Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 134 Auspicious Year

Xia Lanyue stood in the center of the front hall and bowed to Village Chief Zhao, saying, "Village Chief Zhao, this person is talking nonsense."

Li Zhuang guessed she would try to argue, "Hmph, I saw it with my own eyes. You and Xia Yao were doing intimate things in the reeds late at night, more than once. He even carried you home. You have no shame at all."

Upon hearing this, Xia Lanyue hugged her. Late at night, wasn't that the night they escaped? Li Zhuang wasn't sleeping at night, was he staking out them? "Village chief, my leg is injured, that's why he hugged me, it's not for any other reason."

"See, she admitted it!" Li Zhuang looked excitedly at Zhao, the village chief. "In the middle of the night, a man and a woman alone in the reeds, what could they possibly do? I don't need to say more."

"Li Zhuang, did you see what they did with your own eyes? Or are you just guessing based on a single action?!" Village Chief Zhao asked Li Zhuang.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Li Zhuang said confidently.

Xia Lanyue panicked, "What nonsense are you talking about! I have nothing to do with him!"

After saying this, Xia Lanyue felt a little guilty. She remembered that night, before she reached the reeds, Xia Yao and that woman were already there. Could it be that Li Zhuang mistook that woman for her? Did Li Zhuang see the two of them? But Xia Yao had told her not to mention that woman. If that were the case, should she defend herself? If she didn't admit it, who could she fabricate? If she admitted it, wouldn't she go to jail? Xia Lanyue was at a loss, sweating profusely with anxiety.

Just as she was getting anxious, Xia Yao arrived.

Xia Yao stepped across the threshold with hurried steps.

"I heard some people are talking about me, so I'm here now," Xia Yao glanced at Xia Lanyue and winked at her, signaling her not to be nervous.

“You’ve come at the right time. Li Zhuang said he saw you committing adultery and wants me to arrest you. You’ll have to explain this yourself,” Zhao, the village chief, said to Xia Yao.

“To accuse someone of adultery, you need evidence,” Xia Yao said to Li Zhuang. “You’ve caught me? I have no idea what I’ve done.”

“Yes, I was in the reeds that day, and I saw it very clearly,” Li Zhuang said.

"Besides you, did anyone else see it?" Xia Yao asked.

“No more,” Li Zhuang said.

"What are we going to do then? How can we prove you're not lying?!" Xia Yao asked.

“The whole town has heard about your affair, so what excuse do you have? Besides, other women have also seen you together before,” Li Zhuang said.

"Which other auntie is it? Please have her come out and confirm," Xia Yao said unhurriedly.

“If you don’t want to admit it, there are other ways. Just let the woman verify her identity and see if she is a virgin, then we’ll know,” Li Zhuang said.

Xia Lanyue rolled her eyes at Li Zhuang. It wasn't that she was afraid; she just found him disgusting. But soon, she hesitated, remembering her previous dream.

She used to dream of fragments of Dai Xiyue's memories after drinking, but one night in her dream, she and Dai You did something indescribable...

Even now, she can't tell whether it was Dai Xiyue's memory or her dream.

If it's just a dream, that's one thing, but what if it's a memory? That means she can't withstand scrutiny anymore. How will she handle that? Will she go to jail?!

She panicked and looked at Xia Yao with pleading eyes, her gaze filled with anxiety and worry.

Xia Yao, who had been confident, looked less pleased after seeing Xia Lanyue's gaze.

Finally, before Village Chief Zhao could speak, Xia Yao spoke up, "Dai Xiyue and I are engaged."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar.

Li Zhuang sneered and said to Village Chief Zhao, "Village Chief Zhao, you see, I was right. He's starting to make up lies now."

Zhao, the village chief, remained calm, his gaze sweeping lightly over Li Zhuang before turning to Xia Yao and saying, "Continue."

"I met Dai Xiyue in the capital. I couldn't find a place to stay, so I stayed at her house. That's when I fell in love with her at first sight, and we eventually decided to get married. We weren't secretly engaged; we had met each other's elders. Her father thought highly of me and was willing to give his daughter to me in marriage. However, our families lived a thousand miles apart, making the wedding quite complicated. So, after discussing it, we decided to keep it simple. She came to see me this time with the engagement letter, but she encountered bandits on the way, fell into the water, and lost her memory, which is why she doesn't remember me. But fate brought us together again..."

"Hey, hey, hey, you're telling a story!" Li Zhuang couldn't stand it anymore. "Why didn't you say you were engaged to her just now? You changed your mind as soon as you mentioned the inspection."

“I didn’t have a chance to say it just now,” Xia Yao said. “You didn’t ask either.”

Li Zhuang was unconvinced and pointed at Xia Lanyue, saying, "No, that's not what she said just now. None of what you're saying makes sense!"

Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue with a questioning look in his eyes.

Xia Lanyue slowly spoke, "I didn't say that. What I said was that nothing happened between him and me in the reed marshes."

Xia Yao quickly understood her meaning and sneered, "We were just passing through the reeds. Besides, such intimate things can be done at home, why would you want to see it in the reeds? That doesn't make sense."

Laughter erupted from the crowd.

Although it sounded like she was in the right, Xia Lanyue's face still turned bright red with embarrassment.

“Village Chief Zhao, they’ve already consummated their marriage. This is clearly an attempt to cover it up,” Li Zhuang said, looking at Village Chief Zhao. “In this situation, wouldn’t it be unreasonable not to punish them?”

Village Chief Zhao glanced at Li Zhuang. "Should I be the judge or will you? Xia Yao, do you have anything else to say?"

“We did have a contract, but it was lost when she was drowning. Tian Guang can testify that it was my uncle who pulled them out of the river. She almost died, as you all probably know,” Xia Yao said.

"You think you can just make up whatever you want because you can't produce any evidence?!" Li Zhuang asked. "Xia Yao, you're a teacher! How can you educate people with this kind of behavior?!"

These words left Xia Yao speechless.

Seeing this, Li Zhuang became smug and said, "I urge Village Chief Zhao to make a strict judgment to show that justice is served."

Village Chief Zhao looked at Xia Lanyue and said, "No rush, Miss Dai's brother is here. Let's ask him first." Then he turned to the village security guard next to him and instructed, "Go and bring Dai You over."

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue's heart leaped into her throat once more. Not only would this expose her mistake, but it would also anger Dai You, and she wondered what extreme actions he might take next.

Just as she was getting worried, Dai You followed the village security guard over.

Dai You looked at Xia Lanyue, walked to her side and stopped, and only looked away from Xia Lanyue when Zhao, the village chief, asked him a question.

"Dai You, are you aware that your sister and Xia Yao are engaged?" Village Chief Zhao asked Dai You.

“Village chief, aren’t you giving him a hint by asking him that?” Li Zhuang complained.

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Zhao also lost his temper, "How dare you question my judgment?"

Li Zhuang realized he had said the wrong thing, lowered his head, and dared not utter another word.

Xia Lanyue quickly looked at Dai You, but the light in his eyes had vanished, and his face was gloomy. Xia Lanyue tried to give Dai You a hint, but he didn't look at her again.

Everyone waited for Dai You's reply, especially Li Zhuang.

For the first time, Xia Lanyue felt as if every second was an eternity. Large beads of sweat dripped from her forehead. Just when Xia Lanyue thought it was all over, Dai You said, "Yes."

Xia Lanyue's tense nerves relaxed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she was more worried about Dai You. What was he thinking when he said those words?

Xia Lanyue had no interest in listening to what the people around her were saying. She only stared at Dai You, who looked as if he was about to shatter, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ground.

"A-Yue?" Xia Yao called softly beside her.

Xia Lanyue snapped out of her daze and looked at Xia Yao, "What's wrong?"

Xia Yao glanced at Dai You, then looked at Xia Lanyue, "Village Chief Zhao is asking you, are you willing?"

"Willing to what?" Xia Lanyue was a little confused. "I didn't hear you clearly just now."

"I ask you, is your relationship with Xia Yao truly sincere?" Village Chief Zhao repeated.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback by the question, but since things had come to this point, she could only admit it and say, "Yes."

"Since that's the case, and neither of you is married and you have feelings for each other, there's no reason for you to be punished. I will grant you this favor and allow you to marry. Find another auspicious day for your wedding."