After all, the wound on his chest was the best proof.
Seeing that Cedrick was about to expose the love bites on his chest and collarbones to the members of the Jenson family, Gwendolyn panicked and grabbed his shirt, preventing him from taking it off.
“Don’t take off your clothes! Have you no shame? There are so many people around!” Gwendolyn uttered. Why is this jerk so shameless? I’ll definitely teach him a lesson once he recovers!
In response, Cedrick pursed his lips and smiled. “I’m a man. Exposing my chest isn’t a big deal.”
“Yes, it is!” Gwendolyn glared at him and warned in a whisper, “From now on, I’m the only one who’s allowed to look at your body. Put your clothes back on!”
Cedrick was happy to hear her staking her claim to him.
Following that, he buttoned his shirt and shot Nico a look.
Nico then brought a tied-up young man into the ancestral hall and threw him into the open space in the middle of the ancestral hall. After that, Nico passed a printed document to Logan and let Logan bring it to Valentino.
“This is the man who was spreading the fake news when Mr. Cedrick was on a mission. When I apprehended him last night, he was about to flee after receiving a payment from Mr. Xander. His statement is attached in the document,” Nico reported.
Valentino perused the statement carefully and shot Yael a stern look afterward.
Yael was dumbfounded. Xander told me he had that man killed in the suburbs last night! How did the man end up getting caught by Nico?
Valentino then handed the statement to Yael.
Yael read the document three times over to confirm its authenticity. Xander’s subordinates made a blunder! Cedrick has dirt on us now!
“Mr. Xander nearly got Mr. Cedrick, the head of the Jenson family, killed. Shouldn’t he get punished according to the Jenson family’s rules?” Nico continued.
Everyone at the scene quickly turned toward Valentino and waited for him to make a decision.
Valentino stroked his beard under everyone’s gaze before letting Logan help him to his feet. “Cedrick, you’re now the head of the Jenson family. The decision is yours. I’m going back to my room to rest.”
Cedrick nodded slightly. “Take care, Grandpa.”
“Dad! Don’t leave!” Yael yelled. If Dad leaves, no one’s going to help me! I’m in hot water now. This is the first time Xander does something independently, and he screwed everything up!
Alas, Valentino ignored Yael and left the ancestral hall without looking back.
After Valentino left, the rest of the members of the Jenson family followed suit.
All of a sudden, only Gwendolyn, Cedrick, Yael, and Nico were left in the spacious ancestral hall.
The young man that Nico had apprehended had also been taken away.
Now that they were alone, Yael no longer had to care about his dignity. As such, he humbled himself and smiled ingratiatingly. “Cedrick, I doubt Xander knew things would turn out this way. Perhaps it’s not necessary to deem he had the intention to harm you. Furthermore, he’s also injured heavily and unconscious. Shall we just call it even and move on?”
“No can do, Mr. Yael. It was my idea to teach Xander a lesson, so you’re more than welcome to argue with me regarding that. Meanwhile, Xander harming Ceddy is another matter altogether. As you can see, these are two different matters,” Gwendolyn answered instead.
Yael glared at her and turned back toward Cedrick. “What do you say, Cedrick?”
Cedrick carried Gwendolyn onto his lap and caressed her cheek lovingly. The coupled acted all lovey-dovey with each other right before Yael as Cedrick said, “Gwenny’s right. Those are two different matters.”
With that, he turned to look at Yael coldly. “I heard that Xander is still unconscious now. Is that true? Is he hurt badly?”
“Yes! I’ll give him an earful when he wakes up. I’ll surely tell him to behave himself in the future!” Yael promised, smiling.
Cedrick ignored him and looked at Nico. “I want you to invite Xander here personally. Bring him here, even if you have to carry him.”
Yael’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately gave the bodyguards outside the door a look.
Twenty minutes later, Nico dragged Xander into the ancestral hall.
“Boss, Mr. Yael’s bodyguards were trying to sneak Mr. Xander out of his villa just now, but I stopped them,” Nico reported.
That wasn’t the only reason she wanted to stay. Another reason was that Nico once told her that six months ago, Cedrick had received the same whipping punishment for her sake. Needless to say, she was very curious about the severity of the punishment.
Cedrick didn’t say a word in response.
As such, Gwendolyn grabbed his arm and pouted, acting coy. “Please trust me, Ceddy! You’re the best!”
Ultimately, Cedrick caved in because he couldn’t say no to her sweet voice.
Xander was forced to kneel in the center of the ancestral hall, and his shirt was torn apart to reveal his skinny back. Before the punishment even started, he was already trembling all over like a leaf. Apparently, he feared the whip to his bones.
Yael couldn’t bear to watch his son getting whipped. However, Logan’s presence meant that Valentino had consented to the punishment. In other words, there was nothing Yael could do to save his son.
First, Logan took out the whip from a wooden box and bowed before the altar in the ancestral hall. He then bowed at Xander and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Xander.”
As soon as Logan finished his sentence, a sharp sound rang out, and the skin on Xander’s back was torn open by the whip, with blood trickling down from the cut.
Due to how skinny he was, the whip seemed to strike his bones every single time. Blood splattered everywhere, making for a horrible sight.
Xander endured the first couple of strokes in silence but broke down after the fifth stroke. He was in so much pain that he was crying out in agony and rolling around on the ground. He could no longer be bothered about his dignity and image because the pain was too much to handle.
Meanwhile, Cedrick remained expressionless. A ruthless, frosty glint flashed in his eyes as he ordered his subordinates to hold Xander still.
After seven strokes, Xander fainted on the spot.
Cedrick then got someone to wake Xander up by splashing a bucket of cold water onto him before Logan delivered the final two strokes.
By the time Logan was done, Xander’s face was as pale as a sheet, and he lost consciousness, sprawling on the ground. In the end, Yael had to get the bodyguards to carry Xander back. Xander merely received ten strokes, but his back was already covered in gaping wounds and lacerations.
Gwendolyn silently watched everything unfold. Although she looked calm on the outside, she was actually in shock.
After having a firsthand view of Xander’s punishment, she finally realized how terrifying the Jenson family’s whipping punishment was. Xander lost consciousness, and his back is covered in severe wounds when he only received ten strokes! Ceddy endured twenty strokes while being injured back then, and he even walked me back to the villa after the punishment, all the while bearing with the pain. I can’t even imagine how much pain he was in at that time.
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