Jiang Fuyue frowned.
Han Yunru lowered her gaze, concealing her emotions. However, the mother and daughter shared a tacit understanding, choosing silence instead of responding, as if they hadn’t heard anything at all.
Ignoring someone was more infuriating to the old lady than arguing.
She wanted to continue, but Jiang Fuyue simply walked upstairs, leaving her with a cold, indifferent back, while Han Yunru went into the kitchen and didn’t come out for a long time.
The old lady found herself alone in the empty living room, feeling an inexplicable irritation with no outlet for her frustration.
Just then, Jiang Da came in from the balcony, carrying a pot of green bamboo, planning to place it in the upstairs bedroom.
He thought his wife would like it.
“Eldest, stop right there.”
“Yes, Mom? What is it?” Jiang Da stopped.
“What’s that you’re holding?”
“Fortune bamboo,” he replied, having just carefully pruned it.
“It looks nice; put it in my room.”
Jiang Da: “?”
“What, you can’t bear to part with it?” Her face darkened. “You won’t give it to your own mother?”
“No, no… it’s not that…” Jiang Da quickly shook his head, realizing the misunderstanding. “Mom, you misunderstood, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Misunderstood? You’re already reluctant, I can see it on your face! You really are miles apart from your younger brother.”
She was referring to Jiang Teng.
“When I stayed at his place, he gave me everything—good food, clothes, and anything I wanted. But look at you, you can’t even bear to part with a pot of bamboo. What’s the use of all the sacrifices I made to raise you?!”
Though he was accustomed to her favoring the youngest, Jiang Da still felt a sting.
“Mom,” he said seriously, “this bamboo needs care and regular pruning. I didn’t mean to keep it from you; I was just worried it’d be inconvenient for you to maintain it. I planned to get a more suitable plant for your room.”
The old lady rarely saw her eldest son looking so solemn, his dark eyes clouded with emotions she couldn’t decipher.
His earlier words had made her old face burn with embarrassment, which quickly turned into anger.
Perhaps she was too used to Jiang Da’s compliance, so this sudden resistance not only made her extremely uncomfortable but also triggered a sense of unease—as though something was slipping out of her control.
So she chose a harsher approach, attempting to intimidate him: “Ha! You sure have a lot of reasons! But I want this plant—why not? If I can’t take care of it, then you do it! Jiang Da, don’t tell me you don’t have even this bit of patience for your own mother?”
Jiang Da’s hands gripped the rim of the pot tightly, his fingertips turning white.
After a long pause, under his mother’s domineering glare, he finally relented. “…I’ll bring it to your room.”
Only then did the old lady smile with satisfaction.
That night, silence enveloped everything.
Han Yunru washed away the day’s exhaustion, changed into clean pajamas, and stepped out of the bathroom.
Jiang Da, looking like a child caught doing something wrong, mustered his courage to approach her, his eyes evasive. “Mom said she wants that lucky bamboo, so I…”
“Mm.” Han Yunru interrupted him calmly, not even waiting for him to finish.
Jiang Da was taken aback. “?”
Han Yunru remained composed. “It’s late. Let’s sleep.”
That uneasy feeling crept up again. Jiang Da stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
Meanwhile, Han Yunru turned off her bedside lamp, laid down, closed her eyes, and seemed to drift into sleep.
Jiang Da hesitated for a moment before sliding into bed beside her. “Wife?”
Han Yunru didn’t respond.
The man knew she wasn’t asleep. “Do you remember when we first got married?”
Han Yunru opened her eyes. The dim, warm light cast a faint glow in her eyes, causing a subtle ripple.
Jiang Da’s heart leapt with hope, and he spoke faster. “I remember the day we got our marriage certificate—the sun was shining so brightly, and in the morning, magpies were chirping. We took our photo at a little roadside studio. The old photographer praised you for being photogenic and said I looked ugly. He joked that our marriage was like a flower stuck in a pile of manure.”
At the memory, a trace of nostalgia flickered across Han Yunru’s calm face.
Back then, they were undeniably poor, but their happiness was equally genuine.
Jiang Da continued, “After we got our certificate, I promised you that no matter what, I’d listen to you in everything. Whatever you asked me to do, I’d do it…”
But Madam Jiang had overheard that. That same night, while Jiang Da was washing up, she had slapped Han Yunru across the face.
The ripples in Han Yunru’s eyes quickly disappeared, replaced by stillness.
She turned away from him, facing the other side. “Why bring this up? Go to sleep.”
Jiang Da pressed his lips together, his gaze dimming.
….
In the middle of the night, a sudden loud crash echoed from downstairs.
Han Yunru woke up instantly. She threw off the covers and hurried downstairs to the old lady’s room.
Jiang Da, at some point, had also opened his eyes and quietly followed behind her…
In the guest room, the old lady had overturned a bedside table. The glass on it had fallen to the floor, shattering into countless pieces.
“Where is everyone?!” she screamed, her voice hoarse.
The door quickly opened, and Han Yunru stepped inside. “Mom, what happened?”
“So, you finally decided to show up?! Why not just sleep like the dead?!”
Han Yunru said nothing.
“Is your bed so warm and cozy? No wonder you’ve seduced my son into siding with you and drifting apart from his own mother! If I’d known you were such a cunning woman, I wouldn’t have let my compassion get the better of me and saved you back then!”
Under the light, the elderly woman hurled abuse, while Han Yunru stood calmly by the bed, silently listening, her gaze indifferent and composed.
Seeing her unperturbed demeanor, the elderly woman grew even angrier. “You think playing the silent martyr will fool me? Deep down, you must despise me, this old hag! Well, too bad—you despising me changes nothing! Jiang Da is my flesh and blood. Since you married him, you’re bound to serve me for the rest of your life—bringing me tea, taking care of me, even cleaning up after me!”
“Jiang Da may not have contacted me for years, but he’s too soft-hearted to disown me completely. So, listen carefully—if you still want to stay with my son, you’d better learn to behave. Do whatever I tell you to do!”
“And let me make it clear: in this house, I call the shots. Don’t think that acting all diligent and whispering sweet nothings in his ear will make Jiang Da take your side. Dream on!”
Han Yunru lowered her eyes and replied softly, “Mom, these words, I understand.”
“Hah, good. As long as you behave, you’ll have a place in the Jiang family. Otherwise, I’ll make Jiang Da divorce you! Now, stop dawdling and help me to the bathroom!”
Since Chun Ni had left, such nighttime scenes had occurred countless times.
The elderly lady would wake up five or six times a night. If Han Yunru didn’t arrive immediately, she would throw a tantrum, smashing things and shouting.
When Han Yunru did arrive, the woman would humiliate her with the harshest words before ordering her around like a servant.
Her tactics were endless and utterly demeaning.
Yet Han Yunru never complained, not even mentioning it to Jiang Da.
While the old lady was in the bathroom, Han Yunru cleaned up the shattered glass on the floor. First, she picked up the larger pieces by hand, then swept up the smaller shards with a broom, and finally wiped the floor with a damp cloth to ensure everything was spotless.
From inside the bathroom came the elderly lady’s commanding voice: “Come help me pull up my pants!”
Han Yunru quickened her pace, but suddenly—”Hiss…”
She frowned in pain, having accidentally cut her finger on the glass. Ignoring the injury, she immediately went to the bathroom.
From inside, the elderly woman’s voice continued: “Flush the toilet while you’re at it.”
“And use some cleaner to scrub it. I can’t stand the filth!”
“Do you even know how to clean? Bend lower! Lower! How can you clean properly like that?”
“So what if water splashes on your face? If you can’t handle even this, how are you fit to be the Jiang family’s eldest daughter-in-law?”
“What, do I disgust you? Why are you turning your head away?”
“…”
Jiang Da stood outside the door, watching and listening to everything.
He was paralyzed, as if struck by lightning, unable to move.
Images of Han Yunru’s slender figure standing still, silently enduring the barrage of cruel insults, flashed through his mind. He remembered her crouched over, carefully picking up shards of glass under the cold light, which cast no warmth on her frail back.
In that moment, Jiang Da’s heart clenched tightly, gripped by an invisible hand. The ache was unbearable, suffocating him.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and soon, a single drop fell to the floor.
Then another.
And another.
The burly man, hiding in the corner, wept like a lost child, tears and snot streaming down his face.
He finally realized where he had gone wrong.
His negligence had emboldened the old lady’s malice. His tolerance had allowed her to push boundaries.
And all of it had deeply wronged Ah Ru….
