SGEIRS -Chapter 308 Carrying Out the Caning

“Father, how cruel you are!”

Gu Xiuming suddenly cried out bitterly. After speaking, he burst into loud laughter. The crazed sound made everyone present frown. The imperial eunuch who had read the decree had not yet left—was he tired of living, making such a scene now?

Gu Jingxi stood up and turned to glare at him with warning in his eyes.

“Xiuming, shut up!”

Having fallen to such a state, Gu Xiuming no longer cared about anything. Laughing until tears flowed, he said resentfully:

“Father, have you ever truly treated me as your son? I think you’ve always treated me like a dog—calling me when you need me, kicking me away when you don’t. Once you disliked me, you wanted to send me as far away as possible!”

As soon as he said this, silence fell over the surroundings.

Supported by Meng Jinyao, Old Madam Gu stood up, her face full of anger. She questioned him sharply: “Xiuming, I never expected you to be such an ungrateful wretch! Even now, you still blame your father? Did he force you to commit wrongs and frame your own mother? A person must have a conscience! If your father hadn’t regarded you as his son, why would he have personally taught you? And back when you fell gravely ill and lay unconscious, why would he stay by your side day and night to care for you? Wouldn’t it have been easier to let you die and adopt another child instead?”

Gu Xiuming was left speechless by her words.

At this moment, the people of the First and Second Branches all recalled how Gu Xiuming had once suffered from a sudden, severe illness. Back then, Gu Jingxi had taken leave to stay home and watch over him. It was clear that he had truly cared for this son. If Gu Xiuming had not committed so many outrageous acts, Gu Jingxi would never have abandoned him.

Unwilling to let this rebellious son continue his madness and upset his elderly mother, Gu Jingxi turned to the eunuch who had delivered the decree.

“Eunuch, should these two wretches be caned now? Then let it begin. If the boards don’t land on their bodies, they still won’t know their mistakes.”

The eunuch had originally been enjoying the spectacle. Hearing this, he nodded and spoke in his shrill voice: “Carry out the caning on Third Young Master Gu and Lady Li!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuchs who had accompanied him stepped forward. They dragged out Gu Xiuming and Li Wan’er, who were still kneeling, and quickly stripped off their thick winter clothes, leaving only thin garments before administering the punishment. This was to prevent the clothes from dulling the pain and weakening the effect.

Old Madam Gu, advanced in age, could not bear to witness such a scene and had already been helped away by maids. Madam Jiang, the wife of Gu Xiuyuan and heavily pregnant, also left first to avoid distressing her unborn child.

The remaining members of the Gu family stayed to watch the punishment, using it as a warning to remind everyone to think carefully before acting in the future.

The caning began.

The boards struck fiercely against their buttocks, and the screams of Gu Xiuming and Li Wan’er rose one after another.

Gu Xiuming received thirty strokes, while Li Wan’er received twenty. Her punishment ended first, but she fainted from pain as soon as it was over.

Gu Xiuming did not pass out, but by the end he was in such agony that he could barely cry out. His face was twisted in pain as he lay collapsed on the ground, barely breathing, looking half-dead. His eyes were fixed on Gu Jingxi, blazing with intense hatred.

Buttock caning was actually much lighter than back caning. Twenty or thirty strokes would not threaten one’s life. However, one was frail, and the other was a pampered young noble. Their condition looked far worse than that of ordinary people.

After the punishment ended, the two were taken away from the Marquis of Changxing’s residence. Five days later, official escorts would take them to their place of exile—Yazhou.

Filial impiety was among the gravest of crimes. Even during a general amnesty, they would not be pardoned. For the rest of their lives, they could only remain in Yazhou, bound together, never to return to the capital.

After they were taken away, members of the First and Second Branches looked at Gu Jingxi and his wife. They did not ask further questions, only offered some words of comfort, urging them not to anger themselves, and then returned to their own courtyards.

When everyone had dispersed, Meng Jinyao raised her eyes to look at the man beside her. Seeing his calm, unreadable expression, she gently took his fingers.

“Husband, let’s go back too.”

Gu Jingxi nodded lightly and said softly, “A-Yao, I’ll go see Mother. You go back first.”

Meng Jinyao nodded obediently. “Alright, you go. I’ll head back first.”

After walking a few steps, she turned and asked again, “Husband, should we wait for you for dinner tonight?”

“I’ll just say a few words to Mother and come back. It won’t take long,” Gu Jingxi replied.

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao nodded again.

“Then by the time you return, it’ll be about time to eat. Go quickly.”

Shou’an Hall

Old Madam Gu had learned of Xiuming’s deeds the previous night and had been so angry that she could not sleep. Today, she was listless, and after hearing the imperial decree, she seemed to have aged several years overnight.

Back then, among the children, she had chosen Xiuming—who somewhat resembled her son. For many years, she had been very satisfied with this obedient grandson and favored him greatly. Yet in the past year, he had done so many outrageous things.

Last year, Xiuming had knelt before her and A-Yao to admit his mistakes, claiming he would sincerely repent. She had truly believed him. Who would have thought it was merely a smokescreen? It turned out that this past year revealed his true nature.

Only last night did she become completely disappointed in him.

When Gu Jingxi arrived, he saw that his mother looked exhausted, her fingers gently rolling prayer beads. After paying his respects, he sat down and said apologetically: “Mother, Xiuming’s matter has troubled you.”

With regret on her face, Old Madam Gu said, “Yaoling, I truly shouldn’t have let you choose him in the first place. Now he has ruined the Marquis’s reputation, and you were even punished by His Majesty for failing to discipline your son.”

Gu Jingxi comforted her: “Mother, we are only human, not gods. We don’t have the ability to foresee everything. All of this was destined. Please don’t think too much.”

Seeing that she still blamed herself, he smiled and added: “Our family isn’t short of money. Losing a year’s salary doesn’t matter. Being confined for half a month isn’t bad either—I’ll treat it as a break. I can spend more time with A-Yao. Though I can’t go out, it’s peaceful and carefree, without official paperwork to exhaust me.”

Hearing her son speak so lightly, Old Madam Gu’s tense emotions eased somewhat. After thinking for a moment, she asked carefully: “Yaoling, was the exile your idea, or His Majesty’s?”

“Naturally, it was His Majesty’s,” Gu Jingxi replied. “But having Concubine Li and Xiuming exiled to the same place was my idea.”

Lowering his gaze slightly, he added meaningfully: “I thought their feelings were steadfast. They surely wouldn’t want to be separated. As elders, we should help them.”

Hearing this, Old Madam Gu froze.

They were clearly good words, yet why did she sense a hint of schadenfreude in them?

Forget it. He was just an ungrateful wretch. She couldn’t be bothered to care anymore. Otherwise, she really might fall ill from anger.

Changing the subject, she said with deep relief: “My son finally married a good wife. Fortunately, A-Yao had evidence yesterday. Otherwise, if their scheme had succeeded, she would have been completely ruined. You must comfort her properly. She’s just a young girl—no matter how calm she looks, she must be frightened inside.”

Gu Jingxi nodded. “I understand.”

Worried about her daughter-in-law, Old Madam Gu did not say more and directly dismissed him: “Alright, go back and comfort A-Yao. I’m fine. Don’t worry about this old woman. I’ve lived most of my life and seen all kinds of storms.”