Mu Zhongqing and his wife had also risen, and they were both surprised when they found that Nangong Yi had left without saying goodbye.
Cai Wei explained that the master had urgent matters to attend to and had left last night. Since it was so late, her parents had already gone to bed, so he did not want to disturb them to say goodbye. He thus had her convey the message to them.
Although Mu Zhongqing regretted Nangong Yi's sudden departure, he didn't have the leisure to dwell on it now. His main concern was the marriage proposal made by Huo Yuan- what was his daughter's opinion on this matter? She seemed willing, but she had not given any clear indication of her thoughts, so he did not dare to agree rashly. He decided to probe her further and find out her exact thoughts before making a visit to the magistrate.
During the meal, Lady Du brought up the matter again, asking how her daughter wanted to respond to the Prefect Han's proposal.
