I woke up as the Villainous Empress

"Last time, when His Majesty invited me for tea, he entrusted me with the responsibility of managing palace affairs. Do you think this time he\'s summoned me to reprimand me for mishandling those duties and intends to revoke them?" Yang Ning asked anxiously, her hands growing cold with nervousness.

"But I diligently studied to fulfill these responsibilities and followed Lady Yu Ling\'s guidance. Just yesterday, I even submitted the budget report for the past month to His Majesty. Could he find fault with it?" Yang Ning inquired in a panicked tone, pacing nervously in the corridor of the pavilion.

Equally perplexed by the unexpected summons from His Majesty, Zheng Liang observed his wife, who was in a state of unnecessary panic. He sighed, bringing her pacing to a halt, and held her by the shoulders, speaking earnestly, "You don\'t need to worry about anything. You haven\'t done anything wrong.

Since you took over the palace responsibilities, not only have you managed to save on expenditures, but the conditions have also significantly improved."

"Just as I trust in you, I\'m certain His Majesty is well aware of your capabilities. That\'s why he entrusted you with such a significant responsibility. So, don\'t be nervous. Greet His Majesty with a smile and confidence later on."

"Have you forgotten that Father adores you more than his own son? There\'s no need to panic for nothing. If you have confidence in yourself, no one can intimidate you, not even His Majesty. Do you understand that?" Zheng Liang reassured her, maintaining eye contact.

Yang Ning pursed her lips, noting the trust and confidence in Zheng Liang\'s eyes. She realized that her panic was unnecessary; His Majesty\'s summons might be for various reasons, not necessarily to scold her for mishandling the palace management affairs.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded in understanding at his reassurance. "Alright. I won\'t doubt my capabilities anymore. Let\'s go then. We can\'t keep His Majesty waiting any longer," Yang Ning said. She quickly changed from Zheng Liang\'s training outfit to a beautiful dress with the help of a maid.

After dressing up elegantly, she left for the Main Palace with Zheng Liang.

___

Upon reaching the Main Palace, the court lady directed the royal couple to the front garden where His Majesty was comfortably seated inside the gazebo. In the middle, a round white table, surrounded by chairs, awaited. His Majesty, already seated, leisurely sipped on the milk tea – a recipe popularized by Yang Ning in the palace.

As the sun prepared to set, he enjoyed both the delightful tea and the beautiful scenery.

"Greetings to His Majesty," Yang Ning and Zheng Liang greeted as they entered the gazebo. Yang Ning entered first, and upon seeing her, the old Emperor\'s eyes lit up. He stood up from his seat to welcome his precious daughter-in-law.

"Yang Ning, how many times have I told you? You do not need to use formalities with me. Just call me Father. Come, take a seat next to me," he said, patting the chair beside him, and urging Yang Ning to sit closer rather than far away.

Yang Ning, who was previously worried, felt her nervousness dissipate upon seeing His Majesty smiling and in a good mood. Not only did he appear happy, but his health also seemed to have greatly improved, with his face looking brighter than during her last visit. Relieved by the comfortable atmosphere, she sat next to the Emperor.

Meanwhile, Zheng Liang, who was standing behind her, found himself ignored by his father and ended up sitting next to his wife as if he didn\'t even exist. Witnessing the disparity in treatment, he couldn\'t help but smile helplessly. Yang Ning truly charmed everyone with her bright personality.

Even her father, who used to be cold and distant with others, treated Yang Ning more dearly than his son, who is the designated successor.

After Yang Ning and Zheng Liang took their seats, the servants efficiently served them with milk tea and snacks spread out on the table in an organized manner. Yang Ning was surprised to find not only the milk tea, which she had sent before for His Majesty to taste but also the onion and potato fries that she had served during the tea party at the Dragon Pavilion.

That day, she had sent these snacks for His Majesty to try, but she didn\'t expect him to love them so much that he was still enjoying them along with the milk tea. He seemed to prefer the milk tea made from the local black tea leaves over his usual comforting and refreshing tea imported from another kingdom.

Seeing the surprise on Yang Ning\'s face, Zheng Huang said with a smile, "The snacks that you sent the other day, I have them every week but only once a day. The Head Physician has stopped me from having fried snacks; otherwise, I would have these snacks daily with the milk tea."

"Yang Ning, how did you even have the idea of adding milk and sugar to these deep black tea leaves? I am so mind-blown by your creativity. The local black tea leaves, which were previously ignored due to their bitter taste, have become popular among the nobles thanks to your Milk Tea recipe."

"Whenever I serve this tea to my guests, they praise it and even urge me to share the recipe because they want to enjoy it daily. Even during royal court sessions, I have started serving this tea as refreshments. It not only boosts the consumption of local black tea leaves but also uplifts everyone\'s mood."

"Even vegetables like potatoes and onions have become popular among the nobles these days. You\'ve truly made a significant contribution to expanding the consumption of these items among the nobility. This change has resulted in higher revenue for local products compared to the last months," remarked His Majesty, acknowledging Yang Ning\'s impact on the economic situation of the Empire.

"I never knew my daughter-in-law is not only adept at handling palace affairs but also excels in cooking. I have been to numerous kingdoms and tasted various kinds of tea and fried snacks, but it was the first time I experienced something as magical as this. The combination of milk tea with potato and onion fries is just amazing," the old man shared his excitement happily.

Yang Ning smiled awkwardly upon hearing His Majesty\'s praises. She was pleased that he liked the milk tea and the snacks she had sent, but she felt slightly uneasy about taking all the credit.

Pursing her lips while smiling, she sighed helplessly, thinking, \'Even I didn\'t know who invented this magical combination. I just wanted to impress everyone at the tea party by serving them some modern popular snacks and tea, but I didn\'t expect them to become so popular in the capital city.\'

Who would have imagined that her milk tea recipe would become so popular among nobles? It not only increased the consumption of local black tea leaves but also elevated the status of vegetables like onions and potatoes. Once considered as commoner meals, these vegetables now surpassed meat in popularity among the nobles.

Zheng Liang, listening to his father\'s words, smiled proudly as he looked at his wife and added, "Your daughter-in-law is not only skilled in palace affairs and cooking but can also outmatch any royal guard in archery. You witnessed her prowess when she killed that wild bear before our wedding. That was not just a coincidence."

"Because she also saved me from a sneak attack during the assault on our carriage outside the palace. If she had not blocked that attack using her archery skills, you wouldn\'t be able to see your son today. So you should treat her well," he emphasized proudly about his wife in front of his father.

Zheng Huang was surprised, aware of Yang Ning\'s archery skills but never expected that she was the one who saved Zheng Liang during the attack. He frowned and glared at his son, "You… You! How could you keep such an important detail from me?

Why did you not say anything before?" Hearing this, he realized how fatal that attack could have been, but thanks to Yang Ning\'s skills, it didn\'t harm Zheng Liang or Yang Ning in a dangerous way.

"Yang Ning, I cannot thank you enough. I didn\'t know that you were so skilled at archery, protecting Zheng Liang and saving him from the attack. I must have saved a country in my past life to get such a talented daughter-in-law in this life. You\'re truly a blessing to this family and the Empire," the old man said, holding Yang Ning\'s hand with his old, wrinkly hands.