Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

In the dead of night, Xia Lanyue was awakened by mosquitoes. For some reason, she suddenly remembered the moldy tofu she had eaten a few days ago and wondered how it was doing. She quickly got out of bed.

She carried the oil lamp out of the house. The courtyard was quiet. Everyone in the main house and the west house was asleep. Only the lamp in Xia Yao's room was still on.

Xia Lanyue couldn't help but sigh at how desperately he was working for the imperial examinations.

She went into the kitchen, took out the tofu, and sure enough, it had already molded. The tofu was covered in long white mold, making it look exceptionally clean.

She scraped the tofu off the cob, poured in the prepared salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and then added some wine.

Xia Lanyue peeked into Xia Yao's room; the light was still on. She hesitated for a moment, then tiptoed and pushed open the door to the storage room. After smelling several bottles of wine, she chose what she considered to be the strongest, carried it out of the room, and just as she freed one hand to close the door, Xia Yao's door opened.

As expected, Xia Yao came out from inside.

The moment Xia Yao saw Xia Lanyue, he visibly flinched, then glanced at the wine in her hand, looked away, and walked straight to the west room. He didn't utter a single word the entire time.

Xia Lanyue had no idea what kind of luck she had. Every time she stole wine, he caught her. But this time, she wasn't going to drink it herself, so it didn't count. Xia Lanyue shrugged and then turned to go to the kitchen.

Xia Yao took a stack of books and walked towards the house, passing by the kitchen door without even glancing at Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue didn't care anymore; she just focused on making fermented bean curd.

After putting the tofu into the jar and sealing it, it was already very late, so Xia Lanyue quickly slipped back into her room to rest.

In the morning, Dai You knocked on the door, and Xia Lanyue got up.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Dai You asked.

Xia Lanyue nodded with her eyes closed.

"Is it... because of what I said yesterday?" Dai You asked cautiously.

"What did you say yesterday?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"You!" Dai You feigned anger, "You've been ignoring everything I said, haven't you?!"

"Ah, I remember now," Xia Lanyue quickly added.

"Tell me, what did I say yesterday?" Dai You no longer believed her.

"Look at you, why are you taking it so seriously? It's no fun teasing you."

"Tell me, what did I tell you yesterday?" Dai You persisted.

"Don't accept gifts indiscriminately, right?" Xia Lanyue pouted. "I remember that."

Dai You nodded in relief.

Upon arriving in town, Xia Lanyue set up her stall at the usual spot.

Chen Xiang arrived shortly after the store opened.

Xia Lanyue stood up with a smile and greeted him, "Sir, you've arrived. Here's ten coins for tax, and this packet of rice cakes. Please take them, don't be offended." Xia Lanyue handed the prepared rice cakes to Chen Xiang.

"I can't accept this," Chen Xiang declined.

"Don't be so polite, sir. I'll have to rely on you to take care of this business from now on," Xia Lanyue said, bowing slightly.

"This is all part of my job. Okay, I'll accept it then." Chen Xiang had finished his business here and turned to walk towards the street.

As soon as he turned around, Xia Lanyue immediately stopped smiling, straightened up, and then pouted. She sat back down on the ground and continued selling her rice cakes.

At noon, the rice cakes were finished, and Lan Yue carried them to the pharmacy.

After greeting Zhang Langzhong, Xia Lanyue went to the backyard.

Xia Lanyue smiled and moved a stool to sit next to him, propping her head up as she watched him cut the medicine.

"Why didn't you tell me about Li Si's matter?" Dai You asked first.

Xia Lanyue was startled and immediately sat up straight, looking incredulous. "I... how did you know?!"

"If I don't ask you, are you not going to tell me?"

Xia Lanyue lowered her head. "I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that this matter has been resolved."

"Don't do that again next time. You must tell me if anything happens."

"Hmm, but how come your hand is scraped?" Xia Lanyue pointed to the wound on the back of his right hand.

“He dodged and hit the wall,” Dai You said, looking at the back of his hand.

"What?!" Xia Lanyue was stunned. "You hit him?!"

“Hmm,” Dai You nodded.

Xia Lanyue opened her mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time.

Dai You glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

"Then... nothing will happen, right?" Xia Lanyue asked nervously.

"Me? Or him?"

“Um…you…he…” Xia Lanyue didn’t know who to ask first.

"I'm fine, but as for him, I don't know."

What if he recognizes you?

"Don't worry, he has a sack over his head, you won't recognize him."

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue couldn't help but laugh, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

But the next second, Xia Lanyue's face tightened, and she complained, "Next time something like this happens, you have to call me. I also want to see him get his comeuppance!"

"I see."

After saying that, the two of them giggled and laughed nonstop.

On the way back, Xia Lanyue skipped and hopped around. When they passed a roast goose shop, she turned to Dai Xi and asked, "Do you like this?"

Dai You nodded.

"Boss, one, please!" Xia Lanyue took out a copper coin from her purse and paid.

Then, the two happily walked home.

Ah Niu returned home with Xia Huifang today, arriving at the Xia family home around 5 PM, just as the private school was letting out.

Xia Yao stood at the gate watching the students leave, then closed the gate and walked back into the courtyard. He saw A Niu turning over the wheat and asked, "Where's A Cheng? Wasn't he saying he wanted to come back for dinner?!"

“He seemed a little unhappy today, so he sent me back,” A Niu said, putting down his walking stick and beckoning to Xia Yao, “Cousin, come here, look what this is?”

Xia Yao walked over in confusion, only to see A Niu leading him to the corner of the wall, pointing to the things in the cage and saying, "Look, I caught it."

Xia Yao didn't see it clearly at first, but when he got closer to take a closer look, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground and exclaimed, "A snake!"

He didn't care about his image at this moment, he got up and ran backwards, stopping only after running five meters.

"Don't be afraid, it's locked up," Ah Niu said, then picked up the cage and walked towards him.

"Hey, stop, stop, don't come any closer," Xia Yao said, her words tumbling out in fear.

“This snake isn’t poisonous, what are you afraid of? Look how cute it is,” Ah Niu said, reaching out to tease the snake.

Xia Yao couldn't stand the sight of it and said, "Why did you bring it back? Throw it away right now!"

“We can’t throw this away, it’s good stuff, it can be used to make medicine when soaked in alcohol,” A Niu said.

“When did you start taking medicine? If you ask me, just throw it away, it’s creepy to look at,” Xia Yao said, pointing at the snake and then at the door.

“I caught this snake for you. I’ll soak it in alcohol with herbs. It can dispel wind and clear the meridians, which is good for your foot, and it can also…” As he spoke, A-Cheng moved closer to Xia Yao.

Seeing this, Xia Yao took a few steps back, maintaining his distance from him.

"Tsk," Ah Niu said softly, seeing how scared he was, "It can also nourish the kidneys and enhance male virility."

Xia Yao snorted coldly, looking disdainful.

Ah Niu didn't urge him, but instead raised the cage even higher.

Xia Yao lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he said to A Niu, "You... give me this thing."