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

In the sky, the blood-stained construction bill was still visible, but Zhu Dijun had already changed to an extremely amused expression.

He leaned back in his chair, twirling the carbon pen in his hand, and winked at the camera:

"Family members, we just talked about Emperor Wuzong's grand plan of 'deceiving his family through marriage.' Many people asked in the comments, 'Would those stingy civil officials really be willing to part with their money?'"

The answer is: Yes! And it's done while gritting your teeth and bleeding!

Zhu Dijun pulled up a relationship diagram on the screen.

"In August of the first year of Zhengde's reign, Grand Secretary Li Dongyang, together with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites, scraped together 300,000 taels of silver from various sources and sent it to the Imperial Treasury."

"Why? Because they're afraid!"

Zhu Dijun's eyes were mocking: "Wan Zhen'er during the reign of Emperor Xianzong was a nightmare for the civil service group for twenty years! They were afraid that one day the fifteen-year-old Zhu Houzhao would suddenly decide to bring back a 'Sister Wan' who was more than ten years older than him from outside the palace, or simply dote on some uncontrollable vixen."

"In the eyes of civil officials, this 300,000 taels is not a bride price, but a 'surveillance installation fee.' As long as the empress is chosen by them, the Ming Dynasty's harem will be their second battlefield."

In the modern live broadcast room, netizens suddenly realized what was going on.

"Got it, this money is called 'camera installation fee'!"

[Civil official: Here's the money, but the people will be arranged by me. Zhu Houzhao: Keep the money, but the people... I'll keep them as decorations.]

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang gazed at the sky, his brow furrowed, then let out a cold snort: "Three hundred thousand taels of silver, just to send three women into the palace to spy on the Emperor? These civil officials, they're really pushing their luck!"

He looked at Zhu Di, his tone chilling: "Fourth Prince, did you hear that? This 300,000 taels is all the people's hard-earned money! They keep saying the national treasury is empty, but they're quite generous when it comes to collecting this 'surveillance fee'!"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di was now completely engrossed in the story. He rubbed his chin with amusement: "Will this kid really be a compliant 'monitor' after taking the money? Knowing his personality, this 300,000 taels will probably be like throwing a meat bun to a dog—not only will it not make a sound, but it will also cost him his life."

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's speech suddenly quickened, carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

"Family members, here comes the most amazing part."

"After these civil servants gave the money, they felt they had reached the moral high ground and immediately started a crazy 'post-marital rights protection mode'."

On the screen, a flood of memorials appeared one after another.

[Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng submits a memorial: Your Majesty, the wedding is approaching. Please cease hunting and archery activities within the palace grounds, as they are detrimental to Your Majesty's health!]

[Minister of Works Zeng Jian submitted a memorial: Your Majesty, those workshops under the Jiangnan Textile Bureau should be shut down; they are too expensive!]

Minister of War Xu Jin went even further: "Your Majesty, you have arbitrarily transferred 550 household servants to the palace. This is against regulations. Please dismiss them immediately!"

"From August to October of the first year of Zhengde's reign, these old men surrounded Zhu Houzhao every day, chanting mantras to tighten his grip. Even more extreme, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Han Wen, directly overturned the table."

Zhu Dijun, mimicking Han Wen's tone, said with a look of disdain, "Your Majesty, we'll use this 300,000 taels for you first. There's a famine on the northern front, so we won't issue your remaining 100,000 taels as 'final dowry payment.' We'll transfer it directly to the Ministry of War for military pay. You are the wise ruler of the Great Ming Dynasty, you must understand, right?"

puff--!

Viewers in the modern live stream burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Refusing to pay the final payment! I know this trick well, it's standard practice for construction companies!"

["Civil official: I've paid the deposit, and I've also arranged the remaining 100,000. You can handle it."]

Zhu Dijun slammed his gavel down, his eyes revealing an unprecedented ruthlessness.

"But! They never expected that Zhu Houzhao was waiting for them here!"

Faced with the cabinet's refusal to pay and its pressure, Zhu Houzhao didn't even show his face. Instead, he sent a eunuch from the Imperial Horse Administration to Li Dongyang with a "final settlement statement"!

On the screen, a dazzling, golden bill instantly filled the entire screen.

That string of numbers caused all the civil officials in the entire universe to suffer a collective heart attack.

[Final Settlement Statement for the Wedding of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty]:

[All ceremonial expenses, palace renovations, and the accommodation of imperial concubines: a total of 530,000 taels of silver!]

[Additionally: 8,500 taels of pure gold!]

"Family members, let's do the math!"

"Based on the purchasing power of 1 gold to 10 silver at the time, 8,500 taels of gold was equivalent to 85,000 taels of silver!"

"The total amount exceeds 610,000 taels!"

Zhu Dijun's smile grew increasingly arrogant as he faced the camera: "This is called 'reverse harvesting'! You wanted to cheat me out of 100,000 taels? Sorry, due to renovation upgrades, expanded recruitment for the talent show, and compensation for emotional distress, the total price is now 610,000 taels!"

"After deducting the 300,000 taels you previously gave me, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue now owe me 310,000 taels of silver!"

"You want to renege on your debts? Now is the time for me to collect!"

boom--!

The imperial courts of the Ming Dynasty were instantly thrown into chaos.

Hongzhi Era.

Li Dongyang stared at the bill on the ceiling, his vision went black, and he slumped into a chair.

"Six hundred and one thousand taels... How... How dare he!"

"Eight thousand five hundred taels of gold? Is he going to pave the entire palace with gold? This is marriage fraud! This is blatant marriage scam!"

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youcheng's hands were trembling.

He looked at his "son" who was commanding so confidently in the sky, and felt nothing but absurdity.

He was so stingy that he wouldn't even light candles, but now, his son's wedding has resulted in him extorting 300,000 taels of silver from the cabinet.

Zhengde Era.

Inside the Leopard House.

Zhu Houzhao laughed until tears streamed down his face.

He punched the air hard, his eyes filled with vengeful pleasure: "Well said! So what if I tricked you into marriage? This is my 'get-out-of-the-car fee,' this is my 'change of address fee'!"

"These old dogs want to plant their flag by my pillow. How can they not bankrupt me for all the humiliation I've suffered over the years!"

Liu Jin was completely stunned.

So this is how he calculates his emperor's accounts? This isn't an emperor, he's practically a reincarnated devil!

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice still echoed, carrying a strong sense of sarcasm.

"Family members, do you think this is the end of it?"

"Zhu Houzhao's shameless methods have only just begun to show."

"When Li Dongyang took this bill and made a scene in the cabinet, crying and saying, 'Even if we sold our pants, we couldn't raise this 300,000 taels,'..."

"Zhu Houzhao offered an extremely 'thoughtful' solution."

Zhu Dijun typed two words on the screen: 【Crowdfunding】.

Zhu Houzhao spoke up: "The cabinet has no money? No problem! I know where the money comes from."

"Anyone who wants me to return to the inner palace sooner and to ensure the Zhu family has an heir should be generous! Officials of the Six Ministries, nobles from all over the country, and you officials who criticize me for neglecting my duties every day—if everyone contributes a little, won't this deficit be covered?"

"He doesn't directly control the national treasury; instead, he makes these so-called 'upright officials' pay for the phone bills of the surveillance agents they've planted out of their own pockets!"

"You don't want to pay? Fine!"

"Then I'll spend my days in the Leopard Chamber, drinking with the Eight Tigers and practicing archery with the Imperial Guards. As for those three empresses and concubines I haven't even met yet, let them live out their lives as widows in the deep palace!"

In modern live streaming rooms, netizens are already dizzy from this kind of outrageous stunt.

["Zhu Houzhao: This is the marriage you want me to get married, so if you don't pay for it, who will?"]

"That's like killing someone by breaking their spirit! I took your money, couldn't sleep at night, and now I've made you owe me money!"

"Is this the ultimate form of power-based PUA? I've learned something!"

Fengtian Hall, during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly burst into three loud laughs, his laughter filled with pride and magnanimity.

"Hahaha! Good! Although this tactic is a bit underhanded, it's the way to deal with those pedantic intellectuals who only know how to talk!"

"It would be truly shameful if the descendants of the Zhu family were to be tied down by a few women and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!"

He turned his head sharply and looked at the Minister of Revenue, who was still in a daze.

"See that? What's this called? This is called 'increasing revenue and reducing expenditure'! If any official dares to complain about being poor to us in the future, let him see Emperor Wuzong's account books and his methods of 'resolving debts through marriage'!"

However, the style of the scene on the sky suddenly changed.

Zhu Dijun's smile faded, and his eyes became somewhat heavy.

"Family members, everyone is laughing at Emperor Wuzong for being a rogue emperor who is committing marriage fraud."

"But have you ever thought about this?"

"A sixteen-year-old emperor, in order to avoid being controlled by the civil service and to tear a small opening in the rotten power network of the Ming Dynasty."

"He actually resorts to such despicable methods, almost like a 'scoundrel,' to ruin his reputation and engage in fraud and deception?"

Zhu Dijun's voice sounded particularly jarring in the silent night sky.

"When the emperor of a country needs to raise military funds by 'scamming bride price'."

"This demonstrates to what terrifying extent the power structure of the Ming Dynasty had become distorted?"

"Behind Emperor Wuzong's seemingly absurd 'debt settlement through marriage,' an epic counterattack targeting the cabinet and all high-ranking civil officials has quietly begun!"

"Because, on the very night that Emperor Wuzong received the 300,000 taels of silver."

"A terrifying incident occurred that sent chills down the spines of all the civil officials in Beijing..."

Zhu Dijun's voice abruptly stopped there, the screen instantly went black, leaving only a line of large, blood-red characters flashing.

[October of the first year of the Zhengde reign, night. A great fire raged throughout Beijing!]

"To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode: — 'The First Drop of Blood in the Imperial Factory: The Nightmare of the Upright Officials Begins!'"

The image freezes.

In countless worlds and timelines, billions of living beings simultaneously uttered a gasp of astonishment, their souls captivated.

The civil officials of the Zhengde era felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at the red characters on the sky.

Fire?

Where did the fire come from?

Is that sixteen-year-old emperor really going to overturn the table and kill someone?