Chapter 339

Extra: Ferocious Neighbor Song Fifty-Eight

The stranger woman's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough.

At that moment, upon hearing the woman speak, Xiuzhu and the others burst out laughing.

The sarcasm was obvious; after all, Xiuzhu had spoken, but she hadn't really wanted to know who she was! Anyway, she was just a down-and-out woman—who would even notice her?!

Moreover, seeing her like that, constantly shouting for Yin Fengxuan, Xiuzhu and the others mocked her for overreaching. And upon seeing the woman's impoverished appearance, the women laughed, and then Yuan'er, standing behind Xiuzhu, stepped forward and deliberately looked the woman up and down, saying:

"Yo~, it's Miss Han! That's quite a discourtesy to not greet you properly, but may I ask what business Miss Han has with our Prince?"

Saying this, Yuan'er turned her head at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky, affecting a tone as she continued:

"Ah, these days, there are always some people who just can't see their own status…… tsk tsk, really……"

After that, Yuan'er said nothing more, but gave a quick glance and smiled at the stranger woman. At that moment, having been humiliated by Yuan'er, the woman couldn't help but purse her lips; tears immediately began to well up in her eyes, a pitiful sight that even other women felt a twinge of sympathy for.

What a pity—what sort of people are Xiuzhu and the others? Back in the Gong Wangfu's rear courtyard, they schemed against each other, competing in acting skills. So now, whether this Miss Han is feigning pity or truly pitiable, Xiuzhu and the others would not sympathize in the slightest!

"In broad daylight, you, a big girl, run to someone else's door and blurt out that you're looking for their man—do you think everyone's an idiot?"

"You claim you have no other business—could that be true?"

"And you put on a pitiful little act… I scoff!"

"With these tricks, we old ladies have been bored of them for eight hundred years already—okay?!"

"So seeing Miss Han put on a Lin Daiyu–like act, the women rolled their eyes inwardly."

The women's attitude was clear. Seeing this, the Miss Han's tears immediately fell, but she stubbornly lifted her hand, wiped her face with her sleeve, bit her lip, and said:

"Ladies, it's understandable that you don't know me, but I am an old acquaintance of your Prince Consort, so I hope you'll make allowances……"

The woman's voice remained soft, yet just loud enough for the women to hear. Upon hearing this, they burst out laughing again, and Yuan'er then thought of stepping forward to mock her a couple more times, then considered simply driving her away!

"But just then, as Yuan'er was about to step forward, Meixiang, standing at the back, grabbed her."

Meixiang's looks weren't striking, but she had managed to keep her footing in the Gong Wangfu thanks to her sharp mind. Of course, before Jin Jingwen she had little role, but in terms of intellect, among the women of the rear courtyard she was something of a Zhuge Liang figure.

So, being pulled by Meixiang, Yuan'er stumbled, turned her head, and saw Meixiang slightly furrowing her brows, then gesturing with her hand to her and the nearby sisters.

Seeing this, Yuan'er and the others grew more puzzled, yet they drew near. At that moment, Meixiang deliberately lowered her voice to the women gathering around and said:

"Sisters, don't you find this woman a bit strange?"

Meixiang's voice sounded mysterious. Hearing this, the women froze, then shook their heads in confusion. Meixiang then added:

"She says her surname is Han!"

After she spoke, Meixiang lifted her gaze, glanced at the sisters around her, and with a solemn expression explained:

"Sisters, do you still remember that our Prince once had a beloved, who later married the emperor… Of course, back then he wasn't yet the emperor, but Prince Chen, do you recall this?"

Meixiang's words were somewhat roundabout, and the timing is a bit vague, but mentioning Yin Fengzhan makes it clear: even a three-year-old in the market knows that Yin Fengzhan ascended the throne over three years ago, so before he was emperor—that is, three years ago…

Among the four women present besides Meixiang, Yuan'er and another woman had entered the manor only over two years ago, so they weren't clear on it. But Xiuzhu was an old-timer. Thus, upon hearing Meixiang's remark, Xiuzhu first froze, then said outright:

"Oh, I recall—Meixiang sister is talking about that concubine from the Chen Wangfu… What was her surname again? Hmm…"

……

Actually, Xiuzhu and the others aren't very clear about those past events; they just occasionally heard Yin Fengxuan mention something about a sister-in-law concubine, vague talk.

Of course, Yin Fengxuan wouldn't say anything special, but even that was enough to make the point.

After all, the speaker means nothing, the listener means something. Especially for a man, if he often mentions another woman in conversation, even without saying anything outright, the meaning differs! Thus, Yin Fengxuan himself thought it nothing, but in the eyes of the women in the Gong Wangfu rear courtyard, that so‑called sister‑in‑law concubine of the Chen Wangfu was the true vermilion mole in his heart!

At the time, all the women in the Wangfu rear courtyard knew this full well, but nobody would actually say it out loud, so as the years passed, things changed… Thus, if Meixiang hadn't brought it up again, Xiuzhu and the others would really have forgotten this matter!

Even if they remembered, it wasn't very clear. Now seeing Xiuzhu recall it, Meixiang didn't beat around the bush and went straight on:

"Surname Han!"

Meixiang said it quite definitively. Upon hearing this, the women froze, then suddenly realized.

"……Meixiang sister, do you mean that this woman might be related to that former concubine of the Chen Wangfu…"

Xiuzhu was a bit stunned. Hearing this, Meixiang nodded.

"The specifics aren't clear yet, but I feel this woman has some background. Besides, you just heard her say her surname is Han, and the former Chen Wangfu concubine also bore the surname Han, and she claims to know our Prince—what a coincidence!"

Saying this, Meixiang lifted her head and glanced at the distant stranger woman.

Women who could maintain their place in the Gong Wangfu rear courtyard are naturally not fools. Now, after Meixiang's remark, the matter suddenly becomes intriguing.

So thinking this, Xiuzhu couldn't help but frown, then whispered to her companions nearby:

"If this woman really is related to that Han‑surnamed concubine, this could get a bit… After all, you know, back then our Prince—well, we won't go into how he was, but at that time he wasn't even married yet! But now? The Princess Consort is sitting inside. If this Han woman causes a stir and the Princess Consort finds out…"

"Exactly, Xiuzhu sister makes sense! Now that the Prince and Princess Consort's relations have improved a bit, if we stir up any trouble now… Besides, what's the Princess Consort like? She won't tolerate a speck of sand in her eye! So if she learns of this, who knows… tsk! What bad luck!"

The women were dead set on following Princess Consort Jin Jingwen. So when this came up, they naturally wanted to help. But the person is already here, on the street—if a fuss really broke out, it would only make things worse!

Thus, for a moment the women were worried. Finally they all asked Meixiang to think of a solution.

If this were the past, given Meixiang's nature, she would absolutely not get involved, but now it concerns her own long‑term interests for the second half of her life, so she didn't refuse, twitched her brows slightly, glanced again at the Han woman, then pulled the nearby women over and whispered a plan.

Besides the women, nobody knew what Meixiang had said. But once she finished speaking, the women instantly burst into laughter, and then Yuan'er stepped forward again to the Han woman and said:

"Miss Han, I'm really sorry, today our Prince isn't in the manor… Actually, it's fine if he's not here, our Princess Consort is present. Let me tell you, our Princess Consort is a top‑notch good person, so if you truly have business, just go see her!"

"Yes, our Princess Consort is fine, so Miss Han, go see her… As for us, hehe, sorry, it's nearly the year's end, the Princess Consort said the outside is lively, so she let us sisters go out for a stroll, thus it's getting late and we won't chat with Miss Han any longer~!"

Saying this, the women clambered onto the carriage in a rush; as soon as the carriage left this street, Meixiang had the driver turn down another lane. The five women hurriedly jumped off, then slipped like a wisp of smoke from the rear gate of the Gong Wangfu, taking a shortcut to Yingxiu Yuan to report to Jin Jingwen.

……

At that moment, Jin Jingwen, who was in the room tallying accounts, saw the five women who had just left the door come back again, looking flustered, and she too was momentarily stunned. Before Jin Jingwen could collect herself, Xiuzhu and the others had already reached her side, each vying to recount what had just happened at the gate.

"This chapter is yesterday's installment! Another all‑night……"