I woke up as the Villainous Empress

74 Royal Court I

“All rise! His Majesty has arrived.”

When the guard announced the arrival of His Majesty, Yang Ning who was trying to be calm until now, panicked and hurriedly gathered her long skirt in order to stand up to greet him. She still couldn’t get used to the fact that she was meeting the Emperor which caused her hands to tremble and made her actions look clumsy.

However, when she looked at Zheng Liang, who looked graceful and elegant while standing up, she suddenly felt ashamed of her clumsiness. Even though she is Fang Li, she still needs to pretend to be Yang Ning and if she keeps making mistakes like that, everyone will find out about her identity very soon.

Upon remembering the proper royal etiquettes, she loosened her grip on her long skirt and placed both of her hands politely in front of her stomach, bent her back in a ladylike manner, and bowed to the Emperor to greet him,” Greetings to His Majesty!”

Even though Xiaowei had taught her about the royal greetings before when she attended the Celebration Banquet, things were so chaotic back then that she couldn’t remember it correctly and made a mistake in front of His Majesty when she greeted him and the Empress.

Now when she thinks about it, there was a reason why she was a thorn in everyone’s eyes that day. Because her actions were not matching to her graceful and elegant image in front of everyone.

Although Yang Ning did have a wicked impression in front of the public, on the side, she was also known for her ladylike manners and properness as well, especially in front of His Majesty.

That’s why he always appreciated her as a bride suited to the Crown Prince.

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However, thankfully she has Yang Ning’s memories with her now. After she almost died by drowning in the lake, it was the only good thing that has happened to her.

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She got Yang Ning’s memories.

Since she has Yang Ning’s memories now, she will put them to good use and will protect her neck from being slashed and her identity from getting revealed as well.

Zheng Liang also bowed his head and greeted the Emperor, “Long Live, Your Majesty!”

After sitting on his throne, the Emperor, Zheng Wang Meng, looked at Yang Ning and Zheng Liang, and waved his hands in response to their greetings and said. ” At ease. You both can take a seat. No need to stay standing like this.”

Yang Ning smiled hesitantly before returning to her seat. However, as she was about to sit on the chair, her eyes fell on Zheng Liang, who was still standing and didn’t move an inch from his position.

‘What is he doing? Why is he still standing like that? Didn’t the Emperor tell us to sit down?’ She was in a dilemma, wondering if she should sit down or not. Her bum was in the air and she was in a bind because of Zheng Liang’s actions.

She peeked at the Emperor who was looking at Zheng Liang and not her. ‘ Ah! I don’t care anymore.’ With this in mind, she shamelessly sat on the chair and supported her back against the backrest of the chair.

She was already feeling weak and her legs were also hurting. She wasn’t in the state to stay in a standing position for too long.

While Yang Ning settled herself at her seat, Zheng Liang looked up at the Emperor and asked, ” Your Majesty, You called for us. May I ask what was the reason behind this sudden meeting?”

Zheng Wang Meng pursed his lips in a thin line and glanced at Yang Ning indifferently before saying, ” I heard about what happened at the brothel. How is the situation there? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Zheng Liang politely shook his head and answered, ” When we found out that the bear had been spotted near the place, we cleared the area and made sure of the safety of everyone.” He dodged the question and answered about the people rather than reporting about himself.

He pursed his lips and lowered his head in hesitation before saying, ” However, before we found out about it, the wild bear already killed a woman.”

“There was also a situation in which Lady Yang Ning and her maid almost got injured because of my negligence. However, due to the bravery of Lady Yang Ning, she shot down the wild bear with an arrow and killed him on the spot.”

” Thanks to her, the bear was caught with not many casualties.” He said.

Although Zheng Liang did not want to reveal the presence of Yang Ning at the brothel because it could create complications for her and tarnish her reputation.

Because men going to the brothel is considered a typical act, whereas women are not supposed to visit such places even though these places have now changed into normal dining places after the brothel custom was abolished.

However, since the matter has blown up and almost everyone in the palace was talking about it and are aware that Yang Ning was also involved in it, it wouldn’t be difficult for everyone to find out what happened at the site.

That’s why he thought that it would be better for him to explain to His Majesty himself.

A frown appeared on the Emperor’s forehead as he looked at Yang Ning with a complicated gaze. He noticed a few scratch marks on her face and the way she was walking earlier, it didn’t look quite normal either.

He nodded after hearing his explanation and said, ” So you’re saying that it was not ‘You’ but ‘Yang Ning’ who killed the bear? Hmm! It’s quite impressive.” He said while looking lost in thought.

Yang Ning smiled awkwardly as she wasn’t sure if His Majesty was commending her or was making a sarcastic remark.

‘It doesn’t feel like a compliment though.’ She sighed heavily and wondered for how long she would have to stay here and be treated as if she had committed some kind of sin.

Even though it was unexpected for her to know how to use the bow and an arrow, shouldn’t they be glad that she killed the bear and saved everyone from the rampant?

After a deep thought, the Emperor looked at Yang Ning and said, ” Yang Ning, you showed a great act of bravery, so you should be rewarded for it. I will ask your father to collect your reward from the royal treasury later.”

Yang Ning’s pale face lit up when she heard the word reward but her smile vanished when he mentioned that her father would collect it later. ‘ Why my father? I am here. Shouldn’t he give it to me and not my father?’

If Yang Luoyang collects the reward, then there is no way he will hand it over to her. That stinky man is greedy as hell!

“There is no need for a reward. I did nothing.” She beamed and tried to be humble about it. Because in the end, she will not be getting any reward but Yang Luoyang. If she cannot get it, she will not let him take it as well.

” No! You deserve it. The Wild Bear has caused chaos in the capital and has caused many casualties in the past few weeks. You deserve the credit for it.” The Emperor said.

However, his smile disappeared the next moment and his expression turned gloomy as he asked her, ” It is a good thing that you showed bravery. However, what were you doing at the Brothel?” His voice turned cold, just like his hardened expressions.

” Yang Ning, I chose you to be the bride of Zheng Liang and you are soon going to be the Crown Princess of the Empire. Are you not aware that the women of the Imperial Family are not supposed to visit such places? If caught in action, they will be punished severely for breaking the Imperial Family Laws. In the worst cases, the marriage proposal will be null and void and you will be exiled to the mountains.”

” Why did you do that? Huh?”

Yang Ning, who finally calmed down after hearing about the reward, her eyes grew wide when she heard him speaking about the punishment. Hmm? Null and void?

For a moment she wondered if it was happening for a good cause or not. However, hearing him say that she will be exiled to the mountains, she wondered if they would keep her captivated at that place like a sinner or allow her to live freely in the mountains.

Anyway, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to her anymore. She turned to Zheng Liang in panic and looked up at him for help.

It’s not like she wanted to go to the brothel. It was the Crown Prince who took her there instead of a normal dining place where they could have a cup of tea.

However, seeing the solemn expressions of Zheng Liang, she couldn’t bring herself to speak about it either. Because she didn’t feel right about tattle-telling on him and chose to stay silent.

” It wasn’t Lady Yang Ning’s fault. It was me who took her there for a cup of tea. If you are going to punish someone, that person should be me. Since it was me who took her there.” Zheng Liang interrupted and confronted the Emperor who was not looking at him.

The Emperor pursed his lips and called his name coldly, ” Zheng Liang!” He called his name in rage, frightening Yang Ning who was wondering if she should stand up in this situation or stay seated on the chair.

At this point, it was even difficult for her to breathe out loudly without being conscious of these two.

Since when has my life turned into a weekend drama? She swallowed her saliva nervously while glancing at Zheng Liang who was standing in front of the Emperor as if he was trying to pick a fight with him.

They are a duo of father and son but something seems to be amiss between them. What could it be? She wondered.