I woke up as the Villainous Empress
Chapter 354: The Forbidden Romance of a Minister and Court Lady

Seeing Yang Ning avoiding his question, Zheng Liang knew that something was up. He studied her face, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Are you feeling warm? Your face is flushed, and you seem to be sweating," he remarked.

Yang Ning was caught off guard by Zheng Liang's question and felt her heart thumping loudly against her chest. Damn it. Why is he so clever at times like this? She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she felt nervous as if she had been caught stealing in the act.

She avoided eye contact with him and glanced around the chamber, pressing on the book under the pillow. She stumbled to give an excuse, "Am I blushing?" She let out a chuckle and continued, "It's... it's because it's summer and I'm feeling hot. What else would you feel in summer if not hot?" She said as if it were the most common thing, laughing awkwardly.

Although she felt that her answer to his question was perfectly normal and reasonable, Zheng Liang noticed her awkward actions and smirked. The more she explained, the more suspicious it looked.

This time, he didn't ask her any more questions. Instead, he reached out to snatch the book that she was hiding under the pillow.

"Ahh! What are you doing? Zheng Liang, leave that book right away. If you read it, I will never talk to you," Yang Ning shouted in alarm as Zheng Liang suddenly leaned over her and picked up the book hidden underneath the pillow, which was covered by the blanket. Before she could realize what was happening, the book was already in Zheng Liang's hands.

When it came to strength, she stood no chance against him. Even though she held onto the book, it was easy for him to take it from under her nose.

She jumped to her feet and leaped off the bed, swiftly following Zheng Liang to snatch the book from his grasp. To tease her further, he raised his hand high, keeping the book out of her reach. Not only did he take the book away, but he also teased her about her short height.

"If you want the book, come and get it," he taunted playfully.

The audacity!

Yang Ning gritted her teeth and tugged on Zheng Liang's clothes, jumping slightly in an attempt to reach the book. However, since she was shorter than him, her head only reached his chest and neck, and she couldn't even touch the book held in his other hand, raised higher above.

"Zheng Liang, don't be a jerk. I was reading that book. You can't just snatch it from my hand and act like a hooligan," she scolded him, hoping that her nagging would work as her height wasn't helping anymore.

Seeing her agitated and flushed expression, Zheng Liang became even more curious about the contents of the book. He raised his brows in amusement and responded to her scolding by stretching his hand even further away from her reach.

Chuckling at her attempts to reach him, he commented, "How could I be a hooligan? I'm your beloved husband. I was merely curious about the book my wife was reading. Was that wrong? I only wanted to read a book; it was you who was hiding it away from me."

"Yang Ning, we're husband and wife. We should share good things, just like this book," he said with a mischievous smirk, taking hold of Yang Ning's wrist and spinning her around on the spot. Seizing her distraction as an opportunity, he swiftly released her hands and dashed to the other side of the chamber.

Yang Ning, feeling dizzy from swirling around, struggled to replace her balance. Before she could stabilize herself, Zheng Liang took advantage of the moment to dash away towards the door, clutching the book tightly.

Before Yang Ning could follow him to retrieve the book, Zheng Liang opened it. The cover of the book has the title of palace affairs and management strategies, however, the contents inside were completely different.

When he read the title of the book inside, his face turned crimson: 'Scandal in Silk: The Forbidden Romance of a Minister and Court Lady.'

Although he had suspected from Yang Ning's reaction that she wasn't reading a book on management and strategies, he hadn't expected her to read this kind of novel either. Even the title of the novel hinted at its bold and sensual nature.

As he turned over the page, the opening paragraph of the novel was bold and daring, causing his earlobes to turn crimson. The use of words was crude but artistic, depicting the beauty of the relationship between a man and woman in vivid detail, beyond what he could have imagined.

It was much more detailed than he had anticipated.

Seeing the contents of the book, his cheeks blushed in embarrassment as he glanced at Yang Ning in disbelief. "So this is the kind of book you were reading. I never knew that my wife liked this kind of literature," he commented with a hint of mockery and teasing in his tone.

Yang Ning pursed her lips in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing as she observed his reaction. She covered her face with her hands, wishing she could disappear. "Stop teasing me! I wasn't the one who bought it. I just found it among the items confiscated from the maids' quarters. I was curious about what it was.

I also didn't know that it was this kind of book," she lied, feeling flustered by the situation.

Though it was true that she found it among the items confiscated from the maids' quarters, which were supposed to be thrown away, when Yang Ning stumbled upon this book in the pile of confiscated items, she immediately recognized it.

She picked it up and discreetly hid it in her study.

She knew what kind of book it was and was curious to read it. With no television or mobile phones in this era, books were the sole source of entertainment. Before reading this book, she used to think that people of this era were more reserved and conservative, but this book changed her perspective entirely.

It was straightforward and much more detailed compared to the books she had read in the past. Even someone who had read a lot of romance novels was taken aback by its bold content. However, she had never expected to be caught by Zheng Liang while reading it. Now she felt a pang of regret.

Her good-girl image had been completely shattered.