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

The atmosphere in the live stream room was extremely tense.

The image of Zhu Youcheng's tragic death remains frozen in the sky of countless worlds.

Zhu Dijun sat in front of the camera, picked up his water glass and took a sip, his cold gaze sweeping over the frantically scrolling comments on the screen.

"Alright, family."

Before recounting how Emperor Zhu Houzhao, the Ming Wuzong Emperor, overturned the Ming Dynasty court, let's go back in time.

"To fill an extremely bizarre gap in the history books."

Zhu Dijun's fingers tapped on the keyboard, bringing up several yellowed photocopies of historical materials.

"Does everyone remember Wang Zhi, whom I mentioned earlier?"

"That great eunuch who was released from the secret chamber by Zhu Youcheng, restarted the Western Depot, and was preparing to massacre the civil official group."

"However, in the official histories such as the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming,' the 'Veritable Records of Ming,' and the 'National Records,' the name Wang Zhi completely disappeared during the later years of Emperor Xiaozong's reign."

Where did he go?

"Did it just vanish into thin air?"

The emperors of countless worlds also showed expressions of doubt.

The era of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jianshen turned to look at Wang Zhi, who was standing in the shadows, his brows furrowed.

How could the record of the peerless swift sword he left to his son have disappeared at the most crucial moment?

On the sky, Zhu Dijun made an extremely bold, yet chilling, deduction.

"I'll make a personal inference here."

"Note that this is a logical deduction I made by combining various historical materials."

"During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, historical records describe a powerful eunuch who was eventually forced to commit suicide out of fear of punishment by civil officials."

"This eunuch's name is Li Guang."

Zhu Dijun sneered and enlarged the two characters "Li Guang" on the screen.

"Family members, don't you think this name is too casual and too common?"

What is the civil service best at?

"To falsify history, erase achievements, and destroy one's spirit!"

"Wang Zhi was their lifelong nightmare. How could they possibly allow his name, as a powerful eunuch, to be recorded in history books again with such grandeur?"

"They replaced Wang Zhi with the false name 'Li Guang'!"

"After Zhu Youcheng's death, Wang Zhi, who had lost the emperor's protection, faced a fierce backlash from the civil official group and the emperor's relatives."

"This once powerful eunuch of the Western Depot, who once dominated the desert and commanded respect in the imperial court, was ultimately stripped of his real name by the civil official group and died tragically in the deep palace, covered in filth."

"Even in the later Qing Dynasty, the scholars who compiled the History of Ming, in order to completely cover up the truth that the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty suppressed the civil officials, went with the flow and completely erased the traces of Wang Zhi's existence."

The Chenghua Era.

Wang Zhi's body trembled violently.

He looked at the sky, his eyes filled not with fear, but with endless sorrow.

He doesn't care about death.

But he didn't even leave his name; he became a scapegoat named "Li Guang".

Zhu Jianshen suddenly crushed the teacup in his hand, and blood flowed down between his fingers.

The pens of the civil service are a hundred times more vicious than swords!

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice did not pause; instead, it became even more sharp.

"Wang Zhi's tragedy is just one example of the darkness within the Ming Dynasty court."

"Next, I'm going to drop another bombshell on you all."

"This scandal is directly related to the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and the true origins of that troublesome tyrant, Zhu Houzhao!"

The historical materials on the screen switched instantly.

A line of large, blood-red characters appeared: [Zheng Wang's Case of Spreading Rumors].

"The records of this case in the Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming and the National Records are vague and even deliberately downplayed."

"But it is the key to unlocking all the crazy actions of the Zhengde Emperor."

Zhu Dijun's eyes became extremely sharp.

"The year is now the second year of the Zhengde reign."

"That is, two years after Zhu Youcheng's death, and the second year after Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne."

"In Tongzhou, Beijing, there was an ordinary military dependent named Zheng Wang, who was a military household member."

"He had a daughter named Zheng Jinlian, who entered the palace as a maid during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming."

"This Zheng Wang suddenly started spreading a shocking secret all over the capital."

He said, "The current emperor, Zhu Houzhao, was not born to Empress Zhang at all!"

"It was born to his daughter, Zheng Jinlian, who was favored in the palace! The father was Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng."

"Empress Zhang was unable to have children of her own, so she falsely claimed Zheng Jinlian's son as her legitimate heir."

"Zheng Wang tells everyone he meets that he is the current emperor's maternal grandfather, the true father-in-law of the Ming Dynasty!"

boom!

These words caused an uproar throughout the entire universe.

The Hongzhi Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youcheng, who had just gotten up from the ground, collapsed again as his legs gave way.

He stared intently at the sky.

The words Zhu Dijun had said before echoed in her mind: "After four years of marriage, Zhang has neither a son nor a daughter."

In the modern live streaming room, the comments section has gone completely crazy.

"Holy crap! Was this a case of a fake prince being switched at birth?"

["That makes sense! Empress Zhang, who was involved in the Three Expresses and One Logistics, couldn't have children, so she went and kidnapped palace maids!"]

"My God, this is huge! No wonder Zhu Houzhao went so crazy later!"

Zhu Dijun stared at the screen, his tone chilling.

"This matter was quickly discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zheng Wang was arrested and imprisoned during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming."

"After a joint trial by the three judicial departments, the imperial court determined that Zheng Wang's claims were purely fabricated and characterized as 'spreading rumors and misleading the public'."

"According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, this is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, and should be punished by death!"

"But then, something strange happened."

Emperor Xiaozong of Ming did not kill Zheng Wang at the time.

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the table.

Similarly, Emperor Zhu Houzhao, who also ascended the throne, did not kill him; instead, he ordered that his life be spared!

"Not only did he not execute Zheng Wang, but he also imprisoned him and provided him with good food and drink."

"This hurdle lasted a full seven years!"

"Family members, please use your brains and think about this."

"A country bumpkin ran up to the main street of the capital and claimed to be the emperor's maternal grandfather, saying that the current empress dowager was a fake."

"Any emperor would have chopped him up and fed him to the dogs long ago."

Why didn't Zhu Houzhao kill him?

What is he hesitating about?

"What is he suspecting?"

Zhu Dijun looked directly into the camera and delivered his answer, word by word.

"Because Zhu Houzhao is investigating!"

He doubted that Zheng Wang was telling the truth!

He suspected that the aloof and bossy Empress Dowager Zhang wasn't his biological mother at all!