The Unsolved Case of Imperial Grand Tutor Gu's Beating
As night fell, the watchman entered a back alley and was terrified to find the ground littered with unconscious people. Panicked, he ran off to report it to the authorities.
When the officials arrived, they discovered that all the unconscious people belonged to the Gu Family.
Among them, one man in a pale blue robe had been beaten especially badly.
When they found him, his head was swollen from the beating, his body covered in countless knife wounds, and he looked barely alive.
A court official recognized him and nearly fainted from shock: "Heavens, isn't this Gregory Gu Jr., the Imperial Grand Tutor!?"
The renowned and always refined Imperial Grand Tutor Gu, beaten to a pulp and abandoned in a back alley—this was truly sensational!
And so, that very night, this bizarre incident spread throughout the capital.
Imperial Grand Tutor Gu was carried back to the Gu Family and revived. Seeing his body covered in bruises and knife wounds, the Gu Family was terrified, convinced he wouldn't make it, and nearly began funeral preparations.
But when the physician examined him, it turned out that all those seemingly serious wounds were actually minor. Not a single knife hit a vital spot—he'd simply lost too much blood and was left weak.
To think someone could be beaten like that and only suffer minor injuries—the knife skills were truly impressive.
Everyone was curious who dared to do such a thing, but when Imperial Grand Tutor Gu regained consciousness, he stubbornly insisted he had no idea who the assailant was.
This only added an extra layer of mystery to the case.
Meanwhile, Alexander Hayes was at the Lin Residence, playing chess with Dr. Rowan Lin.
Dr. Rowan Lin was set to marry Lady Wang the next day, and his spirits were high—truly, joy brings vitality.
"That scoundrel from the Gu Family—he must've had a death wish to bully my daughter! Hmph, after this, he'll never dare target Ali again. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve finished him off myself," Dr. Rowan Lin declared.
Alexander Hayes glanced at his fiercely protective father-in-law, feeling a surge of warmth. Placing a chess piece, he replied, "Gregory Gu Jr. can't die yet. If he does, the Emperor will come after me next."
"Oh?" Dr. Rowan Lin looked up at Alexander Hayes, puzzled.
Alexander Hayes explained, "It's the art of imperial rule—balance and counterbalance. The Emperor is obsessed with keeping his officials in check, afraid any faction will grow too powerful and threaten his authority. I hold military power and the title of Prince of Qin, but the Emperor knows Gregory Gu Jr. and I have always been rivals. Gregory Gu Jr. represents the Gu Family and the Civil Officials Faction. Our rivalry keeps both sides in check, which reassures the Emperor I won’t rebel. But if Gregory Gu Jr. dies, that balance is lost, and the Emperor will start to see me as a threat."
"If the Emperor starts seeing me as a threat, that's never good—it could mean disaster for my whole family. So Gregory Gu Jr. can't die, at least not until the Emperor sees that both factions are still in delicate balance."
"If it weren’t for that, I’d have finished off that despicable Gregory Gu Jr. myself. But circumstances force my hand—if he dies now, the Emperor will come after me, and when the nest falls, no egg is left unbroken. It would drag Ali and Mother-in-law into disaster."
After hearing Alexander Hayes’s explanation, Dr. Rowan Lin’s last doubts vanished. He nodded, saying, "On the imperial court, caution is always wise. That Gu fellow is lucky—he gets to live a while longer. When a new official rises to take his place, if he dares to make trouble again, I’ll crush him myself!"