Chapter Twenty-Five: Hypocrisy
The matter was temporarily settled. Li Wan'er was sent home, while Gu Xiuming was taken to the ancestral hall to be punished according to family rules.
Gu Jingxi glanced at Chunliu and the servants beside her. The two immediately understood and hurriedly assured him, "Don't worry, my lord, we will not say a word about what just happened."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi nodded slightly and then left the study.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao hesitated for a moment and then followed. After the two masters left, Chunliu also left the study. The servant walked at the very back and closed the study door, but did not follow them. After all, he was a male servant and only worked in the front yard.
Leaving the study, Gu Jingxi paused after taking only a few steps and instructed, "Chunliu, go and have someone notify the masters of each courtyard to gather at the ancestral hall. As for the old lady, she is too old to withstand any exertion, so there's no need to notify her."
Chunliu nodded in agreement and said she would do it right away.
After Chunliu left, Gu Jingxi looked at his wife beside him. He saw that his wife, who had been looking down slightly, seemed to have noticed his gaze. She then looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips, and asked, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Husband, did you send the maid away to interrogate me?"
Gu Jingxi chuckled and asked in return, "What if I said yes?"
Meng Jinyao's expression changed. Not long ago, he had told her to teach Gu Xiuming a lesson. But he was a father who doted on his son. He turned around and started making trouble for her. She said resentfully, "Then bring your son back first and let me bully him properly before taking him to the ancestral hall. I was still not satisfied just now, and I feel like I'm losing out."
Rarely hearing her speak so childishly, Gu Jingxi smiled and said, "Madam is an elder. It is only right for Madam to educate her ignorant son when he comes back. It's just that the unfilial son is so disobedient and has caused Madam to suffer."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao immediately adopted a gentle and loving motherly demeanor, smiling softly as she acted out the situation: "It's alright, I'm a mother, why would I hold a grudge against a child? The child is just being immature, we'll educate him slowly in the future."
Gu Jingxi: "..."
The little girl's expression changed quite quickly.
Gu Jingxi seemed to genuinely trust her, replying, "I have just witnessed Madam's ability to educate children, and I believe that under Madam's guidance, Xiuming will gradually become sensible."
Meng Jinyao raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to herself: Your son hates me so much that he grinds his teeth. Are you sure that Gu Xiuming will become more and more rebellious under my tutelage?
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Ancestral hall.
All the men, women, and children of the eldest and second branches of the Gu family went to the ancestral hall. However, Madam Gu, being elderly, could not bear to see bloodshed and did not go.
The Gu family ancestral hall is solemn and dignified. Except for events such as sacrifices, weddings, funerals, birthdays, and celebrations, the whole family usually does not appear in the ancestral hall unless a descendant of the family has committed a serious crime and must be punished in the ancestral hall.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the ancestral hall, the two families exchanged a brief greeting but did not exchange many words. Each with their own thoughts, they stepped into the ancestral hall.
Upon entering the ancestral hall, everyone saw Gu Xiuming kneeling before the ancestors. Even though they had already guessed that he would be punished, they were still stunned to see him kneeling in the ancestral hall so early.
Of the Gu family's grandchildren, the eldest and second sons were not born to Old Madam Gu, and Gu Xiuming was adopted from a collateral branch. None of the grandchildren were related to Old Madam Gu by blood, but Gu Xiuming was the one Old Madam Gu loved the most, treating him like her own grandson.
Now, the grandchildren whom Madam Gu loves most are kneeling before their ancestors, preparing to be punished. It is truly a scene that one rarely sees in one's lifetime.
Even though Gu Xiuming, kneeling on the ground, didn't raise his head, he knew what kind of looks everyone was giving him. Just a few days ago, he was the pampered young master, but now he was like a stray dog. This huge difference filled him with resentment. But when he thought of Wan'er, a sweet feeling welled up in his heart.
The ancestral hall was eerily quiet. It was Zhang who broke the silence first: "Xiuming, you are your father's only child. He loves you the most. Later, apologize to your father and ask for his forgiveness."
Gu Xiuming did not reply, his fists clenched tightly, kneeling motionless. If his father truly loved him, he would not have punished him so severely for the sake of a daughter from a poor family.
Before long, Gu Jingxi and his wife also arrived.
When Zhang saw him arrive, she glanced in Gu Xiuming's direction and said gently, "Third brother, Xiuming is usually polite and sensible. This time he acted impulsively, and it's his first time making a mistake. Why not just give him a small punishment as a warning? Why make such a fuss?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen glanced at her indifferently and scoffed inwardly, disdaining such hypocrisy. This sister-in-law was used to pretending to be a "good person" in important matters, while secretly adding fuel to the fire, all to make others be punished more severely. And when that time came, she would no longer pretend to be a good person and help plead for them.
Gu Jingxi frowned slightly and replied in a deep voice, "If he were truly sensible and reasonable, he would not have done such a heinous thing, not only ruining the family's reputation but also causing an innocent girl to be implicated because of his willful and reckless behavior. The reason we have invited everyone here today is to serve as witnesses and to take him as a warning."
After he finished speaking, he glanced indifferently at everyone present, and finally looked at Gu Xiuming kneeling on the ground. He announced in a calm and unhurried tone: "The unfilial descendant Gu Xiuming has repeatedly disrespected his elders, broken his promises, and disregarded the family's reputation. His actions have had a serious impact. He is hereby punished with twenty-five lashes for his multiple crimes, confined to the ancestral hall to reflect on his mistakes in front of the ancestral tablets for one month, and to copy the ancestral family rules one hundred times."
Upon hearing this, the people from the first and second branches of the family were stunned. They all said that Gu Jingxi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was impartial and never showed favoritism, but they always thought that he would only treat others, not his only son. But now they no longer thought that way.
They all thought it was normal to confine someone to the ancestral hall for a month to reflect on their mistakes and to copy the family rules a hundred times. But the Gu family's whip was a specially made whip, three fingers wide. In addition, the person carrying it out was strong and knew how to use skillful force. Without damaging the internal organs, it hurt more than being beaten with a board.
Twenty-five lashes—that's enough to kill someone. A weak person might even die by the end of the punishment. Gu Xiuming was his only son, yet he showed him no mercy. Even if he wasn't his biological son, you develop feelings for a dog after raising it for so long, let alone a person?
Gu Jingsheng hesitated and said, "Third brother, isn't this punishment too harsh?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang pinched her husband's lower back hard in anger, angrily scolding him for holding her back, for not speaking when he should have, and for talking too much when he shouldn't. What if her brother-in-law was just all bark and no bite, waiting for them to plead for him and give him a way out so he could be treated leniently and punished lightly?
Gu Xiuming, however, still felt a glimmer of hope. His heart pounded, and he hoped that his father would change his mind and spare him the twenty-five lashes. He was willing to confine him to the ancestral hall for two months to reflect on his mistakes.
Gu Jingxi has always been principled, fair in rewarding and punishing, and a man of his word. How could he be swayed by a few words from others? He looked at the servant who was in charge of enforcing family discipline on his master for making mistakes and ordered, "Prepare the young master for family discipline."
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