At midnight, Mu Zhongqing was awakened by a low growl of wild beasts. He rubbed his eyes, and suddenly a heartbreaking scream came from outside. Lady Du was also awakened, and the children woke up one after another. The screams from outside became louder and louder, and everyone was very nervous, thinking that a wild beast had come to eat humans. They all huddled in the carriage, silent, fearing it might attract the beasts.
The noise outside gradually subsided, and everything returned to silence, but they still didn’t dare to look or leave the carriage.
It was broad daylight, the sun was already high in the sky, and there was no sound outside.
Mu Zhongqing plucked up some courage and secretly pulled up the carriage curtain, only to see that there was no one outside. The Taoist priests who had kidnapped them, their carriages, everything was gone, only the horse pulling their carriage was tied to a tree, leisurely gnawing tree bark!
Overjoyed, Mu Zhongqing jumped down from the carriage and looked around, indeed no one was there. He then untied the horse from the tree, harnessed it to the carriage, and drove straight for the official road.
The whole family had a narrow escape, and they were all overjoyed. More surprisingly, as they reached the official road, they actually ran into their eldest daughter, Cai Wei.
Cai Wei had hired a horse carriage. She said that Auntie Liu back at home had injured her back and couldn’t move for a while, so she left Chun Liu to take care of her. Her master had some business to handle, so he didn’t come along with her.
As Cai Wei was worried about them, after handling the transfer of the Nursing Home and the restaurant, she hired a carriage and rushed over as fast as possible.
Mu Zhongqing and Lady Du were over the moon to see their daughter. When Cai Wei asked about Zhang Bo’s family, they lightly narrated their kidnapping ordeal. Cai Wei cursed those damn bandits and began to rejoice in their narrow escape from death.
Cai Wei also said, "As the saying goes, those who survive great danger are destined for good fortune. Our family has overcome such an ordeal, and I’m sure there will be great fortune waiting for us in the future!"
Lady Du also agreed repeatedly. After the family reunion, they all sat together in the same carriage. They sent back the carriage Cai Wei had hired, and with Mu Zhongqing driving, they cheerfully headed towards the city!
The place they were in now was Qing County, under the jurisdiction of Bianzhou Prefecture, just over a hundred miles from Bianzhou Prefecture. Two hundred miles to the west, beyond a large mountain, was the border of Liaodan Kingdom.
Being close to the border, once they entered the county town, they saw many people dressed in Liaodan style moving around the market. These Liaodan people were tall and mighty, with rough and wild looks. They wore thick fur robes, with their hair spread, braided into many thin braids, adorned with colorful beads.
Many of the buildings on the street were also different from those in Yushu County City, with a distinct exotic flavor. For instance, some of the shops didn’t have buildings, and directly set up their shops in tents.
Wen’er and Wu’er were captivated by these strange sights, and were curiously looking out of the carriage window. Cai Wei was glad that they could get over the shadow of being kidnapped so quickly and become interested in other things. She guided them to observe more and occasionally asked them a few questions.
As they passed by a lavish restaurant, Cai Wei asked her dad to stop, intending to go in and have a good meal to lift their spirits after the terrifying experience.
The whole family hadn’t been able to eat a proper meal since being kidnapped. After hearing Cai Wei’s suggestion, they all happily agreed.
The waiter saw that they had customers and welcomed them enthusiastically, inviting Cai Wei and her family inside.
Once inside, Cai Wei booked a window-side private room so they can dine while enjoying the view.
After the waiter ushered them into the private room, Cai Wei generously ordered many delicacies to celebrate the reunion of the family. They sat at the table, awaiting their meals while observing the street view of Qing County. It was a very pleasant moment. The shock they had endured in the past couple of days seemed to alleviate a lot.
In a short while, waiter brought their meal. As the family enjoyed the delicacies, while chatting casually and occasionally observing the street view, the atmosphere was warm and cozy.
After the meal, Cai Wei planned to find a quiet inn and take them to rest. During these few days, her parents and siblings mustn’t have eaten or slept well. Seeing their dark eye circles and haggard faces, her heart ached!
As she was thinking about this, suddenly there was a loud shouting from outside, "Shopkeeper, my master wants to host a feast here. Let your guests get out, we’ve rented this whole place!"
Cai Wei and her family were stunned, and a flustered waiter rushed in with a guilty face, "Apologies to the esteemed guests, a VIP client that cannot be offended has arrived and wants to rent out our place for a feast. Please, dine elsewhere. This meal, consider it on us!"