I woke up as the Villainous Empress

Even though Chang Ah is the Mistress of the Household, she is not working at the Yang Household as her servant.

She is here to serve Yang Ning and her loyalty goes to her only. Even if Chang Ah is the head of the Household after Yang Luoyang, she has all right to confront Chang Ah about the missing gifts that were mentioned in the list of dowry gifts for the Royal wedding.

Those gifts belong to Yang Ning after all.

The room was engulfed in an uncomfortable quietness after Yu Ling asked the question to Chang Ah with stern expression on her face.

Yang Ning was surprised by the way Yu Ling faced Chang Ah about the missing gifts. She can see why His Majesty has kept her by his side for the longest and why Zheng Liang treats her differently than the other court ladies.

Because whatever she does, she gives her all to it.

While Yang Ning was admiring Yu Ling’s straightforwardness, Chang Ah’s face turned pale at the interrogating question of Yu Ling.

‘How did she find out about it?’ She bit her lower lip and wondered how Yu Ling figured it out so soon.

.....

She had thought that no one would be able to tell that some gifts were missing from the list as everyone was so busy and crammed with the wedding preparations which is in less than two weeks now.

How did Yu Ling find out about it?

While deciding the duties for the preparation of the royal wedding, Yang Luoyang put her in charge to prepare the dowry gifts for the wedding and allotted her the appropriate budget for it.

Since it was the royal wedding, he didn’t go low on the budget and gave her enough to prepare the dowry gifts for the wedding. The dowry gifts are not only a sign of his love and blessings to his daughter but will also increase his reputation in the royal court as well.

Those gifts were to show off his wealth to the other ministers more than his blessings to Yang Ning, wishing her a happy married life.

When his reputation is at stake, how can he go low on the budget for the dowry gifts?

Chang Ah didn’t say anything when she was allotted the budget. However, when she went to the market to buy the gifts, she realized that everything was so expensive and the gifts that were mentioned in the list were too luxurious for Yang Ning to use them.

Yang Ning doesn’t need so many new dresses and jewelry in dowry gifts. She doesn’t wear many new dresses or ornaments anyway.

They will all go to waste eventually.

That’s why she decided to skip the expensive and luxurious gifts that were supposed to be Yang Ning’s dowry. Why would she waste precious funds on gifts for a girl who doesn’t even respect her and considers her as her mother?

Moreover, she was sure that even if they don’t spend much on the wedding, the wedding between the two families is going to be grand and royal.

Yang Ning is getting married into the royal family which is already loaded with treasured gemstones and ornaments. What else would she need anyway?

That’s why she decided to save some funds on the wedding gifts and kept them safe with herself.

She was planning to buy some jewelry for herself and a few gifts for her son with this extra budget who is coming back soon to attend Yang Ning’s royal wedding.

However, how come Yu Ling finds out about everything? She made sure to hide this matter cautiously so that no one will find out about it before the royal wedding.

If Yang Luoyang finds out that she didn’t buy all the gifts with the given budget and kept them to herself, he will not trust her with such an important responsibility next time.

___

Chang Ah’s throat became dry in nervousness. She cleared her throat to answer Yu Ling’s question and said, ” What...what do you mean? Why...why are you asking me this question?” She stammered while trying to counterattack Yu Ling.

“I only prepared the gifts according to the list and the budget that was allotted to me. How do I know if something is missing out or not?” She retaliated.

Even if she did it, does Yu Ling have proof of it? As long as she doesn’t hold any proof against her, she cannot do anything to her.

“Are you falsely accusing me of not arranging Yang Ning’s wedding gifts properly just because I am not her biological mother? How can you even think of something so ridiculous about me?” Chang Ah was offended by Yu Ling’s comments and questioned her instead.

“Who do you think you are anyway? Lady Yu Ling, don’t forget that I am the Mistress of the Yang Household and you’re just a mere court lady.”

“There are some things that you shouldn’t interfere with. You are here to teach Yang Ning about royal palace etiquette and how to be a filial wife. You should focus on that only. Don’t try to teach me how to manage my family.” Chang Ah said sternly, warning Yu Ling to mind her own business and train Yang Ning according to royal manners and etiquette only.

Yang Ning raised her brows and was watching the way Chang Ah was trying to defend her actions and was trying to tell Yu Ling to mind her own business only for what she came to the Yang Household.

Even though she wasn’t accepting the accusations of Yu Ling, the way she was avoiding eye contact with Yu Ling and stammering while defending herself, it was obvious that she did save some budget for herself.

What a swindler she is.

Yu Ling listened to Chang Ah’s words with much seriousness and said nothing. It was not the first time she has been dealing with a shameless person like Chang Ah.

If she was the person to get easily intimidated by the high-power ministers, she would have never survived in the royal palace for years which is crueler than the Yang Household which compares to nothing in front of the royal palace.

After a minute of suffocating silence, Yu Ling leaned forward at the table and said with a smile, “You’re right. I came here to teach Lady Yang Ning the etiquette and manners that she needed to know before entering the palace.”

Chang Ah sighed in relief and was pleased that Yu Ling could understand the hidden meaning behind her. However, her face turned ashen when she heard the next provocative words of Yu Ling.

“However, along with teaching her the etiquettes, I am also here to serve the Future Crown Princess of the Zheng Empire.”

” As the Head Court Lady, I cannot let anyone disrespect our Crown Princess by treating her lightly and swindling with her dowry gifts. Even if that person is you, Mrs. Yang.” She said coldly, causing Chang Ah’s jaw to stiffen in anxiousness.

Seeing Chang Ah sweating profusely, Yu Ling let out a deep sigh before saying, ” Mrs. Yang, I did not call here to interrogate you about this matter. I simply wanted you to understand that the royal wedding is in two weeks only and I do not want anything to go wrong at that time.”

“I hope you could understand this and prepare the dowry gifts accordingly. Otherwise, if I find that things have been omitted from the list again, I will have to report this matter to Minister Yang and His Majesty.”

” I am sure Mrs. Yang wouldn’t want to be interrogated by His Majesty next time. Right, Mrs. Yang?” Yu Ling threatened Chang Ah to come to her senses if she doesn’t want to be punished by His Majesty the next time.

Chang Ah’s face turned crimson in embarrassment at being called out like this in front of Yang Ning.

Rather than addressing her as Madame or Mistress Yang like other servants, she has been addressing her as Mrs. Yang which shows that she doesn’t respect her as her Master and thinks that she is at par with her.

However, on the other hand, she always addresses Yang Ning politely as if she has become the Crown Princess already.

How bold and stubborn this mere court lady can be?

Chang Ah glanced at Yang Ning who was staring at her with an amusing smile on her face and gritted her teeth in frustration.

It’s all because of Yang Ning. If not for Yang Ning, Yu Ling wouldn’t have come to the Yang Household, nor would she have threatened her like that.

She took a deep breath and finally said, “There....is no need to speak to Yang Ning’s father about this matter. I will check the list of gifts once again and check if I left out something mistakenly.”

Yang Ning almost chuckled aloud to hear her excuse. Mistakenly missed out? Hah! She left it out deliberately.

Yu Ling nodded and said, ” Alright. I will check the list of gifts once again after you buy the other items. I am sure it was just a mistake. Otherwise, why would you mess up with the dowry gifts of your dear daughter?” Yu Ling asked suggestively.

Chang Ah’s face turned tomato red in embarrassment upon hearing the sarcasm in Yu Ling’s words. When will this woman go back to the royal palace? Because of her, she cannot even deal with Yang Ning however she wants.

She has ruined everything for her. Everything!