Han Ruochen frowned. But she was not surprised, after all; with Aunt Gossip's network, it shouldn't have taken so long for the news to reach Meng Yunhan. In fact, she was quite surprised that Meng Yunhan arrived so late.
When Grandma Han heard those ugly words, her face darkened. She turned and looked at her second daughter-in-law and said to her, "Take the kids inside. Don't let this woman's words dirty the ears of the children."
Second Aunt Han also nodded. At first, she thought that Han Ruochen was exaggerating the things that Meng Yunhan had done, but now that she had listened to the good things that Meng Yunhan was saying to her daughter, she was filled with sympathy for the poor girl. A mother like this, Han Ruochen, must have committed some really grave sins to have this woman as her mother.
She took the children inside the house, while Old Madam Han got to her feet and then walked out of the house. When Han Ruochen saw her grandmother heading out, she chuckled softly. Meng Yunhan might have come here thinking that she and her grandmother might still be in the same relationship as before; that was the reason why she came here so confidently, thinking that Han Ruochen would not dare to tell Old Madam Han anything and that with her staying cold and indifferent, Old Madam Han wouldn't step in their quarrel either.
Hah, if only Meng Yunhan knew!
Han Ruochen got to her feet and followed her grandmother out of the house; she, too, wanted to see Meng Yunhan getting her little comeuppance.
On the other side, Meng Yunhan was standing outside with her hands on her hips. She was staring at the door of her brother-in-law, and if not for the fact that her second sister-in-law was formidable, she would have rushed in and dragged Han Ruochen by her hair. When she thought about the peacock mantis shrimp that Han Ruochen had taken to her grandmother's home, Meng Yunhan felt like her heart was going to bleed.
That wretched girl. She really should have killed this daughter of hers when she was born; that way, she would have saved herself the heartbreak. She gave birth to her, but instead of listening to her, this woman just did her own thing; she was too much! How could a person be this unfilial? She should have brought these things straight home instead of dragging them all to her uncle's home.
However, it didn't matter. She didn't believe that with the relationship between Old Madan Han and Han Ruochen, she didn't believe that the two of them might have come to a common ground yet. Han Ruochen was too indifferent and cold; there was no way she would lower her head even if she came here for the sake of throwing a tantrum, and Old Madam Han had the same kind of temperament. How could she talk with Han Ruochen without lowering her head? So she could take advantage of the situation.
"You wretched girl, did you not hear—"
SLAP!
Old Madam Han stepped out of the house and raised her hand to slap Meng Yunhan on the face. She didn't hold back, sending Meng Yunhan stumbling back.
"Mo–mother?"
"That's right," Old Madam Han narrowed her eyes and stared at Meng Yunhan. Noticing the surprise in the eyes of the woman, she knew that Meng Yunhan was not prepared to see her coming to support Han Ruochen; what a joke. Only a heartless woman like Meng Yunhan would think that she would not care about her own grandchild. Even if Han Ruochen and her relationship were not good, she wouldn't let Meng Yunhan bully Han Ruochen in such a manner.
What a fool. Did she think that she could just come here and curse at my granddaughter in front of me? Old Madam Han was really angry. When she thought about how Meng Yunhan was daring enough to bully Han Ruochen like this in front of her, she wondered how Meng Yunhan bullied Han Ruochen when they were alone. Old Madam Han glanced at Han Ruochen, who was so thin that one could easily see her skinny and bony frame through her clothes, and then she turned to look at Han Ziyan.
One look at her plump figure, and Old Madam Han knew where her son's money was going. She was so angry that she swelled like a bullfrog. Stepping forward, she pointed at Meng Yunhan's nose and said to her, "Old Meng, I don't care what kind of troubled life you lived before you married my son, but don't you bring those bad habits to my Han family! You treat your late sister's daughter as a treasure, and we are not going to stop you, but if you dare to use my grandchildren to supplement your niece, then I will kick this niece of yours out! Don't forget that just because she is surnamed Han doesn't mean that she belongs to the Han family. We have done enough by letting her stay with our family."
Meng Yunhan flushed red in shame. She lowered her head, but she could see the neighbours pointing and talking about her and Hn Ziyan. Beside her, Han Ziyan was even more embarrassed. She came to look for Han Ruochen because she was greedy for the peacock mantis shrimp and the zebra shrimp that Han Ruochen had caught. Her father was having trouble with one of his clients; if they sent these good things to him, her father would have definitely remembered her mother and her.
Who would have thought that this old woman would still back Han Ruochen even though the woman had never shown any good face to her?
Her eyes turned red, and she raised her head to look at Han Ruochen before saying, "Sister, why are you not saying anything? Aren't we all one family? Why are you going against Mom in such a manner?"
Han Ruochen curled her lips and sneered when she heard Han Ziyan's hypocritical words. "When did I go against her? The peacock mantis shrimp was something that I caught. I am old enough to make my own decisions. Why should I bring the mantis shrimp back home when I won't even get a bite of it? Yesterday, father brought home an entire pound of pork belly, and it has been missing since this morning. I dare not bring those things back home!"