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

Yongle Time and Space.

The atmosphere at the court assembly in Fengtian Hall was equally so heavy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

During the Hongwu reign, Zhu Di was still the Prince of Yan, and he was protected by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Di here is already the Yongle Emperor, sitting on the dragon throne.

Zhu Dijun's remarks on the celestial screen also stirred up a storm in the Yongle court.

When Xie Jin and the other civil officials saw the treasonous plan to burn the Empress Dowager on the sky, they felt as if the sky was about to collapse.

Although they feared Zhu Di's ruthless methods, this concerned the moral system upon which scholars had relied for survival for thousands of years.

Finally, a censor from the Sixth Department stepped forward.

Instead of antagonizing Zhu Di, he turned his attention to Zhu Dijun's direct ancestor—Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui.

"His Majesty!"

The official held the jade tablet in his hand, his voice high-pitched and filled with grief and indignation.

"Your Highness!"

"Zhu Dijun, a descendant of the King of Zhao, spoke wildly in the sky, instigating the king to commit such a heinous and rebellious act."

"This thief is wicked, unjust, disloyal, and unfilial!"

"His words and deeds have already brought shame upon the Ming imperial family and disgusted scholars throughout the land!"

"Your Majesty, I implore you to immediately issue an edict to expel these traitors from the imperial family, in order to preserve the reputation of the royal family!"

"Remove the hereditary right of the King of Zhao from his lineage, as a warning to others!"

Upon hearing this, the courtiers turned their heads in disapproval.

Even the usually composed Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi and the hot-tempered Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but turn to look at Prince Zhao Zhu Gaosui standing to the side.

Based on Zhu Gaosui's past somewhat sleazy personality, and his tendency to hide from important matters.

By now, they would probably be kneeling on the ground, crying and begging their father for mercy.

however.

What happened next was something no one expected.

Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui, who had been slightly bowing his head, suddenly raised it.

There was no fear in his eyes; instead, they burned with an unprecedented fervor and ferocity.

Ever since learning that the "Ming Zhongzu" on the sky, who used some kind of AI to simulate Zhu Qiyu, and who schemed for a hundred years, settled accounts with the world, and used extremely ruthless methods, was his own descendant.

It seemed as if Zhu Gaosui's Ren and Du meridians had been completely opened up.

My Zhu family's genes are awesome!

My Zhao lineage has even more amazing genes!

My descendant Zhu Dijun dared to stand up to the whole world, so how could I, as his ancestor, be afraid of you few poor and pedantic civil officials?

"Bullshit! Arrogant!"

Zhu Gaosui let out a roar even louder than Zhu Gaoxu's.

He skipped over the train and rushed to the official in a few steps.

Before the other party could react, Zhu Gaosui delivered a powerful swing punch, slamming it hard into the other party's cheek.

"Ouch!"

The official screamed as several bloody molars flew out, and he crashed heavily onto the floor tiles.

The entire court was dumbfounded.

Did the King of Zhao beat someone in court?

Why is Zhu Laosan, who usually only does cockfighting, dog walking, and sneaky tricks, acting like he's taken the wrong medicine today?

Zhu Gaosui shook his wrist, which was numb from the shock, pointed at the civil official on the ground, and began to curse.

"Who are you to tell my descendants what to do?"

"Expelled from the clan? Who do you think you are!"

"Compared to you hypocrites who spout benevolence and morality but are full of evil in their hearts."

"My descendant Judy Jun is a man of principle! He acts with integrity and righteousness!"

At this moment, Zhu Gaosui seemed to be possessed by Zhu Dijun, his words were like knives, each sentence cutting to the bone.

He turned around and looked directly at the court officials, his eyes revealing an air of domineering arrogance.

"Now you're jumping out to say that my descendants are unrighteous and heartless?"

"Alright! Let's settle the score then!"

"Why don't you mention the disloyalty and filial impiety of you civil officials!"

Zhu Gaosui stretched out his finger and pointed at them one by one, his arrogance extremely overbearing.

"My nephew Zhu Zhanji's son, Zhu Qizhen, was tricked by you into going to Tumu Fortress, where the Tumu Fortress Mutiny occurred—a failed attempt by civil officials to assassinate the emperor by colluding with border troops. Is this loyalty?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanji's face darkened, because the Tumu Crisis was also related to him. Yang Hong was promoted by him and his grandfather, and Sun Ruowei was his future empress. He never expected that a poisonous woman would harm two generations of emperors of the Ming Dynasty!

"My nephew's grandson, Zhu Jianshen, was oppressed by the civil officials and the harem when he ascended the throne, and was eventually poisoned to death in his bedchamber. Is this filial piety?"

"By the time of Zhu Youcheng, you had become even more shameless."

"You forcibly altered the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, the 'Open Market Law,' and used some kind of 'Discount Law' to plunder the national treasury and enrich your own families."

"When Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, the national treasury only had one million taels left! The imperial treasury was completely empty, enough to starve rats to death. Why didn't you call yourselves traitors then!"

The more Zhu Gaosui cursed, the more enthusiastic he became, and the straighter his back stood.

"Now my descendant, Judy Jun, has come up with a ruthless move to expose the disguise of you beasts."

"Are you scared?"

"Are you trying to use moral codes and etiquette to pressure people?"

"No wonder future generations in the heavens are cursing you for your shameless double standards!"

"I will tell you."

"Don't tell me he taught Zhu Houzhao, the descendant of his future nephew, to set fires from the sky; he taught Zhu Houzhao to kill all nine generations of your families."

"I applaud too! For this is the fate you deserve!"

The main hall was completely silent.

Only Zhu Gaosui's panting roars echoed in the air.

Prince Zhu Gaoxu of Han was stunned.

He swallowed hard and muttered to himself.

"That third brother... he's really got guts today."

Zhu Gaochi was also dumbfounded. When did his third son become so eloquent, and so organized, using facts to refute others?

On the dragon throne.

Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, quietly watched Zhu Gaosui, who was throwing a tantrum below.

Not only did he not stop it, but a strong sense of admiration flashed in his eyes.

That's just right.

This is Zhu Di's son.

Don't back down when faced with trouble; if you encounter a hypocrite, just take a knife and chop him down!

Zhu Di slowly stood up, his deep voice resounding throughout the hall.

"What the King of Zhao said is my will."

He looked down at his ministers from his high position.

"Above the heavens, right and wrong are known to all under heaven."

"This Ming Dynasty was built by my father, by myself, and by many founding nobles of the Hongwu era and the Jingnan era."

"Who dares to bring up the matter of the Heavenly Curtain again, attempting to sow discord within the royal family and frame the vassal kings?"

"My Imperial Guard prisons are full of empty cells!"

"Court adjourned!"

Zhu Di turned and left, leaving the court officials standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.

They suffered a crushing defeat in this counterattack that attempted to morally blackmail the imperial power.

Because they were no longer facing a monarch bound by feudal ethics.

Instead, they were a pack of Zhu family wolves who had completely torn off their masks and were ready to bare their fangs.