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

"Crown Prince Zhu Biao is kind and benevolent, but lacks authority, and... his life is nearing its end!"

The last four words were like a judgment from the depths of hell—cold, resolute, and devoid of any emotion.

boom!

In the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign, the taut string in the Fengtian Hall finally snapped!

The hall, which had just fallen into a deathly silence due to the "white hat" incident, was instantly enveloped by an even deeper fear.

On the dragon throne, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, which had been frozen due to scrutiny, shattered completely at this moment!

He sprang up from the dragon throne, his eyes, which had just been burning with the flames of judgment, now filled only with boundless horror and denial!

"What...what did you say?!"

He pointed to the sky, his voice hoarse, like a lone wolf driven to the brink of despair.

"Say that again! What's wrong with our Biao'er?!"

Is he about to die?

Do not!

impossible!

His Biao'er, his eldest son, the heir he had devoted half his life to raising, the son he would rather live ten years less himself than let him be unharmed!

How could he be dying so soon?!

"Father!"

With a cry of despair, Crown Prince Zhu Biao could no longer hold on; his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.

His face no longer held suspicion about his fourth brother, nor fear of the future; only the bewilderment and despair born of the instinct for survival that remained upon hearing the news of his own death.

Empress Ma, who was standing to the side, was already in tears.

She walked quickly to Zhu Yuanzhang's side and tightly grasped her husband's cold hand.

"Zhongba! Chongba, calm down! This...this is all nonsense from later generations! Our Biao'er, he'll be alright! He'll be alright!"

She felt sorry for her eldest son, and also for her fourth son, Zhu Di, who was kneeling on the ground, pale with fright.

But at this moment, what she is most worried about is her husband!

A white-haired person burying a black-haired person!

This is the cruelest curse in the world!

She couldn't imagine what kind of breakdown she would experience if this prophecy came true, a man who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

Zhu Yuanzhang's chest heaved violently. He looked at Zhu Biao kneeling on the ground, then at his tearful wife. The madness in his eyes was gradually replaced by a deeper grief.

He believed it.

Because of the sky screen, I never missed it!

Even though it had been said before that Biao'er would die in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, when she heard again that her eldest son was about to die, she finally couldn't hold back her tears.

"Why...why..."

He muttered to himself, and at this moment, this upright man's figure was somewhat hunched.

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's tone also became heavy.

"Family members, I know this is cruel, but that's how history is."

"Crown Prince Zhu Biao died in April of the 25th year of the Hongwu reign (1398), at the age of 38. This is a fact confirmed by multiple sources."

The scene changes.

In the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Biao was ordered to inspect Shaanxi and investigate the matter of relocating the capital. He was full of vigor, sharing his father's burdens and planning a bright future for the empire.

However, the scene changes again.

After returning from Shaanxi, he fell seriously ill and remained bedridden.

Finally, in the spring of the twenty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign, this crown prince, on whom the entire Ming Dynasty placed its hopes, closed his eyes forever.

"No--!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up to the sky and let out a heart-wrenching roar!

That voice was filled with endless sorrow and regret!

He could almost see himself, white-haired and alone, standing before his son's coffin, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.

That kind of despair is enough to crush any father!

"Biao'er...our Biao'er..."

He reached out his hand, as if trying to transcend time and space to grasp that fading life.

However, just as everyone was immersed in this immense grief...

Zhu Dijun's voice rang out again, like a real thunderclap thrown into a calm lake!

"There have always been many different theories about the cause of Crown Prince Yiwen's death."

The official History of Ming records that he "died from a cold." However, the specific illness is not described in detail.

"However, the unofficial histories that are popular with family members, as well as another official historical record—the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming—record another possibility that is even more chilling!"

The Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming?

Wasn't that the history book compiled by the fourth prince, Zhu Di?

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly raised his head, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

On the sky, Judy Jun's voice became like the whisper of a demon.

"That's what it says in the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming'."

"At the end of the Hongwu reign, when Crown Prince Zhu Biao was handling a serious case, he disagreed with Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui, believing that the punishment was too severe."

"Upon learning of this, Emperor Taizu Gao supported Zhan Hui and, in front of all the ministers, said something to Crown Prince Zhu Biao that utterly broke him!"

Above the sky, golden characters appeared one by one, illuminating the heavens.

Every word was like a knife, stabbing deeply into Zhu Yuanzhang's heart!

"You can be lenient with me after you become emperor!"

"boom--!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind went completely blank!

That's a lot...

These are words... that he could possibly say!

That's his consistent style of doing things!

Use the strictest laws to clear away all obstacles, and then hand over a clean and safe kingdom to your benevolent son!

but……

The narrative on the celestial canvas continues!

"Crown Prince Zhu Biao is by nature kind and filial. He cannot accept his father's coldness, much less bear such public rebuke and distrust!"

"In his terror, he couldn't think straight and threw himself into the Golden Water River in the palace!"

Although he was rescued by those around him, he fell seriously ill and never recovered, eventually dying in despair.

The words fell.

The entire Fengtian Hall was completely silent.

All eyes were focused on the man on the dragon throne.

It's not anger.

It's not sympathy.

Rather, it's a complex look in the eyes of someone staring at a murderer who has killed the person they love most.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood there, dumbfounded.

The color drained from his face even more than it had from Zhu Biao earlier.

He slowly lowered his head and looked at his hands.

These hands once drew eyebrows for his wife.

These hands once held their son high above their heads.

These same hands, too, once killed countless people and built a glorious Ming Dynasty.

But now, the sky tells him.

These hands, these very hands, these very hands of his own, with just one sentence, drove his most beloved son to his death?

It wasn't Yao Guangxiao's curse.

It wasn't Zhu Di's ambition.

It wasn't even a cold.

The murderer who killed the crown prince...

It was him?!

"what……"

A disjointed syllable was squeezed out of Zhu Yuanzhang's throat.

He wanted to laugh, but it looked worse than crying.

He wanted to cry, but not a single tear came out.

That overwhelming regret and self-blame, like the most vicious worm, frantically gnawed at his internal organs!

"Is it us...?"

"Did we... drive Biao'er to his death?"

He staggered back two steps and slumped onto the cold dragon throne.

At this moment, the ruthless and merciless Hongwu Emperor, who regarded human life as worthless, seemed to have all his energy and spirit drained away.

He was no longer the emperor.

He was just a pitiful old father who had learned that he had caused his son's death.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from his mouth, staining the imperial desk in front of him red.

This time, it wasn't because I was angry.

Yes... my heart is broken.