Eight years ago, when Mo Hanyue was only eight years old, her only impression of her father was that he was tall and dignified.
Seeing her father again now, she didn't recognize him at all.
However, the kinship from blood made her feel a strange sense of intimacy when she saw the old man in front of her.
The little girl was shy, and seeing Old Lady Mo crying uncontrollably, she held Old Lady Mo's hand as she stood there weeping.
Standing beside them, Mo Jiuye couldn't help shedding tears as he watched the scene.
In order to alleviate the atmosphere, he didn't hurry to carry his father to the room. Instead, he pushed Mo Hanyue forward a little.
He remembered that when Father was at home, what he liked best was Mo Hanyue, his only daughter. One could say he doted on her and pampered her.
Under the present circumstances, letting his sister recognize their father should be the best way to alleviate their grief.
Thinking of this, Mo Jiuye pulled Mo Hanyue over to stand in front of Mo Qing.
"Dad, look, Hanyue is a young lady now."
Sure enough, upon hearing Mo Jiuye's words, Mo Qing's attention quickly fell on Mo Hanyue.
The little girl in front of him had grown into a delicate beauty, with a pair of bright eyes exactly the same as when she was a child.
"Is this Hanyue? You've already become a young lady. Dad can't hold you anymore."
As he spoke, Mo Qing unconsciously glanced at his own legs which were still curled up.
Seeing her father's somewhat awkward manner, Mo Hanyue plucked up her courage and called out, "Daddy."
Hearing his precious daughter call him Daddy, Mo Qing's tears flowed uncontrolled once more.
Seeing her father in tears, Mo Hanyue also lost control. She took a few steps forward, maintaining the closest distance to Mo Qing, and tentatively reached out to touch him.
"Father... woo... Hanyue missed you so much... woo..."
Mo Qing braced himself and reached out to grasp his daughter's little hand.
"Don't cry, Hanyue. From now on, Dad will be with you."
When Mo Qing said this, Mo Hanyue cried even harder. Ever since she was little, she didn't have a father. Although her brothers loved and protected her, when she saw her little sisters mention how their father did this and that, she still felt a little sad sometimes.
Moreover, she had never forgotten how her father had doted on her. Seeing her father's decrepit state now, Mo Hanyue felt as if her heart was bleeding.
In her impression, her father had been tall and dignified. Meeting him again now, he had become someone she didn't dare to imagine.
What's more, seeing her father like this made her even more heartbroken.
Mo Hanyue moved forward again and hugged her father's outstretched arm tightly, crying grievously.
Mo Qing felt extremely distressed, and gently stroked her smooth hair with his other hand.
"Hanyue, be good. From now on, Dad will stay at home and be with our Hanyue."
At this moment, Mo Qing still didn't realize that his daughter had already grown up. Moreover, her wedding day was not far off.
In his heart, his Hanyue was still a soft, tender little girl who needed to be doted on.
On the way here, Mo Jiuye and the others had been asking about Father's physical condition. Even though they talked about things at home, they forgot to mention that Mo Hanyue was already betrothed.
Seeing the father and daughter crying so sorrowfully, Old Lady Mo was even more unable to hold back her tears, which fell like rain.
No matter what, their Mo family was finally reunited.
At this moment, Old Lady Mo was not sad but wept for joy. She had not lost her composure.
Seeing her husband and daughter crying so sadly, Old Lady Mo quickly called Mo Jiuye over.
"Jiuye, quickly carry your father back to the room and let him rest well. I will personally arrange for our Mo family to have a grand reunion banquet today to celebrate properly."
Mo Jiuye responded and carried his father into the main room.
As soon as he settled his father down, the whole family crowded in.
The scene before him moved Old Lady Mo, Mo Jiuye and the women of the family the most.
It had been eight years since Mo Qing was reported dead in battle, and the Mo sons had successively died in battle after that.
Until today, no one had imagined that their Mo family could have such a grand reunion.
Seeing this scene, some of the women still couldn't help shedding tears. Their husbands stood beside them to provide comfort.
Old Lady Mo wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said to Mo Qing,
"Dear husband, after eight long years, our Mo family is finally all here without a single one missing. Don't you have anything to say?"
After all, Old Lady Mo came from a prominent family, so she still couldn't completely disregard propriety at a time like this.
Mo Qing had been absent from the family for eight years and hadn't participated in so many things that happened during that time.
Now his old wife was asking him to speak, but he really didn't know where to start.
Thinking that it was all thanks to his ninth son and daughter-in-law that the family could reunite, his gaze fell on the young couple.
"I failed in my duty as the head of this family, and made you grieve for me.
This time, our Mo family is able to be together again, it's all thanks to Jiuye and his wife.
Don't let their young age deceive you. From my observations over the past few days, their bearing and wisdom are far above you elder brothers and sisters-in-law.
Now that I'm old and useless, I only want to keep Old Lady Mo company for the rest of my life, and have the fortune to spend my days doting on grandchildren if you give more to the Mo family.
From now on, this family will be led by Jiuye and his wife. Anyone who dares object will be punished according to family law."
As soon as Mo Qing finished speaking, Old Lady Mo couldn't help laughing.
"Dear husband, where did I say wrong?"
At this moment, Mo Qing felt a little uneasy. He had announced succession to the public before discussing it with his old wife.
"Dear husband said nothing wrong. I handed over the leadership of our Mo family to daughter-in-law long ago. Our Mo family is able to be like this today, it's all thanks to their support.
Of course, everyone has made contributions to the family, but our daughter-in-law is clever and capable, she is most suitable to manage the entire Mo family."
So that was how it was.
Mo Qing felt rather embarrassed.
He knew his ninth son and daughter-in-law had made outstanding contributions to the Mo family, and wanted to encourage them with this opportunity.
He didn't expect his old wife to have done it before him.
"In that case, including me, everyone in our Mo family will listen to Jiuye and his wife from now on."
No one had any objections to this, especially the elder brothers and sisters-in-law who were originally at home.
They had long witnessed the capabilities of the ninth brother and sister-in-law. Whoever dared disagree, they would be the first to beat him up.
"Father, Mother, don't worry. From now on, we'll all listen to ninth brother and ninth sister-in-law." Everyone responded in chorus.
Just as Old Lady Mo wanted to say something more to this harmonious big family, a series of footsteps were heard coming from outside the door.
Yu Er and Lan Er knew the Mo family was having a reunion today, and the family must have a lot to talk about.
In order to prevent any outsiders from disturbing them, the young sisters had been standing guard at the front gate.
