I woke up as the Villainous Empress

"Crown Princess?" Hou Wei's voice caught in her throat at Master Jiang's revelation. She turned to stare at Yang Ning in a daze, her mind in turmoil. Could it truly be that the person who had saved her that day was none other than the Crown Princess of the Empire?

She covered her mouth in disbelief, her eyes wide as she wrestled with the stunning reality. Now she understood why she had sensed that the woman was no ordinary person, despite her wearing ordinary clothes.

That day, the woman had appeared haggard, clad in plain clothing, her hair in a messy bun, her face bearing signs of exhaustion. Yet, despite her unremarkable appearance, there was an unmistakable charisma in the way she carried herself—a charm that had left everyone, including Hou Wei, spellbound and dazed.

After snapping out of her daze and grasping the gravity of the situation, Hou Wei immediately lowered her back and gave a deep, apologetic bow. "Your Highness, please forgive my ignorance. I didn't recognize that you were the Crown Princess. I beg your pardon for my impudence," she said, maintaining the bow.

Master Jiang furrowed his brow at her unusual words, and confusion crept into his voice as he asked, "What do you mean you didn't recognize her? Did I not introduce Her Highness to you earlier? How can you still make such an impudent mistake?

If not the Crown Princess, who would dare to sit next to His Highness?" Master Jiang considered Hou Wei to be a sensible child, and he was at a loss to understand why she was behaving so strangely in front of His Highness and the Crown Princess.

Yang Ning pursed her lips, feeling bad for the girl who got a scolding from Master Jiang for no reason. She cleared her throat and her eyes flicked cautiously towards Zheng Liang before she reassured Hou Wei. "It's alright. You don't need to apologize. Please, stand up."

Hou Wei hesitated for a moment before rising, her eyes filled with a mixture of puzzlement and admiration as she looked at Yang Ning. "Your Highness, you are truly a magnanimous person. Thank you for saving me the other day. It's an honor to meet you like this," she said, her eyes glinting with genuine happiness.

Hou Wei truly admired Yang Ning, not just for her strength, but because she was the only one who had protected her and an elderly woman that fateful day when no one else dared step forward. She had longed to meet her upon arriving at the capital but never expected that their second encounter would unfold like this.

The revelation was more shocking than surprising.

...

"Saved you the other day? Have you and the Crown Princess met before?" Master Jiang asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Before Hou Wei could answer, Yang Ning jumped into the conversation, explaining, "Ah! I met her in Xinling City when Zheng Liang and I were on a city tour. When he was away inspecting the shops, I bumped into her and prevented her from falling to the ground. It was only a brief, small encounter." She laughed awkwardly, hiding behind an excuse.

While her smile was forced, her eyes were fixated on Hou Wei, silently begging her not to reveal the truth.

Yang Ning's story wasn't a total lie; they did meet in Xinling City. But she still felt bad for not telling Zheng Liang the full truth. One little lie had led to another, and now she had to keep lying to him. She didn't like this feeling of lying relentlessly at all.

She is someone who prefers the bitter truth over sweet lies yet she keeps shamelessly lying to him one after another. That's so wrong and it makes her feel worse, every time she has to come up with an excuse in front of him.

She took a deep breath and decided to come clean to him. 'This won't do. I can't keep lying to him all the time. I need to do something.'

Seeing Yang Ning's desperate gaze, Hou Wei blinked in confusion, unsure why Yang Ning was reluctant to share the real story. After all, she had saved her from the thugs – wasn't that a noble act? She wondered internally.

However, recognizing Yang Ning's clear unwillingness to reveal the truth, she nodded in understanding and played along. "Yes, Her Highness prevented me from falling and getting hurt. I almost didn't recognize her, as she looked so different from that day. Back then, she was wearing plain and simple clothing, but now she resembles a beautiful swan from a lake," she complimented, her voice warm.

Yang Ning sighed in relief, grateful that Hou Wei didn't expose her lie but instead supported her story.

Meanwhile, Zheng Liang, who had been keenly observing their exchange and the way Yang Ning kept frowning, signaling to Hou Wei not to speak the truth, felt a surge of amusement.

He was already aware of Yang Ning's secret, but this side of her was amusing to him. Her determined efforts to conceal her actions only made her look more adorable and interesting in his eyes.

____

After Master Jiang introduced Hou Wei as his new disciple and the first nurse in the imperial medicine department, Yang Ning went back to her chamber, while Zheng Liang stayed to 'talk' to Gu Lan about important matters.

When she got back to her room, Yang Ning was still shaken from the shock she had earlier. She asked Xiaowei for a jug of cold water.

Xiaowei was surprised. "Milady, here is your cold water," she said, putting the jug on the table. It was icy cold weather, and she wondered why Yang Ning would want cold water instead of hot in this weather.

After Xiaowei was gone, Yang Ning chugged down two glasses of cold water to calm her racing heart. It made her lips numb and made her brain freeze due to the icy-cold electrifying sensation, but she still felt frantic.

"How could I forget that I'm not the hero of this story but the villain?" she said to herself, sighing heavily. "I was living so well that I forgot about the main character." She sat on the bed, lost in thought.

"Why now? Everything was getting better. I don't want any more drama in my life!" she cried out, hugging a pillow.

Despite all the changes she had made, the story was still going according to plan. The main character was still ending up in the palace. It seemed like she couldn't avoid it.

But then a thought struck her. "Wait a minute," she said, sitting up. "Zheng Liang and I are close now. He even promised not to take any other wives. He does not seem like the type to cheat either. If I keep things good between us, I can still live."

She smiled, feeling hopeful. "Yay! I can live and eat delicious food for a long time!" she shouted, throwing the pillow in excitement.

Just then, Zheng Liang walked in, catching the pillow she had thrown in excitement. "I never knew you liked eating this much," he said, amused.