Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Seeing Xia Lanyue and the others at the door, Li Chuan came out of the house and said, "You should go back first. The matter is still under investigation, and there won't be any results for a while."

"Brother Li, why isn't Acheng coming out yet?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Li Chuan thought for a moment, "He can't leave yet; he has to cooperate with our investigation."

"He's involved in this, isn't he?" Xia Lanyue pressed.

Li Chuan smiled and said, "Don't make things difficult for me. Let's wait for Village Chief Zhao to announce the results. You two can go back now." Then Li Chuan turned around, went back into the house, and closed the door.

Seeing this, Xia Lanyue realized there was no hope of finding out anything, so she followed Dai You, and the two walked towards the Xia family home together.

“This is really interesting, the thief is crying 'stop thief',” Xia Lanyue said.

Xia Lanyue and Dai You returned to the Xia family home. Just as they entered the courtyard, Xia Yao came out of the west room with a book in his hand. When he saw them return, he acted as if he didn't see them and went straight to the east room.

“What’s wrong with him today? He’s acting strange. I’ve felt he’s been acting very unusual since this morning,” Xia Lanyue said to Dai You.

"Where did he go yesterday after drinking?" Dai You asked.

"I don't know, I went back to my room to sleep after I finished drinking, how could I have thought about him?!" Xia Lanyue said.

"Then what did you say yesterday that offended him?"

"No way, I'm so well-mannered and I don't know how to swear, how could I possibly offend him?"

Xia Lanyue's voice grew softer and softer. She felt a little guilty and wasn't sure what she had done, since she didn't remember anything when she woke up.

Could it be that I insulted him yesterday? Xia Lanyue wondered, but when it comes to insults, who could beat Xia Yao? Or should I hit him? I probably couldn't beat him either, or... pounce on him, wouldn't that make him ecstatic? How could he look so bitter and resentful?!

However, thinking about this made her feel uneasy, and she unconsciously tightened her collar.

Seeing her actions, Dai You's expression grew even more serious. "Don't drink with him anymore, it's not safe."

“Don’t worry, he’s still limping,” Xia Lanyue said.

“Even if he’s lame, he’s still a man,” Dai You warned her sternly.

Xia Lanyue rarely saw him like this, so she immediately put away her casual attitude and nodded, "Mm."

As evening approached, Xia Huifang returned home, bursting into tears as soon as she entered.

Xia Lanyue and Dai You were cooking when they heard crying and rushed to the yard.

Seeing Xia Huifang so upset, Xia Lanyue wanted to go over and comfort her, but as soon as she got close, Xia Huifang pushed her away.

Xia Lanyue staggered back a few steps and fell into Dai You's arms behind her.

Dai You helped Xia Lanyue steady herself and looked at Xia Huifang with a puzzled expression.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Xia Yao came out of the house at some point and was standing at the door of the east room looking at the three people in the courtyard.

“Pangao, Ah Cheng has been detained by Village Chief Zhao, who says he’s an accomplice. What are we going to do?” Xia Huifang cried as she walked. When she reached Xia Yao, she hugged him. At that moment, Xia Yao was her only support.

"Mother, come inside. Tell me in detail what Village Chief Zhao said," Xia Yao said, helping Xia Huifang into the house.

Xia Lanyue also wanted to know what had happened, so she pulled Dai You into the house and stood at the door, waiting to hear Xia Huifang speak.

Xia Huifang sat on the edge of the bed and couldn't wait to start telling the whole story. "The thief has been caught. It's Wei Liangxing from the town. Wei Liangxing admitted that he took the grain, saying that Acheng owed him money and wouldn't pay it back. He heard that Acheng was my nephew, so he wanted to use our grain to pay off Acheng's debt, so he came to steal it."

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue gave Dai You a wink, realizing they had guessed correctly.

"Since Wei Liangxing has admitted that he took it, why does he still say that Acheng is an accomplice?" Xia Yao asked.

"Zhao, the village chief, said that on the day the grain was stolen, he did not stand up to identify Wei Liangxing as the thief. Instead, he deliberately pointed the finger at Xia Lanyue, causing a misunderstanding and interfering with the judgment, thus helping Wei Liangxing get away with it. Zhao believed that Acheng and Wei Liangxing were working together to steal the grain and were accomplices."

"Did Acheng explain?" Xia Yao asked.

“Acheng said he wasn’t an accomplice. That day, Wei Liangxing brought a lot of people with weapons. He was afraid of being beaten, so he didn’t make a fuss. After Wei Liangxing left, before he could even tell the village chief, He Yuan had already led everyone to cause trouble for Xia Lanyue and the others. Seeing that someone had taken the blame, he had a sudden evil thought and denied the matter,” Xia Huifang said.

"Does Village Chief Zhao believe it?" Xia Yao asked.

"Village Chief Zhao didn't say, but Wei Liangxing also said they weren't accomplices, and that Acheng framed him. Wei Liangxing only admitted to stealing one cartload of grain, not the other thirty shi, saying that Acheng had embezzled it and framed him. The village chief saw that their statements were inconsistent, so he said he would lock them both up until the grain was returned," Xia Huifang continued. "The village chief's idea was that if they could honestly confess and return the grain, they would be treated leniently, at most receiving a few strokes of the cane. But if they refused to confess, they would be severely punished and sent to the county magistrate. What a mess! Wei Liangxing is definitely not going to return the grain and wants to drag Acheng down with him."

"Mother, don't worry, let me think about it," Xia Yao said.

While waiting for Xia Yao to speak, Xia Huifang turned around and glared at Xia Lanyue.

"Aunt Xia, why are you glaring at me?" Xia Lanyue asked unhappily. Ever since she was pushed by her, Xia Lanyue had wanted to ask her if she had a problem with her.

“We never had anything like this before you came to the village. Now that you’ve come, the grain is gone, and Acheng has been taken away. Aunt Li is right, you’re a jinx; nothing good ever comes from your presence,” Xia Huifang said irritably.

"Heh," Xia Lanyue sneered. She had been dragged into this mess for no reason and was already aggrieved. Now, Xia Huifang was even verbally abusing her. She was furious. "Aunt Xia, I understand that you're worried about Acheng being taken away. But Village Chief Zhao has already analyzed it very clearly. How can you be so blind to the truth and blame us?"

"Only ten bushels of grain were recovered?" Xia Yao interrupted their conversation.

“Yes, we’re still short thirty shi. Wei Liangxing said they didn’t steal the thirty shi of grain, and Village Chief Zhao also said that the thirty shi were transported by water. The method was sophisticated, and they came prepared. It’s very likely that another group did it.” As Xia Huifang said this, she deliberately turned her face toward Xia Lanyue.

“That could also be another group of people hired by Wei Liangxing. They stole grain at the same time and place without fighting. Isn’t that suspicious?” Dai You analyzed. “This also shows that they know each other and had already agreed on the time and place.”

Dai You's words seemed to awaken Xia Huifang. She looked at Dai You in surprise, but quickly composed herself and put on a stubborn expression, as if she would never believe them no matter how they explained.

Xia Lanyue snorted coldly, "Aunt Xia, I thought you were a reasonable person, but it seems I was wrong. You said you trusted us before, but it seems you were lying to me. Since you don't trust us, we won't stay here and cause you any trouble." After saying that, Xia Lanyue turned to Dai You and said, "Let's go."

Dai You nodded, and the two turned to leave.

Xia Yao spoke up in time to stop them, "Wait, don't be angry. My mother didn't mean it. She was just too impatient."

"Don't keep them here, let them go," Xia Huifang said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue turned and walked out of the house.