Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Jiang Di and Xia Lanyue sat down facing each other. On the table were dishes that Jiang Di had prepared, wrapped in lotus leaves, which were emitting a faint fragrance.

Jiang Di pushed the lotus leaf package in front of him, "Open it and take a look, you'll definitely like it."

"Thank you," Xia Lanyue said, looking up at Jiang Di.

Jiang Di, who had been smiling, stopped smiling and looked at her with some concern. "What's wrong with you today? You're saying sorry and thank you all the time. Why have you suddenly become so distant? This isn't like you at all."

"No, I just feel that I was a bit inconsiderate before," Xia Lanyue lowered her head again.

"How could that be?! There's no need for such formalities between friends," Jiang Di said, pushing the lotus leaf package closer to her. "Here, I brought this for you. Eat it while it's hot."

Xia Lanyue nodded, unwrapped the lotus leaf package, and inside was a pig's trotter.

Xia Lanyue smiled. Although she liked meat, giving it to a girl felt a bit strange. Perhaps, in Jiang Di's eyes, they were just buddies. Not wanting to disappoint Jiang Di, Xia Lanyue started eating.

Xia Lanyue suddenly remembered that Jiang Di was very familiar with this area, so she could ask him about the hooligan incident. She then asked, "Have you been to Heguo Village?"

“I’ve been there; I often deliver salt there,” Jiang Di said. “What happened to that village?”

"Do you know if there are any strange men in that village? Like... hooligans?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Jiang Di was taken aback. "Why do you ask that? Have you been there?"

"Ah."

"So you ran into him?!" Jiang Di suddenly sat up straight, tense.

"Mm," Xia Lanyue nodded.

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?!" Jiang Di asked nervously.

Xia Lanyue looked into his eyes, hesitating and unsure how to begin.

"That bastard, I'm going to find him!" Before Xia Lanyue could finish speaking, Jiang Di slammed his hand on the table and stood up to go downstairs.

Xia Lanyue rushed over to stop him, but how could she possibly stop him? In the blink of an eye, Jiang Di had already rushed downstairs.

"Wait, it's not what you think," Xia Lanyue hurriedly explained when she couldn't catch up.

Jiang Di stopped and turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue. However, Xia Lanyue's embarrassed expression made him realize that this was not the right place to talk, so he pulled Xia Lanyue back upstairs.

“I ran into him. He… tried to catch me, but thankfully, I escaped,” Xia Lanyue said.

Hearing Xia Lanyue's words, Jiang Di's expression softened slightly. "You scared me to death," he said, then asked, "Where are you going and what are you doing?"

"I delivered rice cakes."

How did you escape?

"Swimming away."

Jiang Di looked puzzled. "Could it be... not Zhang Mazi?"

"Who is Zhang Mazi?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Zhang Mazi, that's what everyone calls him because his face is covered in pockmarks. I don't know his real name either, but everyone knows it's him just by calling him that."

"She has pockmarks on her face, so she doesn't even bother to cover them up?!" Xia Lanyue muttered under her breath.

"What?" Jiang Di didn't hear her words clearly.

"Why do you think it's Zhang Mazi?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"This pockmarked man is ugly and cunning, with a notorious bad reputation in the surrounding villages. No decent girl wants to marry into his family. Since he has no wife, he spends his days sneaking over widows' walls. Ah, I heard all this from my mother. Because he has never done anything openly, nor has anyone exposed him, I don't know if it's true or not. But this pockmarked man can swim; I heard he makes a living by fishing."

"If it wasn't him, who else could it be? Are there any other suspects?"

"Hmm... All the men in their village are married, and I've never heard of anything like this. He's the only one no one wants to marry. A while ago, I heard that Tian Feng was going to marry his mentally challenged daughter to him, but then I heard nothing more."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback. She had heard Wang Cui gossip about this before. So she was going to marry him. No wonder Song Shi refused to marry him even if she died.

“I can’t think of anyone else. Should we go beat him up? I’ll go with you,” Jiang Di said.

“Is it convenient for you to step in? Or forget it, you’re all neighbors. Dai You and I can go. Dai You is skilled in martial arts, beating him up won’t be a problem,” Xia Lanyue said.

"Well... that's fine too. Let me know if anything comes up," Jiang Di said.

"Mm," Xia Lanyue nodded with a smile.

Seeing Xia Lanyue smile, Jiang Di felt much better. He then reminded her, "When you go to that village, you should tell the Xia family. They know this person, so you won't encounter such unpleasant things."

Xia Lanyue was stunned. "You mean, Xia Yao and Aunt Xia also know about Zhang Mazi?"

"Yes, he's famous in our neighborhood, everyone knows him."

Xia Lanyue was shocked by this news.

Thinking back to yesterday, when Xia Yao went to Heguo Village to deliver rice cakes, he didn't remind her. Was it an oversight? Or intentional? Did he even know about Zhang Mazi? If he didn't, then it was an unintentional mistake. If he did know, then he watched her go into danger and did nothing. Why would he do that?! She didn't seem to have done anything to offend him.

Was Xia Yao's appearance in the reeds a coincidence? Did he come to rescue her? To see her humiliated? Or did he remember Zhang Mazi and come to help her?

For a moment, Xia Lanyue felt she had lost her ability to discern. She didn't want to guess Xia Yao's thoughts anymore and decided to see Zhang Mazi first before discussing anything else.

Thinking of this, Xia Lanyue couldn't stay a moment longer. She picked up the pig's trotter on the table and said to Jiang Di, "It's cold. I'll take it back to eat. I'm leaving now." After saying that, she went downstairs.

"Slow down," Jiang Di hurriedly followed her downstairs and saw her out of the shop.

In the evening, Xia Lanyue and Dai You went to Heguo Village again.

Dai You took out the medicine he had brought for Xia Lanyue from his pocket. "This is medicine for treating external injuries given by Doctor Zhang. Try touching your wound."

Xia Lanyue took the medicine bottle and rubbed it in her hands. Dai You may seem rough around the edges, but she is always very meticulous when it comes to her affairs.

They first arrived at the place where Xia Lanyue had encountered danger. Dai You carefully examined the traces left around them, but due to the large number of people walking around, the traces were no longer discernible.

“This person has been squatting here for a long time,” Dai You said, pointing to a spot in the bushes.

Xia Lanyue walked over and saw the deep footprints on the ground and the broken branches around him. "Is he waiting for someone to pass by?"

“It looks like it. Look, his shoe prints suggest he was wearing straw sandals,” Dai You said, pointing to the marks in the grass.

Hearing these words, Xia Lanyue felt lingering fear. If she hadn't escaped, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"He's injured, isn't he? I remember there was blood on your clothes. Where was he hurt?" Dai You asked.

"I...didn't see it, I was too nervous at the time," Xia Lanyue said, lowering her head so that Dai You wouldn't see her eyes.

Knowing that Xia Lanyue was alright, Dai You didn't dare to ask any more questions, afraid that it would upset her. "Let's go to the village entrance to wait," he said, and walked ahead of Xia Lanyue toward the village.

Xia Lanyue followed quietly behind Dai You.

Dai You turned around several times but couldn't see her face, and didn't know what she was thinking. He only knew that she had been absent-minded all the way back.

Dai You led Xia Lanyue to the village entrance. Under a big tree, there was a table and chairs made of stones. Dai You told her to sit there and rest. "Don't worry, just stay away for a while and don't get hurt."

"Don't kill him, take it easy," Xia Lanyue said with some concern.

"If I kill him, I'll just pay with my life," Dai You said nonchalantly.

“That won’t do. Your life is worth far more than his,” Xia Lanyue said anxiously. “If that’s your attitude, then let’s go back.”

After saying that, Xia Lanyue stood up and started to walk back.

Dai You hurriedly ran up and grabbed him, "I know, I'll be more careful."

Xia Lanyue didn't speak, staring into Dai You's eyes.

Dai You nodded as if he understood, "Trust me."