Long Yang blushed, feeling a little guilty for his childish outburst. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment and said sternly, “You’re overthinking again. Why would I be angry with you?”

“Oh, so I’d been overthinking. But if I remember correctly, you said…” Lu Liangwei paused and glanced at him, then suddenly imitated his tone, “Lu Liangwei, just because I dote on you doesn’t mean you can be so insolent. Did you really think I wouldn’t punish you?”

Her impersonation of him was practically perfect.

Long Yang’s face clouded over again when he heard this.

Lu Liangwei raised her head and looked at him with a half-smile. “So how will His Majesty the Emperor punish me, may I ask?”

Long Yang pinched his forehead in a mix of exasperation and amusement. Staring at her moving rosy lips through narrowed eyes, he abruptly dipped his head and sealed her cheeky mouth.

Lu Liangwei did not expect that he would suddenly kiss her. Her eyes widened, and for a while she was unable to react.

After tasting her thoroughly, Long Yang finally released her.

He ran a finger across her alluring lips, his eyes dark and his voice a husky, seductive whisper. “This is my punishment to you.”

Lu Liangwei’s eyes misted up, her heart pounding so fast it felt like it wanted to jump out of her chest.

How strange—they had done much more intimate stuff than this, but every time the Emperor kissed her, she still could not help blushing and getting shy.

She became putty in his hands especially when he spoke to her in that voice.

She exhaled secretly to calm her throbbing heart and raised her head, only to see his smug expression. Shooting him an annoyed look, she said stubbornly, “And I thought you had some new tricks up your sleeve… Uh, this punishment will suffice, I guess.”

The corners of Long Yang’s mouth turned up, and he let out a chuckle. “Does that mean you already knew I was going to do that?”

Lu Liangwei blinked and denied firmly, “How would I know? It’s not like I can read your mind.”

Long Yang paused, then suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and brought his face close to hers. “You’re right. However, you seem to be unsatisfied with my kissing skills. Since we’re both free now, why don’t we practice?”

Lu Liangwei almost choked on her saliva when she heard him mention kissing skills so blatantly.

She gaped at him wide-eyed.

As Long Yang took in her dazed and adorable face, a flicker of pleasure flashed through his deep eyes, and he slowly leaned into her.

Lu Liangwei blushed bright red.

Just when their lips were about to touch, she let out a sudden sneeze.

Long Yang, “…”

Mortified to see a blob of her saliva on his face, Lu Liangwei hastily took out her handkerchief and wiped it away, saying guiltily, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Long Yang took the handkerchief from her and wiped his face in silence.

This girl was always capable of ruining the mood.

Sighing, he tucked the handkerchief away and said good-naturedly, “It’s all right. I’ve swallowed a lot of your saliva, anyway—getting some on my face isn’t a big deal.”

Lu Liangwei, “…”

Seeing her dumbfounded by his reply, Long Yang stroked her head cheerfully and took her hand. “Well then, let’s go back.”

“All right.”

“Why did you tell the imperial kitchen to reduce your nutritious meals by half?” Remembering this point, he frowned and asked disapprovingly.

The mention of the matter made Lu Liangwei a little troubled. “Don’t you think that my belly’s grown a lot recently? I have to control my diet.” As she spoke, she placed his hand on her stomach.