Mo Jiuye knew that Sixth Elder Brother had a fiery temper, and advised: "These ordinary commoners are not worth getting angry over, Sixth Elder Brother, don't get angry."
"Humph! This is truly a case of when the tiger falls in Pingyang it is bullied by dogs." Sixth Elder Brother felt more and more uncomfortable the more he thought about it, remembering what an impressive presence the Mo family used to have in the capital.
That dog emperor had no eye for talent, My Mo family's men shed blood on the battlefields to protect the great lands of Dashun, yet he was still unable to tolerate us.
Mo Jiuye could understand Sixth Elder Brother's feelings. He too had felt similarly indignant when they were first sentenced to exile.
There was no use in talking too much about these things, you could only slowly become accepting on your own.
"Sixth Elder Brother, we're almost home, don't let Mother see you in low spirits."
Sixth Elder Brother nodded: "I know."
Soon, the two carriages arrived at the front gate of their home.
The first to run out at the sound of hooves and take a look was Second Sister-in-Law.
With one glance she spotted Mo Jiuye sitting in the carriage at the front.
Second Sister-in-Law excitedly shouted loudly: "Ninth younger brother is back...Ninth younger brother is back..."
Her voice was louder than the other sisters-in-law to begin with. This loud shout made the whole family hear it clearly.
In an instant, some people ran over from the back yard, others came out from the kitchen. Mo Chuhan no longer needed to pretend to be Mo Jiuye inside the house. He rushed out in one leap.
Mo Jiuye had already gotten off his carriage and entered the yard first, everyone's gaze was focused on him, and they neglected Mo Jinnian behind him.
While Mo Jiuye was surrounded by family members, Mo Jinnian jumped off his carriage and squeezed into the crowd. The instant he saw Old Lady Mo he knelt on the ground, knocking his head: "Mother, your son is unfilial and made you worry."
The family's attention had originally all been on Mo Jiuye. With Mo Jinnian's kneeling, they were suddenly at a bit of a loss.
It was still Sixth Sister-in-Law who reacted the fastest. With one look she recognized her husband.
"Husband, is it really you?"
As Sixth Sister-in-Law spoke, she had already thrown herself into Mo Jinnian's arms, clinging tightly to his arm as tears streamed down her face.
The instant Mo Jinnian saw his wife, his heart was filled with complex emotions.
The two people he wronged the most over these years were his mother and his wife.
Seeing his wife now, she had gotten darker and thinner. She was dressed in ordinary commoner's clothes with no makeup on her face at all. Her whole being looked several years older.
No wonder, which young woman who loses her husband early can live well?
"Xue'er, it's been hard on you these years."
As Mo Jinnian spoke, he had already pulled his wife into his embrace. Husband and wife held each other tightly as they wept.
When Old Lady Mo saw her son, her body shook from the excitement.
"Jinnian, is it really you?"
Mo Jinnian held his wife as he crawled forward a few steps closer to Old Lady Mo and heavily knocked his head to the ground.
"Mother, it's your son, your unfilial son."
Old Lady Mo could no longer hold back the surging tide of tears. She went forward and pulled Mo Jinnian up.
"As long as you're alive, it's so good that Mother can see you again in this lifetime."
Inside the carriage, Fourth Elder Brother and Seventh Elder Brother heard the voices outside. Their hearts were anxious but their mobility was restricted so they couldn't immediately come out and reunite with the family.
Mo Xiuyan could only summon his full strength to shout loudly from inside the carriage: "Mother, Seventh younger brother and I are here too."
Fourth Sister-in-Law, who had been standing to the side watching Sixth Elder Brother and Sixth Sister-in-Law's reunion, was secretly extremely envious. She even thought for a moment that she was having auditory hallucinations when she suddenly heard this extremely familiar voice.
"Third Sister-in-Law, did you hear that voice too? It sounds a lot like my husband." Fourth Sister-in-Law asked Third Sister-in-Law as she pulled on her arm.
Of course Third Sister-in-Law heard this voice. She also felt it was a bit unreal, but she was much more rational than Fourth Sister-in-Law.
"Fourth younger Sister-in-Law, that voice does sound a bit like Fourth Elder Brother."
Mo Chuhan reacted the fastest. Hearing the voice his first reaction was to rush to the carriage and fling the door open. What he saw inside were two emaciated figures.
He was stunned in place.
At this time, Mo Jiuye also walked over.
"Eighth elder brother, my trip to the Southern Border this time yielded quite a bountiful harvest. I found three elder brothers, but Fourth and Seventh elder brother's physical condition isn't great."
Without Mo Jiuye needing to say, just looking at how skinny they were, barely making it home and unable to get out of the carriage, of course they weren't well.
"Fourth elder brother, Seventh elder brother, how did your bodies become so pitiful?"
When he himself had been saved by Ninth Younger Sister-in-Law, although he had become a bit thin and weak, that was because Nanrui had deliberately starved him. Other than that there was nothing seriously wrong with his body.
The current state of these two elder brothers could simply be described as miserable.
Fourth Elder Brother was even worse off than Seventh Elder Brother. Seventh Elder Brother could at least prop himself up with some effort when he saw Mo Chuhan come over. But Fourth Elder Brother showed no intention of moving at all.
"Fourth elder brother, Seventh elder brother, it's so good that you're alive." When Mo Chuhan spoke, his eyes glowed red as he struggled to keep the tears from falling.
At this time Old Lady Mo was also being supported by Mo Jinnian as they came to the front of the carriage. The others followed closely behind.
When Fourth Sister-in-Law and Seventh Sister-in-Law heard from Mo Jinnian that their husbands were still alive, the two were so agitated they could barely stand. Their sisters-in-law supported them as they came to the carriage.
Old Lady Mo walked at the front. She was the first to see her two sons who were skin and bones.
"Xiuyan, Yuanze, how did you become like this? How exactly did they torture you..."
As Old Lady Mo spoke, she simply couldn't go on. Both sons were born from ten months in her womb. To see them become like this now, how could she, as their mother, bear it?
Old Lady Mo wept bitterly. The women also cried. Especially Fourth Sister-in-Law and Seventh Sister-in-Law, upon seeing their husbands' miserable states their hearts were bleeding.
Since the Old Lady was in front, constrained by proper etiquette, the two did not step forward and could only stand on tiptoes to check on their husbands.
"Husband, is it really you?" Fourth Sister-in-Law barely managed to get out a complete sentence.
Hearing her voice, Old Lady Mo quickly made way for her daughters-in-law.
Fourth Sister-in-Law and Seventh Sister-in-Law hurriedly ran up.
Seeing their husbands up close made them choke up even more.
"Hus...husband...as long as you're alive that's good enough. I'm willing to serve you for a lifetime." What Seventh Sister-in-Law said was sincere. As long as someone was around, even if he couldn't move as freely as before, she was willing.
Moreover, now they were earning plenty of silver from making dolls with Ninth Younger Sister-in-Law. She had no issue providing for her husband.
The silver Fourth Sister-in-Law's maternal family gave her when she left the capital was still with her. She rarely was willing to part with a penny. But having taken one look at her husband, she immediately went to find He Zhiran.
When she got to He Zhiran, Fourth Sister-in-Law moved to kneel. He Zhiran reacted extremely quickly to stop her.
"Fourth Sister-in-Law, speak slowly if you have something to say. We sisters-in-law don't need to stand on ceremony."
Fourth Sister-in-Law choked up for a long time before taking out a money pouch from her bosom and handing it to her.
"Ninth Younger Sister, Fourth Sister-in-Law knows your medical skills are extraordinary. Use all of this silver to buy medicine, do everything you can to heal Fourth Elder Brother."
He Zhiran knew that aside from taking the initiative to cover some expenses while traveling, ever since leaving the capital Fourth Sister-in-Law had not been willing to part with the silver her maternal family gifted her for anything else.
