Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 30 Unable to Defend

Lin Xiu stepped out from the crowd and helped Wang Cui up from the ground. "Hey, Mom, are you alright?"

After Wang Cui stood up, she grabbed Tian Kuan and asked excitedly, "They're all gone?!"

Tian Kuan replied, "It's not all gone, there's still half left."

Wang Cui finally breathed a sigh of relief, clearly feeling much better. Then she turned to Xia Lanyue, grabbed her arm, and demanded, "Tell me quickly, what happened?"

Xia Lanyue was also woken up in the middle of the night. She had no idea what had happened and explained, "We really don't know any thieves. Just because we're in the village doesn't mean we should be blamed. This is too unfair."

Upon hearing this, the villagers expressed their doubts.

“Our village is the poorest in the area. Our grain has never been stolen. But when you came, they followed. Don’t tell me it’s a coincidence.”

"That's right. I've heard of thieves before, but they only robbed the rich. Today, however, they not only stole our grain, but also injured our people."

Xia Lanyue truly experienced the bitterness of being unable to defend herself. She couldn't think of any way to explain herself in a way that would make them believe her. Before she could even open her mouth, a man shouted, "Arrest them and send them to the county magistrate. Lock them up and torture them until they talk."

"That serious?!" Xia Lanyue was terrified. She forced herself to calm down and buy herself some time. "Wait, wait, you say it's us, but you need evidence, right? Village Chief Zhao, you're the village chief, you can't convict us just because of a coincidence, can you?"

"I heard from Tian Guang that you saw two strange men coming to the village to scout the area today? Is that true?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

"Yes."

"Who else saw it?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

Xia Lanyue thought for a moment. He couldn't possibly not recognize the two people who came from Xia Yao's house. "And Mr. Xia as well."

This statement caused an uproar.

"Who did I see?" Xia Yao's voice came from outside the courtyard.

The crowd parted to make way, and Xia Lanyue saw Xia Yao, leaning on a cane, slowly walking towards the courtyard gate, accompanied by two men. These two men were the same people she had seen that morning! They actually knew each other.

Why are they together?! Xia Lanyue suddenly became alert.

As they approached, Xia Yao asked Xia Lanyue, "Miss Yue, who did I see?"

Xia Lanyue said righteously, "It was these two people next to you. This morning, they tried to open the gate of the Tian family's courtyard, but I happened to see them and then they ran away."

Xia Yao was taken aback upon hearing this, clearly surprised as well. He then turned to look at the two of them with a puzzled expression, "Is what Miss Yue said true? What did you two do?"

Upon hearing this, the two hurriedly denied it, saying, "Don't listen to this woman's nonsense, we didn't do anything. Yes, we came to the village this morning and went to my cousin's house to knock on the door, but he didn't answer, so we left."

"Hmph," Xia Lanyue snorted coldly. Were these three putting on an act?! She said, "You're talking nonsense. I clearly saw that you came from Xia Yao's family."

“Hey, young lady, we’ve been helping my cousin Yao with his farming in this village for years, everyone knows us. We’re not like you, nobody knows where we’re from. Besides, my cousin’s family lost the most grain this time, we’re more anxious than anyone else. And don’t think you can clear your name like this,” the square-faced man said.

Xia Lanyue was furious, but she forced herself to remain calm. "The two of you were the ones acting suspiciously this morning. You yourself admitted to coming to the village, which means I saw you. There's no problem. I caught you red-handed, and now you're trying to deny it. Besides, you accused me of being a thief without any evidence. At least I didn't wander around the village like you two."

“You two have conflicting accounts, is there anyone to corroborate this?” Village Chief Zhao asked.

“I have it,” Xia Lanyue said confidently, raising her head. She thought of Jiang Di.

"Oh? Who is it?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

Xia Lanyue searched for Jiang Di in the crowd, but couldn't find him after looking twice. She hesitated whether to mention his name, but then she remembered his expression when Zhao Lizhang was mentioned. Clearly, he didn't want to see Zhao Lizhang. After struggling with the decision for a long time, she decided not to say anything. "He's not here."

"See, I told you so, you were just talking nonsense," the square-faced man mocked her.

"You!" Xia Lanyue glared at him angrily.

"Alright, I heard from Tian Guang that you are from the capital. Where are you headed, young lady? Why have you been staying here for so long?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

Xia Lanyue looked at Dai You, signaling him to speak.

“We went to visit relatives. My sister and I were drowning, but Uncle Tian rescued us and we are receiving treatment here temporarily,” Dai You said.

"Treatment? What kind of illness has been treated for so long? I heard you've been here for almost ten days," Village Chief Zhao asked.

“She hit her head,” Dai You said. “She has amnesia.”

"Oh? Have you seen a doctor?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

"I've seen him, it's Dr. Zhang from town. I've seen him several times, and he even prescribed medicine," Tian Guang said.

“Amnesia! That means this girl doesn’t know where she came from? She just believes whatever you tell her?” said Village Chief Zhao.

Xia Lanyue sensed something was wrong from his tone. What was he trying to say?

"What do you suspect, Village Chief Zhao?" Tian Guang asked.

“I suspect this man found this amnesiac woman from somewhere to help him put on an act. Go and search their belongings and see if there’s anything suspicious.” Several people around Zhao, carrying torches, went back into the houses on both sides.

Xia Lanyue's heart was in turmoil. She had never thought about what Zhao Lizhang was saying. Could it be that her background was made up by Dai You?

A short while later, one person came out of the east room carrying a jade hairpin, and another came out of the kitchen carrying a bundle. The bundle was opened, and inside was the tattered black clothes that Dai You had worn when she first met him.

Xia Lanyue's heart sank; she feared she would truly have no way to defend herself now.

"Is this your clothing?" Village Chief Zhao asked. "What happened to the marks on it?"

“We encountered thieves before we got here, and this is what we saw in the fight,” Dai You said calmly.

Village Chief Zhao looked at Dai You with suspicion, "So you fell into the water not because the boat sank due to flooding, but because you encountered thieves?"

“Yes,” Dai You said.

"Why did you lie?!" Village Chief Zhao questioned.

Dai You sighed, "Because it's troublesome to explain."

"Li Zhuang, were the people who looted the grain tonight wearing these clothes?" Village Chief Zhao asked.

Li Zhuang picked up the clothes, examined them carefully, then smelled them, looking troubled. "I can't tell, it's too dark, but it should be black."

Village Chief Zhao didn't ask any more questions, but looked at the two of them suspiciously. "I don't believe what you're saying anymore. I have to take you back, lock you up first, and then verify your story."

"Wait, she doesn't know anything, so we don't need to lock her up. I'll go back with you," Dai You said hurriedly.

Xia Lanyue looked at him with emotion.

"Stop talking nonsense. Are you going to leave one of them to go back and report for help? Take them all with you," a tall, thin man said.