I woke up as the Villainous Empress

After nagging him a little, she finally calmed down and realized her position in this world. She might be the Crown Princess but he is the Crown Prince of the Empire.

That too, he is the real one and not a fake royalty like hers. She is not even Yang Ning, forget about being royalty.

How can her brash herself match the elegance of the royals or nobles?

While Yang Ning tried to put an end to the unnecessary interrogation, Zheng Liang couldn’t help but stare at her in a daze.

He was surprised by the dauntless response of hers more than her ordering him around and speaking to him without using formal titles.

He wasn’t trying to scold her by cornering her like this. He simply wanted to tease her a little to see her amusing expressions.

He was expecting her to get embarrassed or at least get flustered by his attitude. Just like she got flustered in the morning and was staring at him with her fish-like big and clear eyes.

However, her straightforward words left him speechless instead. How can she scold him without batting an eye? More than that, how can she end the conversation on her own by apologizing to him in the end?

.....

Seeing the way she was standing up against him and speaking her mind in front of him, more than being upset by her attitude, he was rather elated. It was because he realized that he had chosen a suitable bride for him.

If she doesn’t get nervous in front of him, then she will not be the type to get suppressed by others as well. Because other than being the Crown Prince of the Zheng Empire, he was also known for his cold and indifferent personality towards the women.

He might not have approached any women in the past but he has made many women cry with his cold and frigid personality whoever dared to approach him with meaningful intentions.

Initially, he was treating Yang Ning the same way as well and wasn’t interested in talking to her either.

However, as time passed by, he started to look at her in a different light, and among the other noble ladies, she started to stand out among the crowd.

Despite being the daughter of his number one enemy and the man he hates the most, he still couldn’t bring himself to dislike her.

Instead, at one point, he started to see her differently. He wasn’t sure if it was the day when he first saw her in the vulnerable state at the Yang Household or the day when he saved her from drowning and kissed her to bring her to life.

At some point, rather than being the daughter of Yang Luoyang, Yang Ning started to stand out as an individual and a woman whom he can trust and make her his companion in life.

Initially, he was worried that after their wedding Yang Luoyang will be able to manipulate Yang Ning because she is his daughter and it must be the reason why he arranged this marriage alliance with the royal family.

However, from the way he has seen Yang Ning, she is not a naive person and knows how to differentiate between right and wrong.

She isn’t the type of person to get manipulated by anyone easily and for now, he can say that she will not betray him to gain her father’s favor easily.

Keeping his personal opinion about her aside, he still needs to watch her actions more to understand her properly and see if he could completely trust her.

Because he is the Crown Prince of the Empire, after all. He cannot allow himself to be swayed by his personal feelings and make bad decisions for his people.

However, it doesn’t mean that he does not trust her at all. He trusts her as her husband, however, as the Crown Prince, he needs more time to make any crucial decision.

____

‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’ After confidently speaking her mind to him, Yang Ning couldn’t help but feel nervous.

She craned her neck to look at him and felt guilty for treating him lightly earlier. Even if she was nervous, how can she forget that he is the Crown Prince and treat him carelessly?

He wouldn’t slash her neck with his sword for this petty reason? Would he? She suddenly remembered the pitiful ending of Yang Ning who is supposed to be the villainess of the novel with a tragic ending.

The novel ended on a happy note but her ending wasn’t a happy one. This time would her end come sooner than the last time?

Yang Ning hesitantly looked up at him and wondered why he was so quiet. She said so many things, how can he not show any emotions on his face? He keeps staring at her and she couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his indifferent, indecipherable gaze.

“Your Highness-” She wanted to apologize to him for treating him carelessly earlier and wanted to ask him to move away so that she could breathe properly. Because of his intimidating gaze and the way he was standing so close to her, she couldn’t even breathe properly.

How can she breathe when he was flexing his toned abs muscles in front of her and was trying to seduce her with his seductive gaze?

How can this man be so intimidating and tempting at the same time? It was a huge dilemma. Should she be seduced by him or feel intimidated by him?

However, before she could complete her words, he suddenly stepped backward, giving her the space she needed, and said, ” Well, if that’s the case, then you can keep talking to me in an informal way.”

Yang Ning was relieved when she heard his words. At least he wasn’t angry at her for scolding him earlier.

She was surprised when he said that she can keep talking to him in this manner and he doesn’t mind it. She never expected him to be this open-minded.

It’s a good thing for her after all.

She placed a hand over her chest and sighed in relief to calm down her pounding heart. However, when she heard his next words, she was once again frozen like ice.

Zheng Liang paused momentarily in his words and averted his gaze to the other side before continuing, “We’re husband and wife after all. If we don’t feel comfortable around each other, then how will we be able to carry out our husband and wife duties in the future?” His earlobes turned scarlet red when he said those words outrightly.

As a woman, if she has expressed herself so evidently. How can he, as a man, stay indifferent to her?

If she wants to treat him differently because she feels attached to him and wants to feel comfortable around him, how can he push her away and treat her like an outsider?

They are husband and wife after all.

With this thought in mind, he also decided to take a step ahead in their new relationship as husband and wife and decided to speak to each other comfortably.

While Zheng Liang was blushing in embarrassment and was trying to conceal his embarrassed smile from her, Yang Ning’s eyes widened in shock.

It was as if a big boulder fell on her head. Husband and wife duties? What are those duties? She looked at him in shock with her widened eyes.

She rubbed her hands nervously and tried to persuade him to clear the misunderstanding between them. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t mean that she was asking him to perform their husband and wife duties when she said that she feels comfortable around him and that’s why she treated him this way. “Your Highness, that is not what I mean. I was meaning to say that-”

However, before she could complete her words, Zheng Liang cut her words in the middle and said, “It’s alright. You don’t need to explain yourself further. I understand.” He raised his hand and interrupted her words while looking away shyly.

“.....”

Yang Ning’s eyes widened in horror when she saw him smirking and he wasn’t even smiling while looking at her. He was facing the other wall instead.

‘Damn it! No. You do not understand anything. At least listen to my words, you dumbass male lead.’ She screamed in her head.

She was desperately trying to explain the meaning behind her words, However, before she could explain it to him, Zheng Liang turned to look at her and said, “If you think that this change will bring us closer, then I allow you to address me however you like when we are alone.”

He remembered that when she was drunk, she called him Zheng Zheng. It doesn’t sound bad either.

” You do not need to use formal titles when we are alone and can call me by my name.” He said while looking into her eyes. However, this time his gaze wasn’t as intimidating as before.

Yang Ning felt a strong pang in her heart when she saw him looking at her with those smiling eyes. ‘Damn it. Don’t look at me with those sparkling eyes. I can’t afford to fall into a beauty trap at this moment.’

She took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly before saying, ” Your Highness, this is not what-”

“Zheng Liang. My name is Zheng Liang.”