I woke up as the Villainous Empress

As the personal guard of the Crown Prince and the leader of the royal guards contingent, it seemed fitting for Gu Lan to assume the responsibility of training the personal maidservant of the Crown Princess.

Upon reaching the training grounds, the guards engaged in training and sparring, covered in dust and sweat, were taken aback to witness Gu Lan, their leader, accompanied by a young woman. She was beautiful and seemed like a deer following a lion, an unexpected sight that caught everyone off guard.

Everyone dropped their swords and training weapons, making their way toward Gu Lan and Xiaowei as they entered the training grounds. The onlookers gazed at Xiaowei with curious eyes, forming a group and questioning Gu Lan, "Leader, did the sun rise from the west today? How come there\'s a pretty woman on the training grounds?"

The training ground was a restricted area exclusively accessible to the guards and the male attendants responsible for cleaning weapons and maintaining the area. It was a domain reserved for men, where they trained and assisted each other. No maids or female servants were allowed in the area.

Therefore, seeing a woman entering the restricted zone was an unexpected and unusual sight for everyone present.

Upon entering the training grounds, Xiaowei was already feeling embarrassed and shy. The area was filled with men, their bare upper bodies covered in dust and sweat. Their well-defined chest muscles were on display, and the atmosphere was permeated with a masculine scent. The sight of so many half-naked men proved to be overwhelming for her maiden heart.

She grew even more nervous, and her cheeks flushed when she saw the men with bare upper bodies coming closer, prompting her to anxiously clutch onto her skirt. Biting her lower lip, she felt self-conscious as the men looked at her with curiosity, scanning her from top to bottom, and began questioning Gu Lan about her.

Xiaowei lowered her eyes to avoid gazing at the men\'s half-naked bodies, hoping to prevent any awkwardness with her sudden presence. Despite her attempts to appear calm, her racing heartbeat and flushed face betrayed her nervousness and embarrassment. Instinctively, she hid behind Gu Lan, attempting to fade away from the scene. Find your next read at mvl

Gu Lan observed Xiaowei, usually eloquent and determined, suddenly becoming quiet and behaving out of character. It was the first time she had acted submissive and obedient in his presence; typically, she didn\'t hesitate to argue with him and never showed her vulnerable side. However, witnessing her now fall silent and seek refuge behind him amused him.

He cleared his throat, controlling himself from chuckling aloud. Stepping one step forward, he covered Xiaowei, who was standing behind him, and faced the curious guards. Although he could see that they had no harmful intentions, he understood why Xiaowei might feel scared and nervous.

After all, their faces were covered in dust and sand, and their rugged, muscular bodies and smirks gave them the appearance of hooligans.

Gu Lan fixed a stern gaze on his men and spoke in a cold, authoritative tone, "Behave yourselves. This is the personal maidservant of the Crown Princess, Lady Xiaowei. Greet her respectfully."

He didn\'t need to introduce Xiaowei if there were guards who had accompanied them on previous outings outside the palace. However, the guards in the training ground at the moment were all in training and lacked the experience to accompany His and Her Highness on their ventures outside the palace. That\'s why they were unaware of Xiaowei.

Upon hearing the mention of the Crown Princess, the guards immediately straightened up and greeted Xiaowei politely.

"Yes, it was nice meeting you all too," Xiaowei replied with a nod and a shy smile. Despite the sudden change in their attitude, she continued to stay behind Gu Lan, feeling embarrassed to face the men who stared at her intently with curiosity.

After the general introduction, one of the guards, who held a position next in the hierarchy to Gu Lan, asked curiously with a playful smirk, "Gu Lan, care to explain why Her Highness\'s maidservant is here?

Did you bring her to introduce our sister-in-law to us?" Even though among all the guards, he was the only one aware of Xiaowei\'s identity, how could he let go of this golden opportunity to tease his friend, who always beat him in sparring?

Encouraged by the man\'s teasing questions, the other guards found some courage to join in: "Leader, it\'s time for you to get married as well. After all, your son needs to accompany the little prince in the future. You should start preparing for it."

"Sister-in-law is pretty. We approve of her."

"You both look good together. When\'s the wedding?"

"I can\'t believe our leader is going to become a married man now. The man who used to control everyone will finally have someone to control him."

"Sister-in-law! Even though this area is restricted, you can come here anytime. We don\'t mind."

Xiaowei, hiding behind Gu Lan, was taken aback when the teasing began, and the guards playfully dubbed her their sister-in-law. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she wished she could simply dig a hole and disappear. She had come to train solely for the purpose of protecting Her Highness and had never anticipated being teased in such a manner.

The misunderstanding about her relationship with Gu Lan bewildered her. She and him? Never!

Even if he were the last man on earth, she would never marry him. While Gu Lan might be good-looking and a man of strong moral values, his lack of manners and his rudeness towards her made the idea of a romantic connection impossible.

Just like Xiaowei, even Gu Lan was surprised by his men who were openly teasing them. His ears turned crimson as he glanced at Xiaowei, who was also frowning and seemed to be awkward due to their comments.

Observing her frowning expressions, he pursed his lips and couldn\'t help but wonder if the notion of being together with him repulsed her to the extent that she clenched her fists and scowled as if he were some kind of ugly monster.

\'Hah! Who is she to look down on me? Does she think that I want to marry her? I brought her here at His Highness\'s order, not like I wanted to spend time with her,\' he wondered.

Xiaowei might not know, but after Zheng Liang, the Crown Prince, all the women in the capital want him, the personal bodyguard of His Highness, as their husband. Why wouldn\'t they? He is not only strong and intelligent but also has a muscular body and good looks, and his family belongs to a military background. Who would want to miss a chance to marry him?

She should be glad to have her name associated with him. Why is she acting as if it\'s embarrassing and shameful to be teased with his name?

He gritted his teeth and glared at his men, who were behaving like local hooligans, teasing their leader. "Enough of that. Looks like you all didn\'t train enough today. Since you like to talk so much, go and use your energy to train more."

Gu Lan faced everyone coldly and issued orders, "Tonight, you all will train from night to dawn and continue your morning training as usual. I will personally oversee your training schedules and ensure you work hard. For now, everyone is dismissed. Go away from here and take a shower. You all smell."

Gu Lan dismissed the other guards who were curious about Xiaowei\'s entrance and had been teasing him and her. As their leader, he had his ways to discipline them and exact revenge.

Upon hearing that Gu Lan would personally train them all at night, the guards groaned, but they had no choice but to follow his orders. In the end, they saluted him once again and left the training grounds at his command, leaving Xiaowei and Gu Lan alone. However, before departing, they didn\'t forget to greet their sister-in-law, causing Xiaowei to lower her head in embarrassment.

She hadn\'t even married yet, and already she was being referred to as the sister-in-law. How embarrassing.