Mo Qing was somewhat confused about the situation at hand.
Just as he was puzzled, the other brothers outside the carriage also crowded in.
To say they crowded in was an understatement; the already small carriage had become packed to the point where no wind could pass through.
Mo Jiuye could understand his elder brothers' concern for their father, not wanting to drive anyone away.
But he worried that his wife would be squeezed, so he could only helplessly speak up.
"Elder brothers, you keep Father company. I'll take Ranran out for some fresh air."
After speaking, he also gave a signal to his eldest brother, indicating that he should make it clear to Father that he was Mo Jiuye.
At this moment, how could the eldest brother spare any thought for the youngest brother's hint? He quickly shifted his gaze to Father, carefully observing his condition.
Mo Jiuye took Ranran and got off the carriage, leaving a large empty space inside.
The brothers had already surrounded Mo Qing, clamoring for Father.
Mo Qing was still bewildered. How could that young man claim to be Jiuye? His youngest son was only 13 years old, how could he look like that?
And his eldest son, why did he appear much older and haggard?
Just as he was puzzled, Mo Jiacheng also called out to Father.
Mo Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at him. The feeling he got from his second son was the same as his eldest son, old and haggard.
Not only that, they were all wearing coarse linen clothes, completely different from the brocade and jade he imagined.
Looking at Mo Chongyuan and Mo Chuhan who had come closer, they were also wearing coarse linen clothes.
Mo Chongyuan was slightly better off. The last time he saw Father, he was already twenty years old, so he didn't have much change in appearance, except for looking more mature.
But Mo Chuhan was different. He was only two years older than Mo Jiuye and was only fifteen when he last saw Father.
In Mo Qing's eyes, it was still unbelievable.
The brothers kept calling out to Father. Although Mo Qing still had doubts in his heart, seeing tears swirling in their eyes, he could only put his thoughts aside.
He pointed at Mo Chuhan and asked Mo Junrui, "Junrui, he says he is Chuhan. What's going on?
And just now, there was a young man who claimed to be your ninth brother. He does bear some resemblance to you, but who is he?"
Upon hearing Father's question, Mo Junrui finally remembered what the ninth brother had said.
"Father, that really was Jiuye just now. You've been away from home for eight years, and at that time, the ninth brother was still young. It's understandable that you couldn't recognize him."
Mo Chuhan, seeing that his eldest brother was only explaining for the ninth brother, quickly stepped forward.
"Eldest brother, please tell Father that I really am Chuhan."
The eldest brother explained as told, "Father, eight years ago, you were ambushed on the battlefield by a person from the Southern Frontier named Mr. Si Meng. You were drugged and captured by the people from the Southern Frontier.
They even made it seem like you had died in battle and hung your head high on the city wall.
As a result, we all thought you were gone. Later on, one by one, we brothers took over your command.
Except for the ninth brother, all of us fell victim to Mr. Si Meng's schemes and were under his control for many years.
Fortunately, our younger brother Mo Jiuye and his sister Mo Jiumei were wise and persevered through countless hardships to rescue us.
In other words, it has been eight years since our last meeting. Back then, Chuhan and Jiuye were still young, but now they are both married and adults."
Mo Junrui gave a simple explanation to his father, without going into too much detail.
His main purpose was to make his father realize a fact: that they, father and son, haven't seen each other for a full eight years.
Although Mo Qing was physically weak, his mind was unaffected.
Although what Mo Junrui said was somewhat bewildering, he was trying hard to accept this reality.
However, there were still many things he couldn't comprehend.
"Who is this Mr. Si Meng you mentioned? Why does he want to persecute our Mo family? And why do you brothers dress like this now?"
Mo Qing asked a series of questions in a clear and organized manner.
Answering these questions would take a long time.
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran outside the carriage were getting anxious.
After all, Mo Qing had just regained consciousness, and He Zhiran hadn't had a chance to examine him yet.
If they were to talk about all these things, it would probably take until nightfall.
In that case, aside from whether they could help their father with a timely examination, his body would probably not be able to handle it either.
Taking these factors into consideration, Mo Jiuye said to the people inside the carriage:
"Brothers, Father has just woken up. Let Ruirui help him with an examination first."
Hearing that they needed to examine their father's body, which was more important than anything else, the brothers reluctantly left, even though they had a thousand words they wanted to say to their father.
Seeing each of his brothers reluctantly jumping off the carriage, Mo Jiuye carefully helped He Zhiran up.
The shocking things they had just heard forced Mo Qing's mind to work hard, and as a result, he looked a little more spirited than when he first woke up.
But his legs remained curled up, which made people feel sorry for him.
Mo Jiuye called out "Father" again and pushed He Zhiran in front of him.
"Father, this is He Zhiran, the daughter of the He family. I have already married her, do you remember? Our marriage was personally arranged by you."
Even though He Zhiran was heavy with child, she didn't forget the proper etiquette when meeting an elder for the first time.
The carriage roof was not high to begin with, and she had been sitting on a nearby seat with bent knees. At this moment, she was already kneeling in front of Mo Qing.
"Father-in-law, I greet you."
While Mo Jiuye was introducing He Zhiran, Mo Qing had been staring at the two of them.
She also noticed that He Zhiran was now pregnant and made an effort to raise her hand.
"Please rise, Daughter-in-law. I heard what your eldest brother said just now. You have done a lot for the Mo family, and I represent the whole family in expressing our gratitude."
Upon hearing his father say "please rise," Mo Jiuye quickly assisted He Zhiran back to her original position.
He Zhiran humbly replied, "Father-in-law, there's no need to be polite. It is my duty to do all this."
She and Mo Jiuye had kicked off their older brothers from the carriage to help Mo Qing with his physical examination, so He Zhiran had no intention of engaging in too much conversation with Mo Qing for the time being.
"Father, I have some medical skills. Since you just woke up, let me examine your condition first."
As she spoke, she already placed her hand on Mo Qing's pulse.
This pulse examination didn't take much time because He Zhiran just wanted to understand the situation after their adoptive father woke up.
She knew that Mo Jiuye and the older brothers outside the carriage were anxious to know the diagnosis results, so she intentionally raised her voice and said:
"Father's body is currently a bit weak, but there is no life-threatening danger. As long as he takes good care of himself in the future, he will definitely recover completely."
He Zhiran wasn't exaggerating. Perhaps it was because Mo Qing had been practicing martial arts for many years, his physical constitution was already much better than an ordinary person's.
