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Seeing Lian Hua remained silent, trying only to break free from him, he realized she was truly furious. Somewhat anxiously, he said, "Nannan, trust me once more. I was wrong this time. I deserve to be punished. However you wish to punish me, I agree!"

Hmm? Lian Hua, who was prying the Emperor’s hand off, suddenly stopped and instinctively turned to look behind her.

Punishment?!

This... seems somewhat interesting!

Is this really okay?

Seeing her react, the Emperor quickly promised again, "If one commits a misdeed, one should be punished. The Son of Heaven is subject to the same laws as the common people, and so am I. I promised Nannan but failed to fulfil it. I deserve to be punished, severely so!"

Lian Hua, her eyes slightly reddened from anger, lifted her gaze with her hand still resting on the steel arm around her waist, suspiciously scrutinizing the Emperor.

The Emperor looked back at her earnestly, letting her feel his sincerity.

After a moment’s thought, she asked uncertainly, "Punish you?"

"Yes, punish me!" The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she was engaging with him, he was not afraid of punishment; he simply feared being ignored by his Little Concubine.

Lian Hua became somewhat excited. Oh, this wasn’t bad at all. In the past, it was always His Majesty who punished her. Now fortune had come full circle, and she finally had a chance to punish him—a chance too rare to find!

She turned away and looked down, her eyes rolling wildly as she turned, and thought, It’s so tempting. Choosing between staying angry and punishing His Majesty was really an easy choice!

Her mouth began to curl up, but she feigned politeness and declined, "Oh no, how could I? What has His Majesty done to deserve punishment... I wouldn’t dare punish you..."

In her heart, however, she was already laughing uproariously, wildly thinking about how to do it.

The Emperor hugged her, unable to see her expression, but instinctively smelled danger. That tone, that voice, it was a prelude to her excitement—she was interested in punishing him!

If he really let her go through with this, letting her vent her anger by punishing him, then this platform would likely collapse, making it impossible to come down from it in the future.

He kept a stern face and stated righteously, "It must be done. If I’m not punished, I won’t be at ease."

Lian Hua’s heart started to race. Hahaha, then she wouldn’t hold back!

His Majesty also had his day! She really needed to think about how to punish him—hahaha!

Her smile refused to be suppressed, no matter how hard she tried.

She felt a sensation of turning the tables and taking charge, really wanting to sing a song to proclaim to the whole world—she was going to punish His Majesty!

With this thought, she barely managed to control a burst of laughter that bubbled up with excitement.

She desperately gritted her teeth and endured. After a while, she finally calmed down, waiting for her expression to return to normal.

The Emperor, seeing she remained silent for a while, grew nervous, but then he noticed her body trembling slightly as if she was holding something back.

He couldn’t help but look down, and seeing her lips curved upward, he immediately realized—his Little Concubine was very pleased with his suggestion and was trying to suppress her laughter.

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief; this reaction meant his method had worked, though he still wondered how his Little Concubine intended to punish him.

Well, that was a problem. But, as long as his Little Concubine felt happy and could vent, he was content.

After a while, feeling that she had suppressed her laughter, he finally waited for her to speak.

She lifted her head, cleared her throat, and said with an excitement she couldn’t fully hide, "Your Majesty, you said it yourself, it wasn’t me who wanted to punish you, it was you insisting I punish you!"

Listening to her words, it was obvious she was holding back something wicked, surely plotting a convoluted route on how to punish him.

The Emperor, somewhat helpless, indulgently said to her, "Yes, it was indeed I who insisted on being punished by you."

With these words, Lian Hua could finally stop holding back. She excitedly tapped the hand the Emperor had around her waist, signaling him to let go first.

The Emperor released her with a chuckle, only to see her turn around with a strange sparkle in her eyes, a mischievous smile on her face, her hand on her chin as she mischievously scanned him up and down, then again from bottom to top.

The Emperor remained calm, letting her size him up; how could he react otherwise but to comply?

Lian Hua looked him over from head to toe, pondering how to punish him.

The opportunity was rare; she needed to think it over properly, putting some effort into it.

She glanced again at His Majesty, thought for a moment and said with a cheery smile, pointing to the edge of the bed, "Your Majesty, please sit first. Don’t tire yourself; I can’t bear to see you tired."

First give him a carrot, and then later, a big stick～

Hearing her sweet yet mischievous talk, the Emperor sat down as instructed, feeling relaxed yet playing a bit pitiful, like a lamb ready for slaughter, cleaned up and waiting for her move.

Seeing his expression, Lian Hua was very pleased. Nodding and expressing her admiration, she said, "Hmm, very good, very good, a teachable boy indeed."

This posture of His Majesty was just what she wanted, just like how pitiful she used to look which always delighted him, leaving him feeling refreshed. No wonder His Majesty used to enjoy teasing her so much.

Her lips curved up, her hand on her chin like a little bully, occasionally glancing at the Emperor.

Moving about in front of him, she paced while brainstorming, murmuring to herself in a voice deliberately loud enough to be overheard:

"Spank him? Hmm...no, no, can’t copy His Grace by being shameless."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow; she still remembered her grudge. He actually would have enjoyed such a punishment from her, her slaps feeling more like tickles, more akin to boudoir pleasures than punishment, a pity she was unwilling.

Lian Hua continued to mutter to herself: "Copy characters, maybe? Hmm, no, no, His Grace writes so well, that wouldn’t be a punishment at all, no good, no good."

The Emperor understood her reluctance. She had told him that her teacher always punished her by making her copy characters when she was learning, a truly miserable punishment in her view. It was useless though, her writing always looked like chicken scratch until he taught her.

This method was undoubtedly from her teacher, fail to study well and copy characters, his Little Concubine was indeed naive and adorable.

"Imitate a little girl singing?" Lian Hua bit her lip, imagining the scene. Considering His Majesty’s terrible storytelling, singing might sound even worse, like grinding gears. But she dismissed the idea soon after: "Better think some more."

The Emperor frowned slightly, as if dealing with a little mischief-maker, teasing a good family’s child, fortunate she didn’t really plan to do so, otherwise it would be quite tricky!

Lian Hua then dismissed several more ideas that she herself found unsatisfactory.

She glanced at the Emperor’s chin, an idea striking her; "How about pulling his beard?"

She had pulled her father’s beard when she was little, making him yelp in pain and admit fault.

Ah, this idea is a bit interesting!

His Majesty sometimes pricked her face with his stubble while hugging her, making her skin itch and prickle in irritation, how naughty.

The Emperor watched her closely, seeing her eyes rolling around, continually glancing at his chin, he felt greatly relieved. Luckily he had shaved cleanly, otherwise this little mischief-maker would be pulling at his beard now.