Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

"That was close! I almost went in." Xia Lanyue sighed. The room wasn't anything special, but Xia Lanyue hadn't mentally prepared herself.

Xia Lanyue wandered around in the courtyard.

Dai You was responsible for watching the fire for Wang Cui.

Several times, Xia Lanyue felt Dai You's gaze fixed on her, but she didn't look at him, pretending not to notice. But this couldn't go on forever; after all, they still had to eat together at the same table. She straightened her clothes and casually walked into the kitchen.

Once Xia Lanyue entered, Dai You withdrew his gaze.

Fortunately, Dai You was usually a man of few words, and Xia Lanyue didn't speak to him at all during the meal, so Wang Cui didn't notice anything unusual.

After Xia Lanyue finished eating and left, Dai Youcai muttered to himself, "Next time, let's try a different kind of wood."

Lin Xiu delivered Tian Guang and Tian Kuan's meals today. After delivering the meals, she stopped by and, holding a half-empty jar of salt from her house, said, "Mom, could you dig some salt out?"

Wang Cui said, "No need, we just bought some new ones, that's enough for us. You can keep the one for yourself."

"You bought a new one? Let me see." Lin Xiu said and went into the kitchen. Wang Cui saw her go in and hurriedly followed.

Lin Xiu turned her head and saw Xia Lanyue making a quilt, her face full of surprise, "Oh, why is it A-Yue sleeping in the kitchen?!"

Wang Cui was taken aback when she heard this, then her eyes darted around and she said, "She's helping Dai You make the bed, don't worry about it."

"I knew it! How could you let someone so delicate sleep here? But Mother, your room is too shabby, it needs to be repaired," Lin Xiu said sarcastically.

Wang Cui looked at Xia Lanyue awkwardly, then turned her head and saw Lin Xiu looking for the salt shaker. She quickly stopped her, "Don't look for it anymore. I said there's salt. Take yours back."

Ignoring Wang Cui's words, Lin Xiucai opened the jar and looked inside. Wang Cui couldn't stop him. When he saw the jar full of salt, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, Mother, this jar is full!" He even dipped a little into the jar to taste it. "Mother, your salt is good. There are no impurities."

Wang Cui pushed her hand away, put the lid on the salt shaker, and said, "Okay, I understand."

But Lin Xiu wasn't in a hurry to leave. She stared longingly at the jar of salt. "Mom, my salt isn't as good as yours. Could you spare some for me?"

Wang Cui was displeased upon hearing this, "You haven't finished eating yet, what are you sharing?"

"There's only half a jar left, it won't last long. Besides, Ah Xiang hasn't liked my cooking lately, it's all because the salt doesn't taste good." Lin Xiu looked aggrieved.

Wang Cui didn't want to argue with her anymore. "Alright, alright, you wait here, I'll pour you some."

Then, Wang Cui turned around, took out a small empty jar from the cabinet, filled it with some salt, and handed it to Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu happily accepted it, said "Thank you, Mother," and then ran off after saying goodbye to Xia Lanyue, saying she had to hurry back to take care of A Xiang, afraid that he would cry if he woke up and couldn't see her.

Holding up the jar of salt, which was half empty, Wang Cui said with heartache, "This person never comes early or late, it's like they can smell the salt."

Then she turned to Xia Lanyue and said, "Why don't you sleep in the bed?"

The topic changed so quickly that Xia Lanyue was taken aback. She realized it was bound to happen. Just a few days ago she was relieved that Wang Cui hadn't asked why she was changing rooms, but today it was brought up again. She couldn't very well say she was afraid to move in, but she needed a reason. She had to make one up on the spot. What reason could she come up with? Xia Lanyue was anxious.

"Isn't this bamboo bed uncomfortable?" Wang Cui asked.

"Huh? She meant the bamboo bed behind her." Xia Lanyue felt relieved. "A little bit."

"It's alright now because of the heat, but in a few days I'll have your Uncle Tian fix it up again."

"It's alright, Aunt Wang," Xia Lanyue said, feeling that she wouldn't be able to stay for more than a few days anyway.

"Oh, right, Tian Yu is just straightforward and doesn't mince words, but she's not a bad person. Don't take it to heart."

Wang Cui changed the subject, something Xia Lanyue hadn't expected. "It's alright, Aunt Wang, she didn't say anything."

Seeing Xia Lanyue's attitude, Wang Cui was relieved and nodded, "Then I'll go back to my room to rest. You wait for Dai You."

Xia Lanyue smiled as she watched Wang Cui leave.

Waiting for Dai You?! No way, she wanted to fall asleep quickly.

In her hazy state, she heard Dai You calling her to take her medicine. She sat up groggily, raised her hand as if to catch something.

Dai You sat behind the stove, watching her every move with a puzzled expression. What did she want? Who was she asking for it from? The medicine wasn't even ready yet, what was she doing?

Seeing that Xia Lanyue's hand wouldn't let go, Dai You walked over, squatted down beside her, and patted her hand.

"Uh..." Xia Lanyue was startled and opened her eyes, looking at Dai You blankly.

"What's wrong?" Dai You spoke first.

Xia Lanyue looked at him, then at her surroundings. She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't know what was wrong with her. She said, "Go to sleep early," then lay down, turned over, and continued to sleep.

Dai You smiled at her and then went back to brewing the medicine.

Xia Lanyue was awakened in the middle of the night by noises outside the door. Judging from the noise, a lot of people had come. The firelight outside illuminated the room. Xia Lanyue sat up in fright, full of doubt and confusion, wondering what was happening outside. Just then, the kitchen door was kicked open, and three or four burly men carrying torches rushed in. Before Xia Lanyue could even see who they were, she was grabbed from the mattress and dragged outside.

Xia Lanyue stumbled into the courtyard, only to find that a large number of people had already gathered there.

She broke free from the man's grasp, composed herself, and shouted at them, "What are you doing?!"

"What are you doing? Tell me, what do you do?!" A burly man glared at her and roared fiercely.

At this moment, Dai You was also dragged out of the east room by two men. When she was next to them, the two men let go of her.

Seeing Dai You made Xia Lanyue feel a little relieved. Although they were both in a terrible situation, she felt somewhat comforted that he was by her side.

Xia Lanyue quickly glanced around. There were about twenty people gathered in the courtyard, mostly men. In the middle was Village Chief Zhao, and beside him was Tian Guang, both of whom were looking at her. Judging from the current situation, these people were probably after her and Dai You.

Wang Cui rushed out of the main house, putting on her coat as she went. She was stunned by the scene before her. She walked up to Xia Lanyue, looked at her in surprise, and then stammered, "What's going on? Huh? Village Chief Zhao? What brings everyone to my house?"

“You’ll have to ask them about that,” said Village Chief Zhao, pointing at Dai You.

Wang Cui turned to look at Dai You with a puzzled expression. "Dai You, what did you do?"

“Aunt Wang, I didn’t do anything,” Dai You said.

"Hmph, you're in cahoots with the thieves! Stop pretending! Make them return our grain!" A burly man dressed in white linen shouted excitedly at Dai You.

“We don’t know any thieves, nor do we know anything about the grain you’re talking about,” Xia Lanyue explained.

But the group of people didn't believe it. "You didn't take it, but you're all in cahoots. You came here to tip them off," the man said.

Wang Cui tensed up and grabbed the man, asking, "Li Zhuang, what are you saying? How did they take the grain? Whose grain did they take?"

Tian Guang walked over at this moment, slapped his thigh, and said, "Oh dear, a group of thieves came tonight. They were armed and stole a lot of grain. Every household suffered a lot of losses. They were obviously prepared."

"What?! What about our grain? What about Tian Kuan? Is he injured?"

At this moment, Tian Kuan walked up from behind the crowd and said, "Mother, I'm fine, but they stole all the grain."

"What?!" Wang Cui collapsed to the ground upon hearing this. "They've all been stolen?"