Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 79 Village Chief Zhao is causing trouble again.

The village roosters crowed, "Cluck cluck cluck."

Xia Lanyue walked into the kitchen in a daze and started boiling water to cook porridge.

"Sister Yue, why did Dai You go out so early?" A Niu asked.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback and immediately asked, "Did he... go out this morning, or did he not come back last night?"

“He came back last night. I got up in the middle of the night and found him sitting on a stool, lost in thought. You have no idea, he almost scared me to death.”

Xia Lanyue was relieved. She had originally planned to wait for him to come back last night, but she was too tired and fell asleep.

Xia Lanyue added another handful of firewood to the stove and said to A Niu, "It's okay, I offended him yesterday, he'll be fine once he's calmed down."

Dai You hadn't returned by the time breakfast was ready.

After the meal, Xia Yao greeted his students at the door.

Xia Lanyue also walked to the door and kept looking around, but no matter how long she waited, Dai You did not appear.

"Brother Dai, are you angry with me?" Xia Yao asked Xia Lanyue.

“No, he’s angry with me,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Oh why?"

"Um...I..." The reason was something Xia Lanyue couldn't say out loud. She only said, "Mr. Xia, don't overthink it. Anyway, he's not angry with you."

After Xia Lanyue finished speaking, she smiled at Xia Yao, turned around and went back to the kitchen, closed the door, and started making rice cakes.

Before long, someone stood in the courtyard and called out to the kitchen, "Miss Dai, could you come out for a moment?"

Xia Lanyue recognized the voice immediately; it sounded like Li Chuan.

She hurriedly put down what she was holding, extinguished the stove fire, and, fearing he might see her, even covered the pot with a lid before going over to open the door.

It was indeed him standing outside.

"Miss Dai, Village Chief Zhao needs to see you. Come with me."

Upon hearing this, she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked around the courtyard, searching for Dai You. However, she was somewhat disappointed when she didn't see him return.

Feeling they couldn't wait any longer, Xia Lanyue said to Li Chuan, "Alright, let's go then."

Li Chuan brought Xia Lanyue to Zhao Lizhang's house and led her to the room where Acheng had been imprisoned before.

As she passed by the main house, Xia Lanyue saw several people tidying up their belongings inside. They looked very busy, so she stopped and looked at them with a puzzled expression.

“Miss Dai, this way please. Village Chief Zhao is waiting,” Li Chuan said to Xia Lanyue from the doorway of the side room.

"Ah, they're here," Xia Lanyue quickly replied, then followed Li Chuan into the house.

Village Chief Zhao was already sitting in the main seat. After waiting for an unknown amount of time, he saw Xia Lanyue and said, "Miss Dai, please sit down."

Xia Lanyue found a spot close to the door and sat down. Village Chief Zhao then began asking questions.

"Didn't Dai You come with you?"

"He didn't."

Village Chief Zhao nodded. "Then I'll speak frankly."

"Village Chief Zhao, please speak."

"Recently, I've heard rumors in the village saying that I withheld your silver notes and don't want to give them back?!"

"Oh? Really? How could there be such a rumor?" Xia Lanyue looked completely unaware.

"Does the young lady really not know?" Village Chief Zhao asked, looking skeptical.

"I don't know, but what they're saying seems to be true."

“Hehe, young lady, you don’t need to waste your energy on these useless things. When it’s time to refund the money, it will be refunded naturally,” Zhao, the village chief, took a sip of tea.

"Since the neighborhood chief also thinks it's useless, then there's no need to care. Why did you even bother to call me here?"

“Because today, there is another matter to tell you,” said Village Chief Zhao to Li Chuan outside the house. “Li Chuan, bring the things here.”

Li Chuan received the order, pushed open the door, handed Zhao, the village chief, a black object, and then turned and left.

“You should remember this outfit, young lady. It was taken from Dai You’s house the day the grain was stolen,” said Village Chief Zhao, shaking out the clothes to show her. It was the black outfit that was taken from Dai You’s house the day they arrested people.

"These were all cuts made by sharp weapons. So many cuts, each one looks like it could kill!" said Village Chief Zhao.

Xia Lanyue was startled when she heard this. She hadn't paid attention to these details, let alone imagined that Dai You had gone through so much danger! But why did Village Chief Zhao bring up the old story again?

“Young lady must be very curious as to why I’m bringing this up again today. I suppose you don’t know how these marks on the clothes came about,” Village Chief Zhao said, tossing down the clothes and dusting his hands. “Yesterday, someone broke into my house and was injured by my village guards. The man fled in panic.” Village Chief Zhao looked at Xia Lanyue. “This man was about eight feet tall, rather thin, and had some martial arts skills. But strangely, he didn’t take any of the valuables in my house. Instead, he rummaged through the table. What do you think he was looking for?”

"How would I know?!" Xia Lanyue said.

"I heard from Li Chuan that Dai You was not here yesterday?"

“Nonsense, he’s at home,” Xia Lanyue said excitedly, standing up.

"The girl doesn't even share a room with her, how could she know so much?"

"Village Chief Zhao, you're really exaggerating," Xia Lanyue said excitedly, standing up. She realized that Village Chief Zhao was trying to smear Dai You.

"Why are you in such a hurry, young lady? My question is perfectly reasonable!"

"Heh, let's just get straight to the point. What did you call me here for today?"

"I'm just telling you this much. Also, don't leave River Valley Village, because the matter hasn't been investigated yet!" Village Chief Zhao reminded Xia Lanyue in a relaxed tone.

“I heard what Village Chief Zhao said. May I leave now?” Xia Lanyue asked.

"Alright, Miss Dai, take care," said Village Chief Zhao with a smile.

Xia Lanyue felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at Zhao, the village chief's fake smile.

She left Zhao's house in anger.

All the way there, Xia Lanyue's mind was in turmoil. She didn't know if what Village Chief Zhao said was true—dai You really went to steal the silver notes?! But he had promised to go before leaving! And if what Village Chief Zhao said was false, why did it come up at this exact moment? A Niu said that Dai You was in the house last night; could he have gone out and come back?! Village Chief Zhao also said that the man was injured! Dai You was injured?! She wondered how badly he was injured?! Thinking of this, Xia Lanyue felt she couldn't wait a moment longer; she just wanted to see Dai You immediately. She ran back with all her might.

The gate to the Xia family's courtyard was open, and Xia Lanyue walked straight in. Dai You was chopping wood in the courtyard.

Xia Lanyue rushed over, grabbed his two arms and examined them carefully, then touched his chest, and then checked his neck, face, back of his neck, and hands one by one!

Dai You didn't say anything or resist, just let her touch him haphazardly.

Xia Lanyue was relieved to see that she had no wounds, and breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down on the stool next to her.

"What are you looking for?" Dai You asked.

Xia Lanyue was furious at the thought of Dai You causing her so much worry, and glared at him.

Dai You, who was still angry, lost his temper after seeing Xia Lanyue's expression.

"Where did you go?" Dai You's tone softened considerably.

"Didn't Xia Yao tell you?" Xia Lanyue asked.

“I didn’t ask him,” Dai You said, lowering his head and continuing to chop wood.

Xia Lanyue had a lot to say to Dai You, but now she didn't know where to begin. After thinking for a moment, she asked Dai You, "Are you hurt?"

Dai You looked puzzled. "What kind of injury could you get from chopping wood?!"

Xia Lanyue was taken aback; this was clearly not the answer she wanted. She continued to press, "What were you doing at midnight yesterday?"

"I'm inside."

"You didn't go out?" Xia Lanyue asked, staring into Dai You's eyes.

“Really, where can I go so late at night?” Dai You explained.

"What are you doing sitting there instead of sleeping?"

"Did Ah Niu tell you that?" Dai You continued before Xia Lanyue could answer, "Their snoring is so loud, I can't sleep at all."

This answer was truly baffling. Xia Lanyue never expected that it was all a misunderstanding. She stared into Dai You's eyes for a while longer, and seeing that he didn't look away, she figured it must be the truth, so she didn't press the matter further.

"Where did you go?" This time, it was Dai You's turn to ask her.

Xia Lanyue recounted the whole story of what happened at Zhao Lizhang's house to Dai You.

“I didn’t go. That person wasn’t me, or rather, there might not even be such a person. He was just trying to test us!” Dai You said.

"Yes, I know now," Xia Lanyue said, feeling much more relaxed after learning that Dai You was alright.

At this moment, she sniffed and asked him, "What's that smell? What's burnt?"

Dai You pointed to the kitchen.

Xia Lanyue jumped up from the stool, "Oh no, my rice cake!"