I woke up as the Villainous Empress

Chapter 380 Power of love.

Seeing Hou Wei apologizing, Zheng Xiang sighed and said in a gentle voice, "You don't need to apologize. I am not a monster who punishes someone over small things. It's not like you fell on purpose." He explained himself because he didn't want her to see him as a cruel person who hates people and punishes them for minor mistakes.

While he didn't mind being misunderstood by others, he couldn't bear the thought of being misunderstood by her.

Zheng Xiang looked up at the woman, who had her head down, and asked, "What were you thinking about so deeply that you kept bumping into people and weren't focusing on the road ahead?" He wondered what was on her mind.

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"Ah!" Hou Wei rubbed her head, embarrassed at being seen walking unsteadily and bumping into others. She bit her lower lip in hesitation and replied, "I wasn't thinking much. Just about the work I have to do when I return to the medicine department," she said, hiding her meeting with Yang Ning because the Crown Prince had asked them to keep her pregnancy a secret until it was officially announced.

What she didn't know was that Zheng Xiang and His Majesty already knew about this secret.

More than that, she didn't want to reveal her honest thoughts to him. How could she possibly tell him that she had been daydreaming about a loving family? That she longed for someone who would treat her with love and care and would want to build a happy family with her.

"In any case, I apologize to His Highness for worrying you over a small matter and making you help me. I also want to thank you for saving me earlier," Hou Wei said gratefully.

Don't fall again." His words sounded indifferent and cold, but his intentions were genuinely caring.

Hou Wei nodded politely, offering a slight smile, and then bowed to Prince Zheng Xiang before continuing on her way to the medicine department.

As he watched her retreating figure, a smile tugged at the corners of Zheng Xiang's lips. He never anticipated that a man known for his cold demeanor would find himself acting so tenderly towards a woman. Was this what they meant by love having the power to transform a person's character? Could it be that he... truly saw her in that light?

Perhaps, just perhaps!

If he had met her at the palace for the first time, he might not have noticed her, let alone been interested in her. At the palace, he didn't want to get involved in unnecessary scandals and complicate his life or others. Moreover, at the palace, he didn't even trust his parents completely; how could he trust a stranger nurse?

However, since he had seen Hou Wei outside and had witnessed another side of her, he was intrigued. Despite her innocent and pure, deer-like glistening eyes, her courage was no less than a fierce lioness's. Her will and intention to help others were commendable.

It's just that before helping others and jumping into situations, she didn't think much about herself or the consequences, leading to problems.

This was both her weak point and her strongest trait, which attracted him the most. As someone who had once lived in the cruel and heartless palace where everyone was behind everyone's neck and cared only about wealth and power, Hou Wei's will to save others with everything she had was commendable.

She had a courage that even he sometimes lacked!