Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

After several rounds of drinking, everyone was drunk. Acheng was having intermittent bouts of madness and was now sleeping against the door; Dai You was silent, sitting in a daze; only Xia Yao seemed somewhat sober.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Xia Yao stood up, a little unsteady, and reached out to steady himself on the door frame.

Xia Lanyue glanced at him and realized it was only just time to leave. She quickly went over, pressed his shoulder, and made him sit down. "We haven't had enough to drink yet, how can we leave?"

"What, how many drinks do you want?" Xia Yao asked.

"Yes, I've been craving this wine for a while now," Xia Lanyue poured herself a glass and then filled Xia Yao's glass as well.

Dai You was probably drunk; he didn't stop Xia Lanyue, but just sat blankly at the table, looking particularly well-behaved.

Xia Lanyue had no time to pay attention to him at the moment. She picked up her wine glass, clinked it against Xia Yao's glass, and said, "This glass is for you. I will remember your kindness in vouching for us that day." Then she tilted her head back and drank the wine.

After finishing her drink, Xia Lanyue glanced at Xia Yao out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't drunk any, just staring blankly at his glass. Xia Lanyue refilled her own glass and said, "But, as the head of the family, you haven't taken good care of me. My stomach is still upset."

Xia Yao looked at him, smiled, and without saying anything, picked up his wine glass and drank the wine.

Xia Lanyue quickly filled his glass, "Xia Yao, you really have a good capacity for alcohol. I've heard that a scholar like you can write a hundred poems after drinking. Why don't you recite one?"

"I can't write poetry."

"Can't you compose poetry? Is it because you haven't had any wine yet?" Xia Lanyue raised her cup, waiting for Xia Yao to clink glasses with her.

Xia Yao slowly picked up his cup, clinked glasses with Xia Lanyue, and then each drank.

“If drinking too much could make me write good poems, I would drink every day, so that I could be remembered in history,” Xia Yao sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t have that talent.”

"You're being too modest, aren't you?"

"My knowledge is nothing to brag about," Xia Yao chuckled self-deprecatingly and drank a glass of wine.

Xia Lanyue quickly filled his cup.

“You’re someone everyone in the village praises. Even Uncle Tian says his son-in-law isn’t as good as you. If you pass the imperial examination this time, your wish to have your name remembered will come true,” Xia Lanyue said.

"The imperial examination..." Xia Yao seemed lost in thought, and stopped mid-sentence, staring blankly into space.

"Come, I wish Mr. Xia all the best in his exams," Xia Lanyue said, raising her glass.

Xia Yao raised his glass blankly and drank the wine.

Xia Lanyue silently put down her wine glass. Seeing that he was starting to get sluggish, she tentatively asked, "Xia Yao, why did you vouch for us? Aren't you afraid we'll run away?"

"You won't, I know."

How can you be so sure?

"Because we know each other, you must recognize me too."

Xia Lanyue was stunned. He knew him?! When?! Did Dai Xiyue know him? No wonder he kept asking her about her memories! But she didn't have Dai Xiyue's memories. Luckily, everyone knew she had amnesia, so it was normal that they couldn't recognize her.

“I… I don’t think I remember you,” Xia Lanyue poured Xia Yao another drink. “We have to have a drink together because of our reunion.”

"I can't drink anymore," Xia Yao waved his hand.

"You have to drink this wine, it's fate," Xia Lanyue said, placing the wine glass in Xia Yao's hand, then clinking it against her own glass and gesturing for him to drink quickly.

Xia Yao sighed, stared into Xia Lanyue's eyes, and drank the wine.

"Were we friends before?" Xia Lanyue asked curiously.

"Friends? Are we even friends?" Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue, his eyes filled with pain. "Why?!"

Xia Lanyue was stunned and a little at a loss. She didn't know about their past. Judging from the situation, Xia Yao and Dai Xiyue had some kind of entanglement?

"Well, tell me, what do I owe you? Or what do you owe me? Speak up and let's see if we can resolve this," Xia Lanyue said.

With a loud thud, Dai You lost his balance and slammed his head on the table. The sound startled Xia Lanyue and also woke Xia Yao and Acheng.

Xia Yao got up and stumbled towards the door.

"Don't go, come back," Xia Lanyue grabbed Xia Yao and pressed him back onto the stool.

"Come on, drink up, whose turn is it?" Acheng sat up straight and pointed at Xia Lanyue. "Hurry up and pour the wine, the glasses are all empty, can't you see?"

"Hmph," Xia Lanyue snorted coldly. Who did this guy think he was ordering around?! He even made her pour him wine! Xia Lanyue was furious. She turned around and took out a bottle from the cabinet. She held it to her nose and smelled it. It was so pungent that she frowned. It was definitely vinegar. Then she poured the vinegar into Acheng's glass. "It's ready. Drink up."

Acheng actually picked up the cup and poured it into his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. After finishing, he grinned, his face contorted into a bun shape.

Xia Lanyue couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Dai You seemed to have woken up a bit at this point. He straightened up, supporting himself on the table, and looked around.

"You're awake? Come help me get this Acheng back to his room," Xia Lanyue said, but before she could finish, she saw Dai You slide off the stool, sit on the floor, and then fall asleep again.

Xia Lanyue looked at Dai You with mixed feelings of laughter and tears. She had originally hoped that Dai You would get others drunk, but it turned out that he himself couldn't hold his liquor.

However, Xia Lanyue also felt a little dizzy and her reactions became sluggish. She then realized that this body had a low alcohol tolerance. Even if she, Xia Lanyue, could drink, Dai Xiyue couldn't, and she wouldn't be able to hold on either.

Thinking she still had questions to ask, Xia Lanyue sat down next to Xia Yao. "Regarding the grain, do you know who stole it?"

"What?" Xia Yao said, picking up the jar to drink.

"Oh dear," Xia Lanyue quickly snatched the wine jar away, "Did A-Cheng steal it?"

"Steal? Acheng? Acheng knows."

"Does Acheng know who stole it?! Or was it Acheng who stole it?!" Xia Lanyue's eyes widened, waiting for Xia Yao's answer. "Are you all ganging up on us?! Say something!"

"You should all go back now, this has nothing to do with you," Xia Yao said, then collapsed onto the table and fell asleep.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback. Did Xia Yao know that the loss of grain had nothing to do with them? Did he know the inside story? Or did he trust them?

No matter how Xia Lanyue shook Xia Yao, he wouldn't wake up. Xia Lanyue turned to look at Acheng, "It's okay, there's still one more you can ask."

Xia Lanyue stood up. She decided to take Xia Yao back to her room first, worried that if Xia Yao woke up again and heard something, it would be bad.

Xia Lanyue got up, took Xia Yao's arm and put it on her shoulder, supported his waist with her left hand, helped him up, and then the two of them swayed and walked towards the east room.

The room was dark, with no lights on. Xia Lanyue relied on her memory to grope her way to the bedside.

Despite being very careful, a mistake was still unavoidable. She tripped over the bed leg, lost her balance, and fell forward. Her instinctive reaction was to use her hands to brace herself, pushing Xia Yao, who was on her left, forward. He was already unsteady and unsurprisingly fell to the ground first, cushioning Xia Lanyue's fall.

That fall was really solid.

"Ugh," Xia Yao groaned in pain.

Xia Lanyue quickly reached out and covered his mouth to stop him from making a sound.

Xia Lanyue observed Xia Yao and, seeing that he had not woken up, she withdrew her hands with relief.

Then, her face flushed instantly. At this moment, she was lying on Xia Yao's body. Xia Yao's thin, transparent clothes allowed her to clearly feel the temperature and contours of his body.

Xia Lanyue hurriedly scrambled off him, but due to poor visibility, her knee accidentally bumped into his sore spot.

"Ah!" Xia Yao twisted his body to one side in pain and covered his lower body with both hands.

Xia Lanyue stood aside like a child who had made a mistake, not daring to utter a sound.

After waiting for a while and seeing that Xia Yao did not move, she felt relieved. She leaned over, took his arm, helped him sit up, and then helped him onto the bed.

Whether it was Xia Yao's deep sleep or her own exhaustion, Xia Lanyue was panting heavily. Looking at Xia Yao on the bed, she was relieved that he was too drunk to remember the embarrassing scene that had just occurred.

"Where did you come from?" Xia Yao's sudden rambling startled Xia Lanyue. She turned and ran out of the house, making sure to close the door behind her.

Xia Lanyue let out a long breath, composed herself, and then walked back to the kitchen. She still had something to ask Acheng.