Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 115 Getting a Beating

Xia Yao sat to the side, drinking tea and listening to the argument without saying a word.

Village Chief Zhao turned to Xia Yao and asked, "Mr. Xia, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

Xia Yao put down his teacup. "Village Chief Zhao, I don't know how to solve cases. As long as everything is reasonable and based on evidence, I have nothing to say."

“Alright,” Zhao, the village chief, said to the crowd in front of him, “Dai Xiyue, you’re not willing to reveal the method of making this rice cake. I’m afraid there’s something fishy going on, which could cause more people to encounter the same situation as Li Zhuang. You should reveal it so I can see if there’s any harm involved.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue realized that this was an attempt to steal the recipe outright, and she resolutely refused to comply. "Village Chief Zhao, I cannot comply."

Village Chief Zhao was taken aback, probably not expecting her to be so stubborn. Then he secretly glanced at Xia Yao, who was drinking tea with her head down and not making any move, and said, "Aren't you afraid of being punished for being so obstinate?"

Xia Lanyue looked to the side and remained silent.

"Will you tell me how it's made, or not?" Village Chief Zhao asked, his attitude clearly showing less patience.

“I can’t say. If I do, everyone will know how to do it. What about my losses? Will Village Chief Zhao take responsibility?” Xia Lanyue retorted.

Village Chief Zhao sneered, "Is this your attitude of wanting to be punished?!"

"How does Village Chief Zhao plan to punish me?" Xia Lanyue asked.

“For causing harm to others, fines will be the primary punishment,” Village Chief Zhao turned to Li Zhuang, who was much better by now. “Li Zhuang, how much compensation do you think is appropriate?”

"Ten strings of cash," Li Zhuang said in a weak voice.

"What? Ten strings of cash? You really dare to ask for that!" Xia Lanyue was getting a little anxious; this was clearly extortion.

“My brother almost died! Is ten strings of cash too much?!” Li Zhuang’s brother said. “You’re clearly very rich, but you don’t want to give, right? You think we poor people don’t deserve it, right?!”

Hearing his words, Xia Lanyue's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered that Li Zhuang had been in the Tian family's courtyard the night the grain was stolen; he was also from Hegu Village! So that's why he thought she was rich?! Were they trying to extort money from her after failing to get the prescription?!

"I have no money," Xia Lanyue said calmly. "That's true. If I had money, would I be doing this kind of despicable work?!" As she said this, Xia Lanyue didn't forget to glare at Xia Yao, but Xia Yao was drinking tea with his head down, unaware of what was happening.

Suddenly, another thought popped into Xia Lanyue's mind: could today's events also be Xia Yao's doing? They were from the same village; maybe they'd been plotting together for a long time. Thinking of this, she instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

Village Chief Zhao seemed to notice that Xia Lanyue was wavering, so he said, "If you don't pay, you'll only get beaten. According to the law, it's thirty strokes of the cane. Can you handle that?!"

Thirty strokes of the cane?! Xia Lanyue raised her head, looking at Village Chief Zhao in horror. He was going to use a cruel method! No, not him, but them! Xia Lanyue looked at the people present. Although they were all expressionless, she felt that they were showing sinister smiles.

"Have you thought it through? Tell me the prescription, or are you going to pay compensation?" Village Chief Zhao urged.

"Hmph~" Xia Lanyue sneered. After hesitating for a while, she raised her head and said firmly, "Then I'll take the beating!"

Village Chief Zhao seemed surprised by her assertiveness. He lowered his eyes and glanced at Xia Yao, who continued to drink his tea quietly, his expression unreadable. "Mr. Xia, if Miss Dai insists on doing this, I will have no choice but to follow the rules."

Xia Lanyue sneered inwardly again. Were they ever going to stop putting on this act?!

Xia Yao then slowly spoke, "Everything will be done according to the village chief's wishes."

Xia Lanyue's heart sank to the bottom. Sure enough, they were together. She had misjudged them.

“But,” Xia Yao continued, “wouldn’t thirty strokes be too heavy?”

“There was a butcher who injected water into pork and was punished with sixty strokes of the cane. She almost killed someone, so the punishment is too lenient,” said Village Chief Zhao slowly.

Seeing that Village Chief Zhao said this, Xia Yao did not make any further suggestions.

But Li Zhuang was unconvinced. "Village Chief Zhao, what am I supposed to do?! I've already spent a lot of money on medicine!"

“But she said she had no money and refused to pay compensation. What could I do?” Village Chief Zhao asked rhetorically.

"Then let her write an IOU, and she can pay it back slowly in the future," said Li Zhuang and his brother.

"Are you willing, Dai Xiyue?" Village Chief Zhao asked her.

"Village Chief Zhao, you might as well hit me," Xia Lanyue said, forcing herself to speak.

“You don’t know the pain until you get a beating. With your frail body, thirty strokes would take half your life. Why torture yourself like this? Money can be earned back,” Li Chuan couldn’t help but say from the side.

Xia Lanyue smiled and said, "I've already given all my banknotes to Chief Zhao. I have no money left." Then she looked at Xia Yao and said, "Stop acting. If you're going to fight, hurry up."

Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue, his face revealing no emotion.

"Guards, prepare to administer the caning," said Village Chief Zhao.

And so, Xia Lanyue lay down on the stool.

“You still have a chance to back out, but you’re too young. I advise you not to act rashly,” said Village Chief Zhao.

Xia Lanyue knew she had acted impulsively, but she simply couldn't swallow this insult. She was going to fight for it today; even if she killed someone, maybe she'd go back home. It wouldn't be a complete loss. "Go ahead and fight!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the paddle struck heavily, and Xia Lanyue fainted amidst screams of pain.

Xia Lanyue didn't know how long she had been unconscious, only that she heard a jumble of voices around her. When she came to, she found herself lying face down on the bed.

She opened her eyes and found herself facing a window; outside, it was completely dark.

This place is like a guesthouse, but it's not her original room.

In the center of the room was a round table, and a man was sitting at the table drinking tea. She didn't even need to look closely to recognize that the man was Xia Yao.

Instantly, Xia Lanyue felt her blood rush to her head. She struggled to get up and leave, but in this situation, this idea was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Xia Yao seemed to sense that she had woken up, so he stood up and stood in front of her. "You are badly injured, don't move around."

Xia Lanyue wanted to retort, but she only had enough strength to breathe and no strength to speak.

Seeing that she wasn't moving around, Xia Yao continued, "The wound has been treated with medicine. The shopkeeper's wife applied it for you, and Doctor Zhang has gone to brew the medicine. It will be delivered in a little while."

Faced with Xia Yao's sudden thoughtfulness, Xia Lanyue sneered and squeezed out a single word with all her might, "Get lost."

Her voice was too weak for Xia Yao to hear, so he squatted down to listen to her.

Seeing his face only fueled Xia Lanyue's anger. She wanted nothing more than to punch him, but given her current situation, she could do nothing but retaliate verbally, "Stop pretending to be a good person and get lost!"

Xia Yao sneered, "Of all your things, your mouth is the toughest. Now that Dai You is gone, who can you rely on?! You might as well say something nice to me, and I might be able to help you."

Xia Yao's words struck a nerve with Xia Lanyue. She bit her lower lip tightly, her face turned ashen, and her body trembled even more violently, unable to tell whether it was from pain or anger.

Xia Lanyue glared at Xia Yao, then stubbornly turned her face away, ignoring him. Tears welled up in her eyes the instant she turned away. These tears held so much grievance.

Xia Yao smiled smugly where she couldn't see, "How about it? Want some water? Call me Brother Yao and I'll give you some."

"Pah!" Xia Lanyue spat weakly.