Just then, she heard the maids' voices outside.
"She really deserves it. She really thinks that just because she married in, she became a phoenix."
"You're right. She's just stupid. Who does she think she is, messing with the Young Miss?"
"Leave her be. Now it's good—we don't even need to take care of her."
"She's just a stupid woman nobody cares about."
Hearing this, Riya understood clearly.
These servants didn't treat her as their master at all.
After all, their indenture contracts were still in the Old Madam's hands.
From this alone, Riya already understood why the original owner was never favoured in her maternal family. That was why she was bullied so badly—and why she died so tragically.
The original owner had tolerated all of this.
But Riya wouldn't.
Tomorrow, she would send them all back. She didn't keep useless Buddhas by her side—especially servants who only knew how to look down on her and speak sarcastically.
As expected, when dinner time came, no one brought her food.
If this were the original owner, she might have suffered in silence.
But not Riya.
She had a cheat.
A personal space of her own.
Inside this space, she had stored items from the many worlds she had visited before. She casually took out a simple plate containing two vegetable dishes, dal, rice, and roti.
She was a vegetarian anyway. Even if they had sent food, she wouldn't have eaten it.
After eating happily, she lay down to rest.
——
Meanwhile, in the Prime Minister's courtyard, he was coaxing his daughter.
"Daughter, don't worry. No one will dare do this to you again."
His daughter, with her pitiful figure and innocent face, looked at her father in admiration.
"Really, Father? You're amazing."
But then her expression dimmed, and she said softly, "Because of me, you and Mother argued… will the new mother dislike me now?"
His expression softened immediately.
"No way. She wouldn't dare," he said, patting her head. "You don't need to care about her. No one will shake your position."
"But I heard that after you have a new son, you'll change my brother's position…" the girl said hesitantly. She carefully watched her father's expression, fear hidden deep in her eyes. After all, this was her father's private matter—how could a daughter interfere? But she had no choice.
Prime Minister Yu froze.
His face darkened. "Who said that?"
She lowered her eyes, her voice trembling. "N-no one."
Seeing his daughter's frightened face, he suppressed his anger.
"Don't worry," he said slowly. "I already gave her pregnancy-prevention medicine."
He hadn't wanted to tell his daughter such things. But to stop her from worrying and harming her health, he still said it.
Lady Yu was stunned.
She had never imagined her father could be so ruthless.
But since this worked in her favour, she felt relieved—and secretly happy.
——
After overhearing the conversation between father and daughter, Riya was dumbfounded.
According to the original owner's memories, the Prime Minister had later used her infertility as an excuse to divorce her and send her to a temple.
Now Riya finally understood.
So this was how it was done.
She was speechless.
How shameless could they be? They caused it themselves, then self-righteously asked for a divorce.
Trash.
At least it was good she had robot bees for reconnaissance. She immediately sent them out to monitor the entire mansion.
——
The next day, Riya prepared to pay her morning greetings to her mother-in-law.
She called for her maid to help her get ready.
Her head maid looked at her in surprise. Before today, Riya had always done everything herself—and even tried to please them. What had changed?
Riya didn't care.
Seeing the maid still standing there blankly, she said impatiently, "What are you doing? Come help me."
The maid finally realised Riya was speaking to her.
She was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed with anger.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that?"
"Your master," Riya replied calmly. "Now do what a servant should do."
Riya was already irritated. Waking up this early was bad enough—now she had to deal with an arrogant maid.
"What? You want me to serve you?" the maid sneered. "Don't forget, I belong to the Madam. I'll report this to her."
Riya didn't care.
She looked at the maid coldly. "If you don't want to be beaten by the manor guards, do your job."
"You're not in the Madam's house," she added flatly. "You're in the Prime Minister's house."
Meeting Riya's sharp, icy gaze, the maid felt a chill crawl up her spine. She lowered her head and hurried to help.
Riya nodded in satisfaction.
——
She went out wearing heavy attire she still wasn't used to.
In truth, Riya was Indian. Most of the hosts she had possessed came from Chinese backgrounds, so at first, the cultural differences—especially clothing and etiquette—were difficult for her.
At least language wasn't a problem; she had a translator.
Everything else, she had to figure out on her own.
By the time she arrived at the Old Madam's courtyard, Prime Minister Yu had also arrived—with his concubines.
Yes, he still had concubines.
Some were given by his mother. Some were taken before his remarriage.
He claimed to the world that he loved only his first wife… yet he still kept concubines.
Hypocrite.
Trash, Riya thought.
Today, her main purpose was simple: to hand back the hot potato—household management power—to the Old Madam.
She liked to eat, lie down, and enjoy life.
Who would want such a thankless, exhausting task that only attracted hatred from all sides? She worked hard and still got scolded.
If someone wanted to manage it, they could take it. She didn't want it.
Just then, the Old Madam looked at her with dissatisfaction.
"How could you treat Lady Yu like this and give her bad food?" she scolded. "You should treat her like your own daughter."
Riya was speechless.
Hah.
She still dared to say such words.
Did she feel even a shred of shame?
Riya doubted it.