Chapter 20: Upside Down and Shameless!
Seeing Ning Chen's confident expression, Xiao Longhai froze for a moment, then frowned and crouched down.
He opened the broken box and picked up a piece of the shattered blood ginseng.
It was only when he took a closer look that he was shocked!
Xiao Longhai suddenly realized.
This blood ginseng, apart from the outermost layer being red, was entirely white inside!
Xiao Longhai's pupils contracted, and holding onto the last shred of hope, he brought it close to his nose and sniffed.
A faint bitter and spicy radish scent instantly filled his nostrils.
Xiao Longhai collapsed onto the ground, his face pale, murmuring in disbelief,
“It’s… it’s a radish…”
“How… how could this be…”
Seeing this, Xiao Zhenbang and Xiao Longshan hurriedly picked up a piece of the ‘blood ginseng’ and examined it closely.
After a careful inspection, Xiao Longshan furrowed his brows tightly, and suddenly, he had a sharp realization.
“Where’s he gone? Quick, chase him!”
“Chase him? He’s already run off.” Xiao Longhai said bitterly.
Xiao Zhenbang’s gaze remained fixed on the ‘blood ginseng’ in his hand. His face darkened, and his brows furrowed deeply.
“If I’m not mistaken, that Master Zhang must have soaked a white radish in blood ginseng water for a period of time.”
Ning Chen spoke up at the right moment,
“Then, he probably sprinkled blood ginseng powder on the radish to make it resemble blood ginseng.”
“If you don’t know much about blood ginseng, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference.”
Upon hearing Ning Chen’s words, the Xiao family members all stared at the ‘blood ginseng’ for a long time, lost in thought.
The atmosphere became extremely tense.
At this moment, Xiao Longhai slowly regained his composure.
His expression flickered, and his whole body tensed. His mouth trembled involuntarily, unable to conceal his inner panic.
Earlier, he had suggested buying the blood ginseng for six hundred thousand, and now, he had bought a radish instead.
A six-hundred-thousand loss—Old Master Zhenbang was probably going to be furious.
What should he do now?
Xiao Longhai swallowed hard, feeling incredibly flustered.
Suddenly, his eyes shifted.
In the next moment, Xiao Longhai stood up suddenly, his gaze turning furious as he pointed an accusing finger at Ning Chen.
“Good! Ning Chen, you knew this blood ginseng was fake, and yet you didn’t warn us earlier!”
“You waited until we bought it before telling us. I think you’re up to no good!”
Xiao Tingcheng laughed in anger,
“Second Uncle, Ning Chen already warned everyone from the beginning, but no one believed him.”
“He made himself clear, but you still went ahead and bought it. Now, you’ve been sold fake goods—how can you blame him?”
Xiao Zhenbang sighed, his expression complicated.
Ning Chen’s background and knowledge were worlds apart from the Xiao family.
Who would dare believe his judgment?
“Enough, Xiao Tingcheng. If Ning Chen really didn’t want the Xiao family to be tricked, he had plenty of ways to stop it.”
Xiao Longhai made up his mind to shift the blame onto Ning Chen.
His tone became increasingly firm.
“I’m sure this kid did it on purpose!”
After a pause, Xiao Longhai raised his voice by an octave,
“I believe that all the money lost this time should be borne by Ning Chen!”
“If he had explained it clearly earlier, the Xiao family is reasonable. We wouldn’t have lost so much money.”
Such shameless reasoning was something Xiao Tingcheng never expected him to say.
“Second Uncle, you have some nerve!”
Xiao Tingcheng trembled with anger,
“You can say such things with a straight face!”
Xiao Longhai sneered,
“I don’t think I’m shameless. Some people act ignorant on purpose and let the Xiao family suffer—now that’s truly shameless!”
He suddenly shifted his focus to Xiao Tingcheng.
“Xiao Tingcheng, Ning Chen has no skills and no money. You two are a married couple, so his responsibility is yours as well.”
Xiao Longhai’s tone grew colder,
“So, this medicine should be your responsibility to make up for!”
Such shameless words were spoken with complete calmness by Xiao Longhai, as if his conscience was clear.
Xiao Longshan couldn’t watch anymore. His face turned ashen as he stood up and rebuked,
“Xiao Longhai, what are you talking about?”
“You were the one who suggested buying the medicine, and now that it’s fake, you want to throw the blame on my daughter?”
“Do you have any sense of responsibility as an elder?”
Xiao Longhai showed no guilt, and in a firm tone, he said,
“Big Brother, this isn’t my fault. It’s clearly Ning Chen who had ill intentions and caused our family to lose six hundred thousand!”
“If he doesn’t take responsibility, who will?”
“Tingcheng married Ning Chen. That’s a fact. If Tingcheng doesn’t want to help Ning Chen, she can always choose to divorce him.”
By this point, his intentions were obvious.
He was trying to use this matter to force Xiao Tingcheng to divorce!
Xiao Longshan froze, turning to look at Xiao Zhenbang.
However, Xiao Zhenbang didn’t react.
He neither agreed nor disagreed.
“It’s just a medicine, how big of a deal is it?”
At this moment, Ning Chen stepped forward and calmly said,
“Things like this, you can get as much as you want.”
Xiao Longhai’s brow furrowed; this wasn’t the answer he had hoped for.
He needed to hear Xiao Tingcheng’s approval for it to be valid.
“Anyone can boast.”
Xiao Longhai sneered,
“Do you think a hundred-year-old herb is like a cabbage? You think you can get as much as you want?”
Ning Chen stood with his hands behind his back, speaking calmly,
“For the Xiao family, gathering some hundred-year-old herbs may be as hard as climbing to the heavens.”
“But to me, it’s nothing.”
As he spoke, Ning Chen exuded an undeniable confidence that no one could ignore.
“Ning Chen…”
Xiao Tingcheng’s gaze was slightly worried, her red lips parted as if she wanted to say something.
“Trust me.”
The only response she got was a single look.
Ning Chen’s deep, dark eyes seemed to have a magic of their own, drawing people in, making them feel as if they were drowning in them.
Their gazes met, and Xiao Tingcheng’s beautiful eyes blinked a few times.
She gently nodded and smiled.
...
Outside the Xiao family estate,
The worry in Xiao Tingcheng’s eyes hadn’t disappeared. After a moment’s hesitation, she still voiced her concerns,
“Ning Chen, where do you plan to get the medicine from? Right now, every major family in Jiangcheng is probably scrambling for it.”
“Even if we find a hundred-year-old herb, the price will likely be very high.”
Xiao Tingcheng bit her lip, mentally calculating the assets she could use. No matter what, she was willing to help Ning Chen, even if it meant going to great lengths.
“Don’t worry. I have my ways.”
Ning Chen smiled mysteriously,
“Ten days from now, if we don’t have enough medicine, the Xiao family won’t be able to participate in the Dragon Ascension Banquet.”
“By then, Xiao Longhai will still try to pressure Old Master to make us divorce.”
Ning Chen’s eyes suddenly turned cold,
“I don’t like being passive. Instead of waiting for him to make things difficult for us, it’s better to solve it all at once.”
After hearing this, Xiao Tingcheng nodded thoughtfully. She agreed with the reasoning.
“But where should we find the medicine?”
Xiao Tingcheng sighed, her brows furrowed in worry.
Ning Chen smiled faintly,
“Jiangbei Province is the country’s base for medicinal herbs. Finding some old herbs shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Just head to a large herbal market and try our luck.”
Ning Chen smiled faintly again,
“Don’t forget, I’m a doctor. Who knows more about medicinal herbs than a doctor?”
Hearing this, Xiao Tingcheng was somewhat reassured.
She nodded, about to say something, when suddenly her phone rang.
Xiao Tingcheng took out her phone and saw the caller ID, her face lighting up with joy.
“Yujie, what made you think of calling me?”
On the other end of the line, a breathless, urgent voice spoke.
“Tingcheng, my grandfather suddenly fell ill. I don’t have many friends in Jiangcheng, and you’re the only one who can help me.”
“Can you find me a doctor?”
