Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 179 Jiang Di is in trouble

Xia Lanyue strode forward, her heart filled with resentment.

The scenario she had imagined—Xia Yao trying to keep her—did not play out. Instead, she witnessed a scene of "someone else coming along," which made her so angry that she never wanted to see him again.

Dai You didn't dare to make a sound, but silently stayed behind Xia Lanyue.

Unable to vent her anger, Xia Lanyue kicked a tree by the roadside.

"Ouch!" Xia Lanyue clutched her ankle and hopped forward to regain her balance.

"Hahaha," Dai You couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Xia Lanyue glared at him and said irritably, "So annoying."

Dai You didn't care and just kept smiling.

It's unclear whether his happiness stemmed from Xia Lanyue's disheveled appearance or from the conflict between Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao. Only he himself probably knows the answer.

However, this state did not last long before it was interrupted.

A familiar person walked towards them. Xia Lanyue looked closely and recognized him as Abei.

It's been a few days since I last saw Ah Bei, and he's grown taller again.

Shouldn't Abei be working at the shop? Is he off today? Does he live here too? Xia Lanyue wondered, watching Abei get closer and closer, she gradually realized something was wrong.

Ah Bei looked dejected and ran straight towards her, as if he had come specifically to find her.

Abei ran up to Xia Lanyue and grabbed her arm. "Sister Dai, you're finally back!"

Xia Lanyue didn't know what had happened, but she knew he must have something urgent to do.

Ah Bei looked around warily, then said to Xia Lanyue, "Please save Manager Jiang! He's been arrested!"

Xia Lanyue was stunned. She looked at Abei, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong with him? Tell me in detail."

Abei pulled Xia Lanyue to a corner of the alley and told her in detail about Jiang Di's recent experiences.

It turned out that after Xia Lanyue and the others left, Village Chief Zhao led a group of people to the shop and arrested Jiang Di, saying that he was illegally selling smuggled salt. They took him away, and he has been locked up in jail for five days now.

Xia Lanyue couldn't understand. Jiang Di had been smuggling salt for a long time; the neighbors all knew, and they tacitly agreed to it, never bothering him. So what went wrong now? Why were they taking action against him?

Abei couldn't answer these questions either. He only knew that Jiang Di had been arrested, and he didn't have many people he could ask for help.

"What about Wang Xiang?" Xia Lanyue asked.

"Manager Wang went to try to find a solution, but it was no use. Sister Dai, you are the fiancée of the village magistrate, could you ask him to save Manager Jiang?" Abei looked at Xia Lanyue with pleading eyes.

"I... he's just a minor village head, what can he do?" Xia Lanyue asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"No, he can definitely do it. His grandfather was a former county magistrate, so there's still some connection between them. Sister Dai, only you can help him. If you don't help him, he'll die," Abei cried anxiously.

"What?!" Xia Lanyue was shocked by Abei's words. "How could he?"

“You have amnesia and don’t remember? Those who are serious offenders in the salt smuggling case will be exiled to a harsh and cold place. What’s the difference between that and taking his life?” Abei sobbed.

Xia Lanyue then realized that the punishment for smuggling salt was so severe! She panicked, but she didn't know if Xia Yao would help her save Jiang Di. But no matter what, she had to try.

"Abei, wait for me, I'm going to find him," Xia Lanyue said, and then ran towards Xia Yao's house.

"I'll go with you," Dai You tried to catch up, but Xia Lanyue stopped him.

She waved her hand, "Don't come, go back to the inn and wait for me."

After saying that, she ran away in a flash.

At this moment, Xia Yao was sitting in the courtyard leisurely reading a book, and the courtyard gate was open, as if it knew she would come back.

Seeing Xia Lanyue return, Xia Yao wasn't surprised at all. He calmly stood up, then smiled at her, "A-Yue, you missed me so soon?"

Xia Lanyue wasn't in the mood for jokes. She approached Xia Yao and asked urgently, "You know about Jiang Di's matter, right?"

Xia Lanyue got straight to the point.

Xia Yao maintained his smile and nodded.

Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao, and she seemed to see a fleeting smugness in his eyes. In that instant, she felt that things weren't so simple. "What will he do?"

"After the trial, they will be sent out," Xia Yao said.

"you can……"

"No," Xia Yao interrupted Xia Lanyue.

"What can't I ask?" Xia Lanyue still held onto a sliver of hope.

"You can't help him," Xia Yao shattered Xia Lanyue's hopes.

"why?"

Xia Yao took a deep breath, his smile vanished, and he looked coldly at Xia Lanyue. "Why should I help him?!"

"Can he... help me? He's my friend, I can't just watch him get hurt," Xia Lanyue pleaded, lowering her voice as she said, "Please, help him."

"Hmph," Xia Yao sneered, "Xia Lanyue, have you lost all your pride for him?"

Xia Lanyue understood that Xia Yao had always misunderstood Jiang Di, but she couldn't care less about that now. "I know you have a misunderstanding, but if we don't save him, he'll die!"

"So what? He should have known this would happen from the very first day he started smuggling salt. This is the path he chose, so he can't blame anyone else."

"He's doing it to make a living, otherwise who would be willing to take the risk?" Xia Lanyue said anxiously.

“Everyone is working hard to make a living, but if they break the law and Village Chief Zhao wants to arrest them, there’s nothing I can do.”

Looking at Xia Yao's cold and resolute expression, Xia Lanyue felt disheartened. A thought suddenly occurred to her: Was Xia Yao acting impartially, or was he simply seeking revenge? She pondered this and couldn't help but ask, "Fine, then tell me, is his arrest related to you?"

Xia Yao looked away and did not answer her.

At that moment, Xia Lanyue had her answer. Her resentment surged up instantly, and she rushed over, pounding her fists on Xia Yao's chest with all her might. "Why? Why did you do this to him?! If you have any complaints, take them out on me! Why hurt him?"

Xia Yao didn't dodge, but grabbed Xia Lanyue's arm to stop her from hitting him. His face was also filled with the same anger. "What? You feel sorry for him?!"

Xia Lanyue glared at Xia Yao, tears welling up uncontrollably. "How come I never realized you were so cruel?"

Xia Yao sneered, "I'm ruthless? Am I as ruthless as you?"

After saying that, Xia Yao shoved Xia Lanyue away.

Xia Lanyue staggered back a few steps before regaining her balance. She glared at Xia Yao with resentment, suddenly feeling a sense of dread from the unfamiliar person before her.

Knowing that Xia Yao wouldn't help, she lost interest in arguing with him and turned to run out of the courtyard.

Xia Yao remained motionless for a long time after Xia Lanyue left, but a sad expression appeared in his eyes.

He let out a long sigh, walked back to the stool, and picked up the book he had been reading.

The sunlight was so bright that it made his eyes water.