Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 172 Visiting the patient

Without Xia Yao, Xia Lanyue felt that time slowed down.

Not wanting to disturb Xia Yao's work, she refrained from going to him.

It was only during those two free days that she realized Dai You was unusual.

One thing is that Dai You seems to have accepted her being with Xia Yao! Another thing is that Dai You has been coming home very late lately, after dark.

So, she couldn't help but ask Dai You during dinner, "What have you been busy with lately? Why are you coming home so late? Doesn't the pharmacy close early?"

"It's nothing," Dai You said, his eyes lowered, as he ate.

Xia Lanyue waited for him to continue, but there was nothing more. So she asked, "And then? Where did you go?"

Dai You glanced at Xia Lanyue, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I found another job."

"So you're doing two jobs?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Ok".

Looking at Dai You's increasingly tanned skin, Xia Lanyue said, "What are you working so hard for? It's not... to save money to get married, is it?" She laughed as she said this.

Dai You didn't laugh, he just rolled his eyes at her and continued eating.

Seeing Dai You's blank expression, Xia Lanyue found it boring and stopped smiling. "Brother, you've reached the age where you should get married. Since I'm your only family now, I have to help you with this! Tell me, is there a girl you like?"

Dai You looked somewhat helpless, sighed, and continued shoveling food into his mouth, ignoring her.

Xia Lanyue assumed he was just shy and embarrassed. "It's okay. If you're shy, I'll keep an eye out for what kind you like."

Dai You looked a little angry when he heard this, but he didn't say anything and just stuffed more food into his mouth.

"Don't be shy, fine, I'll figure it out myself," Xia Lanyue said, giving up after waiting for Dai You's reply.

Dai You reacted this time. He put down his bowl and said to Xia Lanyue, "I like you just the way you are."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback and lowered her head awkwardly.

Dai You gave a self-deprecating laugh and continued eating.

After a moment of silence, Dai You spoke up, changing the subject, "Have you heard? Jiang Di's mother is sick."

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, and asked anxiously, "What illness? How did it happen?"

“According to Dr. Zhang, it’s caused by qi stagnation. He prescribed some medicine and I’m resting at home,” Dai You said.

"Oh dear, I have to go see her," Xia Lanyue said, feeling restless.

Dai You saw through his thoughts, "Don't rush, you should go during the day. It's inconvenient now that it's late."

Xia Lanyue thought what he said made sense, so she picked up her rice bowl again and asked, "Is it serious? How did you get sick? Did Jiang Di upset you?"

"It seems so. I heard it was about a blind date. Jiang Di went against his mother's wishes, and Jiang Shi fainted from anger and blood rushing to her head."

Xia Lanyue then remembered that she had seen Jiang Di a few days ago, and Jiang Di had said that he had separated from the girl. She guessed that was why Jiang Shi was angry.

“Tomorrow, I will go with you to visit him, and I also want to thank him for taking care of you,” Dai You said.

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue felt a vague unease. Dai You only knew that Madam Jiang had taken care of her when she was sick, but he didn't know that it was also Madam Jiang who sent her to Xia Yao.

Xia Lanyue didn't blame Jiang Shi for her actions; in fact, she was grateful for them. She just wanted to keep Dai You in the dark. "We'll go together tomorrow during the day."

……

The next morning, Xia Lanyue and Dai You took the gifts and went to Jiang Di's house, bringing along the medicine that Zhang Langzhong had prescribed for Jiang.

Led by Xia Lanyue, the two of them made their way to Jiang Di's house.

Jiang Di looked surprised when she saw them, then her expression brightened with delight, and she quickly invited them into the house.

Xia Lanyue and Dai You stood inside the Jiang family's house, looking somewhat awkward because of what had happened earlier.

Half-conscious in bed, Madam Jiang saw the two of them and asked, "Why are you here?"

Xia Lanyue knew these words were directed at her. "I came to see Aunt Jiang. Are you feeling better?"

"Are you here to laugh at me?" Although Jiang was weak, it did not affect her ability to speak.

Jiang Di had just entered the room with a stool when she heard Jiang Shi saying this, and quickly spoke up to stop her, "Mother, what are you saying?"

Xia Lanyue glanced at Jiang Di somewhat awkwardly, "Aunt Jiang is in a bad mood."

Jiang Di placed the stools behind Xia Lanyue and the other woman. "Please don't mind, my mother is delirious from her illness. Please have a seat."

Jiang opened her eyes and looked at Xia Lanyue, "Miss Dai, when are you getting married?"

Xia Lanyue smiled and replied, "A date hasn't been set yet."

"Then you should get married soon. Only when you're married can Jiang Di give up on you," Jiang said, her voice trembling.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, and seemed to understand what Jiang meant. She could only explain, "Aunt Jiang, you misunderstood. Jiang Di and I are just friends."

Jiang Di was displeased and went to Jiang Shi's bedside. "Mother, please don't talk nonsense, okay?"

Jiang pushed aside Jiang Di, who was blocking her view, and said, "You don't need to lie to me. Do you think I don't understand your little schemes? You heard it today too. Miss Dai will marry Xia Yao. You have no chance with her anymore. Just settle down and find a partner. Stop thinking about her."

Jiang Di sighed helplessly, "I'm not going on blind dates because I don't like that girl. What does it have to do with Dai Xiyue?!"

"You say you don't like her without even having met her?" Jiang's voice rose a bit, sounding nothing like a patient. "I heard that Miss Dai and Xia Yao had a falling out, and you immediately backed out of the blind date. Do you think I can't see through your little scheme? Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, don't even think about having that idea."

Xia Lanyue was extremely embarrassed. She turned her head and secretly glanced at Dai You, who was looking at the floor with a very ugly expression.

Ignoring everyone else's feelings, Jiang sat up with difficulty and looked at Xia Lanyue, "Miss Dai."

When Xia Lanyue saw Jiang calling her, she quickly went over and helped her sit up. "Aunt Jiang, you really misunderstood. Jiang Di and I are just friends. He has helped me a lot, and I am very grateful to him."

"Don't blame Aunt Jiang for saying this to you. Now that you're engaged, just focus on taking good care of your husband's family and stop paying attention to Jiang Di," Jiang's brows furrowed.

Xia Lanyue knew that no matter how she tried to explain, she couldn't change Jiang's misunderstanding, so she simply stopped trying and said, "I understand."

Jiang Di was taken aback and scolded Jiang Shi, "Mother, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Jiang Di, Madam Jiang continued speaking to Xia Lanyue, "Miss Dai, since you consider Jiang Di a friend, why don't you try to persuade him? He's getting on in years and it's time for him to get married."

"Mother, please stop talking. I'll go on a blind date," Jiang Di said helplessly to Jiang Shi. "Whoever you think is good, I'll marry, okay?"

Xia Lanyue realized that these were just angry words, but she had no right to say anything, so she could only step back to Dai You's side.

Hearing what she wanted to say, Madam Jiang simply said to herself, "Really? Then you can go see Miss Zhou tomorrow."

Jiang Di nodded helplessly.

Jiang smiled with satisfaction.

Seeing the situation, Xia Lanyue knew that staying any longer would only make the atmosphere more awkward, so she said goodbye and left, "Jiang Di, let Aunt Jiang rest well. My brother and I will go back first."

Jiang Di forced an awkward smile and didn't try to stop Xia Lanyue. "Alright, I'm really sorry about today. Let's get together at home another day."

"Hmm," Xia Lanyue said, not in the mood to continue, and hurriedly left the house.

Jiang Di hurriedly stepped forward to see them off, escorting them to the gate of the courtyard.

"I'm sorry, you all must have found this amusing," Jiang Di said, scratching her head.

"It's alright, Aunt Jiang misunderstood. But you should still go on the blind date as she suggested, so as not to worry her," Xia Lanyue said.

Jiang Di lowered her head and remained silent.

Xia Lanyue felt that her words might have upset Jiang Di, so she changed the subject, "Jiang Di, I need some money. Can I go to Wang Xiang this afternoon to get it?"

Jiang Di looked up at Xia Lanyue and nodded. "You can go see him anytime. Right now, we're making rice cakes, so he's tied to the shop every day."

Xia Lanyue smiled shyly, "He really went through a lot."

“It’s okay, they’re all…friends,” Jiang Di said.

Xia Lanyue told Jiang Di to go back, and after he returned to his room, she headed towards the inn.

On the way, Xia Lanyue stole a glance at Dai You. She thought he would have something to ask, but to her surprise, he didn't. He just quietly followed her...

The town was quiet and peaceful at night.

Xia Yao sat on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, deep in thought.

Suddenly, something the size of a stone flew in from outside the wall, tracing an arc. Finally, the round, plump thing landed in the center of the yard.

Xia Yao remained calm, glanced at the low wall in the yard, then got up and picked up the things.

It was a crumpled piece of paper.

Xia Yao took the crumpled paper into the house, and then, by the light of the oil lamp, he could see the words on it.

Then Xia Yao sighed softly, lit the paper on the lamp, and threw it out of the house before it burned out completely.

However, Xia Yao's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.