I woke up as the Villainous Empress

125 Royal Wedding IX

Zheng Liang took a deep breath when Yang Ning walked to the center of the main hall and was now standing next to him. Since they were standing together, he could see her properly in the wedding dress but was feeling nervous for some reason.

He never felt this nervous when he used to go to the battlefields. Then why is his heart pounding so much? It is just a wedding ceremony after all, without any blood battle.

He swallowed his saliva and was feeling parched due to the nervousness. He was looking straight, but his focus was wandering next to him.

From his side eye, he could see that she was wearing a beautiful red wedding dress and had been covering her face with a veil.

Though he couldn’t see her properly, he could bet that she must be looking like the most beautiful and elegant bride in the Zheng Empire.

Because when she came to his birthday banquet wearing a simple plain dress and wasn’t wearing any cosmetic powder, she was still looking gorgeous among all the noble ladies and the princesses from the other kingdoms.

Thinking about that day, a mild smile appeared on his lips as it was the first time that he had officially met her. He did see her at the Yang Household before that day, but he cannot call it an encounter because she was unconscious and sickly at that time.

Zheng Liang impatiently stood there and was hoping to catch a glimpse of her once again. This anticipation was killing him.

He cannot wait to see her in the red wedding dress and remove that veil from her face. How mesmerizing would that moment be? He wondered.

.....

Like him, Yang Ning was also trying to catch a glimpse of him and was curious about how he looked in the wedding outfit.

Zheng Liang is the male lead of the novel with drop-dead-gorgeous visuals. How can she miss the opportunity to see him in the wedding outfit?

From the side eye, she could see that he was also wearing a red robe with golden handwork and was wearing a heavy headset over his head. She raised her brows and was surprised that even the men of this world have to wear strange kinds of clothing on a wedding day.

Hmm! At least she is not the only one wearing this kind of strange clothing. No one will call her strange for dressing up like this.

Despite the strange outfit, he was still looking marvelous in it because he has a firm and toned body which can make any clothing look gorgeous on him.

She wanted to turn around and admire his beauty but Lady Yu Ling was watching her from the side and she could feel her gaze fixated on her.

If she did that, Lady Yu Ling would burn her alive with her gaze only.

She let out a sigh and was hoping not to make any mistakes during the tea ceremony. Because if she did anything wrong today, Lady Yu Ling would be the most disappointed one.

Because she has been teaching her passionately for this day only. She doesn’t want to disappoint her.

___

The tea ceremony ended with no major issues and surprisingly Yang Ning didn’t make any mistakes during the ceremony either.

Although it was difficult to move around in the long and heavy wedding dress, she still managed to perform the tea ceremony with perfection. For the tea ceremony, she brewed the tea herself in front of everyone that was a part of the show and offered the tea to His and Her Majesty, who are the parents of the groom.

She did everything just as Yang Ning had taught her to do. She was also impressed by herself for not making any mistakes during the ceremony and flipped the pot filled with hot water over with her clumsiness.

Because she can do this.

She was afraid of becoming a laughing stock in front of everyone the most. Thankfully that situation never came.

After the tea ceremony, Zheng Liang and Yu Ling went to take His and Her Majesty’s blessings by bowing in front of them. After that, they went to offer a bow to Yang Luoyang and Chang Ah and greet them.

Because it was customary to take blessings from the elders of both sides and receive their blessings in the form of a red packet.

Yang Ning hesitantly lowered her upper body and bent in front of Yang Luoyang to complete the ritual and greet the bride’s family. However, inwardly it was taking millions of years of courage for her to face Yang Luoayng while controlling her emotions.

Her blood was boiling thinking about what he told her this morning. After saying those wicked things to her and ridiculing her, how can he give her his blessing and smile at her as if nothing happened?

However, he did. He smiled at her and even said some emotional words to his daughter who is getting married which moved everyone to tears, but not her.

Because she was already aware of his true feelings.

__

After the tea ceremony concluded, everyone moved toward the amphitheater arena at the back of the Main Palace for the wedding banquet.

The wedding banquet was grander than she has expected it to be. It was grander and more magnificent than the birthday banquet of Zheng Liang’s twenty-fifth birthday.

There were hundreds of people who came to attend the banquet and congratulate them on their wedding. There were members of the royal families from the nearby kingdoms and the Zheng Empire’s subsidiary regions.

There were many nobles and aristocrats who came to attend their royal wedding banquet. Everyone was clad in colorful and precious dresses that were embedded with crystals, gems, and whatnot.

It was not just a wedding banquet but more like a festival where everyone gathered to have fun and eat delicious food.

For the wedding banquet, Yang Ning and Zheng Liang’s royal seats were arranged on the elevated platform along with His and Her majesty. However, their chairs were a step below the Emperor which was showing their hierarchy in the royal family.

The wedding banquet commenced as the delicious dishes and fresh fruits were arranged on the table in front of them. Similar to them, everyone’s tables were filled with delicious delicacies prepared for the wedding feast.

Meanwhile, there were female dancers who were performing their artistic folk dance performance on the stage which is in the middle of the arena.

Yang Ning pursed her lips and looked around her surroundings. Is she the only hungry one here? Why is no one touching their food? She wondered.

Everyone was so immersed in watching the dance performance that no one was touching the food in front of them.

Xiaowei who was watching her lady from the distance pursed her lips as she could understand what must be going on in her head.

A while ago, she was whining about how hungry she was and wanted something to eat. Yang Ning couldn’t get to eat anything in the morning because it was customary for the bride and groom to fast before the tea ceremony after which they will be tied in an auspicious relationship.

However, even during the wedding banquet, everyone was busy admiring the dance performance and it would not be appropriate for her to start eating first before His Majesty touched his food.

“Milady, please be patient for a while. You will soon get to eat the food.” Xiaowei prayed desperately and was hoping that Yang Ning would follow the rules of the royal palace and not make any mistakes because of her hunger.

Gu Lan, who was standing behind Xiaowei watched her praying for her lady and chuckled in amusement to see this kind of bond between the two.

It was his first time to witness a maid praying for her lady to control her hunger.

___

Zheng Liang was sitting next to Yang Ning and noticed that she was fidgeting in her seat. He looked at her and when he followed her gaze, he realized that she was looking around and was eyeing everyone’s food on their tables.

She was getting anxious in her seat and was drooling while looking at the food that was served in front of them.

His lips curled up in an amusing smile when he realized that she was getting anxious like this because she was hungry and wanted to start eating as soon as possible.

However, since His Majesty hadn’t tasted his food yet, no one else could touch their food as well and were waiting for him to start eating.

Why does this feel so familiar to him? He smiled upon remembering what happened at his birthday banquet where she had to start eating first before anyone.

Without saying anything to her, he looked around and gestured to Lady Yu Ling to come to him.

Yu Ling was puzzled by Zheng Liang’s questionable actions but went to his side to listen to what he had to say. “Yes, Your Highness?” She lowered herself to his level to listen to his hushed words.

Yang Ning raised her brows when saw Zheng Liang whispering something to Lady Yu Ling secretly. She grew curious at their secret conversation and after Lady Yu Ling walked away, she leaned in and asked in a low voice, ” Your Highness, is something wrong?”

Zheng Liang glanced at her getting curious about their conversation and shook his head and said, ” Nothing. I was feeling hungry that’s why I asked Lady Yu Ling to request His Majesty to start eating so that everyone could enjoy their food while watching the performances.”

“Eh? You did that?” Yang Ning asked suspiciously, wondering if he did that or was simply playing with her hungry monstrous feelings.

Zheng Liang chuckled to see her cute reaction and nodded seriously, ” Yes. Why? Can I not do that? Just because I am the Crown Prince, can I not feel the hunger?”

Yang Ning pursed her lips to her happiness and shook her head meekly, ” I did not mean to say that. You are also a human after all. Of course, you need to eat as well. Eat, Eat.” She said while feeling embarrassed and happy at the same time.

She can finally get to eat. Finally!