Han Yichen didn't dare to refute his mother. He lowered his head and allowed Old Madam Han to hit him a few times. In the end, Han Yichen was her son, and he was also unlucky to marry someone like Meng Yunhan. After hitting him a few times, Old Madam Han let him go. She simply commanded imperiously, "The next time I hear that woman cause trouble for Ruochen, I will make you divorce her!"
Old Madam Han didn't want to intervene in the matters of her married son. Han Yichen was too old for it, but she couldn't turn a blind eye to the sufferings of her grandchildren either.
"I understand, Mom." Han Yichen didn't lose his temper with his mother and bowed his head. He glanced at Han Ruochen, who smiled at him, but there was a hint of heartache in her smile, which made Han Yichen feel sorry for his daughter; he heard all about the heartless words that Meng Yunhan had said to Han Ruochen.
His daughter was, fortunately, a strong-hearted woman and didn't take those words to heart. If it were someone else, they would have certainly been heartbroken. He softened his voice and said to Han Ruochen, "Ah Chen, don't take your mother's words to heart. She… she is just a yellow-haired woman and doesn't know better. You know that the death of her sister hit her hard… thats why she…" Even to himself, the explanation sounded weak to Han Yichen. But he didn't want Han Ruochen to hold a grudge against her mother.
The two of them were mother and daughter; in the end, there was no overnight feud between family members.
"I understand, Dad." Han Ruochen lowered her head and agreed with her father. She knew that her father wanted the harmony of the family to be maintained, and that was why he kept asking her not to take the words of her mother to heart.
More importantly, she couldn't fight with Meng Yunhan or criticise her straightforwardly.
Though filial piety was not as important as it was in the eighties or the seventies, it still had some value. If the villagers caught her quarrelling with Meng Yunhan, then they might end up calling her unfilial; that would be another hit to her reputation, and Han Ruochen didn't want that.
She held her tongue and agreed with her father, which not only made Han Yichen feel sorry for her but even the villagers around started to feel sorry for her; such a sensible girl, and yet Meng Yunhan didn't feel sorry for her. Even if she was close to her late sister, Han Ruochen was also her daughter. How could she be so heartless to the piece of flesh that fell out of her own womb?
When Han Ruochen saw that her goal had been accomplished, she turned around on her feet and then headed back inside the small house that belonged to her grandmother.
Old Madam Han also followed suit after sending away Han Yichen. Normally, she would have asked her son to come inside with them, but at that moment, she was way too furious to care about her eldest son.
"Honestly, is she always like this at home?" Old Madam Han asked Han Ruochen as soon as she closed the door of the house.
Han Ruochen simply smiled at her grandmother and said to her, "Mom, must have been hit hard when her sister died and left only Ziyan behind. I do not blame her for taking her anger out on me… it's just that I wish she would care a bit more about Beijiang and Jianyou. The two of them are still young and cannot understand many things."
After she finished speaking, Han Ruochen lowered her head, and she wiped her eyes as if she were crying. She had learnt quite a lot of tricks while being locked up in the Yang family.
Speaking of the Yang family, she wondered how Yang Jianming was at the moment.
**
"Mom!" Yang Jianming cried out loud when he saw his mother rushing into the police station. After staying a night and a day at the police station, Yang Jianming no longer looked like a refined scum. His chin had turned rugged, and there were eye bags under his eyes. Because there was no mosquito coil in the cell, he was bitten by mosquitoes all night, and there was also a small mouse hole in the cell, which caused him to be troubled throughout the night, with mice nibbling on his fingers and the shell of his ears.
Yang Jianming was bullied so badly that he wished he could turn back time and slap himself awake. Why did he cause trouble for Han Ruochen? Wasn't it good enough to marry Han Ruochen and continue his affair with Han Ziyan? That way, he could have had the best of both worlds! Why did he scheme against Han Ruochen?
He must have been possessed by the devil!
"My son!" Mother Yang rushed toward the cell and cupped Yang Jianming's face with her hands. She looked at his troubled expression and felt even sorrier for her son. "You... you foolish boy, why did you land yourself in this trouble? Do you even know what kind of trouble you have caused? Your father and grandfather – both of them have lost their reputation!"
The grandson of a retired soldier and teacher actually schemed against a woman. The rumour was enough to ruin their family.
Mother Yang couldn't even stop these rumours from spreading around because they were already spread all over the village. Their reputation was gone and Grandpa Yang was so angry that he fainted after listening to the good things that his grandson had done on the spot!
Now he was admitted to the hospital and her husband was also angry with her. In his eyes, it was all her fault that Yang Jianming was spoiled to this point. They had arranged a good marriage for him. Han Ruochen was both filial and hardworking; her father also had a good business. But Yang Jianming didn't want such a good girl. He instead went for that adopted daughter who was living under someone else's roof. How could she be any good if she went after the fiancé of her own sister?