardly teaching.

This is clearly using the sharpest knife to cut open the child's innocent soul and forcibly infuse it with the iron-bloodedness and ruthlessness of an emperor!

Zhu Jianshen was stunned by these words, and his small body trembled slightly.

However, Zhu Dijun's next words struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Furthermore, your birth mother, Consort Zhou, was killed on my orders."

boom!

Time seems to stand still at this moment.

The color drained from Zhu Jianshen's face instantly. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his pupils filled with terror and confusion.

"Wh...what?"

It wasn't just him.

Zhu Qizhen and Empress Qian, who were standing to the side, were also completely stunned.

They stared at Judy Jun in horror, as if he were a demon crawling out of hell.

Kill...kill Consort Zhou?

That...that Zhu Jianshen's birth mother?!

"Uncle... Uncle..."

Zhu Jianshen's voice was choked with sobs.

"You...you lied to me...how could my mother...?"

"I didn't lie to you."

Zhu Dijun interrupted him, his tone still icy and devoid of any emotion.

"Jian Shen, I'm going to teach you the cruelest lesson yet."

"Listen carefully, about your 'good grandmother,' that wicked empress Sun Ruowei."

"She was a pawn personally chosen by Empress Dowager Zhang, who also murdered Emperor Renzong (Zhu Gaochi)! Her purpose was to use her status as a maternal relative to control your grandfather, Zhu Zhanji!"

"My ascension to the throne, your father's imprisonment, and the death of your brother Zhu Jianji—all of these are inextricably linked to her!"

"She is the biggest maggot clinging to the dragon vein of my Great Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun's words were like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's hearts hard.

Zhu Jianshen's face began to contort; the sheer volume of information and extreme terror nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.

"And Sun Ruowei chose the Wang family and placed them by my side to monitor me."

"Similarly, your birth mother, Lady Zhou, and that Lady Wu, from the day they were selected to enter the palace, bore the same responsibility—to monitor your father, and even, if necessary, to poison him!"

"No!!"

Zhu Jianshen let out a desperate scream.

His mother...want to kill his father?

How is this possible?!

I know you don't believe me.

Zhu Dijun's voice remained unwavering.

"But reality is just that ugly, that filthy."

"Starting from your great-grandfather Zhu Gaochi, the civil official group learned to join forces with the imperial relatives and the empress's family."

"They selected the women they wanted, sent them to the emperor's bed, made them empresses, and then used these relatives to gradually weaken imperial power, turning the emperor into a puppet in their hands!"

He looked at Zhu Jianshen's broken face, his eyes showing no pity, only a cruel calmness.

"You think that's all?"

"No."

"When you grow up in the future, if you live to see that time, when you choose your own queen, you will once again feel everything I have said today."

"How did your mother, my sister-in-law, lose her sight and become lame? It was all because your birth mother blinded and crippled her, simply because she refused to harm your father through Sun Ruowei!"

"They will send countless 'Suns,' 'Zhous,' and 'Wangs' to you, forcing you to choose a new shackle to put around your own neck."

"Profound insight."

Judy released him, stood up, and looked down at the child curled up on the ground.

"Welcome to the Emperor's Real World."