Helian Nie's peach-blossom eyes fell on the little girl's small hands tightly hugging his leg, then met the little girl's bright, sparkling eyes.

"do what?"

Ugly thing, now you know to be afraid of me? He actually thought that ugly thing could be that bold.

What to do? Of course, it's to cling to the kid's leg!

Helian Song gave a dry laugh, his little eyes blinking as he fawned over Helian Nie, trying to look cute with ingratiating winks.

"Hehe, Sisi, Sisi suddenly felt a bit cold, so I hugged Father's leg to warm up, warm up. Father's leg is so warm, so warm, hehe."

Just then, a thunderstorm had been raging outside the palace for some time. Dark clouds gathered, and the rain poured down, instantly dispelling the sweltering heat of the dog days of summer.

The wind blew in through the window, bringing a slight chill, which made Helian's words seem less out of place.

Helian Nie looked down at his lackey Helian Si, thinking, "Fine, this ugly thing is still frightened; I'll stop teasing her for now."

"Then you can hold it."

"Mmm!"

Helian Mou Sisi nodded his little head like a chick pecking at rice. No matter what, clinging to the child's leg was the most important thing.

Helian Nie withdrew his gaze, no longer wanting to watch this ugly thing's utterly pathetic acting. He glanced at the kneeling palace servants and spoke coldly.

"Guards, drag all the palace servants of Yongqing Palace away and give each of them fifty lashes, so that they will understand what their responsibilities are as palace servants."

"yes."

The guard's voice fell in response, and the kneeling crowd trembled in unison. Fifty strokes of the rod would leave them half-dead, if not dead.

Seeing that the guards were about to lift up the kneeling palace servants and carry them out, Helian Mou Sisi could no longer sit still.

"Father, Father, Father Emperor, wait, wait, wait!"

The little girl, who had been quietly clinging to her child's leg, suddenly sat up abruptly.

The little one grabbed Helian Nie's arm instead of staying nestled in his embrace, and got up.

She hugged Helian Nie's neck and began to act like a shameless five-year-old, begging, acting cute, and being a brat.

"Father, I think fifty strokes of the cane are way too many. Look, look!"

Sisi only has ten fingers, how about ten paddles? Okay?

Helian Nie coldly withdrew his gaze. For some reason, the image of that day returning to the palace from the Imperial Academy flashed through his mind.

This ugly thing kept muttering about handsome men, and under the little girl's expectant gaze, the villainous tyrant finally spoke up.

"Don't you still have toes?"

The little girl, Helian Mousi, stepped on her own child's leg, and her tiny white-clad feet silently shifted slightly.

She swallowed hard, and spoke softly in a pleading tone.

"Then, twenty strokes will do, okay? Sister Yue'er and the others still need to make delicious chicken legs for Sisi. No, we can't give him that many strokes."

Helian Nie didn't answer, only resting his chin on one hand, his handsome face expressionless, his peach blossom eyes quietly watching Helian Si.

Helian Mou Sisi suddenly chickened out for a second, sobbing, "Baby, don't look at this little cutie like that, I'm scared, sob sob."

But when Sisi thought of how kind the palace servants, especially Sister Yue'er, had been to her, the little girl gritted her teeth and prepared to die.