I woke up as the Villainous Empress
Chapter 318: For the sake of the future heir.

After releasing the arrow, Xiaowei stood there in a daze, unsure of what had just happened. She had simply followed Gu Lan's instructions to adjust the arrow to the red circle on the board and released it upon his command.

Seeing the girl standing there in a daze, Gu Lan smiled and patted her shoulders, asking, "Do you know what you just did?"

Xiaowei turned around to face him and looked at him innocently, shaking her head. "Did I do very badly? I don't know. I just…did what you said," She asked in a low voice, feeling embarrassed for not performing well.

She came here as the Crown Princess's maidservant, and if she didn't learn self-defense well, it would be an embarrassment to her title and the Crown Princess, whom she is representing now. The arrow didn't even touch the red circle; how could she be so bad at it?

Gu Lan was amused to see her lowering her head in embarrassment and realized that the girl who always acted like a thug around him also had a soft side. Maybe she isn't as bad as he had imagined her to be, he wondered.

He cleared his throat, embarrassed at his thoughts, and said, "I did not say you did bad. Instead, you did well for a beginner." He then held her shoulders and made her turn around to look at the target board.

"Did you see that arrow hitting near the red circle in the middle? It means you almost hit the bullseye, full score. You did not do good but well done," he said, encouraging her.

Xiaowei's eyes widened when she realized she almost hit the bullseye. She covered her mouth in disbelief. "Did I really do that? Oh my! It seems I can also learn archery." She said happily, jumped in excitement, and turned around to share her excitement with Gu Lan, who was the only person present in the field other than her.

At this moment, she even forgot about the hard feelings between them and could only think of how she almost hit the bullseye, thanks to his guidance.

However, in her excitement, she almost forgot that he was standing right behind her. When she jumped and turned around to face him, her face bumped into his sturdy chest. To prevent her from falling, he held onto her shoulders, steadying her. Yet, the position they ended up in was almost like a hug, and this intimate closeness caused Xiaowei's cheeks to turn a scarlet red in embarrassment.

If the previous position in which he taught her was embarrassing, this time she wished she could dig herself a hole and disappear. It was so embarrassing that she wanted to vanish. How could she act so irresponsibly and be so close to the personal guard of His Highness?

Xiaowei and Gu Lan soon parted ways, avoiding each other's gaze to ease the awkwardness that lingered after their accidental hug.

Xiaowei cleared her throat and said, "I… didn't do anything much. It was you who was helping me shoot the arrow, that's why I got such results." She explained, attempting to downplay her achievement and laughing awkwardly.

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"It's still better than many newbies who aren't able to shoot like this even if someone is helping them. So, don't look down on yourself and keep practicing," Gu Lan said, encouraging her to continue honing her archery skills.

Xiaowei nodded but didn't say much. The uncomfortable silence between them intensified after their accidental hug, making them both avoid eye contact.

"I… should take leave now. Her Highness must be looking for me. If you don't mind, can we continue this practice from tomorrow? I have so much work to do right now," Xiaowei said, trying to excuse herself from the awkward training session.

Gu Lan nodded and agreed to her words, "Alright. You can go now. It's not like you will be able to learn everything in one day. We will start your official training from tomorrow onwards. I will ask someone to send a uniform to you, you can change into it for tomorrow's training," he said, maintaining a serious tone to conceal any nervousness.

Xiaowei nodded and hurriedly left the venue, avoiding Gu Lan as if she had seen a ghost.

___

After leaving the training grounds, Xiaowei hurriedly returned to the Dragon Pavilion while cooling down her heated cheeks with the back of her hands. However, she couldn't forget about the moments she shared with Gu Lan just a few moments ago, and it left her deep in thought.

As someone who never had close contact with men, even the mere thought of the feeling of his hot breath on her ears and neck when he was standing behind her to teach her made her cheeks crimson once again.

While Xiaowei was lost in a daze and walking towards the royal couple's main chamber to see if Her Highness needed anything, the Senior Court Lady, who was roaming around the corridor to keep a watch and ensure no one would be able to disturb the royal couple, stopped Xiaowei and dragged her to the side.

Xiaowei was startled when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side. She stared at the Senior Court Lady in puzzlement and asked worriedly, "Court Lady Zhu, what are you doing? Why did you pull me here? Is something the matter?"

The Senior Court Lady frowned at Xiaowei, who wasn't aware of her mistake, and scolded her, "What are you doing here? Didn't I ask everyone not to go near the main chamber? Then what are you doing here?"

"Ah? Not go near the main chamber? I didn't know anything about it. I was just coming from the training grounds. Forget about it, why can we not go near the main chambers? Isn't it past lunchtime now?

Shouldn't we prepare for Her Highness's evening tea and snacks?" Xiaowei asked in confusion, not understanding why the Senior Court Lady was so stressed and alert.

Court Lady Zhu cleared her throat and said, "No need! Her Highness and the Crown Prince are inside. Do not disturb them, and do not even dare to go near the main chamber. Alright? Go and rest in your room. I will call for you if you are needed."

"But Court Lady Zhu, how can I leave Her Highness al-" Xiaowei was not sure if it was appropriate for her to go and rest, leaving Yang Ning alone and to be bored in her chamber.

However, Court Lady Zhu glared at her and said sternly, "I said go and rest in your room. Can't you understand one thing?"

Xiaowei pursed her lips, not understanding why she was being scolded for no reason. She was simply doing her work, so why was everyone scolding her? Feeling sad and wronged, she nodded and returned to go and rest in her room.

After Xiaowei left, Lady Zhu let out a deep sigh of relief. For the sake of the future royal heir, she cannot let anyone disturb the royal couple and make sure no one would be able to go near the main chamber.

It would have been easy to make things understood to married maidservants, but it's not easy to explain such matters to maiden servants who don't know anything other than their chores and duties from a young age.

She sighed and continued with her guarding the corridor, which leads to the main chamber, and murmured in a low voice as if planning for later, "I should ask the kitchen staff to prepare a nutritious soup for Her Highness. It will help her to nourish her body and keep her warm and protected."