LOT – Chapter 174 The Emperor’s Evil Taste

After getting the stick, Lin Mo was overjoyed.

Not to mention, the stick looked pretty nice—the handle was yellow, and the body even had carved patterns, looking like a finely crafted work of art.

After leaving the Eastern Palace, Lin Mo found a corner, let Bai Xiao out, and handed the stick to him.

“Try hitting me with this, I want to feel if it hurts.”

Bai Xiao: …Is that really necessary?

Lin Mo urged, “Hurry up!”

Bai Xiao took a deep breath. Since she insisted, he decided to fulfill her request.

He swung the stick lightly. Lin Mo flinched, feeling a hit on her butt—but it didn’t really hurt!

“Hahaha! It really doesn’t hurt much! What kind of magical thing is this?!”

Bai Xiao explained, “This stick is made of softwood, and it’s hollow in the middle. Of course, it won’t hurt much when it hits someone.”

Armed with this treasure, Lin Mo strutted home proudly and handed the stick to her mother.

Looking at the delicate stick, Lady Lin picked it up and examined it. “Where did you get this stick from?”

Lin Shangshu, Lin Qi, and Lin Ran were also curious. The stick was far too exquisite to have been casually picked up.

Moreover, they had expected that Lin Mo, in one afternoon, would just pick up any random stick—but clearly, this was not the case.

Lin Mo honestly replied, “I asked someone for it.”

Lin Ran asked, “So you went to the eldest daughter of the Grand Commandant’s house and got the stick back? You even reclaimed the gift you gave away?”

Bai Xiao, standing nearby, couldn’t help but think: What?! She went to the Crown Princess to get this? That’s the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s private item.

Lin family members: !!! What?! The Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s private item?!

What was this girl thinking? Picking it up from them was worse than just grabbing a random stick outside!

“Quickly tell me exactly how you got this stick, and who gave it to you!”

Seeing Lin Shangshu’s serious face, Lin Mo shrank her neck and whispered, “Weren’t you the ones who told me to find a stick? Anyway, I didn’t steal it.”

“Father, mother, you can’t scold me. I fulfilled your request and found the stick. If nothing else, I’m leaving now. I’ve been tired all day—I need a proper bath and sleep.”

With that, Lin Mo dashed off so fast that Bai Xiao didn’t even react in time.

Wait! Don’t leave me here alone! I’m scared!

Bai Xiao hurriedly followed after her. Her retreating figure looked panicked.

Sitting in the main hall, the Lin family elders thought: …Scared of what? What’s there to be afraid of? We’re not going to eat you.

“This little brat, doesn’t she even know embarrassment? And the Crown Princess actually gave it to her… What should we do now? Should we send it back?”

Lady Lin was truly worried. She wished she hadn’t assigned this task to the little troublemaker.

Lin Shangshu said, “No need to send it back. The stick’s already retrieved, and everyone knows what kind of brat she is.”

Lin Shangshu had grown more relaxed lately. He used to worry Lin Mo might cause some catastrophic incident, but now he had come to see the truth: she didn’t cause major trouble, just constant small chaos—and everyone tolerated her.

Their family hadn’t done anything illegal or improper, and having served diligently for decades, there was little that could go wrong. At worst, people would just have a laugh. There were plenty of laughs to go around; one more or less wouldn’t matter.

The Crown Prince learned about this incident after returning. He was speechless.

“Lin Mo never fails to shock me. Doesn’t she ever feel embarrassed?”

The Crown Princess Bai said, “Even if you were shy, she wouldn’t be. This girl is naturally clueless.”

The Crown Prince: …

But it was true—Lin Mo likely had no sense of shame. She was scatterbrained, but she lived happily, enjoying every day.

Others who traveled back in time would have had to scheme or be worn down by the ancient world, but she thrived in it.

This matter even reached the emperor’s ears, and he was astonished.

“Lin Mo’s words and actions are getting more outrageous! She might as well put a sign on her forehead saying she has special powers!”

Eunuch Li: “Indeed. We have to go to great lengths to conceal her antics. Today, she returned the stick that Lady Lin instructed her to use, and the little system told her there was one in the Eastern Palace.”

Xuande Emperor: …Speechless.

But then he thought of something fun.

“Tch! As a father, I have the right to care for my subjects, right? Lin Mo is collecting all kinds of sticks. Take the sticks the late emperor used to discipline the crown prince and have them sent to the Lin residence!”

Hahaha, just imagining Lin Mo being whacked with those sticks made him laugh with delight.

Eunuch Li hesitated but eventually went to execute the order.

Just as the Lin family was preparing for bed, the stick delivery arrived. Seeing the entire box of sticks brought by the little eunuch, Lin Mo almost split in half.

What?! Why is the emperor sending sticks?!

Bai Xiao: Because he knows you were looking for sticks today, and you went to the Eastern Palace—of course he’d find out.

The little eunuch smiled at Lin Shangshu: “Sir, these are gifts from the emperor to Miss Lin. He heard you were looking for sticks today, so he specially had some prepared. These were used by the late emperor.”

Tears welled up in Lin Mo’s eyes. “Can I refuse? I already found a stick—I really don’t need these.”

The little eunuch shook his head with a smile: “You cannot refuse. Refusal would be defying the emperor’s command. These are his token of goodwill.”

Lin Mo pouted and wailed, “Waaah! This is bullying! Waaah!”

Lin Shangshu and the others were holding back laughter—they finally made the little demon cry, but why was it so funny?

Bai Xiao: Stop crying! There’s nothing to cry about. These sticks were used by the late emperor decades ago. Stored in the warehouse for so many years, they’ve been eaten through by insects. They’re hollow inside and can easily break. If you’re hit a few times, you’ll only get a red spot on your butt that heals by the next day.

Lin Mo immediately stopped crying. Really?

Bai Xiao: Really. Why would I lie?