Chapter Twenty-Six: Warning Her?

His last hope was ruthlessly crushed, and Gu Xiuming's heart sank to the bottom, his body trembling slightly.

Before the ancestral tablets, in full view of everyone, he was subjected to family discipline. In addition to the instinctive fear of family discipline, he also felt a strong sense of humiliation. This was the first time in decades that he had been punished so severely in the Gu family. How could he ever hold his head high in the Gu family again?

From a high-ranking young master to an unfilial descendant who has made mistakes, it's as if he has fallen from the clouds into the mud. His dignity has been trampled on, and the intense sense of humiliation has given rise to a strong sense of resentment and bitterness. Gu Jingxi is really a good father to him, who doesn't care about his life or death at all.

A moment later, Gu Xiuming was stripped of his outer robe by the servants, leaving him only in a white undergarment on his upper body. He was forced to lie face down on a long wooden bench by the servants.

The burly, seemingly powerful enforcer swung his whip and lashed it mercilessly across Gu Xiuming's back with a sharp "crack." Gu Xiuming screamed in pain as the whip tore a tear in his clothes and left a bloody welt.

Then came the second, third, and fourth lashes... The sound of the whip striking his body and Gu Xiuming's screams rose and fell. After only a dozen lashes, he fainted from the pain. His back was covered with shocking bloody welts, a bloody mess, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.

However, the punishment was not over yet. The executioner did not stop and continued to lash out with the whip, lashing Gu Xiuming's bloodied back again and again.

Those present turned pale, especially the women. They only watched two or three lashes before turning their backs, unable to bear watching any longer, the sound of the whipping echoing in their ears.

The whip fell on Gu Xiuming's body, but it seemed to fall on everyone's heart as well, making their hearts pound like drums. They had a vague feeling of being made an example of, which made those little thoughts that had just arisen dare not emerge again for a while.

After the twenty-five lashes were finished, the executioner stopped, but Gu Xiuming, who was lying on the long wooden bench, was already unconscious and motionless. His white undergarment was torn to shreds by the whip, revealing his bloody and mangled back.

When Gu Jingsheng heard the sound of the whipping stop, he looked up at Gu Xiuming and was so frightened by the terrible sight that he quickly turned his head away. His back seemed to ache as well, and his voice trembled slightly as he said, "Third brother, the punishment is over. Why don't we carry Xiuming back to his courtyard and ask the family physician to take a look?"

Gu Jingxi remained calm, glancing only at Gu Xiuming before replying, "How can someone who has committed a grave offense and is still under house arrest be allowed to return to the courtyard to recuperate? There are rooms in the ancestral hall specifically prepared for unfilial descendants who have been punished and confined there." With that, he instructed the servants, "Carry the young master into the room, then call the family physician to treat him. Once the young master's injuries have healed somewhat, urge him to copy the ancestral family rules."

The servant immediately responded and stepped forward, carefully lifting Gu Xiuming up.

Zhang glanced quickly at Gu Xiuming, who was unconscious and whose condition was unknown. The gruesome sight of his bloodied back terrified her so much that her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground.

He thought to himself: She was only sixteen years old, so young. It would be such a pity if she were to die like this.

But the next moment, she felt that this was a good thing. If the Marquis of Changxing's mansion did not have a heir, then another heir would have to be established. After something like Gu Xiuming's incident, her mother-in-law would probably not want to adopt a child from a collateral branch anymore. Her eldest son, Xiuyuan, was the eldest grandson of the Marquis's mansion and had a good reputation in the mansion. He was the closest to the position of heir.

Gu Jingxi spoke again: "Thank you all for making the trip. Now that the punishment is over, I won't take up any more of your time. You may all leave."

After hearing this, no one wanted to linger. The younger generation already had some respect for this third uncle, and now their fear of him had reached its peak. Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Xiuhong, who were older, were alright, but Gu Xiuwen, who was only fifteen years old, was so frightened by the scene that his legs went weak. He hurriedly pulled on his two older brothers' sleeves and left the ancestral hall.

The two young ladies, Gu Xuanyi, the eldest daughter of the main wife, and Gu Xuanling, the second daughter of the concubine, were both pale-faced and were being helped by their maids as they walked.

That's absolutely terrifying!

If the third uncle is so strict with his only son, they would be terrified if they made a mistake and were whipped even once, let alone twenty-five times. If they were whipped twenty-five times, these delicate girls would probably be sent straight to meet their ancestors.

After everyone left, only Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao remained in the ancestral hall.

At this moment, Gu Jingxi remembered his young wife standing beside him. He saw that she was pale and staring blankly at the long wooden bench stained with blood. He thought of his two nieces who needed to be helped away. This little girl was only a year older than them, so she must have been frightened.

Gu Jingxi reached out to block her view, and only after seeing her slowly turn her head to look at him did he ask, "Are you scared?"

Meng Jinyao nodded honestly. The twenty-five lashes she thought she knew were completely different from the twenty-five lashes of the Gu family. She thought the whipping was just 25 lashes with a small whip, but the twenty-five lashes of the Gu family were truly terrifying.

However, even though her son had been beaten half to death, Gu Jingxi remained indifferent and cold. Feeling a little scared, she asked, still shaken, "I'm a little afraid. Will my husband treat me like this in the future?"

Gu Jingxi raised an eyebrow and asked her, "What kind of bad things does Madam want to do? If it violates the laws of our dynasty, send her directly to prison. If it is immoral, then..." I'll educate her myself.

However, before he could finish speaking, Meng Jinyao shook her head repeatedly: "That's impossible. I am a law-abiding citizen."

Seeing her terrified expression, Gu Jingxi explained, "The Gu family's rules only apply to the Gu family's children, not to the women who marry into the Gu family. If a woman commits a serious offense, she will not be whipped, but will only be divorced."

Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback, then nodded and asked, "Husband, would you like to go and see our eldest son? I think his injuries are quite serious."

“I’m not a doctor, what good would it do me? He needs a doctor.” Gu Jingxi’s words were utterly cold and ruthless.

Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao glanced at him. This was probably related to the fact that they weren't biologically related. Since they weren't father and son, there was no blood tie between them, so she didn't care much about the other's life or death.

Gu Jingxi seemed to see through her thoughts and said, "He hasn't woken up yet, so now is not the time to see him. Even if we did, it wouldn't help. Let's go back first."

Meng Jinyao thought of Gu Xiuming's miserable state, but she didn't feel sorry for him. Gu Xiuming was only beaten and could recover, but what about her life? It had been derailed because of Gu Xiuming's willful and reckless behavior. If anyone was miserable, it was her.

However, she still asked curiously, "Isn't your husband afraid that he won't wake up?"

“That’s not the case. After all, he’s my son whom I’ve raised for many years. Why would I beat him to death?” Gu Jingxi said with certainty, then added with a half-smile, “Your wife seems to care about him even more than I, as his father.”

Meng Jinyao forced a smile: "What mother doesn't care about her son?"

Gu Jingxi nodded in agreement. Seeing the slyness in her smile, like a little fox, he said meaningfully, "That's true. It's a blessing for him to have a mother like you, Madam. But Madam should be more careful with her concern. Just check on him from time to time. I'm afraid he's too proud and can't stand others being too nice to him."

Meng Jinyao was speechless for a moment: "..."

He thought to himself: If you want to warn me not to kill your son, just say so. Who is this, beating around the bush and being sarcastic?