Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 120 Village Chief Zhao Gets Beaten

Early in the morning, the people of the town had already begun their busy day.

In the village chief's residence, he lay weakly on the bed, groaning repeatedly, "Why does it still hurt so much?"

Zhao's wife placed a damp cloth on his forehead and said, "Sir, please bear with it a little longer. We've already gone to brew the medicine."

"How can this guy's fists be so hard? My body feels like it's falling apart."

“He’s young and strong, his fists are like iron hammers, how could it not hurt?” Zhao said.

"Getting old really does mean you can't do as well as you used to," said Village Chief Zhao, frowning with a pained expression. "How's that guy? Did you not give him any food or water?"

“No, sir, if you don’t give the word, who would dare to give it to us?” Zhao said.

At this moment, Li Chuan led Xia Yao into the house.

Village Chief Zhao struggled to sit up and leaned against the headboard. "You've come?"

"Village Chief," Xia Yao said, bowing slightly. Seeing his expression, she frowned.

"Sit down," said Village Chief Zhao with his eyes closed, but it was clearly meant for him.

Xia Yao sat down on a stool to the side.

"I heard about you and Dai Xiyue," Zhao, the village chief, smiled. He had his eyes closed, but when he said this, he opened one eye to look at him. "Why didn't you say anything when you beat her that day?! If you had, I would have just sent Li Zhuang away."

"We don't have that kind of relationship," Xia Yao said expressionlessly.

"Oh?" Village Chief Zhao teased, "I haven't even said anything yet, and you already know what I'm talking about?"

Xia Yao looked at Village Chief Zhao and asked, "Village Chief Zhao, did you call me here to discuss this matter?"

"No, it's something else. You see me like this, right? I was beaten by Dai You," Zhao, the village chief, said, glancing sideways at Xia Yao. "What are your thoughts on this?"

Xia Yao remained expressionless and calm. "He injured Village Chief Zhao, which was his fault. How he should be punished is up to Village Chief Zhao." Village Chief Zhao frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled by Xia Yao's overly calm reaction. "I plan to lock him up for a month to temper his arrogance, and then give him a beating."

"Let's do everything according to the village chief's wishes," Xia Yao said.

Village Chief Zhao narrowed his eyes, somewhat puzzled. "Do you have a relationship with her or not? The rumors outside are quite detailed!"

Xia Yao lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"Heh," Village Chief Zhao chuckled, "This girl is indeed beautiful, no wonder you've taken a liking to her." Then, observing Xia Yao's expression, he tentatively asked, "If you don't object, I'll handle this matter as it is."

“Let’s do it Zhao’s way. I also think he’s too aggressive and needs to be tempered.”

Village Chief Zhao nodded, "But, those silver notes..."

"It's all thanks to Village Chief Zhao," Xia Yao said, looking up at Village Chief Zhao.

"Ah...hahaha..." After hearing this, Village Chief Zhao laughed heartily, then suddenly clutched his stomach, "Ouch, my body really hurts."

"Village Chief Zhao has suffered," Xia Yao said apologetically, a pain he was familiar with.

Jiang Di sat on the second floor of Wangxiang Shop, drinking tea and gazing out the window, lost in thought.

Wang Xiang dusted herself off and came up, saying, "You come all this way but don't help me with the work. I'm exhausted."

“You’re young and strong, it’s the perfect time for you to work,” Jiang Di said, still gazing out the window.

After Wang Xiang sat down opposite him, she poured herself a cup of tea, glanced at Jiang Di, and then looked in the direction he was looking. There, a group of people were pushing and shoving each other, one of whom was Li Mu, whom she had seen before.

"Oh, this guy's pretty good at causing trouble, isn't he? He's a professional at this, isn't he?" Wang Xiang said sarcastically. After saying that, he glanced at Jiang Di and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"How do you think about saving Dai You?" Jiang Di asked.

"Ha," Wang Xiang sneered, "I'm helping you gather information, not asking you to put yourself in danger. Besides, you, a rat, want to save someone from a cat's mouth? That's just wishful thinking."

Jiang Di sighed after hearing this, "Then what should I do? How should I tell her?"

"Her? Miss Dai? You've already helped her so much. There's really nothing you can do about this." Seeing that Jiang Di looked dejected, Wang Xiang continued, "You haven't really fallen for her, have you?"

Jiang Di shook her head.

Seeing this, Wang Xiang said, "Well, I ran into Aunt Jiang. She asked me to do something. You... you should be able to guess what it is, right?"

"What's wrong?" Jiang Di asked, puzzled.

"Stop playing dumb. What are your thoughts on Miss Dai? I'd like to hear them."

"I don't really have any particular thoughts, we're just... friends."

"Really? It doesn't look like it to me." Wang Xiang frowned.

"See, I told you but you didn't believe me, and now you want me to tell you, what do you want from me?"

"Let me be frank with you. It's fine if you want to be friends with her. But if you like her, give up on that idea as soon as possible. You two are not compatible, and it won't work out."

Jiang Di fell silent, her lips pursed as if she were thinking. "I understand," she said, then stood up to leave.

“Oh, what do you know? Tell me,” Wang Xiang asked.

"Ugh, why are you asking such detailed questions? I've remembered what you said," Jiang Di said, growing impatient.

Wang Xiang sighed, "I don't want you to get hurt in the future."

Jiang Di ignored him and changed the subject, "Li Mu is done fighting, shall we talk to Brother Li Zhuang?"

Wang Xiang nodded, stood up, and said, "Let's go."

On the other side, at the Jiang family home, Madam Jiang had finished brewing the medicine and was bringing it over to Xia Lanyue.

"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Jiang," Xia Lanyue said with difficulty as she got up and took the bowl of medicine.

Jiang looked at her, her eyes seeming to hold many unspoken words. After hesitating, she finally asked, "Miss, are you engaged?"

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, then shook her head.

"You're not young anymore, aren't your family worried about you?"

Xia Lanyue lowered her head awkwardly; she couldn't explain her family's situation.

Seeing this, Madam Jiang took the bowl from her hand and shook her head.

"Aunt Jiang, what did you mean by 'Xia Yao's woman' the other day?" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but ask.

Jiang was taken aback, not expecting her to ask so proactively. Feeling this was a good opportunity, she spoke up, "Miss, haven't you heard the rumors outside?"

Xia Lanyue looked puzzled and shook her head.

“Oh, since you asked, then I’ll tell you,” Jiang said tentatively. “They say outside that you and Xia Yao are a couple, and that your relationship… is not simple.”

Xia Lanyue frowned. "Not simple?! Why is there such a rumor? I have nothing to do with him. My brother and I are just staying at his place temporarily. If it weren't for the grain theft incident, we would have left."

"Leave? You can leave him?" Jiang's lips curled into a meaningful smile.

“Aunt Jiang, why don’t you just say what you want to say?” Xia Lanyue asked.

“Then I’ll tell you, don’t be upset, I heard this from outsiders,” Jiang said with more confidence. “Everyone knows that you and Xia Yao had that affair.”

These words startled Xia Lanyue. "That matter?"

"Matters between husband and wife," Jiang Shi said directly, seeing that she didn't understand even if she kept it a secret. "You two are already like this, so you'll get married eventually, right?!"

Xia Lanyue was startled. Shame and anger welled up in her heart at the same time, and she was so anxious that she didn't know what to say. "No, no, no."

Seeing her like this, Madam Jiang said, "Girl, Xia Yao's family is quite good. They have a good family background and wealth. You won't be wronged if you stay with him. Listen to Aunt Jiang, go back home when you're better."

"No, I don't. We're not in that kind of relationship," Xia Lanyue said, feeling wronged.

Seeing her attitude, Jiang didn't know whether she was being unreasonable or unwilling to admit it, so she simply put on a sour face and said, "I've said everything I need to say. Think about it yourself. Just don't cling to my Di'er. He won't accept a woman who isn't clean." After saying that, Jiang left.

Xia Lanyue was still reeling from what she'd just witnessed. She was both angry and anxious—angry that the rumors had come out of nowhere, and anxious because she didn't know how to defend herself. She hadn't had any of those messy things with Xia Yao! She hadn't been clinging to Jiang Di either; they were just friends! What had the Jiang family misunderstood?!

Xia Lanyue felt helpless, but she knew that in her current state, no matter what she said, it would be impossible to explain. Her only thought now was to wait for Jiang Di to return and explain everything to him.