I woke up as the Villainous Empress
Chapter 35

35 Punished!

~SMACK~

The room fell into a shocking silence when Chang Ah suddenly stood up and slapped Xing Bao across her face, leaving a visible handprint on her face.

“Madam....” Xing Bao mewled to see Chang Ah looking at her with a loathing gaze in her eyes.

She was too stunned to speak. Out of all the people, she was expecting Chang Ah to at least believe in her.

She has served her for so long and in the most miserable moment of her life, her Master turned a blind eye towards her.

“HOW DARE YOU? UNTIL NOW I TREATED YOU AS MY YOUNGER SISTER AND NEVER SCOLDED YOU FOR ANYTHING BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE FREE TO DO ANYTHING.” Chang Ah glared at Xing Ah who was still kneeling on the ground and was trembling in utter shock and humiliation.

” YANG NING IS THE DAUGHTER OF THIS HOUSEHOLD. SHE IS MY DAUGHTER! HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT HER AND WISH HER TO DIE? HUH?” Her voice trembled as she yelled at Xing Bao in front of everyone.

Everyone knows the special bond between Chang Ah and Xing Bao. Chang Ah has indeed treated Xing Bao as her younger sister all these years and she was more than just a maid for her.

In this large household, Xing Bao was the only person, whom she can trust and lean on for a shoulder.

.....

However, she has to berate that kind of friend of hers in front of everyone, that too just because of Yang Ning whom she hates the most, how can she be alright?

Not only was Chang Ah hurting but she was also shocked that Xing Bao betrayed her and lied to her. If she had honestly revealed that she had stolen from Yang Ning, then she would not have agreed to the official search.

However, she did not do so and let everyone look down on them. Along with Xing Bao, Chang Ah’s words also lost their worth.

“Madam, Please trust me. I did not steal anything. I did not ruin the dress. Please believe me! This girl is lying. She is trying to frame me.” Xing Bao, who was on the ground, cried and whimpered in desperation.

She would not have felt this much wronged if she had truly committed the crime. But she is innocent. She did not mess up with the dress that Chang Ah prepared for Yang Ning.

She gave the perfectly fine dress to Xiaowei in the morning yet no one believed in her words.

How can she ruin Chang Ah’s dress? She is her Master after all.

She can do anything but not put Chang Ah in any kind of problem.

Xing Bao even tried to grab Chang Ah’s skirt to plead to her but the latter slapped her hand away and shot her a glare as if disgusted by her touch, ” Do not touch me with your disgusting hands! How dare you steal from the people who feed you? Huh?”

” See! Because of you, people are now doubting me as well. How will I face all these people from now on? Huh?” Chang Ah choked on her words and lost her cool to see the face of Xing Bao that was covered in tears and started to cry as well.

An uncomfortable silence followed after Chang Ah started crying after shouting at her maid.

All the other maids and guards guarding the study room gate were feeling bad for Chang Ah and could feel her complicated emotions.

” Chang Ah, stop crying. No one will say anything to you. It was not your fault after all. It was your maid who committed the crime.” Yang Luoyang patted Chang Ah’s back and tried to calm her down.

Yang Ning pursed her lips and could see where this drama was going on. She was not scolding Xing Bao because she was angry at her or disappointed in her.

It was all a show. A great show that she needed to learn from Chang Ah. She managed to use her brain in such a short time and was trying hard to save the life of her bitchy maid.

Because if she disciplines her maid in front of everyone, Yang Luoyang will not say anything to her and will get weak to see her tears.

Because of her wailing like this, everything will think that she is being vicious once again and was torturing her stepmother.

__

After crying for a good few minutes, Chang Ah wiped her face with a handkerchief and took a deep breath to control her emotions. She turned to Yang Ning and said with sincere and guilty expressions on her face, ” Yang Ning, you have suffered a lot. I apologize to you on behalf of my maid.”

” It was my fault for not teaching her right. If you want to punish anyone, you can punish me. It was my fault after all.”

” However, I request you to not kick her out of this household. I know I am being selfish right now but I cannot live without her.”

” She is my only friend in this household after all. I have treated her as my younger sister since I was young. If she were to leave this household, I won’t be able to live in this house as well.” Chang Ah broke into tears as she desperately apologized to Yang Ning and begged her to not kick Xing Bao out of the household.

” Why are you requesting her? You are her mother. You do not need to request anything from her. If you want her to stay in this household, then no one will kick her out of this household.” Yang Luoyang said as he tried to pacify Chang Ah who was constantly sobbing and her complexion had also gone pale.

Yang Ning: “....”

Yang Ning scoffed inwardly to see the marvelous live performance of Chang Ah. She sure knows how to put her beautiful looks and crocodile tears to good use.

Well, it seems like it’s her time to answer her great performance.

” Mother, please don’t say that. I will not punish the Head Maid harshly because she is your friend who belongs to the same hometown.” Yang Ning said in a soft voice and emphasized how Chang Ah and Xing Bao, both belong to the same hometown.

Chang Ah is the Master of Xing Bao, only because she got lucky and married to Yang Household. Otherwise, in no way she is better than Xing Bao and would have been farming the fields near the lake in her hometown if she hadn’t gotten married to Yang Luoyang.

Chang Ah’s expression turned gloomy when she heard those words of Yang Ning. She treats Xing Bao as her friend but she does not want to be acquainted with her as an equal.

Not at all. In no way she is equal to Xing Bao who belongs to the rags.

” Since mother does not want me to kick the Head Maid out of the Yang Household for stealing from me and shamelessly ridiculing me, the Future Crown Princess, I announce her to be flogged hundred times by a whip.” Yang Ning glanced at Xing Bao once before announcing her punishment.

” Not only that, she will be deposed from the title of Head Maid. The Yang Household cannot let a criminal exploit such an important position. How can she discipline the other maids when she is this corrupted herself?” She announced with confidence and coldness in her eyes.

Everyone was stunned to see such an indifferent side of Yang Ning, who has never spoken in a loud voice before.

Chang Ah’s eyes widened in shock when Yang Ning not only announced Xing Bao to be flogged hundred times but also removed her from her prestigious position in the household.

This was one of her ways to control Yang Ning and control the Yang Household. How can she take away that special position from her? Chang Ah gritted her teeth while she tried to control her temper.

This time even Yang Luoyang did not say anything against Yang Ning and agreed to it. For the first time, he thought that Yang Ning made the right decision.

‘At least she will not ruin my name after becoming the Crown Princess.’ He sighed in relief, thinking about how she seemed to be ready to become the Crown Princess.

” No! My Lord, Please don’t do this to me. I did not do anything! I swear!” Xing Bao cried and pleaded to Yang Luoyang but before she could create any more drama, the guards grabbed her and dragged her out of the room.

Yang Ning scoffed to see the Head Maid in a miserable state. She deserves it.

” Father, if there is nothing else, I will also take-”

Yang Ning was bidding goodbye to Yang Luoyang, however, her words were interrupted by the guard who came running inside the study room and said, ” My Lord, the people from the Royal Palace are asking for the Young Lady.”

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