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

Inside the live stream, the screen was still filled with comments celebrating the couplets composed by Xie Jin, the child prodigy of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Dijun picked up his water glass, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp of water, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Family, we've had our fun with the jokes about the early Tang and Ming dynasties, which should have cooled your blood pressure down a bit. Now let's continue with the jokes, but this time, we'll change the protagonist."

He put down his water glass, a complex look in his eyes.

"Let's talk about some unofficial historical events concerning Emperor Wuzong of Ming, Zhu Houzhao!"

September of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Leopard room.

In the devastated palace, Zhu Houzhao looked up in astonishment, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the sky above.

He gave a desolate tug at the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping:

"Your ancestor was usurped by a coup and became meat on the chopping block. And this descendant of the King of Zhao actually dares to make fun of me... He's truly not a human being."

He instinctively turned his head, wanting to call out that familiar name.

"Liu Daban..."

Before he could finish speaking, he froze.

There was no response in the empty palace.

The old eunuch who would shield him from open and hidden attacks, who would bear all the infamy for him throughout the ages, and who would call him "Your Majesty" with a smile, had already died in that bloody night in August.

He died at the hands of Zhang Yong, Zhang Rong, Zhang Fu, and their ilk—those traitorous lackeys. He also died under the butcher's knife of Li Dongyang and his group of self-proclaimed noble civil officials.

"Never mind..."

Zhu Houzhao slumped weakly onto the cold floor tiles.

"Let it be unofficial history. I want to see how these pedantic scholars who have sidelined me will portray me in the history books in the future!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's slender fingers tapped on the keyboard.

The screen background instantly switched to several yellowed ancient books, with the large characters "Ming Wuzong Waiji", "Wanli Yehuo Bian", and "Jinling Suoshi" suddenly appearing.

"Fellow family members, under the pen of the civil official group, Zhu Houzhao is portrayed as a debauched and tyrannical lecher who forcibly took women from the common people. But hidden within this pile of filthy unofficial histories is a hardcore love story that can be called the most romantic in the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun grabbed the red laser pointer and circled a name heavily on the screen—[Liu Liangnu]!

Historical records state that this Liu Liangnu, or Lady Liu, was originally a low-ranking courtesan from Piantou Pass in Shanxi Province, and was already betrothed to someone else. However, in the twelfth year of the Zhengde Emperor's reign, Zhu Houzhao, traveling incognito, met her and fell in love at first sight; she was immediately taken back to his side!

"Just how much did this young emperor dote on her?"

Judy Jun slammed the gavel down hard, bang!

"In front of the entire court, he addressed Consort Liu as 'my confidante'! He neither made her a concubine nor an empress, yet he listened to her every word, even consulting her on personnel appointments in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel!"

"The most outrageous thing was during his southern tour!"

On the big screen, an image of an extremely ordinary jade hairpin appeared.

"These two staged a clandestine visit, using a hairpin as a token, agreeing that 'seeing the hairpin is like seeing the emperor!'"

Judy Jun laughed mockingly.

"When they reached Linqing, that unlucky Zhu Houzhao lost the hairpin that was his keepsake! The emperor was frantic and stayed in Linqing for several days, sending troops to search the streets for the hairpin, refusing to move forward an inch! It wasn't until he sent someone to urgently inform Liu Liangnu, and the Empress Liu herself came, that he finally obediently continued south!"

"Until Zhu Houzhao died, he issued a decree posthumously granting Liu Liangnu the title of Lady of Loyalty and Chastity, with hereditary ancestral worship and an annual stipend of one hundred shi (a unit of grain)!"

Zhu Dijun's voice suddenly rose, echoing throughout countless worlds and timelines:

"The imperial edict clearly states—'No empress will be appointed, no burial will be arranged, yet the world cannot betray her!'"

Many sentimental modern netizens exclaimed "Holy crap!" upon hearing this.

During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "Absurd! A ruler of a nation, actually so concerned about a courtesan, even allowing her to interfere in personnel matters? Has this boy gone mad?"

But Zhu Dijun on the sky kept sneering.

"Family members, aren't you touched? Don't you think this is a classic case of a domineering CEO falling in love with me?"

"Don't rush, after writing this beautiful love story, these civil officials changed their tune and directly accused Zhu Houzhao of a heinous crime in another book, 'Miscellaneous Anecdotes of Jinling'!"

Four large, blood-red characters slammed onto the screen! 【One! Road! Robbery! Woman!】

"What's written in the book?"

Zhu Dijun read the historical materials aloud with a look of disdain.

"It is said that when Zhu Houzhao toured the south and arrived in Yangzhou, he immediately ordered the eunuchs to search the entire city for virgins and widows, and stuff them all into the palace! The people of Yangzhou were so frightened that they married off their daughters overnight, and the entire city was 'desolate, with doors closed even during the day'!"

"Upon arriving in Nanjing, the emperor went even further mad. He would disguise himself and stroll along the Qinhuai River, drinking with courtesans, and even dress up as a wealthy merchant to learn Kunqu opera!"

"This is how the civil service viewed Zhu Houzhao! A tyrannical ruler who abandoned his country for women and was utterly debauched!"

Zhu Dijun pushed aside the documents in his hand, slammed his palms on the table, and stared directly at the camera.

"But family members, please use your brains and think about this!"

"A pure-hearted man who refused to leave even after losing his hairpin for Liu Liangnu, and who kept saying 'The world cannot be betrayed' before his death. Then suddenly he becomes a madman who forcibly abducts a widow in Yangzhou? Is this even human logic?!"

"Why is the civil service so desperately trying to smear him? Why do they insist on portraying him as a lecherous man?!"

The live stream fell silent instantly, and everyone realized that there was definitely a shocking revelation hidden inside.

The screen went completely black, leaving only a line of extremely glaring white text.

According to folklore, Liu Liangnu gave birth to a son for Zhu Houzhao!

boom!

The entire universe was as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped on it!

The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di suddenly stood up from his dragon throne, his eyes wide open:

"Zhu Houzhao had a son?! Then why did the throne later fall into the hands of the prince Zhu Houcong?!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's eyes turned into a chilling killing intent.

"Family members, this involves one of the most insidious and chilling political conspiracies in the history of the Ming Dynasty!"

"There has long been irrefutable evidence circulating among the people that Liu Liangnu gave birth to a prince for Zhu Houzhao! But the officials of the Ming Dynasty stubbornly refused to let go of this claim and resolutely denied the existence of this child! They even completely erased him from the historical records!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the whiteboard, pointing to the intricate web of interests on it.

"Why won't they admit it?! The reason is too simple, and it's also too damn cruel!"

"First, Liu Liangnu comes from a humble background and has no political connections whatsoever! She doesn't belong to the Jiangnan civil official group, nor to Zhang Mao and his cronies in the capital! If her son becomes emperor, how will these vested interests who launched the coup in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign and seized power control the imperial authority?!"

"Secondly, and most fatally!"

Zhu Dijun suddenly waved his hand, and the timeline on the big screen jumped wildly, freezing directly at the twelfth year of Zhengde!

"At this point in time, there was Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, who had been stripped of his military power and treated as a puppet by civil officials."

"He is no longer the puppet he was in the fifth year of the Zhengde reign, someone who could be manipulated at will!"

"He survived the darkest years and managed to wrest some military power back from the hands of civil officials and nobles!"

The entire internet is in an uproar!

"If an emperor who has regained control of the government and harbors deep hatred for the civil service is also given a legitimate heir, then this shadow government that controls customs smuggling and annexes land will inevitably face annihilation and the extermination of their entire clan sooner or later!"

Zhu Dijun roared at the camera:

"Therefore! In order to completely sever Zhu Houzhao's lineage and prevent the continuation of a powerful imperial regime, these civil officials, who usually spout benevolence and morality, actually denied the emperor's status as his biological son!"

"They refused to acknowledge this prince, leaving Zhu Houzhao without a legal heir. Finally, on the day of Ji Si in the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Zhengde's reign, Zhu Houzhao was drowned and assassinated with a bowl of poison. His young cousin, Zhu Houcong, was forcibly brought to the capital from elsewhere to inherit the throne!"

"This is the most vicious and ultimate blow from the civil service—[physical extinction, political reshuffling]!"

September of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the main hall of the Leopard Chamber.

Zhu Houzhao stood there blankly, his whole body trembling violently.

"I...have an heir?"

He suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter mixed with tears, appearing as if he were going mad.

"Hahaha! Good! What a wonderful Liu Liangnu! What a wonderful folk tale!"

He abruptly turned his head towards the direction of Kunning Palace, his eyes flashing with extreme disgust.

The Empress Xia, whom the Ming court had placed in his court, came from a prestigious family and had powerful officials behind her who wanted to exploit him. The way Empress Xia looked at him always carried a condescending, admonishing gaze, as if he were an ignorant puppet.

"Rather than having a child with that treacherous and scheming Xia clan member, and continuing to be manipulated by these traitorous officials..."

Zhu Houzhao gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with renewed fighting spirit.

"A virtuous woman of unknown origin, a bloodline not acknowledged by the court officials... this is my true offspring!"

It turns out that I did not sit idly by and wait for my death in the days to come! In the twelfth year of Zhengde's reign, I not only had an heir, but also regained military power!

So you just fell into the water on the day of Ji Si in the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Zhengde? Those beasts who went to the snail hell (a Ming Dynasty slang term) must have chosen to assassinate me at that time. What nonsense about falling into the water? Why don't you descend to earth as the God of Fire!

With this information about the future, Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up as he began to think about how to regain power.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice interrupted Zhu Houzhao's ecstasy.

The voice carried an extremely strong sense of suspense and pressure.

"Family members, now that we get to this point, the most crucial mystery has arrived."

A phantom of a battle blade engulfed in raging flames shattered the list of civil officials on the screen!

"In the mutiny in August of the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, Zhu Houzhao's confidants were all killed, his intelligence agencies were seized, and Zhang Mao completely took control of the Beijing garrison."

"He was placed under house arrest in the Forbidden City, becoming a completely powerless commander who had to defer to the cabinet even when issuing an imperial edict!"

"So, in the years that followed, what kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity did this young emperor, trapped in a deadly predicament, seize?"

"What shocking methods did he use to smash the impenetrable iron net of civil officials and nobles, and regain control of the Ming Dynasty's most capable field army?!"