Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

She held the paper in her hand high, saying, "Dai You, your indenture is in my hands. If you don't behave, I'll sell you off cheaply."

Dai You stood in front of him, showing no fear whatsoever. "Young Miss, I'm clumsy and inept at stealing. I really can't do it."

"How do you know it won't work if you haven't even tried?" she said anxiously.

Dai You didn't speak, stubbornly turning his head to the side.

"Heh~ turn your head around and look at me," she commanded Dai You, "turn~ your~ head~ around~!"

Dai You ignored him and remained in his current position.

She rushed over and slapped him across the face. He was fine, but her hand stung.

She rubbed her hands, and seeing Dai You's stubborn look, she couldn't help but punch him again.

His muscles were firm and hard, and her hand felt like it was being crushed.

As Xia Lanyue recalled her dream, she rubbed her arm, which had gone numb from being pressed against the ground. But each rub brought a sharp, stabbing pain, forcing her to stop, lie on her side, and straighten her arm to let the pain subside on its own.

This dream must be a scene from when Dai Xiyue first met Dai You. Dai Xiyue really doesn't care about feelings when she does things.

But why does Dai You always appear in her dreams, while she never dreams of Xia Yao? According to Xia Yao, the love poem on the fan is Dai Xiyue's confession. Is Dai Xiyue's heart really big enough to love two people at the same time?

Xia Lanyue couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it. She got up and walked out of the house.

Inside the kitchen, Xia Huifang was busy at work.

Xia Lanyue went over, intending to help, but saw that Acheng was already helping to burn firewood in the kitchen.

Xia Lanyue didn't want to see Acheng, so she stopped and turned her head away.

She stood in the courtyard and vaguely heard their conversation, which was intermittent. It seemed to be about how Xia Yao had washed her hair yesterday and how they were very affectionate.

Xia Lanyue was no longer calm; she felt it necessary to explain things clearly to Xia Huifang.

But just as she was walking toward the kitchen, Xia Yao rushed out and stopped her.

"What were you secretly listening to just now?" Xia Yao asked.

“I didn’t do anything sneaky. Move aside, I need to explain to Aunt Xia,” Xia Lanyue said, then walked past Xia Yao toward the kitchen.

Her voice was a bit loud, as if Xia Huifang had heard her and was now looking out the door, ready to hear what she was going to say next.

Xia Yao turned around, put one arm around Xia Lanyue's waist, covered her mouth with the other, and led her into the house.

After Xia Lanyue realized what was happening, she immediately struggled. However, Xia Yao was a man after all, and he was stronger than her. She couldn't even pull the hand off her mouth.

Once inside the house, Xia Yao released Xia Lanyue's hand and then closed the door behind him.

Xia Lanyue was startled, suddenly sensing something was wrong. She covered her chest with her clothes and backed away, shouting, "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing much. We haven't finished talking about what happened last night. Let's continue now," Xia Yao said.

Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao warily, "What did you say last night?"

"You're going to see Dai You? You've already forgotten?" Xia Yao said in a flat tone.

Xia Lanyue then realized she had misunderstood him and awkwardly lowered her hand. "You promised me you would take me to see him."

Xia Yao nodded. "Yes, but there's a condition."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, wondering what kind of trick this guy was up to now. "What are the conditions?"

“It’s simple. I’ll take you to see Dai You, and you can’t tell anyone about Li…that woman, in exchange,” Xia Yao said casually.

"Ah, that's fine, I'll keep it a secret for you, okay?" Xia Lanyue readily agreed.

“Not only that, it means you have to accept the rumors circulating outside,” Xia Yao said.

Xia Lanyue was shocked after hearing this. "A rumor? The one about you and me? The one in the reed marshes?!"

Xia Yao nodded. "Yes, since we're keeping that person a secret, you can't reveal her name, but there has to be someone who's in the rumor, and that's you."

"Wow, don't go too far!" Xia Lanyue was a little angry. "You were having an affair with that woman, why are you blaming me for it?!"

Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue calmly without saying a word.

Xia Lanyue quickly came to a conclusion. She could agree to his request temporarily, and then renege on it once Dai You was released. She didn't have a better solution at the moment, so she decided to put up with it for Dai You's sake. "Okay, I agree."

Xia Yao seemed to have expected this. "You don't need to feel embarrassed. It's not about asking you to confess to anything. After all, if you're found out about having an affair, you'll go to jail, which is bad for everyone."

"What?! This kind of thing... there's a risk of going to jail?" Xia Lanyue was a little scared. She had never heard of this kind of risk before.

“Yes, so it’s better not to bring it up,” Xia Yao comforted Xia Lanyue when he saw her pale face. “But don’t be nervous. It’s very difficult to catch someone cheating in the act.”

His words made it sound like he was confident they wouldn't get caught! However, Xia Lanyue didn't care about that. Her most important thing right now was to see Dai You. As for the rumors, she would put them aside for the time being. Anyway, the rumors wouldn't be cleared up by her explanation. Not mentioning it again might be a good choice. "Okay, I promise you."

“Okay, I have a day off tomorrow. How are you feeling? Can you walk to town?” Xia Yao asked.

"Okay," Xia Lanyue nodded quickly, as if afraid that this guy would make some other demands if she was late.

Xia Yao smiled and said to Xia Lanyue, "Let's go eat, they're waiting."

Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao's smug smile and felt very unhappy. "Oh, okay, by the way, what was that girl's name again?"

At that moment, Xia Yao was opening the door and walking out. Hearing her words, he turned around and smiled, "Guess," and then walked out first.

Xia Lanyue was speechless. He almost blurted out the name just now. He was so close to finding out the girl's name. What a pity. Xia Lanyue couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Xia Yao, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the door of the kitchen.

Time flies, and before you know it, it's Xia Yao's day off.

Xia Lanyue got up early in the morning to prepare. First, she did her hair and makeup, and then she prepared breakfast.

She specially prepared a large bowl of lean meat porridge for Dai You, feeling a pang of sadness thinking that he might not be eating or sleeping well these past few days.

It took them two hours to reach the town, and by the time they arrived at Village Chief Zhao's house, it was already noon.

Village Chief Zhao was taking a midday rest when the village security guard led them to the courtyard. The guard pointed to a side room and told her that Dai You was inside.

Xia Yao was going to talk to Village Chief Zhao, so he didn't accompany Xia Lanyue. Xia Lanyue knew that Dai You didn't want to see him either, so she didn't say anything.

Xia Lanyue stood in front of the door where Dai You was being held, ready to push it open, but the thought of seeing Dai You soon made her nervous, and her raised hand froze in mid-air.

She didn't understand the origin of her feelings, so she waited until she calmed down a bit before gently pushing open the door.

The room looked like a place specifically for locking people up; there were tables and chairs to the right of the entrance.

On the left is a cell, and a man is sitting in the corner. Judging from his figure, it should be Dai You.