Chapter 105

Chapter 105

The three women arrived at the palace gate by carriage.

As soon as they stepped down, a young attendant approached, bowing and greeting them, "Greetings to Madam Song and the two ladies. The Imperial Consort has arranged a soft sedan to escort you to the East Palace. Please follow me."

Shanhu, who had just descended from another carriage behind them, stepped forward and handed the attendant a small pouch, smiling, "Thank you, sir, for your trouble."

The attendant didn't refuse, accepted it with a bow, and said to Madam Zhuang, "Thank you for the reward, Madam Song."

Shanhu and the other servants couldn't enter the palace, so they had to wait at the gate. Madam Zhuang, along with Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin, took the soft sedan to the East Palace.

The East Palace, located to the east of the Qianqing Palace, was comparable in size to several smaller palaces, including the Ming Study Hall and the Yuting Palace.

It was a three-courtyard palace, consisting of the outer, central, and inner courtyards.

The outer courtyard was where Crown Prince Li Xing and his officials held meetings with their advisors. In the central courtyard, Empress Song Shi Yu received them.

Song Shi Yu also had the distinctive phoenix eyes unique to the Song family, an oval face, a straight nose, and petal-like lips, making her appearance striking and dignified.

However, due to her phoenix eyes, she carried an inherent aura of authority.

But this aura of authority vanished the moment she saw her family.

She hurriedly rose to greet them, wiping away her tears and choking back sobs, "Mother..."

Madam Zhuang didn't respond but knelt down to perform the formal kowtow according to the rules.

Before her knees even bent halfway, Song Shi Yu quickly helped her up, saying, "Mother, no need for such formalities."

She then looked at Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin behind her and smiled, "You two, no need for formalities."

Jiang Chun immediately straightened up and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Zhong Wenjin echoed, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Song Shi Yu's eyes flickered for a moment, but she said nothing. Instead, she supported Madam Zhuang's arm and led her to the first grand chair below the imperial throne.

Turning to Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin, she smiled again, "You may sit as well."

Jiang Chun smiled once more, "Thank you for the seat, Your Highness."

Zhong Wenjin echoed again, "Thank you for the seat, Your Highness."

Madam Zhuang’s lips twitched.

I told you to behave properly once we entered the palace, but I didn't mean for you to act like wooden puppets, so stiff and lifeless.

Song Shi Yu covered her mouth with her handkerchief and chuckled softly, "Elder Sister-in-Law’s personality is indeed... lively."

Jiang Chun twitched at the corner of her mouth.

What a terrible title?!

She immediately grinned and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness! My name is Jiang Chun, you may call me Chunniang. My mother usually calls me that."

Madam Zhuang: "..."

I didn’t, I’m not, don’t make things up.

I only refrain from using her full name when speaking of her to others, to avoid any misunderstanding that I have any issues with my daughter-in-law, hence I call her 'Chunniang.'

But in her presence, I never called her that.

Song Shiyu glanced at Jiang Chun’s beaming face and then at his mother’s expression, and with a smile, he corrected himself: “Chunniang.”

Jiang Chun was immediately pleased.

She even nudged Zhong Wenjin beside her with her elbow.

Zhong Wenjin hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, my surname is Zhong and my given name is Wenjin. You can just call me Wenjin.”

Song Shiyu nodded at her: “Wenjin.”

Then he turned to the maid standing beside him and said, “Pearl, go fetch the gift I prepared for Second Madam.”

The gift for Jiang Chun had already been sent to the Song residence via Lady Liu.

One of the head ornaments is now adorning Jiang Chun’s head.

After the gift was brought over, she explained to Zhong Wenjin with a good temper: “Wenjin, you and Second Brother returned late, and I’ve been quite busy lately, so the gift was delayed until now. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Zhong Wenjin isn’t petty; even if the eldest sister-in-law has something she doesn’t, she wouldn’t feel jealous or let it cause a rift between them.

Such a wonderful person as the eldest sister-in-law, she wishes her to have more good things.

She quickly stood up to express her gratitude: “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generous gift. Your Majesty jests, there’s no rule that says one must give a gift upon meeting, and not giving one would be against the law. Even if Your Majesty hadn’t given me anything, I wouldn’t have thought ill of it.”

After receiving the gift, she reciprocated by taking out a small porcelain bottle from her waist pouch and presenting it to Song Shiyu with both hands.

"This is a miraculous worm-expelling medicine I obtained from a highly skilled foreign traveling doctor. The Empress, Crown Prince, and the young prince should each take two tablets, to be taken all together upon waking in the morning."

Fearing that Song Shiyu wouldn't believe her, she added, "Everyone in our family, including the elderly matriarch, has taken it. Rest assured, Your Highness."

Zhou Shi was terrified of dying, but upon hearing that this was a miraculous worm-expelling medicine from a foreign country and that even her niece Li, along with all the Song family members, had taken it, she hesitated for a few days before finally taking it.

Song Shiyu looked up at her mother, Madame Zhuang.

Madame Zhuang was quite surprised. She hadn't expected that Rui’s wife would give such a medicine to her daughter's family.

Rui’s wife had kept it a tight secret and hadn’t revealed anything, surprising her.

While it was a good thing, and she hoped that her daughter's family could eliminate the parasites in their stomachs, her daughter was the Crown Princess, her son-in-law was the Crown Prince, and her grandson was the Heir Apparent. Their identities were extremely noble, and if anything went wrong after taking the medicine with an unknown origin, the Song family couldn’t bear the responsibility.

However, since Rui’s wife had already brought the medicine and spoken, she could only nod and say, "We've all taken it, and no one felt unwell afterward. Still, given your noble family's status, caution is advisable."

She neither said they should take it nor that they shouldn't. She left it to her daughter and the Crown Prince to discuss and decide privately.

Song Shiyu understood and had Pearl take the medicine bottle over.

Then she smiled at Zhong Wenjin and said, "Thanks to you, Jinniang, we were able to get this foreign worm-expelling medicine."

Zhong Wenjin quickly replied, "You flatter me, Your Highness."

Pearl, with the medicine bottle, withdrew and returned a moment later to whisper something to Song Shiyu.

Song Shiyu glanced at Zhong Wenjin sidelong.

This second sister-in-law appears dazed and dull, but unexpectedly, she’s quite adept at social niceties.

Pearl said there were eight pieces of the miraculous insect-expelling medicine in the bottle, and their family of three only needed six. The remaining two pieces were clearly meant for them to test the medicine.

For herself, it didn’t matter so much, but without testing the medicine on someone, she would never dare to let the Crown Prince and the Little Crown Prince eat this so-called miraculous insect-expelling medicine.

And finding someone to test the medicine would result in wastage.

Losing half a piece or a whole piece of medicine, even if it was eventually found to be non-toxic, might not leave enough.

This was indeed quite troubling.

Now, with these two extra pieces of medicine, she had no more concerns.

Song Shi Yu didn’t say anything outwardly but kept this matter in mind.

Then she began to talk with Madame Zhuang about the Song family’s affairs.

Jiang Chun wasn’t interested in hearing information she already knew. She picked up a piece of jujube paste and yam cake that Pearl had brought over and popped it into her mouth, closing her eyes in delight.

Delicious! So delicious!

After quickly finishing one piece, she picked up another piece and put it into her mouth.

She didn’t forget to give Zhong Wenjin a meaningful look.

Zhong Wenjin caught her sister-in-law’s meaning and immediately picked up a piece, putting it into her mouth.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and a look of enjoyment appeared on her face as she nodded vigorously at Jiang Chun.

True to form, the eldest sister-in-law; the recommended snack was incredibly delicious.

They took turns eating one piece after another, and in no time, the plate of eight pieces of snacks was completely finished.

Jiang Chun wiped her hands with a handkerchief, still feeling unsatisfied.

Thinking that this was her elder sister-in-law’s place and her elder sister-in-law wasn’t an outsider, there was no need to be overly formal, so she spoke to Pearl, “This jujube paste and yam cake is delicious, and I haven’t had enough. Could you please bring another tray?”

Madame Zhuang heard this and looked over. She immediately spotted the empty white porcelain dish and couldn’t help but support her forehead in exasperation.

Are you two bottomless pits?

It hadn’t even been an hour since they had breakfast, and yet their stomachs still had room for snacks.

Not only did they finish one plate, but they also had the audacity to ask for a second.

Even pigs aren’t as greedy as you!

“Being able to eat is a fortunate trait. I’d like to eat more, but my stomach can’t handle it,” Song Shi Yu said with a nonchalant smile and told Pearl, “Have someone bring another plate of jujube paste and yam cake from the imperial kitchen.”

Since the East Palace wasn’t far from the imperial kitchen, the jujube paste and yam cake were brought over after a quarter of an hour.

Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin finished off this plate together, finally satisfying their appetites.

Jiang Chun picked up her covered teacup, took a sip, and said contentedly to Zhong Wenjin, “The jujube paste and yam cake made by the imperial chefs are much better than those made by our chefs at home. Second sister-in-law, let’s come back to eat again next time.”

Zhong Wenjin nodded and calculated, "Hmm, next time we can ask for a plate of jujube paste yam cake, and another plate of different pastries, like mung bean cake or water chestnut cake, so we don't get tired of eating only jujube paste yam cake."

Jiang Chun gave her a thumbs-up, "Second Sister-in-Law, great idea, let's do it."

Madame Zhuang: "..."

Song Shi Yu: "..."

Song Shi Yu, a noble lady from a prestigious family, had never met anyone quite like her. It was amusing, but also quite interesting.

However, she also knew that a person with such a personality, if placed in aristocratic circles, would be out of place and would certainly be ridiculed.

If it were someone else, after being ridiculed, they would most likely fall into self-pity.

But Jiang Chun was different. She would immediately jump up and give the person who mocked her a thorough beating, making them too embarrassed to stay in the same room and slink away.

It really was a method to overwhelm all with strength.

Of course, this method only suited someone like Jiang Chun, who was naturally extremely strong. If it were any other noble lady, it would become a joke of pulled hair and yanked headdresses.

Smiling, Song Shi Yu said to her two sisters-in-law, "Since we rarely come to the palace, don't just listen to us talk about dull family affairs. I'll have Zhenzhu take you to the Imperial Garden for a stroll.

Although it's mid-winter and the plants in the Imperial Garden are barren, the red plum blossoms in the plum garden are blooming now and are worth a visit."

Jiang Chun blinked her eyes.

The Imperial Garden, a common setting for dramatic events in novels about court nobles. Whenever the main character appeared there, something significant usually happened.

The original narrative was no exception.

In the original story, Zhong Wenjin and the original protagonist were led to the Imperial Garden by Zhenzhu, where they encountered Crown Princess Jin and her companion, Miss Qiu the Second.

Miss Qiu was a delicate and weak little flower, who only cried behind people's backs. Naturally, she wouldn't say anything to Zhong Wenjin in person.

But Crown Princess Jin, who loved her gentle and harmless companion, jumped out to pick a fight with Zhong Wenjin.

She ridiculed Zhong Wenjin and found a pretext to make her kneel for an hour.

It was November, after all, and the temperature outside was extremely low. If Zhong Wenjin had to kneel on the cold stone floor for an hour, she might catch a cold or even suffer permanent damage to her knees.

Zhong Wenjin was aware of this, so she had no choice but to step up and engage in a verbal battle with Crown Princess Jin, even invoking the Crown Prince, her brother-in-law, to intimidate her, which finally helped her escape the ordeal.

During this time, the original protagonist, remaining indifferent and uninvolved, stood by and watched without making an effort to plead for Zhong Wenjin.

Such cold indifference allowed Zhong Wenjin to see through the original protagonist's character completely, and from then on, she avoided her, unwilling to develop a deeper relationship.

Jiang Chun was different.

Knowing the plot, she was ready to act, waiting for Crown Princess Jin to confront them so she could enact a touching scene of "bravely saving her sister-in-law."

Sure enough, shortly after they arrived at the plum garden, they heard voices nearby.

A moment later, Crown Princess Jin and Qiu Luoning appeared in sight, accompanied by a dozen eunuchs, maids, and nannies.

Jiang Chun inwardly clicked her tongue, unsurprised.

Upon seeing them, Crown Princess Jin furrowed her brow.

Pearl, as the attendant of Crown Prince’s Consort Song Shi Yu, had a unique position in the East Palace, so it was only natural that Princess Jincheng recognized her.

Therefore, she directly asked, “Pearl, who are these two ladies?”

Pearl curtsied and replied with a smile, “They are Madam Song and Second Lady Lu from the Song family of Osmanthus Lane.”

It was well known that there was only one family named Song in Osmanthus Lane, which was the Crown Prince’s Consort’s family.

After finishing, she turned to introduce Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin, “This is Princess Jincheng.”

Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin had been taught court etiquette by Madame Zhuang for two days, so they naturally knew to perform a formal bow when meeting a princess.

The two immediately bowed and knelt on one knee, saying in unison, “We pay our respects to Princess.”

Princess Jincheng glanced at Second Miss Qiu.

Second Miss Qiu’s eyes immediately welled up, and she bit her lip tightly, looking as if she was about to cry.

Princess Jincheng was instantly distressed and angrily said, “I had someone inform Li Fuzi, the head eunuch of the Imperial Garden, early in the morning that after my breakfast, I would come to enjoy the plum blossoms. No one is allowed to disturb me.

How dare you disobey my orders and come to the plum garden before me, as if you have no respect for me.

Someone, give each of them twenty slaps!”

Jiang Chun: “???”

Hey, Princess Jincheng, aren’t you sticking to the original plot? I thought it was just a kneeling punishment, why did it turn into slapping?

As soon as Princess Jincheng finished speaking, two strong matrons responded from behind and rushed toward Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin.

Just as Jiang Chun was about to pull Zhong Wenjin behind her, she pulled up her skirt and dashed behind Jiang Chun to hide.

Jiang Chun found this amusing.

Princess Jincheng was furious, “You dare to laugh! Give each of them forty slaps!”

Jiang Chun: “……”

Laughing actually doubled the punishment.

The two matrons quickly approached.

Since Zhong Wenjin was hiding behind Jiang Chun, they exchanged a glance and decided to deal with Madam Song’s forty slaps first.

They raised their hands together…

Jiang Chun also raised her hands…

“Jiang Chun, where are you? Have some courage and don’t hide, come out and face me!”

At this moment, a stern shout came from not far away.

The two matrons were puzzled and involuntarily slowed down their hand movements.

Jiang Chun was startled.

What’s the situation?

One trouble after another?

This is my first time in the palace. I don’t think I’ve offended anyone here, have I?

The person soon appeared in sight, a young lady dressed in luxurious attire.

She rushed to the edge of the plum garden with an angry expression, her gaze coldly sweeping over Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin before demanding, "Which one of you is Jiang Chun?"

Jiang Chun: "..."

She can’t even tell who I am, and yet she’s here to cause trouble?

Thinking of this, a realization suddenly dawned on her.

Could this be County Princess Fu Ning?

Other than her, who else would dare yell in the palace and hate me so much?

Jiang Chun certainly couldn’t let Zhong Wenjin take the blame for her, so she bravely stepped forward.

Just as she was about to confess her identity, Princess Jincheng frowned. "Cousin, what are you yelling for? Can't you see I'm busy here?"

Fu Ning County Princess bowed slightly and greeted her, "Cousin," then said bluntly, "Cousin, are you here to enjoy the plum blossoms? Go ahead with your business, and I’ll settle my own matters. We won’t disturb each other."

Princess Jincheng replied coldly, "I was indeed here to enjoy the plum blossoms, but these two from the Song family have insulted me. I need to deal with them first before I can enjoy the flowers."

Fu Ning County Princess sneered, "Cousin, what a coincidence. These people snatched my jujube paste and yam cake.

Compared to being insulted, I think having my jujube paste and yam cake snatched is far worse, so I need to deal with them first."

Princess Jincheng was both amused and angry. "A few worthless jujube paste and yam cakes, are they more important than my dignity?

Cousin, have you caught a cold and are delirious from fever? Otherwise, how could you say something so ridiculous?"

Infuriated, County Princess Fu Ning gritted her teeth and retorted, "What do you mean by ‘worthless jujube paste and yam cakes’? I specifically ordered the imperial kitchen to make them for Consort De. She's still waiting.

Whose face is more important, Consort De's or yours?"

Princess Jincheng, of course, couldn’t claim her face was more important, as Consort De was her stepmother and held the highest rank among the imperial consorts.

She said coldly, "Are you trying to fool a fool? It’s well-known in the palace that Consort De dislikes sweets.

Are you showing filial piety or deliberately trying to disgust her?"

Fu Ning County Princess argued, "Consort De indeed dislikes sweets, but she’s been having no appetite lately, so I thought of having the imperial kitchen make some easily digestible jujube paste and yam cake for her to try."

She then glared fiercely at Jiang Chun. "Who would have thought that this country bumpkin, this mountain-born pig butcher, would snatch them away! How outrageous!"

Zhong Wenjin peeked out from behind Jiang Chun and said weakly, "Actually, it wasn’t just Sister-in-law who ate the jujube paste and yam cake. I had half of it too."

Jiang Chun couldn’t help but laugh.

Her second sister-in-law was being too honest.

But was this really about who ate the cakes? Clearly, County Princess Fu Ning was targeting her, and the jujube paste and yam cake were just an excuse.

Even without the cakes, she would have found some other pretext to start a fight, just like Princess Jincheng did.

It’s called enemies meeting and sparks flying.

Although this ‘enemy’ was only acknowledged on her side.

Indeed, Princess Fortunes glared at Zhong Wenjin and said irritably, "Shut up, you have no right to speak here!"

Zhong Wenjin shrank her neck and hid behind Jiang Chun again.

Princess Jincheng said icily, "Consort De has been losing her appetite for some time. You didn’t ask the imperial kitchen to make the jujube paste and yam cake earlier, nor did you do it later. But on the day they entered the palace, you decided to have it made. Is this really a coincidence?"

Who do you think you’re fooling?

Fortunes Princess replied sarcastically, "Dear cousin, you spend your days in the palace. You didn’t come to the plum garden earlier, nor did you come later. But on the day they entered the palace, you decided to come and enjoy the plum blossoms. Is this really a coincidence?"

These parroted words immediately infuriated Princess Jincheng. She raised her eyebrows and glared coldly at Princess Fortunes, saying, "What do you mean by that?"

Princess Fortunes shrugged and said lightly, "I mean exactly what you mean."

The tension was thick, and a confrontation seemed imminent.

Princess Jincheng was the daughter of the late emperor’s concubine, Consort Rong, who came from a noble family and still enjoyed some favor with the late emperor.

Princess Fortunes, on the other hand, was the daughter of the late emperor’s younger sister, the Princess of Chengyang. This was not particularly significant, as the late emperor had many younger sisters, and he only maintained a facade of affection towards them.

However, the Princess of Chengyang was also the elder sister of the Princess of Xiangyang, who, after her mother’s death, was sent to the Kunning Palace to be raised by Empress Xiaoxian.

The late emperor was especially close to the Princess of Xiangyang, treating her differently from his other half-sisters.

Princess Fortunes owed her arrogant behavior in the palace and her fearlessness towards Princess Jincheng to her aunt, the Princess of Xiangyang.

Truth be told, their status and positions were quite evenly matched, which was why their clashes were so evenly contested.

Jiang Chun watched with great interest, wishing she could cheer them on, encouraging them to tear into each other even more fiercely.

And what’s watching a drama without some sunflower seeds?

She took out a handful of spiced sunflower seeds from her pouch, sharing half with Zhong Wenjin, and began cracking them open with a "snap snap" sound.

Princess Jincheng sneered and said, "Don’t think you're the smartest. I can see through your twisted schemes.

While Eldest Miss Cheng might be blinded as the one involved, I, as an outsider, see everything clearly.

You’d better behave, or don’t blame me for being rude and shouting it out to the entire Imperial City."

Princess Fortunes was initially taken aback, but upon realizing the implications, her face turned pale.

A moment later, her expression turned malicious, wishing she could slice Princess Jincheng to pieces with her eyes.

Her face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, as if a palette had been splashed across it.

Jiang Chun thought to herself, "Oh ho."

Did Princess Jincheng actually know what Princess Fortunes was thinking?

Seeing her being manipulated by Second Miss Qiu, like a puppet on strings, Jiang Chun had assumed she was a fool.

But no, she turned out to be quite sharp.

Of course, Princess Fortunes wouldn’t admit it. She smiled coldly without a shred of guilt, "I don’t understand what my dear sister is saying. What twisted schemes are you talking about? You can’t just randomly accuse people without evidence!"

Princess Jincheng smiled and said meaningfully, "Of course, I don’t have evidence. But with matters like these, whether there’s evidence or not isn’t important. What matters is whether Eldest Miss Cheng will believe my revelation.

And," she added slowly, looking at Jiang Chun, "whether Lady Song will believe it."

Only after finishing did Jiang Chun notice the anomaly.

Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin were actually leisurely cracking sunflower seeds and watching the drama—specifically, the drama of herself and the foolish Funing County Lady!

Furious, she lashed out at the two nannies standing nearby, shouting, "Why are you two still standing there like idiots? Slap them for me right now!"

"Impossible!" said Funing County Lady sternly, her voice cold. "Cousin, I intend to bring them to Consort De to confess our wrongdoings. Consort De is kind-hearted. If your people seriously injure them, and Consort De sees their injuries, she might go speak with Consort Rong."

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Jiang Chun humiliated—she would love for Jiang Chun to be beaten up, causing the Crown Prince’s Consort to clash with Consort Rong over avenging her sister-in-law, allowing her to reap the benefits.

But if Princess Jincheng acted before her, what face would she have left? How could she continue to move freely in and out of the palace?

Even if she reported to her aunt, her aunt would only find her useless and a disgrace.

Princess Jincheng sneered. "Don’t worry, cousin. After my people finish slapping them, you can still take them to Consort De to confess. If Consort De asks about the injuries on their mouths, just say they tripped and hurt their mouths."

Funing County Lady laughed at this, amused. "Cousin, your lying skills are worse than a child’s. You might fool Consort Rong, but Consort De isn’t that gullible."

"How dare you insult my mother, Zhou Nan!" Princess Jincheng flew into a rage. Knowing the palace attendants wouldn’t dare touch a royal relative, she rolled up her sleeves and decided to teach Funing County Lady a lesson herself.

Seeing this, Funing County Lady also rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight back.

Princess Jincheng rushed to Funing County Lady and slapped her across the face.

Funing County Lady grabbed her wrist, turning the tables, and swiftly slapped Princess Jincheng back.

Princess Jincheng, having been both slapped and insulted, exploded with rage and yanked hard at Funing County Lady’s hair.

Funing County Lady cried out in pain, her scalp hurting from the pull.

She reacted quickly, letting go of Princess Jincheng’s wrist and using both hands to grab her hair, pulling wildly.

Princess Jincheng screamed in response.

While screaming, she used her other hand to pull at Funing County Lady’s hair.

Watching this, Jiang Chun dropped the sunflower seed shells from her hand, scattering them all over the floor.

Good heavens, was this ancient royal fight more thrilling than any staged drama?

Wasn’t this a hundred times better than those fake fight scenes on stage?

And really, what was the difference between this and the fierce fights among the women in Daliushu Village?

Was the world just a giant microcosm of Daliushu Village?

She turned to look at Zhong Wenjin.

Zhong Wenjin’s mouth was wide open in surprise, as if it could fit an egg inside.

Jiang Chun couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, Funing County Lady was kicked in the knee by Princess Jincheng and, her legs giving out, fell to the ground.

The Princess Jincheng, with her hair pulled by both hands, couldn't avoid it and ended up sprawling on the ground, her body heavily landing on Princess Fortunes.

Princess Fortunes let out a scream of pain and immediately let go of one hand, slapping Princess Jincheng across the face.

After receiving a second slap, Princess Jincheng was enraged and let go of one hand to slap Princess Fortunes.

Princess Fortunes quickly raised her hand to block.

The two of them grappled on the ground, fighting fiercely.

Jiang Chun, thoroughly entertained by the spectacle, couldn't help but speak up with a reminder, "Fighting like this is no good! You'll leave too many traces, and there will be plenty of evidence when they settle scores later.

Aim for spots that will hurt but aren’t easily visible to others, such as the soft flesh around the waist and the inner thighs. Pinch them hard enough, and they’ll scream in pain."

The two, now fully engrossed, listened. One slipped her hand into the other’s padded coat to pinch the soft flesh on her waist, while the other lifted the skirt to pinch the inner thigh’s soft flesh.

Both immediately screamed in pain.

Jiang Chun muffled her laughter, concealing her role in the chaos.

Zhong Wenjin, suppressing her laughter, gave her repeated thumbs up.

"Sister-in-law, you’re amazing! It’s like you’re afraid the world won’t be chaotic enough. The onlookers are truly lucky to have you!"