I woke up as the Villainous Empress
Chapter 134

134 Mother in law vs Daughter in law

Yang Ning’s face turned scarlet red when Zheng Liang asked her to hold his hand for support so that she would not fall on her face while wearing her long and heavy dress.

Holding hands with a man was a big thing for her. She has been single and a virgin for her whole life.

She has only held hands with girls and stayed together with them most of her life because her roommates were all girls and she was the most popular among the girls as well.

She never got the time or opportunity to date a guy because of her competition and training. Who would have thought that this would be her first encounter with a guy?

Although she has done many more things with Zheng Liang, from being carried in his arms to sleeping on his bare chest while hugging his waist.

However, holding hands with him was making her heart flutter for some reason. She never thought that holding hands with someone can feel so different and romantic.

Who would have thought that rather than her boyfriend, she would be doing all sorts of stuff with the main lead of the novel? Even so, why is it so heart-fluttering? Has she been single for so long that now her heart is fluttering by a man who is not even real but fictional?

‘Fang Li, you cannot get delusional by this momentary happiness. All of this doesn’t belong to you. Not You!’

“Erm...Then I should thank you in advance.” She hesitated at first but complied with Zheng Liang’s suggestion and held hands with him while stepping down the stairs because she was scared that she might trip again and will make a joke of herself in front of everyone.

.....

‘Only if I could cut these dresses short. However, if I did that, they would surely throw me out of here or would exile me to the mountains.’ She had thought about it once but that idea had been rejected by Xiaowei long ago. Other than getting used to such long and heavy dresses, she has no other way to survive in this cruel palace. For now at the least.

“Thank you for helping me.” Yang Ning said and was waiting for him to let go of her hand. However, after accepting her gratitude, he still didn’t let go of her hand.

She was bewildered and was wondering why he wasn’t leaving her hand even after they stepped down the stairs and were now going to the Main Palace.

She can walk on a plain surface while holding onto her skirt. There was no need for him to keep holding hands with her.

“Your Highness!” She tried to call him and ask him to let her hand go but he ignored her. Did he not hear her? She wondered.

Yang Ning is shorter in height compared to him but he wasn’t even that tall that he couldn’t hear her words to his level. He is not feigning ignorance, is he? She thought about it.

She frowned and could feel her hands getting sweaty due to nervousness. Even her cheeks turned crimson.

She took a deep breath and rather than asking him to let go of her hand, she decided to carefully pull out her hand from his grip. However, in the middle of her mission, she realized that he was holding onto her hand tightly and it wasn’t something she could easily pull out without making it obvious.

The corner of Zheng Liang’s mouth curled up in a pleased smirk when he glanced at Yang Ning and saw her trying to withdraw her hand from his grip and failed in her attempts.

The way she was looking at their interlocked arms with dumbfounded expressions was quite expressive and adorable. Her pouty expressions reminded him of the last night when she was getting upset at him for calling her Princess Yang Ning and was shouting at him while pouting her lips cutely.

He cleared his throat and said in an indifferent voice when he noticed her getting stressed because of their interlocked hands, ” If I let go of your hand now, people will say that we do not have a harmonious relationship. That’s why I am still holding onto your hand.”

“Eh?” Yang Ning looked at him in puzzlement and wondered how this made sense.

However, when she looked up at her surroundings, she realized the meaning behind his words. Many eyes are watching them from afar and keeping notes of their every single step or move.

She could see many people, who were watching them from afar with their jealousy-filled gazes while some were staring at them in sheer curiosity and admiration. Hmm. He was right. If they leave their hands now, she is sure that tomorrow she will get to hear some twisted rumors about her.

Because that is how the politics in the palace works. It’s cruel and not less than any battlefield where one needs to use their strength and intellect at the same time.

However, she couldn’t help but wonder if all of this is allowed to be done in front of the public or not. It’s not her world, where holding hands between couples in public was a normal thing to do.

‘They can have many wives and give birth to so many children, what old-fashioned thoughts am I worrying about?’ Yang Ning sighed and shook her head to forget everything and for now, focus on walking carefully and elegantly.

____

At the Main Hall of the Royal Palace where the wedding ceremony took place, the Empress was also present along with His Majesty. She came to attend the tea ceremony performed by Yang Ning who will be coming along with Zheng Liang to meet them and pay their respects to them.

It was the first ritual done by them after their wedding and His Majesty would be attending as well. There was no way that she could skip it, just as she skipped going to the front gate to welcome the new bride before the wedding ceremony.

After exchanging formal greetings, Yang Ning noticed the gloomy expressions of the Empress, Yang Lingxin.

In the novel, Yang Lingxin and Yang Luoyang joined hands since they belonged to the same clans and wanted to fulfill their desires. Both were greedy for power and authority.

Because of this reason, she used to treat Yang Ning well, especially in front of Zheng Liang. This was one of the reasons why Zheng Liang was always estranged from Yang Ning and stayed away from her.

Since the relationship between Zheng Liang and the Empress wasn’t good and she had tried multiple times to prove him wrong in front of the Emperor, he used to think that Yang Ning was the spy of the Empress and wished for his doom, just like her.

Moreover, she was the daughter of Yang Luoyang. There was plenty of evidence for him to believe that Yang Ning is their spy and is not a trustable person.

She was a snitch indeed, but a pitiful one.

While thinking about all the possibilities, Yang Ning couldn’t help but wonder why the Empress has been treating her differently. If she is close to Yang Luoyang, shouldn’t she be glad to see her? However, how come the Empress has been giving her strange looks as soon as she entered the Main Hall with Zheng Liang?

While she was wondering if she was thinking too much, Zheng Huang said, ” Welcome to the Zheng Family. Since you have married the Crown Prince, mind your actions when you go out in public.”

“You are now part of the royal family. All your actions will be observed and criticized by people, so make sure to not make any mistakes. Alright?”

Yang Ning pursed her lips and smiled hesitantly. It was more like a warning than a warm welcome.

‘I want to go home.’ She cried inwardly. However, she had no choice but to smile at his words and respond, ” Yes, Your Majesty. I will keep your words in my mind before facing the public at the parade later.”

Zheng Liang glanced at Yang Ning and was surprised by the way she was speaking eloquently in front of his father and has been humoring him by answering all of his questions with a smile.

“How is your health these days? Did Yu Ling take care of you well at the Yang Household?” The Emperor asked again.

“Yes. She was a great help when she came to the-” Yang Ning was answering his question when the Empress interrupted her words, ” Your Majesty, they need to leave soon for the parade around the capital.”

“We should perform the tea ceremony first so that they can leave for the parade in time.”

Zheng Liang’s expression darkened when Yang Lingxin cut off Yang Ning in the middle of her sentence. He pursed his lips and glanced at Yang Ning who was still smiling despite being disrespected like this in front of everyone.

Zheng Huang agreed with his wife’s words and said, ” You are right. They shouldn’t be late for the parade. You can commence the ceremony as you like then.” He gave her the green light to go ahead and do whatever she wants.

Since she is the one in charge of the household matters and knows more about the rituals and ceremonies, he can only give her permission to go ahead with the rituals.

Yang Lingxin was pleased with the way Zheng Huang gave her words more weightage than allowing Yang Ning to complete her words. She turned towards her maid and signaled her maid to bring the tray that she had prepared earlier and place it in front of Yang Ning.

“Yang Ning, I am sure your mother must have taught you about the tea ceremony before marrying into the royal family. It is a ceremony where the new bride will brew tea herself for everyone and will serve the tea to the elders to pay her respects.”

“Since you already did this once at the tea ceremony for the wedding, you must be familiar with this setting. I will look forward to the tea brewed by you.” Yang Lingxin smiled at her. She was smiling however, Yang Ning couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable by her smiling face.

Why does everything smell so fishy? She wondered.