Once the bathroom door closed, Jian Ruonan, Wang Defa, and Commandery Princess Jiarou practicedly pressed their ears against it.
"All I hear is water. I can't make anything out." Commandery Princess Jiarou gnawed on her fingernail, her face alight with gossip. "Fifth Miss, they aren't going to do that, are they? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Three consecutive "huhs" expressed her immense astonishment.
All three stepsons were in there!!
And Madam Chen was all alone. Oh my, she dared not imagine it. She dared not!
Jian Ruonan calmly pulled a stethoscope from her pocket and pressed it against the door, signaling with her eyes: Be patient. Don't panic.
"What's that?" Commandery Princess Jiarou asked. "It looks so fancy. Give me one."
As she spoke, she practicedly reached into her pocket for banknotes.
"This is a stethoscope," Jian Ruonan said. "Rental only, not for sale. One thousand taels buys you a year of use."
Commandery Princess Jiarou declared lavishly, "I'll take five years!"
Jian Ruonan promptly removed the stethoscope and put it in Commandery Princess Jiarou's ears.
Wang Defa understood how the stethoscope worked at a glance. "Jia Rou, that's not worth it."
He could make one with bamboo tubes, although it would work a little less well.
"Oho," Jian Ruonan said. "You're not even married yet, and you already want to control how our Jia Rou spends her money!"
Commandery Princess Jiarou's gaze dimmed a little.
Wang Defa said, "...Give me one too. For a year."
"Coming right up," Jian Ruonan said.
Who would have thought she could make money while enjoying the gossip? She had made an absolute killing this time.
Wang Defa: Fifth Miss even makes money off her own people while enjoying gossip. What a huge loss.
Dantai Mo: Who's one of your own people?!
Wang Defa: *...*
After