Chapter 294: Let Me Play Too

The two women had heard some gossip about the newcomer from Liu Fanglan, and now that they’d spotted the subject of their conversation, they got completely carried away.

After all, they didn’t have much to do all day. With a newcomer finally arriving in the family compound, how could they not fixate on her?

Not only was this newcomer beautiful, but the man she married was a hotshot in his group!

So, when they heard gossip about the new wife, they were, of course, especially eager to join in.

It was just that most people, upon discovering they were being gossiped about, would either run away in embarrassment or start hurling insults.

’Why isn’t this new wife’s reaction like that at all?’

Oh, she was walking toward them. She was right in front of them!

Staring at Shen Nian, who was now standing right before them, the two women who had just been pointing and whispering about her from afar were suddenly at a loss for words.

Normally, when they gossiped, they did it behind people’s backs. It was bad enough to be caught by the subject of their gossip, but now she had walked right up to them. ’Is she here to cause trouble for us?’

’But we didn’t start the rumors,’ they thought. ’We just heard them from someone else and added a few comments. Even if she wants to pick a fight, she shouldn’t be coming after us, right?’

"Hello, ladies. I’m Lu Cheng’s wife, and I just arrived today. You two seemed to be having such a great chat. What were you talking about? Can I join in?"

"..."

The two women stared at Shen Nian, dumbfounded. This was hardly the first time they had gossiped about someone, but it was the first time the subject of their gossip had come over and asked to join the conversation.

’Chat about what? Surely she doesn’t expect us to badmouth her to her face?’

"Um, we... we weren’t talking about anything."

"But I just saw you two having such a good time! Or is it because I’m new here, and you don’t want to include me?"

’Gossiping isn’t good, but ganging up to ostracize someone... that wouldn’t look good if people found out, either!’

The two women looked at each other in dismay. ’What are we supposed to do now?’

"Listen, we... we were just idly chatting."

"That’s fine! Then let me in on your chat!"

Shen Nian spotted a stool nearby. Without hesitating, she moved it over and sat down right across from the two women, fixing her gaze on them.

Even though all she did was move a stool and sit down, the act of sitting there and staring at them with such an intense gaze put an immense amount of pressure on the two women.

Never having faced such a confrontation, the two women immediately lost their nerve. They became even more timid when they saw the minister’s wife, who was behind Shen Nian, also walking toward them.

"We’re sorry! We didn’t mean to gossip about you. We just heard it from someone else—we weren’t the ones who started spreading it!"

"Oh!"

Shen Nian looked at the two and nodded. "Oh! So you *were* gossiping about me."

"..."

The two women stared at Shen Nian with wide eyes. ’Wait, didn’t she come over to make trouble for us because she heard us gossiping about her?’

’Why does it sound like she had no idea what we were just talking about?’

They were just about to scramble for an excuse to brush the whole thing aside, but before they could think of one, they heard Shen Nian speak again.

"I only just arrived today, and there’s already gossip spreading about me! So, ladies, why don’t you tell me? What kind of things have you been hearing?"