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

Zhu Dijun sneered.

He stared at the scrolling comments on the screen, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Dear family members."

"In the history of the Ming Dynasty, Ma Wensheng, Minister of War, Wang Shu, Minister of Personnel, and Liu Daxia, whom we mentioned earlier, were known as the so-called 'Three Gentlemen of the Hongzhi Era'."

"These three people are highly regarded in historical records."

"They were lauded by the pens of the civil service and portrayed as morally impeccable saints."

"But what are their true colors?"

Zhu Dijun spat at the camera.

"Pooh!"

"They're just like the Three Yangs of the Zhengtong era!"

"You could even say that Ma Wensheng is inferior to Yang Shiqi!"

Hongzhi Era.

The blue brick floor of the Qianqing Palace was icy cold.

Ma Wensheng knelt on the ground, his entire body of fat trembling violently.

His old face, which usually wore a compassionate expression, was now as black as the bottom of a pot.

"magician!"

"This is a treacherous act by later generations to sow discord among the troops of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Ma Wensheng pointed at the sky and started cursing.

Spit was sprayed all over the floor.

"This old minister's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is as clear as day!"

"This wicked man dares to slander this old minister in order to whitewash those incompetent and tyrannical rulers!"

As he cursed, he glanced at Zhu Youcheng on the dragon throne out of the corner of his eye.

Zhu Youcheng sat slumped there expressionlessly.

His eyes were frighteningly empty.

The other civil officials in the main hall kept their heads down.

No one spoke up in agreement with Ma Wensheng.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang exchanged a glance before looking away.

They knew it perfectly well.

Future generations, separated by hundreds of years, may be deceived by the flowery words in history books.

But among these officials serving in the same court, who didn't know the other's background?

They knew exactly what kind of person Ma Wensheng was.

They coveted power and clinged to their positions, forming cliques and pursuing personal gain.

On the surface, they talk a lot about benevolence and morality, but behind the scenes, they do so many despicable things that would be punishable by beheading.

We're all in the same boat, so we just cover for each other.

Now, the heavens have stripped them naked in front of all the ancestors of the myriad worlds.

Who would dare to provoke trouble at this time?

As the saying goes, "It's better to die for your friend than for yourself." Even though they're in cahoots, when it comes to taking the blame, they'll naturally want someone else to draw the fire.

On the sky.

Zhu Dijun's gaze grew increasingly sharp.

"During the Hongzhi era, Ma Wensheng was responsible for the disastrous consequences of military buildup, as we have just mentioned."

"The battle lines have been completely contracted, and the soldiers on the frontier have become the servants of the civil officials."

"Now let's talk about his personal character."

"Look at just how incorruptible this great official is."

An old sheet of paper is projected onto the center of the screen.

There were four lines of crooked poetry written on it.

"At that time, a folk song was circulating in the streets and alleys of the capital."

"A jinx in the sky."

"Tatar soldiers on the ground."

"You have to think about these two options."

"Ma Wensheng must be killed!"

These four sentences came out.

The entire universe exploded instantly.

The Hongwu Era.

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the armrest of the dragon throne.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

"ballad!"

"This is called public resentment boiling over!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and paced back and forth in the main hall.

He understands ordinary people too well.

Ordinary people are the most honest and law-abiding. As long as they have food to eat, who would dare to slander high-ranking officials of the imperial court?

It's as if the people of the capital could create such a murderous folk song.

How many heinous and wicked things must Ma Wensheng have done!

"Back then, when we killed corrupt officials, we skinned them alive."

The people are applauding!

"Now the common people are specifically demanding the execution of the current Minister of War!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the sky, his roar echoing throughout the hall.

"Zhu Youcheng! Are you deaf or blind?!"

"How could you keep such a traitor alive for the New Year!"

Modern live streaming room.

The screen was densely covered with bullet comments.

"Holy crap, this folk song is so hardcore!"

"Neither the jinx nor the Tatar soldiers are as terrifying as Ma Wensheng. Just how rotten is he?"

"History books even praise him as a gentleman, but he's the epitome of a hypocrite!"

"The eyes of the common people are discerning. Civil officials can change history books, but they cannot change the infamy passed down by word of mouth among the people!"

Judy Jun looked at the comments and spoke coldly.

"Family members, this folk song shows that Ma Wensheng's character is extremely bad."

"In the eyes of the soldiers and ordinary people on the border, he was even more hateful than foreign enemies."

"But that's not the worst part."

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too.

"Ma Wensheng is a hypocritical beast."

"His son, Ma Jie, is just as lawless and monstrous!"

The scene changes.

A luxurious mansion appeared in the sky.

The vermilion gates were wide open, and several servants were dragging a mangled corpse out.

"The tenth year of the Hongzhi reign."

"A horrific murder has occurred in the capital."

"Ma Wensheng's son, Ma Jie, over a trivial matter, ordered his servants to beat a commoner to death in broad daylight!"

"Murder in the street!"

"The location is still the capital city, right under the emperor's nose!"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di's eyes were terrifyingly cold.

Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, knelt below, his flying fish robe soaked with cold sweat.

"Killing someone in the street right under the emperor's nose."

Zhu Di's voice was soft, yet it carried a murderous intent that seemed to be filled with the horror of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"When did my capital become a slaughterhouse where the families of civil officials can kill at will?"

"What exactly is the Five Cities Military Command?"

"Is the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture dead?!"

"A life for a life, that's only fair. What's the point of trying this case?"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Your family must think that the evidence in this case is overwhelming, and that the murderer must pay with his life, right?"

"After all, this is the Hongzhi reign, which was known as a time of 'righteous rule'."

"But what's the truth?"

"After this civilian was beaten to death, the Shuntian Prefecture did not dare to do anything about it."

"The Five Cities Garrison didn't dare utter a single word."

Why?

"Because the murderer was the son of the Minister of War!"

"Who dares to provoke Ma Wensheng?"

"The deceased's family had no recourse but to weep in the street."

"This matter has blown up too much; it's caused a huge uproar throughout the city."

"In the end, even Emperor Xiaozong's own uncle, Prince Wei, Zhu Jianpei, couldn't stand it anymore."

A middle-aged man dressed in the robes of a prince appeared on the screen.

His face was full of anger, and he was holding up a memorial to the throne.

"Prince Wei, Zhu Jianpei, was Zhu Jianshen's younger brother and Zhu Youcheng's uncle."

"A dignified prince of the Ming Dynasty personally traveled to the capital to appeal to the emperor over the murder of a commoner!"

"He submitted the complaint directly to the three judicial departments."

The Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate.

These three institutions, representing the highest judicial power of the Ming Dynasty, flashed across the sky in turn.

"Joint trial by the three judicial departments."

"The evidence is conclusive, with both witnesses and physical evidence."

"The final verdict is in."

"Ma Jie, according to the law, should be executed!"

Hongzhi Era.

Zhu Youcheng gripped the edge of the dragon throne tightly with both hands.

The knuckles are turning white.

He remembered this.

That happened in the tenth year of his reign.

He felt a surge of anger when he saw the case files handed over by the three judicial departments.

But just as he was about to issue his vermilion rebuke, the cabinet members arrived.

People from the Sixth Department also arrived.

They knelt on the ground, wailing and lamenting.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun mercilessly exposed the final scar.

"The three judicial departments sentenced him to death."

"Logically, this matter should be closed now."

"But what happened next completely shattered the limits of humanity."

"Ma Wensheng used all the power and connections at his disposal."

"The Minister of Personnel, Wang Shu, acted as guarantor."

"The three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet jointly submitted a memorial, requesting the Emperor to show leniency."

What were their reasons?

"Minister Ma has made great contributions and is getting old. We cannot let him, an old man with white hair, bury his son with black hair."

"For the sake of the Ming Dynasty's stability and prosperity, we beg Your Majesty to show leniency beyond the law!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the table.

The sound was deafening.

"To hell with the country and its people!"

"The life of an ordinary person is worth less than a fart in their eyes!"

"Under Ma Wensheng's protection and collective pressure from the entire civil service group."

"This street murder case, with overwhelming evidence, ultimately went unsolved!"

"Ma Jie didn't even serve a single day in jail; he just dusted himself off and went home to continue being a pampered young master!"

"That civilian who was killed, died in vain!"

The vast and boundless Ming Dynasty was deathly silent.

Then came a deafening roar of angry curses.

"absurd!"

"Shameless!"

"Corrupt officials are in power!"

Countless Ming Dynasty citizens pointed to the sky and cursed loudly.

They projected their own feelings onto the civilian who was killed.

If the law cannot protect the people, then what use is this imperial court!