"Isn’t it!" Cai Wei laughed extremely naturally, as if she really had searched dozens of inns.
Now, Lady Du could not keep her composure anymore, and twisting her fingers, she stuttered, "Could it be that you haven’t spotted your father in any of the dozens of inns you’ve searched?"
Cai Wei rolled her eyelids and looked at her mother helplessly, "Mother, I think you’re panicking. Think about it, Dad must be running out of money and would stay at cheap and quiet inns. How could he afford to stay in these expensive ones?"
Lady Du laughed upon hearing this, "That’s true, look at me forgetting everything out of haste. Come, let’s eat first and then go look for your father after the meal."
Cai Wei obediently walked over, sat at the table, and had dinner with everyone. After the meal, Zhang Bo prepared the horse carriage, bringing the whole family to the entrance of the county government office to wait for any news.
Lady Du believed that since her husband came to the county town for Mu Liankui and others, he would definitely go to the government office to appeal. So, as long as they waited at the entrance of the office, they would be able to see him.
Cai Wei did not want to waste precious time on waiting without hope. She knew where her father was, but couldn’t disclose it out openly. So she found some beggars on the road and rewarded each with twenty copper coins, asking them to look for him, particularly at the inns and feather shops around the county town. Whoever found him would be rewarded with one ounce of silver.
The beggars were happy with the reward and hearing about the bounty of one ounce of silver, they ran off joyously to find her father, fearing that if they were slow, someone else might get there first, and they would miss out on the huge reward!
Lady Du also agreed with her daughter’s method, as having more people look would increase the odds of finding her husband.
Zhang Bo parked the carriage not far from the county office. Following the young miss’s orders, he bought items like a charcoal basin and soup from Grandma Tang, storing them in the carriage. With these, the carriage was instantly much warmer!
Time passed bit by bit, the sun slowly rose to the south. Mother and the others were still waiting in the carriage. Lady Du leaned on the carriage window, constantly sticking her neck out to look, maintaining the same position for a long time, her eyes tired and sore.
Cai Wei tried to persuade her several times, "Mother, draw your head back, you might get cold."
But Lady Du didn’t move at all, as obstinate as a stone.
Helpless, Cai Wei had no choice but to move the charcoal basin closer to her mother, and waited with her...
After a long time, they suddenly heard a commotion from outside. Cai Wei, with her sharp hearing, detected the unusual noise and quickly moved to the window to look outside with her mother.
From afar, they saw a group of beggars, supporting a tall and thin man, coming towards them.
As the crowd got closer, Lady Du realized that the man being helped by the beggars was none other than the man she had been thinking about day and night—her husband, Mu Zhongqing!
Zhongqing seemed thinner and darker, his appearance haggard, his clothes worn and shabby. It was clear, he had suffered great hardships during his time away!
In the midst of this, Mu Zhongqing was helped before the carriage, where a voice announced, "Madam, Miss, we’ve found him...."
Upon seeing the weeping woman’s face in the window of the carriage, he felt a sudden surge of emotion, his eyes welling up.
"Husband..." Lady Du sobbed, unable to speak any further.....
Upon seeing Mu Zhongqing, Wen’er and Wu’er jumped out of the carriage and dashed towards their father, clamoring to be held.
Fei’er, being somewhat more composed than them, stood silently by, biting her lip, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at her haggard father, her eyes filled with deep pain and longing.