I woke up as the Villainous Empress

Yang Ning and Xiaowei were following him while holding their skirts and were walking as fast as possible, sometimes trotting to catch up to Gu Lan’s fast pace of walking.

” If we leave from this door, will we be out of danger?” Yang Ning asked when they reached the backdoor of the brothel, which was enormous and had lots of dust covering it as if it’s not been in use for long.

” Yes. Since the bear is near the front gate, you will be fine if you leave from this gate and walk straight using this road. This road will take you to the main road from where we came a while ago and go back to the Yang Household.” He explained as he tried to push the door open which seemed to be jammed due to not being in use and was covered in dust.

He gritted his teeth and used all of his strength to push the large iron gate with all his strength. After a few empty attempts, it finally opened.

After pushing the door open, he was about to step outside and lead the two ladies when he heard Yang Ning say, ” Guard Gu Lan, Thank you for your assistance. Xiaowei and I can go from here. You do not need to accompany us to the Yang Household.” She said while addressing him using his formal title.

” You should go back to His Highness. He needs you more than us.” She said,

She knows that he does not like her but was still calmly leading them to the safe place, without being cranky, which was a surprise to her.

He has already shown them the way to the Yang Household. If there is no danger as he says, then there is no need for him to escort them to the Yang Household.

.....

At the moment, Zheng Liang needs him more than she does.

Gu Lan was surprised at Yang Ning’s words and wasn’t expecting to hear something like that from her. He wanted to leave early but was worried that she would create a scene later if he did not escort her to the Yang Household.

However, he was taken aback when she said to leave them here and go back to Zheng Liang to help him with the mission.

“But....His Highness has asked me to escort you to the Yang Household. How can I leave you alone here?” He said, wondering if she was being serious or was only doing lip service to portray a nice image in front of him.

” It’s alright. I will explain to His Highness when we meet later. Also, you already escorted us to the safe place. So everything will be fine.” She said,

He was surprised that she meant what she said and wasn’t being formal with him in words only.

“Erm...Then...I will take my leave. Please be careful on your way, Lady Yang Ning.” He said and bowed to her in courtesy.

Yang Ning was speechless as it was his first time being so nice to her. He even curtsied to her. What a surprise!

“Haha. Yes. You...too...take care of yourself and His Highness as well.” Yang Ning said to break this awkward silence and waved at him to leave and not stand at the ceremony, waiting for them to leave from here first.

Gu Lan nodded and hurriedly ran inside to go to the Front Gate where everyone was, leaving Yang Ning and Xiaowei alone.

” My Lady, why did you send him like that? What will happen to us now?” Xiaowei asked worriedly.

” What if the bear appears in front of us?” She asked in concern, wondering who would protect them if the bear suddenly appeared in front of them.

It’s a wild bear after all.

Yang Ning chuckled and slapped her on the arm and said, ” Aiya, Stop being so negative. Didn’t you hear what he said?”

” We’re safe now. His Highness and the other guards must be preparing to trap the bear at the front gate and he will be captured soon. This is the exit door anyway. Nothing will go wrong.”

“Also, if the bear appeared in front of us, you have me. I will save you.” Yang Ning remarked, making Xiaowei giggle at her words.

” How can I let you save me? I should be the one to save you.” Xiaowei said, feeling embarrassed for being a coward in front of her lady.

” OHH! Is that so? Are you sure you won’t run away in fear?” Yang Ning teased her.

Xiaowei halted in her steps and stopped in front of Yang Ning while facing her and pouted upon being teased. ” My lady, how can you tease me like that? Do I look like that-”

Xiaowei stopped speaking when she noticed Yang Ning’s body stiffening and her eyes got bigger in fright. She looked at her in confusion and turned around to see what was wrong that made her lady react like that.

“AHHHH!!”

__

“WHAT DID YOU SAY? IT WAS THE BACKDOOR AND NOT THE FRONT DOOR?” Zheng Liang’s face went pale when he heard this news.

He had asked Gu Lan to escort Yang Ning and her maid out of this place using the backdoor because he assumed from the chaos earlier that the bear was near the front gate and would be entering the premises of the brothel anytime soon.

At that point, escaping using the backdoor was the best option he could think of for Yang Ning to leave this place safely.

This way they could have escaped from here before the bear would have entered the brothel premises and after that, he and the guards would have laid down the trap and they would have been able to capture the bear as expected.

However, if the bear was near the backdoor, then....

His eyes widened thinking about the worst possibility. Even though Yang Ning has Gu Lan to protect her, there is no way he will be able to deal with the wild bear who has gone mad himself.

He doesn’t have proper weapons with him at the moment and it will be difficult for him to protect the two women alone.

“CLOSE THE FRONT GATE AND CHARGE TO THE BACK DOOR. WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE CROWN PRINCESS.” He roared at the guards without realizing that he had called Yang Ning, the Crown Princess once again.

After ordering the guards, Zheng Liang was about to go to the exit door of the premises when a loud shriek of a woman could be heard resounding in the area.

“AHHH!!”

The piercing scream of the woman startled everyone and the guards looked at Zheng Liang in worry. Because the screaming voice of the woman was coming from the backdoor side of the brothel.

Zheng Liang felt his legs going weak when he heard the scream of the woman and his head went blank for a moment. No! Nothing....Nothing can happen to her.

It was his responsibility to protect her. He had promised her that she would be safe and nothing would happen to her.

He cannot break his promise and fail to protect her, just like he failed to protect his mother who faced a painful and miserable death.

NO! He cannot let anything happen to her. She has to be safe.

Before he could come to his senses, his body reacted first and he started running towards the backdoor, without waiting for the guards to follow him.

The guards panicked to see him running towards the danger without any preparation. They haven’t even set out the trap first and he is already rushing towards the bear.

“YOUR HIGHNESS, YOU CAN NOT GO THERE LIKE THIS. WE HAVE TO LAY DOWN THE TRAP FIRST.” They tried to stop him but Zheng Liang could not hear anything anymore.

All he knows is that Yang Ning is in danger and he has to protect her.

Gu Lan left with Yang Ning and Xiaowei a while ago using the backdoor. He can only wish that they would not have encountered the wild bear in their way and that voice was not of Yang Ning either.

“Please be safe.” Zheng Liang mumbled while running towards the exit door of the place. His face and neck turned red as he was running with all his might to reach the backdoor as soon as possible, which is quite far from the front gate.

He was drenched in sweat and sweat drops were dripping from his face and hair, but he didn’t stop as his priority at the moment was the safety of Yang Ning and nothing else.

**

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