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

The background music in the live stream changed to a rapid drumbeat.

It struck the hearts of every audience member.

On the screen behind Zhu Dijun, a timeline for the ninth year of the Zhengde reign appeared.

"Zheng Wang lived comfortably in prison for seven years."

"During these seven years, Zhu Houzhao's attitude towards him was extremely ambiguous, leading to much speculation from the outside world."

Some say the emperor dares not kill, fearing it would shake the foundation of the state.

Some say that the emperor was playful by nature and kept Zheng Wang around to annoy the civil officials and the empress dowager.

"Until the ninth year of the Zhengde reign, the case suddenly took a dramatic turn."

"Zheng Wang's accomplices spread rumors again and even attempted to break him out of prison, demanding that the court recognize Zheng Wang's status as the emperor's father-in-law."

"This time, the rumors have intensified and completely threatened the stability of the Ming Dynasty's rule."

"Zhu Houzhao finally lost his patience."

"He ordered a thorough retrial, and Zheng Wang was ultimately executed by slow slicing on charges of 'spreading heresy and committing treason'."

"That palace maid named Zheng Jinlian has also completely disappeared from historical records, most likely she was secretly executed or imprisoned for life."

After recounting the details of the case, Zhu Dijun sat upright in his chair, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Official historical records characterize this event as gossip."

"Many historians in later generations also believed that this was just the ramblings of a madman."

"but."

"Family members, I firmly believe that Zheng Wang's 'seditious rumors' case is true!"

This statement was like a thunderclap out of nowhere.

All the emperors throughout history across countless worlds gasped in shock.

In a parallel Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Houzhao, who was inside the Leopard Chamber, suddenly stood up.

His hands gripped the table so tightly that his fingernails curled and bled.

He stared wide-eyed at the sky, his breathing heavy like that of a wounded wild animal.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun began to unleash his impeccable chain of logic.

Why am I so sure this is true?

"First, let's go back to Empress Zhang herself."

"As I mentioned before, Empress Zhang was sent by the Three Tongs and One Tong, and although she was married to Zhu Youcheng for four years, she did not have a son or a daughter."

"There is most likely a problem with her health."

"How much pressure does an empress who cannot bear a son face in the imperial harem?"

"The civil service group has placed all its bets on her and will not allow any other concubines to give birth to princes to share power."

"Therefore, when the palace maid Zheng Jinlian accidentally became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy..."

"Empress Zhang and the civil service joined forces and without hesitation seized the child, registering him under her name as the eldest legitimate son of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun's finger traced a long line on the screen.

"Secondly, let's look at the traditions of the Ming Dynasty's imperial family."

"Child abduction was commonplace in the Ming Dynasty's imperial harem!"

How did Zhu Qizhen, the "God of War of the Ming Dynasty," come to be?

"That was taken directly from Hu Shanxiang by Sun Ruowei!"

How did Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng, survive?

"It was Empress Dowager Zhou who forcibly took him away from his biological mother, Lady Ji, to raise him in order to counterbalance Consort Wan!"

"With so many precedents to follow, Empress Zhang has absolutely no qualms about taking a palace maid's child!"

The Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Zhanji's face turned extremely ugly.

He glanced at Sun Ruowei beside him.

Sun Ruowei lowered her head, her body trembling slightly, and dared not look the emperor in the eye.

The era of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jianshen gave a bitter smile.

He knew all too well the tricks those women in the harem used.

In the pursuit of favor and power, what heinous things wouldn't they do?

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's tone turned extremely grief-stricken.

"Family members, don't forget."

"This Empress Zhang, praised as a virtuous empress in historical records, was actually one of the murderers who killed Emperor Xiaozong's eldest son and eldest daughter!"

"That innocent Princess Taikang was poisoned after drinking the bird's nest porridge in her palace!"

"Would a vicious woman who would poison her own husband possibly have any genuine feelings for an adopted son with whom she has no blood relation?"

"Absolutely not!"

The scene on the screen switched to the imperial harem during the Zhengde reign.

The young Zhu Houzhao and Empress Zhang sat facing each other through a beaded curtain.

The atmosphere between the two was devoid of any warmth between mother and son, only filled with cold defensiveness and calculation.

"Zhu Houzhao kept Zheng Wang for seven years."

"These seven years were the seven years he spent searching for the truth."

"When he thoroughly investigated the tragic fate of his biological mother, and when he confirmed that Empress Zhang was a wicked woman who had usurped the throne."

"His worldview has completely collapsed."

He finally understood why this so-called mother had only cared about his studies and whether he listened to the civil officials since he was a child.

"Why could this mother stand by and watch her father, Zhu Youcheng, drink that bowl of poison without doing anything?"

Judy Jun suddenly stood up, put his hands on the table, and let out a deafening roar at the camera.

"Because Zhu Houzhao was not Zhang's son at all!"

"He was merely a tool used by the Zhang family and the civil service to control the Ming Dynasty!"

"A pawn that can be discarded or poisoned at any time!"

The era of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty.

"Aaaaaahh ...

Zhu Houzhao looked up and let out an extremely mournful scream.

He overturned the imperial desk in front of him.

Memorials and writing materials were scattered all over the ground.

Tears streamed down his young and frantic face like a burst dam.

"A poisonous woman..."

"You lied to me...you lied to Father..."

"You killed my own mother, you killed my father!"

Zhu Houzhao drew his embroidered spring knife and slashed it at a pillar in the Leopard House, sending wood chips flying.

"Liu Jin!"

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Jin knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.

"Send the order to the three main battalions!"

"Surround the Cining Palace for me!"

"Drag that poisonous woman out here!"

"I will have her torn to pieces to avenge my father and mother!"

Inside the modern live stream room, the viewers' anger had reached its peak.

"What a beast! Zhang is the most vicious woman in history, bar none!"

"She murdered her husband, killed her daughter, stole someone else's son, and then conspired with civil officials to kill her adopted son! Is this something a human being could do?"

"Zhu Houzhao was so pitiful. His father was poisoned, his mother was a fake, and the entire court wanted to kill him!"

"No wonder he built the Leopard House, no wonder he's always running around outside. To him, the palace is nothing but a cannibalistic den!"

Zhu Dijun watched the flurry of comments on the screen and slowly sat back down in his chair.

A chilling smile curved his lips.

"Family members."

"To be a young emperor with the purest bloodline of the Ming Dynasty and the most unruly spirit."

"I found myself in a desperate situation woven from lies, blood, and poison."

"What will he do?"

"Compromise? Wait to die? Drink poison like his father?"

Zhu Dijun pressed the Enter key heavily with his finger.

On the screen appeared the figure of a young emperor, clad in golden armor, riding a warhorse, and wielding a long spear.

"No!"

"He chose to flip the table!"

"He chose the most insane and violent method to smash this cannibalistic civil service!"

"The following Zhengde reign."

"We are about to witness one of the darkest and most tragic emperors in Ming Dynasty history: Emperor Wuzong of Ming, Zhu Houzhao!"