I woke up as the Villainous Empress

How can a mere court lady dare to speak to him in such a brash manner? Even though she is the Head of Court ladies at the palace and was favored by His Majesty, doesn’t she think her actions were too bold for her humble status?

His eyes were burning in rage to see that kind of woman supporting Yang Ning in front of him and treating her as if she was some sort of Princess. She hasn’t even married the Crown Prince yet and everyone was already treating her as royalty.

What about him? He is the Father of Yang Ning and should be treated according to his status as well, however, why does it feel like she was looking down on him by treating Yang Ning like royalty and asking him to treat Yang Ning accordingly?

He arranged the engagement between the Crown Prince and Yang Ning to gain more power over other ministers in the royal court and to spread his wings more freely than before under the nose of the meddling Crown Prince, Zheng Liang.

However, by doing this, rather than him, Yang Ning seems to have benefitted the most. After getting along with the Crown Prince, she has started to think of herself as the Crown Princess and has been acting unfamiliar to them for the past few days.

If this continues, it would be difficult for him to control her after she weds into the royal family and attains the title of the Crown Princess of the Zheng Empire.

Yang Luoyang took a deep breath to control his raging temperament and was trying to stay cool-headed in front of Court Lady Yu Ling. She has been sent here by His Majesty, more than that, he wasn’t sure how long she had been watching them.

If she had witnessed the way he was chastising Yang Ning and ordering the guards to grab her and drag her to the backyard, then it would be a problem for him. That’s why he was trying to fix the complex situation as soon as possible to leave a good impression on Court Lady Yu Ling so that she wouldn’t pass on the misleading report’ to His Majesty.

.....

Just like Yang Luoyang, there was another person who was feeling wronged and offended by the turn of the tables.

Xing Bao’s face turned crimson due to embarrassment when Yu Ling asked her to prepare a room for her, meanwhile the latter takes care of Yang Ning.

‘Hah! She....She wants her to prepare a room for her. Has she gone crazy?’ Xing Bao was dumbfounded by Yu Ling’s attitude because she is the Head Maid of the Yang Household.

She is the Head of all the maids in the Yang Household. How can she ask her to prepare a room for her, when she is also a mere court lady at the royal palace? Isn’t their statuses almost similar and at the same level? She wondered while glancing at Chang Ah for support.

“Yes? You are asking me to prepare a room for you?” Xing Bao asked in disbelief.

“Why? Is there any problem?” Yu Ling asked while looking at Xing Bao with her calm and composed, poker face.

“Ah. You might not know since I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am the Head Maid of the Yang Household and also the maid of the Mistress of the Household. I look after the maids, who work at the Yang Household and train them to serve our masters appropriately.” She introduced herself with much pride and confidence in her work.

Yang Ning was watching Xing Bao and almost laughed aloud when she heard her words.

‘Head Maid, my foot!’ Yang Ning scoffed as she watched Xing Bao lying proudly about her achievements in front of Court Lady Yu Ling, who is new in the Household.

Xing Bao needs a lesson herself to serve the Masters properly. No doubt the servants at Yang Household lack discipline and respect for their Masters because Xing Bao is their so-called Superior at the Yang Household.

Yu Ling looked at Xing Bao bragging about her high position in the Yang Household while keeping a straight face. After she was done introducing herself, she looked at her in puzzlement and asked,

“Ah. Is that so? It was nice meeting you. Ah, when you prepare the room for me to use, make sure to ignite the mosquito-repellent incense.” After exchanging greetings with Xing Bao, Yu Ling added politely as if she doesn’t care about her position.

Xing Bao: “????”

Xing Bao was looking at her expectantly and was waiting for her to apologize to her for requesting her to do such humble work, according to her status in the Yang Household.

However, Yu Ling ignored the main point of the whole conversation and told her to ignite the mosquito repellent incense for her.

‘Hah! The audacity.’ Xing Bao scoffed in disbelief as she couldn’t believe that this woman ignored her words. Does she not get the hint that she was telling her that it wasn’t her responsibility to tend to a mere court lady?

However, before she could say something, Yang Luoyang’s face darkened as he asked her coldly, “Why are you still standing here and not moving? Go and prepare the Guest room for her. She is our guest. Make sure to prepare the room accordingly.”

“Yes, My Lord.” Xing Bao swallowed her hurt pride and went inside to follow the order.

‘I am not doing this because that woman asked me to do so. It was because His Lord ordered me to prepare the room.’ She continued to repeat this in her head as she went inside to prepare a room for her.

She was, even more, enraged at the fact that Yang Luoyang asked to prepare the Guest room for her when she is just a mere court lady. According to her lowly status, she should have stayed at the maid quarters with them.

However, seeing the way Yang Luoyang treats her, she could feel that she is not just a mere court lady. Otherwise, why would he ask her to prepare the guest room instead of the maid’s room?

___

After Xing Bao left with a frowning expression, Yu Ling held Yang Ning’s arm to support her and asked, ” Lady Yang Ning, should we go inside? You must be tired from standing outside for too long.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.” Yang Ning answered with a smile.

After Yu Ling scolded the guards, the guards escorted Xiaowei to the maid’s quarters. Since there is nothing else for them to do anymore, there was no need for them to stand outside for long and tire themselves.

Yu Ling turned to Yang Luoyang and said, ” Minister Yang, we will take our leave for now then. Since it is quite late, I will visit you formally tomorrow morning.” Since she has been assigned to work at the Yang Household, she needs to show him the allocation scroll letter that gives her the right to work at the Yang Household.

Yang Luoyang nodded and couldn’t say anything to stop her from going inside. Because he was too stunned to speak at the moment.

“Then have a good night. You too, Madam Yang.” Yu Ling greeted Chang Ah as well before leaving while holding onto Yang Ning and supporting her to the chamber.

After Yu Ling left while holding onto Yang Ning’s hand, Yang Luoyang gritted his teeth and kicked the guard in the shins, who was standing next to him in fury.

“This Bitch!” He cursed at Yang Ning, who was smiling while hiding behind Yu Ling.

___

Yang Ning glanced at Yu Ling who was walking next to her and giggled on her own, celebrating her new happy days.

Seeing the turn of the tables, she was satisfied with the way her plan was working.

When Zheng Liang gave her a heads-up about the argument that happened between him and Yang Luoyang when she was resting in his room, she knew that Yang Luoyang would not let it slide.

He will not leave her alone for the humiliation that he received at the royal palace today. Even though it wasn’t her fault, he will blame her for everything.

He will release his anger and stress by torturing and disciplining her. That is for sure.

If it had been Yang Ning, she would have swallowed her already shattered pride and would have accepted fate without complaining. However, she is not the same as Yang Ning.

She isn’t the type to stand such unjust treatment silently and allow people to walk over her like she was some sort of public road for everyone’s use.

That’s why before leaving the Palace with Xiaowei, she requested Zheng Liang if he could provide her with a maid to take care of her at the Yang Household.

Since her maid, Xiaowei was also hurt, there was no one to take care of her at the moment and it will be difficult for her to do things on her own.

She wanted a maid from the royal palace so that Yang Luoyang would stay within his limits and would not bother her with the fear of the new eyes watching his actions.

She was expecting him to send her a maid but never expected that he would send the Head of Court Ladies instead to take care of her.

That’s insane!

She was shocked but was also glad that she came to her rescue. It was all thanks to Zheng Liang, who did her a great favor by sending such an amazing person to stay by her side.

If a charismatic person like Yu Ling stays by her side, she will never have to worry about Chang Ah and Yang Luoyang.

However, she wasn’t sure why she mentioned that it was His Majesty who sent her here because she never requested His Majesty to do her a favor.