Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Xia Yao walked absentmindedly on his way to Yunji Inn, but was stopped by someone.

Xia Yao looked closely and saw it was Ma Ruisheng.

Ma Ruisheng stepped forward to help Xia Yao, looked him over, and then walked deeper into the alley.

Xia Yao raised his hand and broke free from Ma Ruisheng's grasp. "What's wrong? Speak your mind."

Ma Ruisheng gave a fawning smile, "Brother Xia, you know I'm short on cash lately. The debt collectors have come knocking on my door, and Tian Yu and the child are crying in fear."

Xia Yao got straight to the point, "How much do you want this time?"

“Fifty taels,” Ma Ruisheng said.

"How much?!" Xia Yao exclaimed in surprise.

Ma Ruisheng smiled sheepishly, "I spent a lot of money on my trip to the capital. If I hadn't been short of cash, I wouldn't have come to see Brother Xia. And I've kept this a secret for you, so please help me out. I promise I won't ask you for money again."

Xia Yao sighed, "Fine, but this is the last time."

"The last time!" Ma Ruisheng said with a smile.

"I'll go back and prepare, and I'll send it to you tomorrow night," Xia Yao reminded him. "You haven't mentioned this to anyone else, have you?"

“No, given our relationship, I won’t go back on my word once I’ve agreed,” Ma Ruisheng said cautiously, glancing at Xia Yao’s expression. “I heard that Brother Xia has been staying at an inn these days. Is he planning to break off the engagement?”

Xia Yao's expression turned sour. "I don't know."

“Brother Xia hesitated because he values ​​relationships. If I hadn’t gone to the capital, you probably would have been deceived for life,” Ma Ruisheng shook his head. “I never expected that Miss Dai and my brother would have such a shameful affair. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”

"Stop talking," Xia Yao said, not wanting to hear any more.

“Brother Xia, I’ll head back now. I’ll be waiting for you at home tomorrow. Come early, let’s have a drink,” Ma Ruisheng patted Xia Yao on the shoulder.

Xia Yao nodded.

After receiving a response, Ma Ruisheng left.

Xia Yao was left standing alone deep in the alley, staring blankly at his shadow.

Xia Lanyue opened the window and looked out at the courtyard.

She noticed that the walls here were made of brick, as were the courtyard walls, and she had only seen houses like this in Gwangju.

If that's the case, it means that she was in a coma for more than a day, at least three days!

She was taken hundreds of kilometers away without noticing anything; it seems they were determined to take her back.

"Dong dong dong", someone knocked on the door.

Cuihong first pushed open the door a crack to peek inside. When she saw Lanyue sitting on the edge of the bed, she walked straight in.

"Young Miss, you're up so early," Cuihong said, glancing at the untouched breakfast on the table. "Is it not to your liking? Shall I get you another one?"

Xia Lanyue shook her head. "No need, I can't eat. Cuihong, are you hiding something from me?"

Cuihong was visibly flustered. "Young Miss, do I know what you're saying?"

Xia Lanyue pointed out the window, "This is Gwangju. I've been sleeping here for more than just one day. How much drug did you give me?"

Cuihong put down the medicine bowl in her hand and went over to explain, "Miss, don't be angry. The butler said that you were tired from the journey and might not be able to adapt, so he suggested that you sleep. That's why I didn't stop you."

"But, won't this medicine harm the fetus?" Xia Lanyue's biggest concern was the impact on the child.

"No, this medicine is just a sedative. When we got to the inn, we immediately went to fetch a doctor. The doctor said the fetus is fine... no, the fetus is not fine..." Cuihong stammered and couldn't finish her sentence.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue became anxious. "What's wrong with the fetus? What did the doctor say?"

"Hmm... the fetus is fine, it's just that you're weak and need to replenish your body," Cuihong forced an awkward smile. "Look, the medicine is already brewed."

Xia Lanyue glanced at the medicine, then turned her head away; she didn't want to drink a single drop of the bitter medicine.

Cuihong tentatively asked, "Miss, why don't you eat something first?"

Xia Lanyue had no appetite, but thinking that she had to eat something for the sake of the child, she stood up and sat down at the table.

She had no appetite at all just looking at the food, but she forced herself to eat a steamed bun.

Throughout the meal, she didn't notice that Cuihong, sitting next to her, looked conflicted.

Finally, after Xia Lanyue finished eating, she picked up the bowl of medicine.

But as soon as she got close enough to smell it, the bitterness made her want to vomit. She reflexively turned her head away to avoid "wasting" a bun.

Xia Lanyue tried again, but still couldn't drink it, so she simply put it back on the table.

"If you're not going to drink this medicine, I'll just throw it away," Cuihong said, not trying to persuade her to drink it, but simply walking over, picking up the bowl, and heading to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute," Xia Lanyue said quickly, stopping Cui Hong. "I'll drink it, you put it down."

Cuihong was taken aback and dodged Xia Lanyue's hand. "But this medicine is very bitter. Don't you dislike taking medicine?"

Xia Lanyue was puzzled, but didn't pay much attention. "No, I have to drink it. Bring it here."

Cuihong hesitated for a moment, then handed the medicine back to Xia Lanyue, her whole demeanor becoming strained. "Miss, you're not afraid of hardship for the sake of the child. You're different from before."

"Well, I'll have a lot of hardships ahead of me, what's a little bit of hardship compared to that?"

After Xia Lanyue answered, she took a deep breath, raised her bowl to drink, but was stopped by Cuihong.

Xia Lanyue looked at Cuihong in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Cuihong's eyes were already red. "Young Miss, this medicine...aren't you afraid of the bitterness?"

Xia Lanyue looked at Cuihong, who was behaving unusually, and suddenly realized that something was wrong, and the problem might lie with the medicine.

Isn't this medicine for preventing miscarriage?! What could it be? For abortion?!

Xia Lanyue quickly considered the situation. Given the relationship between Dai Xiyue and Dai You, and now that she was pregnant, she could easily be mistaken for Dai You's child.

Their current status doesn't allow such a thing to happen. Wouldn't she utterly disgrace her father?! A man as intelligent as her father might have foreseen this, and he certainly wouldn't allow this child to exist.

Therefore, this child cannot be kept!

Xia Lanyue gasped, put down the bowl in alarm, and quickly wiped her mouth, removing the little bit of medicine that was stuck to her lips.

After doing all this, Xia Lanyue looked at Cuihong and asked, "Whose idea is this?"

“Butler Zhang said this was the master’s wish,” Cuihong cried. “Miss, what should we do? If the master knew I told you, he would beat me to death.”

As Xia Lanyue had guessed, Master Dai had already figured it out and made the arrangements. She looked up and saw the helpless Cuihong, and comforted her, "I won't say anything. This has nothing to do with you, it's not your fault." After saying that, she pushed the bowl on the table to the ground.

The medicine bowl shattered on the ground, and the medicine spilled everywhere.

The noise startled the people outside the door, and immediately came the sound of hurried footsteps. Then, many people pushed the door open and rushed in, instantly filling the already small room.

Xia Lanyue roughly counted, there were seven or eight people, both men and women.

The man at the head of the group had a different demeanor from the others, and Xia Lanyue guessed that he must be the Steward Zhang that Cui Hong had mentioned.