Chapter 13: A Distant Couple

Chapter 13: A Distant Couple

After sending someone to the West Mountains to fetch her eldest son, Lady Wang sat in the room reviewing the accounts.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. "Madam, the Second Master has entered the gates!"

Hearing this, her eyebrows arched. "Entered the gates? Wasn't he supposed to return the day after tomorrow?"

Her husband, who had been away for several months, was returning, and it wasn't that she was unhappy.

Especially since she had secured a high-status marriage for her eldest daughter and arranged an unexpectedly excellent match for her second daughter!

This was precisely the time to show off to him, to give him a great shock, and to make him admire her immensely.

However, her expression and tone made it seem as though her husband's early return was merely an interruption to her.

"Has he already entered?" she asked through the door, remaining seated.

"He has!"

"Is the Eldest Master home?"

"The Eldest Master hasn't returned yet!"

Only then did she rise and look into the mirror.

She tidied her hair and changed her clothes. After some thought, she applied a bit of lip rouge. Looking herself over from all angles, she was satisfied.

Before she could go out to greet him, there was a flurry of footsteps outside.

"Master!" Qiu Hong called out as she pulled back the curtain.

A man entered the room with a slight bow.

He was of medium build with handsome, clean features; his dark, piercing eyes made his entire face appear very vivid.

However, it seemed he hadn't trimmed his beard in a long time, and it was a bit unruly.

His outer cloak was also wrinkled.

Perhaps due to the long journey, his face bore the marks of wind and frost, and he appeared quite exhausted.

Upon seeing him, Lady Wang spoke in a flat tone, "Why are you back today? Weren't you supposed to be back the day after tomorrow?"

Her disdain was obvious.

Mo Ruhai had long since emotionally detached from his wife in his heart, so he did not care about her tone.

He replied just as plainly, "Before the end of the year, the official wanted to submit some documents, so I started heading back a couple of days early. The journey was smooth."

He took off his outer cloak, but Lady Wang did not reach out to take it. Qiu Hong hurried to take it and hang it up.

Qiu Xiang poured hot water into a copper basin.

After wiping his face with a hot towel and washing his hands, he went into the inner room to change into his home clothes and shoes.

Once finished, he came out and sat down, and Qiu Hong served tea.

He remained silent for a while, drinking a cup of hot tea until his body felt less stiff. He turned to ask Lady Wang, "Is everyone at home well?"

"Everyone is fine," Lady Wang replied perfunctorily.

Her husband's indifference made Lady Wang very angry, but she didn't know what to do about it.

"Father!" Mo Wen entered with a beaming smile. "You've had a hard journey, Father." She had always followed an elegant and upright path, and these past two days, she had added an extra layer of grace to her demeanor.

Mo Ruhai looked seriously at his eldest daughter. Having not seen her for several months, she seemed to have blossomed into a young lady overnight!

She was beautiful and poised; he couldn't help but smile until his eyes curved, calling out softly, "Wenwen!"

Mo Wen sat down beside Lady Wang. Looking at her mother's expression, it seemed she hadn't had the chance to discuss her own affairs yet.

Once Father found out, he would surely be shocked!

Finally, there was someone else to share her joy with, and her face flushed red.

At that moment, another set of light, quick footsteps came from the doorway.

"Daddy!" The curtain was lifted, and Mo Yi burst in.

Unlike her usual quiet and reserved self, her eyes were now sparkling, and she wore a wide smile that revealed a row of white teeth.

"Daddy, you're back!"

Mo Ruhai immediately broke into a wide, toothy grin as well. "Yi Yi... Daddy is back." There was obvious excitement in his voice, quite different from when he saw Mo Wen.

"Daddy, you've worked so hard!" Mo Yi rushed over and hurriedly performed her salutations.

Her eyes never left her father, and she didn't even bother to greet Lady Wang. "Was the journey smooth? Did your official business go well? Is the food to your liking? You didn't suffer from any local ailments, did you?"

"...Silly girl, so many questions all at once. Which one should Daddy answer first?" Mo Ruhai chuckled as he looked her up and down. "It looks like Yi Yi has grown taller! And even more beautiful!"

One could tell from his voice that his face was filled with certainty and doting affection.

"I've grown more than half an inch! But Daddy looks thinner; are you too tired? Did you not get used to the food there?" Mo Yi asked worriedly.

Mo Ruhai lightly stroked his beard, squinting his eyes as he enjoyed his daughter's concern. Before he could speak, Lady Wang grew displeased.

An outstanding eldest son, a radiant eldest daughter, a lively younger daughter, a clever younger son... if her husband saw them, he wouldn't have this kind of expression!

He was only gentle and kind to this wilted thing!

She couldn't help but scold sharply, "Mo Yi! Slow down when you walk and talk! You're so flustered, you don't act like a young lady at all! Look at your elder sister! How many times have I told you to change this habit?"

"Yes, Mother," Mo Yi quickly wiped the smile from her face and stood obediently.

However, Mo Ruhai immediately became unhappy. "She is just a young girl who hasn't seen her father for months. She is joyful in her heart, so she is a bit eager. Isn't that normal? You're going to lecture her about that too?!"

*Huh?!*

Lady Wang found it hard to believe. What was wrong with this man?

Was he here just to pick a fight with me the moment he stepped through the door?

"Did I say something wrong? How old is she? Why is she always so impetuous?" Lady Wang pointed at Mo Yi. In truth, Mo Yi had been dressed neatly these past few days, but that was only from her own perspective.

Lady Wang couldn't help but be critical: "Look at what she's wearing while running out like that! It's as if I'm a stepmother who doesn't make clothes for her and treats her poorly!"

She was quite assertive.

But Mo Ruhai was equally assertive. "I think Yi Yi looks just fine! Wenwen has one style, and Yi Yi has another. Both are good! My daughters are both good!"

"You! You're picking a fight with me the moment you enter the house?" Lady Wang was too shocked.

What had he been doing?

Had he gone up a mountain to hunt tigers?

Mo Wen shot a glare at Mo Yi and quickly intervened to mediate. "Mother! All of us siblings were born by you and Father. We are all very good! Father has just arrived, and I have a mountain of questions to ask him as well!"

"Wenwen is right!" Mo Ruhai nodded in agreement.

Seeing her eldest daughter step in to mediate, Lady Wang couldn't keep shouting, but she was still unconvinced. "Hmph! You don't know, but that girl Mo Yi is always stirring up trouble. Just the other day, because of a few pots of narcissus, she had her Third Aunt complaining for ages!"

Mo Ruhai, however, wore a mocking expression. "Does Lady Liu not complain to everyone? Does she not complain about everything? Are you going to criticize your own daughter because of her?"

"..." Lady Wang grew even angrier. "Setting Lady Liu aside, I'd like to know why you've started picking a fight with me the moment you walked in!"

"Mother!" Mo Wen quickly blocked her again.

"Daddy..." Mo Yi also grew nervous and quickly held her father back.

"Hmph!" Mo Ruhai did not want to make his two daughters anxious, so he fell silent.

"She is already fifteen. How many more years can she stay at home? If you spoil her like this, who will spoil her when she goes to someone else's house in the future?" Lady Wang lowered her stance to argue her point.

Mo Ruhai smiled faintly, his face full of pride. "If I don't spoil her, then I simply won't give her anything, is that alright?"

"You?!" She had yielded, yet her husband refused to yield!?

Mo Wen quickly pressed down on her mother. "Mother, Father has just arrived; look how tired he is. Father, have another cup of tea. Mo Yi, what are you doing?" She quickly picked up the teapot, while simultaneously glaring at Mo Yi for not helping to mediate!

Mo Yi leaned toward Mo Ruhai. "Daddy, are you hungry? Do you want me to go make a bowl of noodles for you?"

"Daddy isn't hungry. It will be fine to wait for your Eldest Uncle to return for dinner!" Mo Ruhai was smiling again.

After first soothing the irritable Lady Wang, Mo Wen said softly, "Mother! Now that Father is back, we have so much to talk about!"

Only then did Lady Wang remember. *Hmph! In a moment, I'll use our daughter's marriage to strike him hard.*

A hint of triumph appeared at the corners of her mouth as she glared at the father and daughter and fell silent.

Mo Ruhai also knew when to stop. "Is Mo Da back?" He was also very concerned about his eldest son.

"I just sent someone to fetch him! Mo Fan went along as well; he'll be back either tomorrow or the day after. Mo Bao hasn't started his holidays yet..."

After the couple had finished their initial quarrel, they finally began to engage in casual family talk.

It truly showed the importance of speaking kindly.

The female lead was a bit aggrieved earlier, but there will be more... I am a stepmother!

But things will always get better!