Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

The official residence did look different; it was much more impressive than ordinary people's homes, with even the walls made of stone bricks.

Upon entering the gate, there is a large courtyard with large houses on three sides. There is a door on the side of the central house, which should lead to the backyard, but I don't know what the backyard looks like.

Xia Lanyue followed the others into the front hall, where Village Chief Zhao was already sitting in the main seat, waiting for them.

Beside her stood two men. Xia Lanyue looked closely and realized that these were the men who had bought her rice cakes a few days ago!

“Dai Xiyue, it’s you again,” Zhao, the village chief, spoke first.

"Village Chief Zhao," Xia Lanyue said, "I heard that Village Chief Zhao is looking for me. I wonder what I did wrong?"

"Do you remember these two people?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

Xia Lanyue glanced at them and said, "I remember."

“They bought rice cakes from your stall, you remember?” said Village Chief Zhao.

Xia Lanyue suddenly had a bad feeling, but she still nodded.

"Very good," Zhao, the village chief, was satisfied with her nod. "They came to me today to accuse you of something wrong with your rice cakes. They ate them and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, almost dying. You're the only one in the whole town selling these rice cakes, so tell me what happened?"

So that's what they were plotting against her about. Xia Lanyue said, "Village Chief Zhao, I'm the only one selling rice cakes in the whole town, but as you've probably heard, my rice cakes are very popular and I've sold a lot. Everyone else is fine, but they are the only ones who are in trouble. This can only mean that it's not a problem with the rice cakes, but that they accidentally ate something else. How can you blame it on the rice cakes?"

As if he knew she would say that, Zhao, the village chief, remained expressionless. He glanced sideways at the 1.7-meter-tall man and asked, "Li Zhuang, what do you have to say?"

Li Zhuang?! That name sounds familiar, Xia Lanyue feels like she's heard it somewhere before?! And his appearance is familiar too, where have she seen him before, where did she see him again?

Li Zhuang clasped his hands in a fist salute to Village Chief Zhao and said, "Village Chief Zhao, I really didn't eat anything that day. My brother can testify for me."

“But how can you two brothers rule out the suspicion of covering for each other?” Xia Lanyue said.

"I'm not faking this illness, am I?" Li Zhuang said, raising his eyebrows, as if afraid that Village Chief Zhao wouldn't believe him. "Village Chief Zhao, I really didn't lie to you. The town's doctor Zhang saw how sick I was. You even asked him yourself."

Village Chief Zhao nodded. "Yes, I have already called Doctor Zhang, and he said it is true."

“But how can such isolated cases be blamed solely on the rice cake? It could also be caused by eating something else,” Xia Lanyue said, turning her head to the side.

"Heh, I'll eat it to prove that there's something wrong with your cake," Li Zhuang said, stepping forward, picking up a piece of cake, and stuffing it into his mouth.

The guy next to him quickly stopped him, "Are you crazy? Don't eat too much, are you trying to die?!"

"Tch~" Xia Lanyue rolled her eyes at the two brothers; they were quite the actors.

But soon, Xia Lanyue realized that something was wrong.

Not long after, red spots appeared on Li Zhuang's neck, chest, and arms, and he began to have difficulty breathing.

Xia Lanyue immediately recognized his symptoms as an allergic reaction!

Li Zhuang and his brother hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, fetch Doctor Zhang! Hurry, or we'll all be dead!"

Someone rushed out to fetch a doctor.

"Quickly help him to sit down and wait for Doctor Zhang," said Village Chief Zhao calmly. "Dai Xiyue, you saw it, there's something wrong with your rice cakes. How can you deny it now?"

“Village Chief Zhao, he might be allergic to this, but that doesn’t mean the rice cake is poisonous!” Xia Lanyue explained.

"An allergy?" Village Chief Zhao frowned. "What's that? I've never heard of it."

"It's just... his body is a bit special. He was stimulated by something, and that's how his body is now. There's usually no way to change this. As long as he doesn't touch that thing, he'll be fine," Xia Lanyue explained. "It's not Mihua Gao's fault."

“I don’t understand what you’re saying! What did you put in this rice cake? Tell me!” Li Zhuang and his brother shouted at her.

Xia Lanyue hesitated for a moment, then said, "Rice and sugar."

"These two things?!" The Li brothers clearly didn't believe it.

“Only these two things,” Xia Lanyue said.

Then Li Zhuang and his brother said to Village Chief Zhao, "Village Chief Zhao, there must be something wrong with the rice production process, otherwise how could the rice turn out like this?!"

Xia Lanyue seemed to suddenly understand their purpose; they were probably using her illness as an excuse to get the method she used to create the product! Knowing their intentions, Xia Lanyue was determined not to let them have their way.

Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, Village Chief Zhao urged, "Hurry up and say it."

At this moment, Dr. Zhang rushed over.

Xia Lanyue turned to look at him and then noticed that behind him was someone she knew, Xia Yao!

Why is he here too?! Xia Lanyue didn't know if it was psychological, but seeing him now, she thought he was ugly. She quickly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

"Physician Zhang, please take a look at my brother. He's back to how he was before," the Li brothers said anxiously.

Zhang Langzhong first bowed to Zhao, the village chief, before going over to examine Li Zhuang and take his pulse.

Xia Yao walked over, bowed to Village Chief Zhao, and stood relatively close to him.

"You should also be a witness to this case today. Li Zhuang was poisoned after eating Dai Xiyue's rice cake. Today, Li Zhuang has come to demand an explanation, so you should listen to his side of the story as well," said Village Chief Zhao, looking at Xia Yao. After finishing speaking, he picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and then turned to Li Chuan and said, "Help Mr. Xia get a chair and pour him a bowl of tea."

Li Chuan accepted the order and went to carry it out.

Beside him, Dr. Zhang said anxiously, "Did he eat something indiscriminately again? I've told him not to eat it, why doesn't he listen? This is very dangerous."

"Zhang Langzhong, please save him!" the Li brothers said.

Doctor Zhang took a bottle from his medicine box, gave Li Zhuang a pill, and then said, "I'm going back to brew the medicine. Come back in an hour to pick it up. Remember, don't take any more medicine."

After finishing his words, Zhang Langzhong was about to leave when he was stopped by Village Chief Zhao, who asked, "Is he poisoned?"

“Reporting to the village head, he has urticaria,” said Zhang the physician.

"Was it caused by this rice cake?" said Village Chief Zhao.

"Well... it's hard to say," said Dr. Zhang.

The Li brothers hurriedly said, "He just ate rice cakes again, and Village Chief Zhao saw it."

“That’s possible. Everyone’s body is different, and certain things can trigger symptoms,” said Dr. Zhang.

"Is this cake poisonous?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

"This doesn't count as poison. I've eaten this rice cake before and I was fine, so this is just an isolated case and shouldn't be generalized," said Dr. Zhang.

Fortunately, Doctor Zhang spoke up for Xia Lanyue, preventing her from falling into an even more difficult situation. She felt grateful to Doctor Zhang.

“Then go and brew the medicine,” said Village Chief Zhao.

After bowing, Zhang Langzhong hurriedly left.