In the afternoon, Zhou Yunmei had steamed the pigeon she bought from the village, which was now cooling on the table, ready to be served to Fang Pingying and her. But as soon as Luo Cuilan walked in and saw the pigeon on the table, she picked it up and bit into it without hesitation. She hadn’t even managed to grab chopsticks and directly grabbed the pigeon with her hands. Since the pigeon was just taken out of the pot, it was still scaldingly hot. Luo Cuilan kept shouting that it was hot, but couldn’t bear to let go and continued to take several bites greedily. By the time everyone else realized what was happening, more than half of the pigeon had already been eaten by her. When Zhou Yunmei came to her senses, she truly felt distressed. She walked over, slapped her, and forcefully took the pigeon from her hands, furiously scolding, "What, does the Zhang family not feed you, that you rush back and eat like a starving ghost reincarnated?" Looking reluctantly at the pigeon Zhou Yunmei had snatched from her, Luo Cuilan complained irritably, "Mom, what are you doing? I just ate a couple bites of pigeon from your house, and you hit me for that?" Zhou Yunmei glanced at her, "This pigeon is not for you to eat. If you want some, let the Zhang family buy it for you." Upon hearing this, Luo Cuilan immediately realized that the pigeon was bought by Zhou Yunmei for Fang Pingying. She didn’t know that Fang Xiu was also pregnant, and disdainfully pursed her lips at Fang Pingying alone, "Oh, just because someone’s pregnant, does it need such attention? When I was pregnant before, I never saw you caring for me." Zhou Yunmei did not spare her feelings at all, directly responding, "How can it be the same? Your sister-in-law and sister are carrying the Luo family’s flesh and blood. You are bearing the Zhang family’s child; why should I bother so much with you?" When Luo Cuilan heard that Fang Xiu was also pregnant, she was surprised and her eyes widened, "What, Fang Xiu is pregnant too?" "Exactly, just got confirmed at the clinic today." Zhou Yunmei recalled this happily and couldn’t help smiling, "You also think it’s coincidental, huh?" Luo Cuilan, hearing this, made a very sarcastic comment, "How extremely coincidental indeed. Couldn’t conceive before, but got diagnosed just by going to the hospital." "What’s so coincidental about that, Zhiming and I have been married for so long, getting pregnant is normal," said Fang Xiu, feeling a bit guilty as if Luo Cuilan suspected something. Luo Cuilan seemed to sense Fang Xiu’s lack of confidence, frowned, looked at her several times and finally said with suspicion, "Fang Xiu, you didn’t bribe the doctor or something to lie for you, did you?" "You..." Fang Xiu’s face turned from pale to red, and red to pale, finally throwing out a sentence that could crush Luo Cuilan, "Even if it’s a lie, it wouldn’t be like someone who actually had an abortion yet wrongfully blamed me. It’s a good thing someone saw it, otherwise I would be carrying such a huge blame alone." "You..." Luo Cuilan was so angry she could not speak, her face turning bright red. Fang Xiu, pleased with herself, taunted her with a pout, "What now? You’ve eaten my pigeon, you owe me a pigeon." Luo Cuilan spat out an insult, "Keep dreaming, who do you think you are?" Seeing this, Fang Xiu raised her eyebrows and smiled, then deliberately rubbed her belly and walked over to Zhou Yunmei, pitifully saying, "Mom, I’ll not eat the pigeon, let my sister have it. After all, the child in my belly isn’t that important, it will probably just end up malnourished and difficult to deliver." Everyone in the family knew that Fang Xiu and Luo Cuilan were equally strong-headed, so they let them argue without interfering, each attending to their own tasks, preparing for dinner. In the past, Zhou Yunmei would definitely have sided with Luo Cuilan against Fang Xiu, but now that Fang Xiu was pregnant, Zhou Yunmei did not want to confront her and didn’t plan to intervene, letting them argue—it was harmless noise. Hearing Fang Xiu speak such an inauspicious remark, Zhou Yunmei glared at her and said softly, "Don’t talk nonsense. What difficulty could there be in childbirth? I’ll buy you another pigeon tomorrow." Then, Zhou Yunmei glanced at Luo Cuilan standing aside, and said somewhat impatiently, "Cuilan, why did you rush back here? Is the Zhang family really that idle during the New Year?" It would cost several dollars to buy another pigeon. Zhou Yunmei felt it a waste, and her tone couldn’t help but carry some blame towards Luo Cuilan. As soon as Luo Cuilan entered, the family wasn’t very enthusiastic towards her. Remembering her days at the Zhang family, where they often treated her as an outsider, she already felt aggrieved. Then being squeezed by Fang Xiu, and now hearing Zhou Yunmei’s tone treating her like an outsider, as if coming back home was a mistake, made her feel even more distressed. She pouted, her voice carrying a hint of sob as she called out to Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, you..." "Stop that, just tell me why you came back," Zhou Yunmei interrupted, sounding a bit impatient, "Is it about that banquet?" Luo Cuilan took a breath, held back her tears, and nodded, "Yes, did dad mention it to you?" Zhou Yunmei looked at her, "Just inviting family relatives?" Zhou Yunmei gave her a look, frowning deeply, "Which relatives are we talking about? Just our own household, or does it include your uncle and aunt too?" Luo Cuilan glanced around at the family members, clearly finding it hard to explain. After a while, she tried to sound casual, "Jianguo’s parents said just the two families to avoid trouble. It’s New Year anyway, no time to arrange big things." "Do you really feel the same?" Zhou Yunmei, visibly upset, threw the spatula she was holding onto the stove, and confronted her, "Just a meal and then you quietly marry into their family?" "There’s nothing I can do. I don’t have money, and my maternal family can’t provide any support, not to mention no one stands up for me," Luo Cuilan spoke, her tone laced with grievance, as if her maternal family had really mistreated her, "Now many people in Zhang Village are gossiping about the Luo family, saying having parents or brothers is as good as having none. Nobody helps me stand up to them; I just have to tolerate the Zhang family’s bullying." "Luo Cuilan, you’ve fallen to this state, how could you still have the face to come back and say these things to us? If I were you, I’d be too ashamed even to return home, I would have just let the Zhang family bully me. Didn’t our family offer to stand up for you before? It was you who refused," Zhou Yunmei, infuriated by Luo Cuilan’s self-pitying tone, pointed at her and rebuked harshly, "Still unmarried yet had miscarriages twice, moved into their house before getting married, all the while insisting that we don’t interfere. Now they don’t even consider you, unwilling to even hold a proper banquet yet you still cling to the idea of marrying into their family. You’ve embarrassed yourself to this extent; what help do you expect us to give? Should we embarrass ourselves alongside you?" (To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support means the world to us. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)