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

The air inside the Qianqing Palace was filled with the smell of medicine.

Zhu Qizhen lay on the dragon bed, his face ashen and his breathing weak.

His body was decaying at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The best imperial physicians and the most precious medicinal herbs were sent into the palace like a flowing stream, but they could not stop his life force from fading away.

His health, on the contrary, is getting worse and worse.

It was late at night.

Zhu Qizhen was suddenly awakened by a violent coughing fit. The phlegm he coughed up had an abnormal dark red tinge.

He dismissed his attendants, leaving only Empress Qian behind.

"A little money..."

He held his wife's cold hand, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows.

"I...I'm afraid I'm not going to make it."

Empress Qian's eyes were already red and swollen from crying, and upon hearing this, she burst into tears even more.

"Your Majesty, you'll be alright, you'll be alright..."

Stop lying to yourself.

Zhu Qizhen gave a bitter smile.

"I know my own body best. Falling into the water... Heh, what a fine example of falling into the water."

His eyes suddenly sharpened.

"While I was in the water, I smelled a strange fragrance... The eunuch who saved me had an unbelievable strength... The medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians, ostensibly fortifying and nourishing, was actually... hastening my death!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Qian was struck dumb and covered her mouth tightly.

"It's them...it's those people..."

In Zhu Qizhen's eyes, a final flame ignited—an endless mixture of regret and rage.

"They dare not touch Qi Yu, because Qi Yu is a devil, a madman. He holds a knife in his hand, and he holds the entire Jiangnan region in his hands!"

"So, they came to attack me!"

"They want me dead! Then, they'll install Jian Shen on the throne, and under the guise of 'purging the court of corrupt officials,' they'll falsely accuse Qi Yu of killing me, inciting fratricide between uncle and nephew!"

"What a vicious plan! What a brilliant... scheme to assassinate the emperor!"

He got it.

Everything is clear.

Although the gentry group from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian was physically eliminated, their sons, disciples, and former associates still filled the court.

They simply lay in wait, like venomous snakes, waiting for the most lethal blow.

And he, Zhu Qizhen, was the breakthrough point they chose to ignite everything!

"We can't...we absolutely can't let them succeed!"

Zhu Qizhen used all his strength to grasp Empress Qian's hand.

"Go! Secretly summon the Emperor Emeritus to the palace! Quickly! I... want to see him one last time!"

……

When Zhu Dijun received the secret edict and rushed to the Qianqing Palace, this was the scene he saw.

Zhu Qizhen had fallen into a semi-comatose state, and Empress Qian knelt by the bedside, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Brother!"

Zhu Dijun rushed to the bedside and grasped Zhu Qizhen's hand.

That hand was so cold it had no warmth at all.

Seemingly sensing his arrival, Zhu Qizhen slowly opened his eyes, his unfocused pupils refocusing.

"Qi Yu...you've come..."

"Brother, I'm here."

Zhu Dijun's voice was low and deep.

"I... am dying."

Zhu Qizhen's breathing was like a flickering candle.

"It's not an illness, it's... murder."

Zhu Dijun's eyes instantly turned as cold as ice.

"I know."

Zhu Qizhen gave a strained smile: "You really do... know everything."

He gasped for breath and, with his last strength, said:

"After my death... the throne will pass to you."

Zhu Dijun's body trembled.

"Brother! See Shen..."

"Jian Shen... is still too young."

Zhu Qizhen shook his head, his eyes filled with pain and reluctance.

"He...can't control those evil spirits. You...you're more suited to be emperor than I am. Even though you have two children now."

"This is... something that I and Jian Shen owe you."

"You bore all the blame and committed all the evil deeds for the Zhu family... This crown should have been yours to wear."

He gestured to Empress Qian and took out a diary from under his pillow.

"This is... what I and Xiao Qian have recorded over the past seven years... who is loyal, who is treacherous, who is secretly causing trouble... it's all in here."

"Take it...and kill them..."

"Avenge me!"

His voice grew softer and softer, and his eyes began to glaze over.

"Promise me... take good care of Jian Shen... take good care of Xiao Qian..."

"Tell Jian Shen... that his father... was not... an incompetent... father..."

With his last breath, he exhaled.

The emperor rode on a dragon-drawn carriage to welcome the honored guest.

Emperor Zhengtong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, passed away.

Zhu Dijun held the still-warm diary in his hand, standing before the dragon bed, motionless for a long time.

His face was expressionless.

But the air in the entire Qianqing Palace seemed frozen, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

[Modern Live Streaming Room]

When Zhu Qizhen uttered the words "it was murder," the live broadcast room erupted in chaos!

"Damn it! I knew it! I knew it would be like this! The same old drowning! The same old formula! This damned civil service!"

"They really dared to murder emperors! They really dared! From Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Zhanji, and now it's Zhu Qizhen! These beasts!"

["Although Zhu Qizhen was once a useless person, he eventually came to his senses! He was a good brother and a good father! He paved the way for Jun-ge's final journey with his own life! I'm so moved!"]

"Passing the throne to Zhu Qiyu was the most correct decision! Although Zhu Jianshen is already 17 years old (actually 17) and 18 (traditionally 18), if he were to ascend the throne now, he would be devoured without a trace! In the end, Zhu Qizhen finally did one thing right!"

"Jun-ge is about to unleash his revenge! The emperor with the Death Note! The capital is about to be awash in blood! Awesome! So fucking awesome! Kill them all!"

[Chenghua Reign]

On the dragon throne, Zhu Jianshen looked at the AI ​​simulation of "Zhu Qiyu" in the sky, at the Jingtai Dynasty that should have ended, at his father's dying words in the sky simulation, and at the diary that had been handed over. He was already in tears.

It turned out to be the case.

It turns out there was more to the story than meets the eye when my father died!

The so-called death from illness was probably poisoning.

That wicked woman, Sun Ruowei, took her father to the Southern Palace twice before her death to humiliate him. It was definitely the work of her brothers and the civil official Qian!

The words his uncle, Zhu Qiyu, had spoken to him on the sky.

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight!

At this moment, there is boundless gratitude and overwhelming hatred!

"The civil official group in Jiangnan...the powerful and influential Sun family relatives."

He gritted his teeth, enunciating each word clearly, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, "Damn it!"

……

AI-simulated live broadcast

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Dijun slowly closed Zhu Qizhen's eyes.

He turned around and looked at Empress Qian, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen, who had rushed over upon hearing the news and was kneeling on the ground, his face also covered in tears.

His voice was calm, yet carried the power of thunder.

"Your Majesty, sister-in-law, you are wise."

"Don't worry."

"I will avenge my brother's death."

"From this day forward, I am the emperor."

He picked up the "Death Diary" and strode out of the Qianqing Palace.

Outside the gate stood a dense crowd of civil and military officials.

They looked at Judy Jun, whose face was ashen, each harboring their own secrets.

Zhu Dijun's gaze slowly swept over everyone.

That gaze was no longer that of an emperor emeritus scrutinizing his subjects, but that of a supreme ruler looking at a flock of... lambs to the slaughter.

"Issue my decree!"

His voice resounded throughout the night sky above the Forbidden City.

"Everyone recorded in the diary, regardless of their official rank or location!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, capture them together!"

"Those from all three clans shall be imprisoned!"

"I will... thoroughly cleanse this court, inside and out, with their blood!"

"Avenge the late Emperor!"