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

"He has passed away."

The last three words, though light and airy, weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like three towering mountains.

A ruthless emperor who had just been writing a letter to his son, his words filled with reliance and entrustment.

An old man who is physically strong and can even kick over the dragon throne.

How could it all be gone just like that, after only one month?

That was a very quick death!

What a coincidence!

It was such a coincidence, it was like a meticulously planned murder!

In modern live streaming rooms, the chat has gone completely crazy.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! It really is a tyrant!"

"This is terrifying to think about! Not long after the Prince of Jin died, Zhu Yuanzhang began to heavily rely on Zhu Di, and then Zhu Yuanzhang 'passed away'? The timeline is just too perfect!"

"Emperor Jianwen... no, Zhu Yunwen, how vicious you are!"

"This isn't just the Jianwen Four Idiots anymore, this is a quartet of tyrants!"

The Fengtian Hall of the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign had been turned into an ice cave.

Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood dripped from between his fingers, but he was completely unaware of it.

That sentence kept echoing in his mind.

"Who else but you is capable of repelling external threats and pacifying the internal situation?"

Yes, our future selves already regret it! We're already preparing to let our fourth son take over the reins!

So, we were "killed"?

An indescribable sorrow and anger intertwined, almost tearing his reason apart.

He spent his life on the battlefield, killing countless people and scheming against everyone in the world, but in the end, he was outsmarted by the very grandson he wanted to protect the most.

What an irony! What a tragedy!

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's expression remained completely calm.

He was like a cold-blooded forensic doctor, dissecting a corpse called "the truth" step by step.

"Family members, if the time of death is just a mystery..."

"Then what happens next will be irrefutable evidence!"

"First, the time of burial!"

Zhu Dijun held up one finger.

"According to the Ming Dynasty's etiquette, when an emperor died, the whole country was dressed in mourning, and his coffin had to be kept for at least several months to receive the worship of officials and the people before an auspicious day was chosen for burial."

"But how was Zhu Yuanzhang's funeral arranged?"

"From her death to her burial, it only took... seven days!"

"Seven days!"

Zhu Dijun emphasized his words.

"A founding emperor, a great monarch, his funeral was conducted more hastily than that of an ordinary wealthy family! Don't you find that strange?"

"What's their rush?"

"What are they afraid of?"

"They're afraid that if the coffin is left to sit for too long, someone knowledgeable might discover something they shouldn't be able to see from the Emperor's remains!"

"For example, signs of poisoning!"

These words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer!

Yup!

Destroy the body and cover up the evidence!

The simplest and most effective way is to bury the body as soon as possible!

"Secondly, the list of those to be buried alive!"

Above the sky, the scene changed again, and a list appeared.

"When Emperor Taizu died, palace women were to be buried alive with him—this was the established procedure. But this list of those to be buried alive is full of suspicious points!"

"For example, Consort Zhang on the list gave birth to a daughter for Emperor Taizu, Princess Baoqing. Because the princess was only four years old at the time and needed someone to raise her, she was granted a special pardon and was not required to be buried alive with him."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhu Dijun's mouth.

"Doesn't that sound very kind and humane?"

"But look at another one—Consort Li!"

"Consort Li bore Emperor Taizu three princes! Yet, she was conspicuously listed among those to be buried alive with him!"

"Family members, think about it carefully!"

"A man who only had a daughter was granted a pardon because his daughter was too young."

"A woman who gave birth to three princes must die!"

"Why is that?!"

"Because Princess Baoqing was young and posed no threat! But Consort Li's three sons were all adult princes! At that sensitive moment, how much of a variable was a dowager consort with extremely high prestige in the harem and who was the birth mother of three princes?"

"Therefore, she must die!"

"This isn't burial with the deceased emperor; it's clearly using the guise of burial to purge any remaining forces within the palace who might be loyal to the founding emperor or the other vassal kings!"

"This is... settling a personal score, using someone else to do the dirty work!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang, in the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign, swayed violently and nearly fell over.

He was held firmly by Zhu Biao behind him.

Zhu Biao's face had lost all color, leaving only endless terror and bewilderment.

He looked at the sky, then at his father, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze pierced through time and space, as if he saw Consort Li, trembling on the list of those to be buried alive with the dead.

That was his woman, the mother of his son!

Because he chose the wrong successor, in the end, even his woman and children became targets of the purge!

"It's not over yet."

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice, like a scalpel, continued to precisely cut into everyone's nerves.

"After clearing out those inside the palace, we must also clear out those outside the palace."

"Eliminate those...who know too many secrets!"

An unfamiliar name appeared on the screen.

[Chief Supervisor of the Mausoleum Construction: Li Xin.]

"Who is Li Xin? He is the chief engineer in charge of building the mausoleum of Emperor Taizu, the Xiaoling Mausoleum."

"He knew the structure of the underground palace of Xiaoling Mausoleum like the back of his hand. Naturally, he also knew exactly when and how the coffin of Emperor Taiyi was placed in the mausoleum."

"Then, shortly after the founding emperor's burial, this person was accused of a crime—'a remnant of Lan Yu's faction'!"

"Family members, listen to this! How many years have passed since the Lan Yu case? How could a craftsman in charge of repairing the tomb have become Lan Yu's accomplice?"

"Then, Li Xin's entire clan was wiped out."

Judy Jun's voice was icy cold and devoid of any emotion.

"Why kill him? Because he knows too much!"

"He might have known that the coffin had been tampered with before being placed in the mausoleum!"

"He might even know that the real remains of the founding emperor weren't actually in that hastily buried coffin!"

"Therefore, he must die! His whole family must die!"

"This practice of eliminating witnesses at every level, turning everyone who knows the truth into dead men, is essentially the same smokescreen used in the famous 'Thirteen City Gates Funeral Procession'!"

They all point to the same goal—

"To cover up a huge secret!"

"A secret about...the true cause of death of Emperor Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang!"