I woke up as the Villainous Empress
Chapter 144

144 The Favored Crown Princess

“Madam, here are the flowers that you asked for.” Xing Bao said as she brought a basket of pink peony flowers that Chang Ah had asked to shower on Zheng Liang and Yang Ning when they arrived at the Yang Household to welcome them.

“Keep it to yourself. Shower on them with flowers when they enter the household.” Chang Ah instructed her and asked her to stand behind her while they waited for the new bride and groom to arrive.

Xing Bao pursed her lips and whispered in a low voice, “Madam, are we going to do all of this to welcome Yang Ning? Must we use your favorite flowers that you grew yourself to welcome that snake?” She asked in concern.

It is Yang Ning who is returning to the Household after the wedding. Do they have to go this far to welcome a person like her?

It’s simply a waste of effort for everyone.

Chang Ah let out a sigh as she also agreed with her words. However, before she could say anything, she was interrupted by Yang Luoyang who was standing next to her.

“Keep it down. They’ll be arriving here anytime soon, so stand straight and don’t talk.” Yang Luoyang glared at Xing and chided her when he heard her whispering about Yang Ning.

He cannot allow any mistake to happen today because of a mere servant. Because today he needs to replace an opportunity to talk to Yang Ning which he failed to complete the last time before the wedding.

It was all because of Yu Ling.

.....

Chang Ah pursed her lips and eyed Xing Bao to stand aside when Yang Luoyang scolded her and told her to not create a scene.

Although she does not want to be here, she has no choice either.

Yang Luoyang and Chang Ah came outside in advance to welcome the Crown Prince and Yang Ning and were waiting for them to arrive.

Along with the servants waiting for the new bride and groom, two men were holding Chinese drums to make this welcome even grander and festive.

They are coming to the Yang Household for the first time after the wedding, how can he not prepare for their first visit to the bride’s household accordingly?

Yang Luoyang did not prepare this grand welcome for Yang Ning but for the Crown Prince who has officially become his son-in-law now.

Even if Zheng Liang treats him as his enemy, he will still be his son-in-law and cannot escape this fact.

In the future, this privilege will come handy for him while dealing with the other ministers at the royal palace and will also upgrade his reputation among his peers.

How can he mess up the opportunity that brings him so many influential connections?

“They are here!” One of the servants announced excitedly when the royal carriage stopped in front of the Yang Household.

Yang Luoyang was waiting to greet Zheng Liang as soon as he stepped out of the carriage. However, he was surprised when after stepping down the carriage, he helped Yang Ning to come down as well.

They were left speechless when Zheng Liang carried Yang Ning down the carriage himself by holding her waist in front of everyone.

While Yang Luoyang was wondering how come they become so close in such a short time, Chang Ah’s expression turned gloomy as well.

She did not come outside to welcome Yang Ning who is coming home for the first time after her wedding. However, she had to come outside because His Highness was also coming with her.

She can disregard Yang Ning but she can never dare to look down upon the Crown Prince.

Also, she was curious to see how she was treated at the royal palace. She was sure that the relationship between her and Zheng Liang would not be as strong because it was a political marriage and she was aware that the Crown Prince and Yang Luoyang had a hostile nature towards each other.

How can he treat Yang Ning well in such a case? She is Yang Luoyang’s daughter after all.

However, she was feeling sour when she saw Zheng Liang looking at Yang Ning lovingly and the two seemed to be lost in their world.

‘What are they laughing about for no reason? It’s annoying.’ She pursed her lips in a thin line and clenched her fists in frustration.

Chang Ah furrowed her brows to see Yang Ning dressed in a beautiful pink color dress and covered in ornaments from head to toe.

When she was in the Yang Household, she used to wear a plain and simple dress, and other than hairpins, she rarely used to wear any accessories. However, after marrying into the royal family, she changed completely and seemed to have believed that she had become the Crown Princess for real.

‘This bitch surely won a lottery by marrying the Crown Prince.’ She gritted her teeth, feeling irritated to see her smiling brightly.

‘Hah. But she doesn’t know that she has become the Crown Princess to support her father and not to become the beloved wife of the Crown Prince.

_____

After welcoming the bride and groom, everyone went inside the Yang Household and gathered in the open-study room of Yang Luoyang. Other than his study room which is inside the household, there was another study room as well which was used as an open-sitting hall to welcome the guests.

As its name suggests, it has a wooden canopy shade over the head and has wooden pillars on the sides but wasn’t surrounded by walls. Yang Luoyang sometimes uses it as a study room when he wants to relax while working, otherwise, this place was mostly used to attain the guests when they come to the Yang Household.

“Please come this way.” Xing Bao said as she led the way.

Yang Ning was surprised when Xing Bao led them to the open-study room that she was visiting for the first time because before the wedding, she wasn’t allowed to come here before. It was her first time coming to this side of the household.

Yang Luoyang is surely one of a kind hypocrite. He never allowed her to come to this beautiful place before but now she had married the Crown Prince, he brought her to this side of the household to welcome them?

He is such a snakey snake!

For the sitting arrangement, there was a wooden-circular table in the middle, meanwhile, wooden chairs were circling the table. On the table, there was tea, and snacks were prepared for them.

‘They have prepared quite a lot.’ Yang Ning raised her brows to see new kinds of snacks that she has never seen in the Yang Household.

They are so wealthy yet their hearts are made of a penny. Looks like, before this, all of the snacks used to go into Chang Ah’s stomach because she had never seen so many things to eat in the Yang Household.

Yang Ning shook her head and followed Zheng Liang to take a seat.

“Your Highness, please take a seat. This place might not compare to the royal palace, but I still hope that you will make yourself feel comfortable.” Yang Luoyang said while requesting him to take a seat.

Zheng Liang didn’t respond to Yang Luoyang’s honeyed words, instead, he glanced at Yang Ning who was struggling to sit on the wooden chair because of her heavy, flowy skirt.

Before Xiaowei could rush forward to help her, Zheng Liang acted faster and held one side of her skirt to help her to sit down.

The maids of the Yang Household who were waiting on the side to serve the guests gasped when they witnessed this scene.

When Yang Ning was in the Yang Household before the marriage, her reputation was no less than a maid. The Head Maid of the Household, Xing Bao used to have more say in the household than the eldest lady of the Household, Yang Ning itself.

However, they couldn’t believe their eyes that Yang Ning who was treated like a lower-class maid was treated like royalty by the Crown Prince. What is so special about her that His Highness was first to help her adjust her dress than allowing her maid to do so?

Looks like both of them are closer than they had expected. Xing Bao used to say that after getting married into the royal palace, Yang Ning will be nothing but a Crown Princess with no favor from the Crown Prince.

However, the situation seems to be different than they had expected. The Crown Prince is not only favoring Yang Ning, but he seems to be smitten by her beauty seeing the way he is treating her in front of everyone.

Xiaowei who stepped forward to help Yang Ning to adjust her dress halted in her steps and quietly backed away to see that His Highness had already helped her lady to sit down.

Her lips curled up in a proud smile when she noticed the shocked expressions of all the maids who were looking at her lady and her in shock and envy.

All the maids and servants used to look down on them when they were at the Yang Household. However, upon seeing the way His Highness has been treating her lady, their expressions turned green in jealousy.

Now you all will realize your mistake to look down on my lady. Hmph!