Han Ruochen did not care what happened between her parents. Because her father was right, she had taken care of Han Ziyan for years. Every time Han Ziyan had her monthly cycle, her mother would ask her to take care of her.

Not only would she ask her to buy brown sugar and good-quality goji berries with other nuts, but she would also ask Han Ruochen to wash Han Ziyan’s dirty clothes and even throw away her dirty pads. Back then, Han Ruochen did not think that there was anything wrong with it. After all, her mother used to say that this was how it was supposed to be. As the elder sister, she was supposed to take care of her younger sister, and that was how every elder sister took care of her younger sister.

Back then, Han Ruochen did not think that there was anything wrong. But only now did she realise that her mother was treating her as if she were a slave to Han Ziyan. Now that her father had stood up for her, Han Ruochen had no desire to stop him. If she refused her father’s goodwill, then it would be equivalent to slapping her father on the face. Anyway, compared to the humiliation that she had gone through in the past few years, this was still nothing!

To think that her mother spoke those grand words in front of her, saying that there was nothing wrong with washing the dirty clothes. But when it was her turn to wash Han Ruochen’s dirty clothes, she was making such a huge fuss. Wasn’t it because her mother found the entire thing disgusting? When it was her turn, her mother told her that there was nothing wrong with it. But when her mother was forced to do the same thing, she found it disgusting.

Was it not because she had double standards?

Han Ruochen thought about the things that she had done in the past and felt ashamed of her own past self. To think that she did something so foolish and even felt proud of it because she thought that she was a good sister.

Sighing, she shook her head. For some reason, even though she knew the truth, she still felt shaken.

"Sister?"

Han Ruochen snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Han Beijiang, who was looking at her nervously. Seeing his nervousness, she curved her lips into a smile and said to him, "Don’t worry. Sister is alright, just thinking about something."

She did not want to worry her brother. It was bad enough that she was troubled by the actions of her mother; why would she drag Han Beijiang with her? Anyway, he had suffered enough at the hands of their mother. There was no need for him to worry about these things anymore; in fact, it would be better for him to grow up without any worries.

Han Beijiang did not seem to believe her, but because he had grown sensible under the torment of his mother, he did not question his sister. Anyway, he had heard everything just now. From the looks of it, his sister was sick and his mother did not want to care for her. But when it was Sister Ziyan who was sick, his sister had to take care of her. Even if Han Beijiang was detached from worldly matters, he still felt that it was unfair, or maybe it was because he was close to Han Ruochen, so he did not like the fact that their mother was bullying his sister.

No matter what the reason was, Han Beijiang now had a grudge against his mother. A grudge so deep that it would make Meng Yunhan regret it throughout her life.

That night, dinner was a subdued event. Even when Han Jianyou returned home, he sensed that there was something wrong. He looked at his mother, whose face was as red as an apple and turned to look at his dad, who was sitting calmly at the head of the table. In the past, he would often hurry to curry favour with his mother and Han Ziyan because he was worried that his mother would hold back his fees.

But after learning that she would do it nonetheless, he did not care. Anyway, his father was the one who was paying for his school fees, and his mother no longer had the right to govern him.

But Han Jianyou forgot one thing: that his mother was as sane as a mad dog. Even if he did not speak to her, it did not mean that she would not target him. As soon as she saw Han Jianyou ignoring her, Meng Yunhan pulled a long face. She glared at the boy. It seemed like these days no one was taking her seriously. Even Han Jianyou dared to ignore her.

She curled his lips in a disdainful smile and said to Han Jianyou, "What’s the matter? Just a few days away from home, and you have forgotten how to be respectful to your parents? Why did you not greet me when you came back home?"

Han Jianyou was stunned. Greet? Why would he greet his mother, and that too in his own home? But before he could say anything, Han Yichen banged his hand on the table and sneered coldly, "Are you the queen dowager? Why should Jianyou greet you? Are you his mother or the queen of this country? Shall I ask him to kowtow as well?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He initially hoped that his family would be able to sit together and eat a decent meal harmoniously. However, his hopes of improving the relationship within the family were dashed because of Meng Yunhan’s attitude.

Han Ruochen’s lips twitched when she heard the words of her father but she did not say anything. She simply lowered her head and continued eating her meal. She had cooked the imperial lobster to perfection and had no intention of ruining this meal because of her mother!