While roaming around Lalisa was keeping a side-eye at the maids who were making a circle and were whispering to each other like meddlesome aunties.
Lalisa pretended to notice nothing and just looked around curiously. She wanted to see what everyone here thinks of her?
Because she does not have original Lalisa's memories and other than a few things that she found out from Minnie, she does not know anything about her.
She needs to figure out her status in the palace herself and need to create her place in this palace. Because she doesn't know how long she has to stay in this palace.
After Minnie asked her to do the work first and check the preparations for the feast, she felt that she can't let this continue.
Because those girls were giving her revolting and strange looks and hadn't greeted her yet. She was the Empress yet no one greeted her.
So she couldn't hold herself and walked towards them with a plain smile on her face, with her hands folded around her chest.
She stood straight with her head held high and stood in front of them in her perfect posture which gave her a domineering look.
She looked at the maids who were standing there who became alert when she arrived.
Everyone straightened themselves when she approached them however the girl in the middle was still wearing the same arrogant look on her face.
It was Yuju.
Yuju is a girl with an average face and short height but her overall look is cute type. She was not outstanding and beautiful but her facial features were unique.
Yuju looked at Lalisa with her brows raised and was amused when she heard Lalisa's words.
She could sense the tone of ridicule in her words and understood that Lalisa was not asking them to share their secrets but simply challenging them to speak up if they have guts.
Yuju came with Eunbi when she got married to Jeongguk. In L country, she used to work in the kitchen and takes care of everyone's meals.
However, she was sent here after Eunbi married to the Emperor. She has good relations with Eunbi and treated her as her elder sister.
Eunbi also loved Yuju's cooking so she arranged her to work in the kitchen as she is much experienced in this field.
In return to this, Yuju used to give all the information to Eunbi about the things going on in the palace or anything related to Lalisa.
Because before, Lalisa used to come to the kitchen daily.
This way she is working for Eunbi while working in the kitchen palace. She is like a spy of Eunbi who kept her gaze onto Lalisa and inform Eunbi of any useful news.
As Eunbi was her master, she never liked Lalisa because if not for Lalisa, Eunbi would have been the Empress and then Empress Dowager.
This way, she will also get a higher position and a certain status among the servants. Because if her master is Empress or Empress Dowager then she could make others follow her.
On Eunbi's words, Yuju has influenced the other maids in the kitchen as well and has made them against Lalisa.
The kitchen staff is the most important in the palace because they are connected to everyone. And the rumors spread fastest from the kitchen.
The kitchen staff has a different level of authority among the servants in the palace. They were given more priority and importance.
Of course, they cannot be compared to the personal guards to the royals. But they held an important hierarchy among the servants.
Being closer to Eunbi and Empress Dowager, Yuju thinks herself very highly of herself and thinks that Lalisa is nothing but an Empress only in name.
She was just a mere military doctor's daughter who was enthroned to Jeongguk by the old Emperor.
In her view, she does not deserve to be an Empress. ONLY Eunbi could be the Empress.
As Yuju was not scared of Lalisa, she raised her brows in a proud manner and said, "Consort Lalisa, we were just talking among ourselves. There is no need for you to know about our affairs."
"If you don't have anything to do here, then please leave. Because we have so much work to do. We have to prepare for tonight's feast."
"If you can't help then please leave. Don't disturb our work. If something went wrong then we will be the one who will be held responsible." the young girl said with an arrogant face.
Lalisa raised her brows in amus.e.m.e.nt when she saw the young girl's arrogant attitude.
Since she came here, no servant has talked to her in this manner. Not even in Jin villa, where everyone dislikes her due to her behavior, but nobody behaved with her in this way.
She hated those people who forgot the difference between employee and employer or here we can say, master and servant.
It's not that she wanted to do everything she wants to do to them but she believes that there should be a certain sense of respect between each other.
But the girl in front of her does not seem to know the meaning of respect at all. She was not looking down on her but also speaking disrespectfully to her.
She was the Empress of the Jeong Dynasty and yet she dared to speak in this way. She never says anything to Minnie whenever she becomes too casual with her or scold her.
Because she knows that she cares for her and was not disrespecting her. But this girl was looking down at her and speaking like she was the owner of this kitchen.
Before Lalisa could say anything, Minnie came in front of her and placed her hands on her waist and asked angrily, "What kind of behavior is this? Is this the way you talk to Her Highness? How dare you ask her to leave? Don't forget that you're a mere servant."
"Is this how you treat your Master?" she scowled at her.
The young girl scoffed at Minnie and said, "Now who are you? Don't forget that you have no right to lecture me. You're a mere servant as well. "
"Moreover, my master is Consort Eunbi. I came with her in marriage to this palace. So only she has the right to order me and no one else." the girl said sternly.
Minnie's expressions fell when she heard Eunbi's words.
She wanted to say something but before she could speak, a cold and stern voice could be heard, "Oh really? Now even the Empress of Jeong Dynasty does not have the right to order you?"
Minnie turned around to see Lalisa whose expressions have turned darker as she looked at Yuju with a piercing gaze.
Seeing Lalisa's gaze, the girl's expressions faltered a bit but she remembered what Eunbi has told her last time.
She has told her that she is the future Empress Dowager and Lalisa is nothing but a showpiece who is adorned by the Empress Crown.
She has no power whatsoever. So she could not punish anyone if she wants to because there is Sandara who will not look down on Eunbi and her people.
Sandara trusts Eunbi blindly and thinks that her servants are all well mannered like her. So they can never disrespect anyone.
And even if they did and that person is Lalisa, then she would consider that something does not happen at all.
Moreover, previous Lalisa never let anyone know if something happens between them. Whatever, Yuju says, will be an argument between Lalisa and her only.
Even if Lalisa tried to punish her, but Sandara and Eunbi always stopped her saying that it's Eunbi's servant and she has no right to punish her.
In the end, Lalisa only becomes a joke among the servants and Eunbi's servants always look down at her. So Lalisa stopped arguing with her after some time.
And of course, everything happened whenever Jeongguk was not in the palace. No one dared to do anything in his presence.
In front of him, everyone becomes genuine and polite that no one can imagine that these servants and their masters could be so rude and arrogant.
They only dared to do something like this in his absence and will behave their best when he was in the palace.
Now since Lalisa was accusingly in an immoral relationship with a bodyguard and committed suicide because of it, her image among the servants has reduced so much and they don't consider her as the Empress anymore.