He Lin strolled towards Grand Tutor Gao.

"I am very curious, how did Grand Tutor Gao manage to deceive everyone and escape beheading?"

Grand Tutor Gao snorted coldly, then looked menacingly at Qiu Xu and He Jinran beside He Lin.

He had let his guard down and had actually been outmaneuvered by two young lads.

Looking at Wu Wei again, he felt ashamed and angry, but he saw that the latter had already turned his head away and looked to the side.

In the past, Grand Tutor Gao was an extremely high and mighty figure in the eyes of his assassins.

The sense of loss he feels now makes him feel ashamed.

"Hmph, He Lin, you're a real scoundrel!" Grand Tutor Gao replied, ignoring the question.

He hated He Lin to the core.

The only thing to blame is that I chose the wrong side in the first place.

He regretted it, he resented it.

"He Lin, if I hadn't eliminated your political opponents in the court back then, how could you have secured your position as emperor? What merit or ability does Li Zheng possess that his daughter can become empress!"

Grand Tutor Gao had wanted to say this for a long time.

However, He Lin did not give him a chance and directly executed him.

Yes, in that case, he didn't even have a chance to defend himself; he was convicted outright.

"What merits or abilities does General Li possess?" He Lin sneered. "General Li was once the number one military general in our dynasty. In other words, without General Li, our dynasty would not be as prosperous as it is today."

Qiu Yan listened quietly, glancing at Gu Qian secretly.

Gu Qian nodded in agreement.

His face was ashen.

Recalling his master's past injustices filled him with resentment, but no matter what, he could never go back to the past; his master's past could not be changed.

Qiu Xu's complexion wasn't much better.

He Jinran, on the other hand, was thinking of his maternal grandfather working busily on the ranch.

He couldn't imagine what it was like when his maternal grandfather lived in Dongjin.

My maternal grandfather was murdered, presumably because this Grand Tutor Gao secretly sowed discord among us.

His guess was, of course, true.

"Even so, the one who helped you ascend the throne was me!" Despite his aching body, Grand Tutor Gao was still hysterical.

It's clear how much grief and indignation he felt.

"He Lin, why are you treating your former heroes like this?" When he helped He Lin ascend the throne, he never imagined that his own end would be so miserable.

“You are a meritorious official, but the biggest helper is my cousin, General Gu!” He Lin knew that only Gu Qian was truly helping him.

Others, all they wanted was a high-ranking official position and a meteoric rise in their careers.

Even though they already possessed these things, it was unavoidable that they wanted more.

For example, the position of the empress.

Everyone wanted the Empress of Dongjin to be born to their family, so that they could change their family affairs, become imperial relatives, and bring glory to their ancestors.

"Gu Qian is nothing but a brute!" Grand Tutor Gao looked down on Gu Qian with disdain, but before he knew it, his gaze fell on Gu Qian with resentment.

He was a civil official, and what he enjoyed most was competing with military generals.

He feared that His Majesty valued military prowess over civil administration.

Unfortunately, he was born during a time of war, and military officers were given important positions.

He was suppressed by military officers, so he disliked them.

Gu Qian didn't care; he wouldn't argue with a dying man.

But Qiu Yan's expression turned ugly.

Not only Qiu Yan, but also Qiu Xu and He Jinran looked rather unwell.

"What, you're about to die, and you're still thinking about turning things around?" He Jinran glanced at Grand Tutor Gao, his face full of disdain.

This person actually called his father a brute?

Who does he think he is?

He Lin: "Let him rise again on the road to the underworld!"

Recalling his painful past, his eyes held no gratitude towards Grand Tutor Gao, only murderous intent.

Call him cold-hearted or heartless, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, the Gao family will never be able to turn things around!

"Since my ascension to the throne, I have bestowed upon your Gao family unparalleled glory. Grand Tutor Gao, you could have been enjoying boundless honor and being revered until your death. But what did you do?"

The past is too painful to recall. He Lin only blames himself for letting Grand Tutor Gao slip through his nose and allowing him to live for so many more years.

“Ever since the Empress entered the palace, she has become a thorn in your side!” He Lin said, glancing at He Jinran as he spoke.

He Jinran looked at Grand Tutor Gao again, and his expression changed.

He Lin continued, "It was you who conspired with your beloved daughter to frame my Empress."

Back then, he neglected Shu'er for a year.

He never visited Shu'er during her pregnancy.

This incident caused He Lin to feel deeply guilty.

He felt that if that incident hadn't happened, Shu'er wouldn't have been so extreme.

On the day Shu'er died, the group of men in black who chased after her was none other than Grand Tutor Gao.

This was something He Lin discovered back when He Jinran was being hunted down as a child.

It was Grand Tutor Gao who indirectly caused Shu'er's death.

Furthermore, the reason why Jin'er was adopted by Gu Qian when she was an infant was also directly caused by Grand Tutor Gao.

That's why Grand Tutor Gao met such an end.

"The Empress?" Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor Gao burst into laughter.

The laughter was tinged with disdain and sarcasm.

"He Lin, it doesn't feel good to be ignored, does it? Even if you're high and mighty, so what? In Li Wenshu's eyes, you're not even a man! Hmph, that's hilarious... Hahaha..."

Grand Tutor Gao's face was contorted with rage, and he laughed until tears streamed down his face.

"Li Wenshu is intolerant of any nonsense, but unfortunately, she's also a stupid woman!" If she were even a little bit smarter, how could she have been outsmarted by me?

Bang... A slingshot shot struck Grand Tutor Gao's mouth.

Immediately, two front teeth fell to the ground with a clatter.

Grand Tutor Gao's lips and teeth were stained with blood, and he couldn't help but groan.

The grief and indignation were replaced by excruciating pain.

Grand Tutor Gao had already been shot in the chest and limbs.

At that moment, the pain from the slingshot made him even weaker, and he collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

At the same time, he looked at He Jinran's action of withdrawing his hand with a fierce gaze.

He Jinran: "You're the stupid one!"

Dare you say his birth mother was a stupid woman?

Even though her birth mother was determined to do things her own way, He Jinran wouldn't allow anyone to say anything about it.

He Lin's anger was even more uncontrollable.

"Jin'er, send him on his way!"

"What crown prince? He's a bastard!" Grand Tutor Gao spoke with a lisp, his face contorted with pain, but He Jinran still managed to understand.

His teeth were grinding together, making a rattling sound.

Then, he found a stick somewhere and tossed it to Nineteen.

"beat!"

Nineteen obeyed the order, raised the wooden stick high, and struck Grand Tutor Gao hard on the back.

This was the master who once filled him with awe.

Before Grand Tutor Gao could even cry out in pain, the Nineteenth Strike landed again...

The assassins struck directly at the most vulnerable points.

He continued striking with the stick, one blow after another, until the stick broke, at which point he stopped.

Meanwhile, Grand Tutor Gao had already died.

This scene terrified Wu Wei.

At this moment, Gu Qian looked at the assassin beside him.

"Your Majesty, what should be done with these people?"

"Kill him!" He Lin said coldly. Wu Wei felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly looked at Qiu Xu, his eyes pleading for help.

He was filled with fear, terrified that he would be the next one to be subjected to the punishment of having his club broken.

The scene before him was exactly as Qiu Xu had imagined.

He stood before He Lin, knelt down, and said:

“Your Majesty, these puppets are only controlled by Grand Tutor Gao. In their eyes, there is only killing and being killed. They have no other thoughts and can be used by Your Majesty.”

At this point, Qiu Xu realized that he was facing His Majesty the Emperor, and he stopped talking.

Wu glanced at Qiu Xu gratefully, and then he noticed that the atmosphere around him had become tense.