Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

Gu Hua silently drank the hot water in one gulp, and her body immediately warmed up, relieving her dry mouth and throat.

Now that I feel better physically, my temper has flared up.

Silently, she took out the oil paper package containing the pastries from her bosom and tossed it onto the desk.

The oil paper wrapping suddenly unfurled, revealing something unknown inside.

Mu Junyan paused in wiping the iron whip, then picked up the fire tongs, poked the charcoal fire a couple of times, and added two more pieces of charcoal to the stove.

Without looking up at the person, he quickly glanced at the oil paper package.

...It looks a bit like sunflower seed pastry.

He put down the fire tongs expressionlessly, picked up a cloth, and continued wiping the iron whip.

Gu Hua felt even more aggrieved. She bit her lip and said in a muffled voice, "Please punish me, Your Excellency."

That soft voice, tinged with a sob, was filled with endless grievances, as if it had taken eighteen turns.

Mu Junyan's heart softened upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but glance at the oil paper package again. It was already broken beyond recognition, with only a small piece remaining in the middle that revealed what it was.

She actually made some snacks and went through mountains and rivers to deliver them to him.

A warmth filled his heart, and he forced himself to suppress the urge to pull the silly boy into his arms and squeeze him tightly.

In an extremely calm voice, he asked, "These are... sunflower seeds?"

Gu Hua glared at him resentfully.

These were pastries she disliked, but she carried them in her arms the whole way.

On the way there, she came to a bend in the cliff. She and her guards pulled hard on a horse that was about to fall off. The reins wore her palms raw, but after she was out of danger, the first thing she did was touch the pastries in her arms.

Are these sunflower seeds?

Just sunflower seeds!

This is her heart burning with longing!

Mu Junyan noticed her piercing gaze, slowly raised his eyelids, and looked at the little girl.

Gu Hua didn't want him to see her vulnerability, so she quickly lowered her eyes to hide her expression, but a large tear fell to the ground, stirring up dust.

...Did you cry?

All I asked was if they were sunflower seeds.

What did he do wrong?

Mu Junyan dared not speak.

To put it mildly, she doesn't understand the implications.

He was being too harsh... He couldn't bear to say it.

Watching her struggle to hold back her tears caused her slender shoulders to clench tightly, yet she couldn't help but twitch slightly.

He was starting to feel overwhelmed; his heart melted.

But if he doesn't teach her a lesson and make her afraid, what if she does something reckless again in the future?

The little girl has been so spoiled by him that she's become completely arrogant and ignorant.

They dare to manage military supplies and even get involved in military rations.

She was as tender as a scallion, yet she dared to follow a large group of rough men, trekking thousands of miles, risking being robbed of their grain by those with ulterior motives in the imperial court, or even being killed to silence them, and also risking encountering mountain bandits.

What if something happens to her?

What should he do?

Mu Junyan's face was full of disappointment and frustration.

But the other person kept their head down and didn't look at him.

Gu Hua lowered her head, trying to hold back her tears, but the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and she couldn't stop the tears from falling to the ground.

She could only wipe away her tears forcefully.

Mu Junyan couldn't take it anymore; if it went on any longer, he would reveal his true form.

He raised the hand holding the iron whip, tapped it on a bench beside him used as a footrest, and said in a cold and merciless voice, "Lie down."

Gu Hua trembled in fright.

His eyelids twitched, he dared not move his head, and turned his eyes to look at the half-foot-wide wooden bench.

Is he really going to punish her?

Gu Hua grew angrier the more she thought about it, and suddenly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

When Mu Junyan was glared at by the little girl's fierce eyes, it felt like a feather had tickled his heart, making him feel itchy.

I really want to laugh.

He kept a straight face, refusing to look at her, and continued to slowly and methodically wipe the iron whip.

He polished the bamboo-jointed iron whip until it gleamed, and the handle was just the right size for his large hand; the whip was about four feet long.

If you were to be whipped once, you would be in excruciating pain even without bleeding.

Gu Hua glanced at the iron whip in his hand, her eyelids trembling.

Her nose suddenly stung, tears welled in her eyes, and she asked in disbelief, "You...you really want to hit me?"

Mu Junyan sat upright, his face showing an indifferent expression.

He tossed the rag onto the desk, held the whip in his right hand, and flicked it intermittently across his left palm.

"Without rules, there can be no order. My Mu family army has always been known for its strict military discipline. Besides, you are my woman. If you make a mistake, you should be punished. Otherwise, how can I govern?"

What he said makes sense.

Gu Hua felt wronged and really wanted to cry in front of him.

But she just didn't want him to see her as a coward.

She wiped away her tears, pouted, and glared at him.

She violated military regulations by disguising herself as a man to enter the army camp, but she clearly came all the way to deliver food and medicine to him, and she clearly came to surprise him and see him.

This man showed absolutely no mercy.

He left on their second night of marriage. It had only happened a few times before, and almost two months had passed. He must not care about her anymore.

Oh, and there were also camp prostitutes, and my late wife's poetry manuscripts.

How could he possibly think of her?

Gu Hua grew angrier the more she thought about it.

She had no desire to beg him for help.

He steeled himself and stubbornly lay down on the bench.

With his eyes closed, his body taut and his arms tightly gripping the bench, he looked as if he were ready to die.

But his toes were curled up in tension.

Mu Junyan stood up, holding an iron whip, and walked closer step by step.

He looked down at the little girl, but remained unmoved.

Gu Hua smelled the familiar scent and became even more nervous.

After a while, Mu Junyan tapped her robe with his whip, his tone icy: "Don't you know how flogging is carried out?"

Gu Hua opened her eyes, turned to look at him blankly, and said nervously, her teeth chattering, "I...I don't know."

Mu Junyan looked at that pale, yellowish face and tried hard to keep his expression straight.

He lifted her skirt with the whip: "Lift it up. Does it hurt when you hit me with such a thick cotton robe?"

Gu Hua's face stiffened.

She remembered; she had witnessed public flogging, where the person was stripped naked and beaten.

This was not only for whipping, but also for humiliating the prisoner.

Does he intend to be so harsh as to subject her to humiliating torture?

Are you going to show her absolutely no mercy?

Gu Hua felt a tightness in her chest, her nose stung, and large tears of grievance streamed down her face.

She risked her life to deliver the goods for him from afar, hoping to see him and personally escorting him to the military camp, yet he treated her with such indifference!

Since that's the case, she doesn't need to care about him anymore.

Consider this beating as her way of repaying him for his kindness to her!

She gritted her teeth, endured the humiliation, and lifted up her not-so-thick cotton robe, revealing that she was wearing durable cotton trousers underneath.

Gu Hua suppressed her sobs and reached out to pull down her pants.

Mu Junyan's eyebrows twitched violently.

You silly boy, you really want to take your pants off.

"okay."

Gu Hua paused, feeling so wronged she wanted to burst into tears.

She was wearing normal cotton pants when she came out, but on the way she realized that the bumpy road was so bad it felt like her buttocks were going to crack.

Fine cotton cloth simply cannot withstand friction.

To avoid attracting attention, they dared not take the main road or enter the city. She and Donghua had no choice but to find a small village and buy two pairs of coarse cotton trousers from a peasant woman.

The size is a bit large, and the pant legs are both wide and short.

Gu Hua lay on the chair, her wide trousers rubbing down to her knees, her two slender legs stretched straight, and several scratches could be seen.

He remained motionless for a long time.

Gu Hua said with a sob in her voice, "Your Excellency, you may punish me if you wish. But if you don't beat me to death, I will have to leave the military camp overnight to avoid violating your strict military regulations again."

A muffled "hmm" came from above.

Mu Junyan's hand holding the whip fell, and the whip landed on her slender waist, startling her so much that she instinctively turned her head to look at him.

Unexpectedly, the man's tall body bent down.