I woke up as the Villainous Empress

‘Hmm? Is he looking at me?’ She wondered and decided to smile at him in return. Looks like he isn’t as bad as she had heard stories about him.

That’s right. He is just a child after all. Even though he is Chang Ah’s son, it doesn’t mean that he has to be mean and arrogant like her.

She smiled at him from afar and even raised her hand to wave at him to greet him as his sister. She also has a younger brother, so it was natural for her to bond with kids easily.

Even though Yang Luoyang and Chang Ah didn’t bother to introduce her to Yang Jian and ignored her existence as if she is part of the servant’s group, it doesn’t harm if she takes a friendly step toward him.

However, her smile soon faded when she realized that rather than looking at her curiously, he had been looking at her with a mocking smirk on his face.

“Did...did he just scoff while looking at me?” Yang Ning was in disbelief to see the attitude of a 10-year-old. She looked around to see if only she noticed his mocking smirk and realized that Xiaowei has already walked off ahead and she has been the only one left behind.

‘ Waah! He is such a brat.’ She couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh to control her temper. Compared to Yang Ning, he is half her age, yet he was sneering while looking at her.

“Kids these days are no joke. Waah, so scary.” She felt goosebumps to see his two-sided attitude. He was acting like a filial and obedient son in front of Yang Luoyang and Chang Ah, however, while looking at her, his expression took a 180-degree flip.

.....

She shook her head helplessly and decided to ignore his bratty attitude for now. As long as she gets to fill her stomach at the dining table, she doesn’t care about him.

It’s not like they’re going to spend their lives together. She will soon get married into the royal family and he will also return to his academy.

She only needs to bear him for just a week more.

___

At the dining table, Yang Ning’s eyes widened in surprise to see so many dishes on the table. All the dishes were supposedly the favorite ones of Yang Jian and the feast has been prepared to welcome him for his return.

‘It’s not bad. Thanks to him I am getting to eat the delicious food after so long.’ Yang Ning smiled meaningfully and picked up her chopsticks to try all the dishes one by one.

Because in the last few days, Yu Ling has been controlling her diet and doesn’t let her eat whatever she wants and how much she wants. That’s why she was now salivating to see so many delicious dishes that she hasn’t even touched in the last few days.

She was about to pick a piece of the meat dish when she heard a voice, ” Mother, I want the meat dish. It is so far. Can you bring it close to me?” Yang Jian demanded while showing Chang Ah that he cannot reach the meat dish because of his short arms.

“Is that so? Let me help you with it.” Chang Ah immediately placed the meat dish in front of Yang Jian to make it easier for him to eat it.

Yang Ning raised her brows when the meat dish was removed in front of her before she could take a piece from it.

She pursed her lips and didn’t say anything since Chang Ah has never been respectful to her. It would be useless to expect anything from her.

However, it wasn’t the end. During the feast, whenever Yang Ning tried to take food from any dish, Yang Jian requested Chang Ah to move the dishes in front of him instead so that he could eat comfortably without needing to stretch his arm to get the food.

In the end, she was left with some side dishes to eat her rice with this. She was in disbelief as she wanted to enjoy this meal in the piece yet this little boy was getting on her nerves.

Does he have a problem with her? Why does it feel that he is doing this to provoke her?

She took a deep breath and decided to eat rice with the side dishes only rather than getting irritated over such a small matter. It’s just food anyway. She can beg Yu Ling to give her some delicious food.

She would rather beg Yu Ling for some food than fight with a ten-year-old kid over food.

While Yang Ning was eating her food, she paused in her actions when she realized that someone was looking at her. When she looked up from her rice bowl, she caught Yang Jian glancing at her.

However, he tore away his gaze from her face as soon as they had an eye-contact. ‘What is wrong with him?’ She wanted to know what was going on inside his head.

A while ago, he wasn’t letting her eat any of the dishes. Now he was sneaking glances at her as if he wanted to talk to her. What does he want?

She blinked in confusion and shrugged her shoulders, not thinking much about him.

__

” Yang Jian, How are your studies going these days? You’re working hard at the academy, right?” Yang Luoyang asked while putting a piece of meat in Yang Jian’s bowl.

The little boy was surprised by his father’s sudden question and looked at him with hesitation. ” Studies? Er...Yes. I am working hard these days and have come second in the recent examination held at the academy.” He responded.

Yang Luoyang’s jaw stiffened when he heard this and said coldly, ” Second? What do you mean you came second in the examination?”

“Yang Jian, do you not know that on the battlefield, there is no second or third position? There is only one leader and others are followers.”

” I am sending you to the academy to become the leader and not a loser follower. Is this how you’re going to repay me for providing you with all the best opportunities? ” He scolded him and looked at him coldly.

Yang Jian’s hands trembled upon facing his father’s rage and lowered his head in embarrassment and humiliation.

Yang Luoyang pampers him more than anyone but he also has high expectations of him. If he doesn’t fulfill those expectations of him, he will not back away from punishing him brutally as well.

Yang Jian’s lips quivered in fear and sparkling tears brimmed in his eyes while his trembling lips curved downwards in a frown.

Yang Luoyang pursed his lips and asked in a stern voice, ” Are you going to cry now? Do you not know that a man shouldn’t cry?”

” Is that how you’re going to inherit the Yang Family’s name in the future? You’re a man, take criticisms like a man. What is this cowardly behavior?” He scoffed, feeling disappointed in his son.

Chang Ah got worried seeing the situation going out of hand and comforted her son by saying, ” Yang Jian, your father is right. A man shouldn’t show his weakness in front of others. Don’t cry, alright?”

Yang Ning pursed her lips to see the little boy sobbing and trying to control his emotions in front of them. Although he is not a saint either and acts like a brat, he is still a kid.

What are they doing to this little boy? He is just a child who should be playing with his friends and learning how to express his emotions freely.

Rather he is getting forced to suppress his emotions and only focus on coming first in everything. Yang Luoyang has already ruined Yang Ning’s life by treating her like extra baggage, now he is ruining the life of this little boy by putting excessive pressure on his shoulders.

How low can he go as a parent? She wondered.