Taming The Hidden Bigshot By Kissing Him
Chapter 353: You Don’t Understand Young Master Zhong’s Thoughts?

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: You Don’t Understand Young Master Zhong’s Thoughts?

Whispers and murmurs arose all around.

Very few understood the reasoning behind adding Angelica to the Gentian Soup, and most who were not well-versed in Medicinal Decoction scratched their heads in confusion, repeatedly asking those beside them.

Tang Chengde looked at Qiao Xi with great satisfaction and said, "The question Qiao Xi drew was one of the more difficult ones we old geezers devised as a little pitfall. Qiao Xi, explain why you thought to add Angelica."

Qiao Xi’s eyes slightly lowered, and as she lifted them again, her gaze was confident and resolute, "The symptoms described a child of three or four vomiting, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and frightened screaming. This confirms the diagnosis of pediatric epilepsy, but the frightened breathing, I surmise, was contrary to the expectation. It’s what we often say happens when a child sees a stranger or is startled by the outside environment."

"Therefore, it’s appropriate to add either Angelica or Ginseng. Both Angelica and Ginseng are good herbs for nourishing blood and replenishing vital energy, but they tend to cause inflammation, so I chose only the slightly warming and somewhat drying Angelica."

Her considerations were very thorough.

By the time she had finished speaking, there was hardly any dissenting voice.

Xiang Mingzhu’s face turned even greener, clearly aware that Qiao Xi had solved the problem too well!

In that situation, she still had to consider which was more appropriate, Angelica or Ginseng, and managed to get all the herbs despite Li Songwen’s sabotage.

Her heart was too calm!

Her mentor, also her uncle Lu Bannong, once said that in this line of work, those with steady hands and a calm mind, coupled with high talent, were extremely formidable!

Such people would not be obscured; they would one day stand at the pinnacle!

A trace of fear sprouted in Xiang Mingzhu’s heart.

What kind of person had she provoked? Qiao Xi was much younger than her, she was just a young girl who’d just left the shelter of her home, lucky at best.

Xiang Mingzhu’s brows furrowed tight, her back tensing.

What made matters worse was not that Qiao Xi had won, but that she herself had lost and now had to fulfill the wager!

Xiang Mingzhu wanted to leave immediately!

Tang Chengde glanced at her and asked indifferently, "Does anyone else have objections?"

"None!"

"None left."

If they had drawn such a question, they might not have considered as many factors as Qiao Xi did.

In such an urgent moment, who would pay attention to such wording? It seemed the veteran Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians could also set traps. It appeared that this year they had raised the difficulty of the competition.

The leaderboard was final!

First in the preliminary selection, Qiao Xi!

Second place, Xiang Mingzhu!

What surprised everyone was that Shen Xuanzhi came in third. Furthermore, Li Songwen hadn’t even made it into the top hundred. Busy sabotaging Qiao Xi, he’d drawn a problematic question himself and scored zero in the second round.

At that moment, he was fuming with rage.

As soon as the results were announced, Xiang Mingzhu turned and quickly made for the side exit.

Young Master Sun tore at his throat shouting, "Xiang Mingzhu, you have to accept the loss!"

"The wager!"

"Xiang Mingzhu!"

Liu Yi joined in the commotion, followed by more people calling out Xiang Mingzhu’s name.

Xiang Mingzhu had no choice but to stop in her tracks.

Qiao Xi slowly approached her and said, "Can’t you admit defeat? Don’t forget, our bet in black and white is documented on paper, and you cannot worm your way out of it. Better to fulfill it today."

"You’re being too oppressive, Qiao Xi," Xiang Mingzhu asserted.

Qiao Xi retorted, "If I had lost, you would have made it even uglier for me. You would have wished to trample both my mentor and me into the mud. Moreover, you were the one who initially provoked and made this bet!"

"You..."

Xiang Mingzhu gritted her teeth, and as she looked around, she felt as if everyone was laughing at her.

If she really said those words, Lu Bannong would not let her off easily!

"Xiang Mingzhu, are you unable to say it?" Qiao Xi pressed.

It was rare for her to be so imposing.

Li Songwen wanted to come forward to help Xiang Mingzhu but was stopped by Shen Xuanzhi. His eyes concealed a faint hint of menace as he said, "You instigated the bet, and now that you’ve lost, you want to default on it. Is this the kind of successor the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles of the Lu Family is? If that’s all there is to it..."

Shen Xuanzhi seemed to have little regard for the Lu Family.

Xiang Mingzhu was in a dilemma.

Suddenly her gaze fell on Young Master Zhong in the corner, who whispered something to Wan Jiang beside him. Wan Jiang then slowly approached them, and Xiang Mingzhu seemed to see a lifeline.

Qiao Xi’s brows furrowed. The Zhong Family again.

Was Young Master Zhong going to stand up for Xiang Mingzhu?

Wan Jiang walked up to them in full view of everyone and greeted them.

Then he said to Xiang Mingzhu, "Miss Xiang, may I have a word with you in private?"

"Fine."

Having walked a few steps away, Xiang Mingzhu couldn’t wait to ask, "Assistant Wan, does Young Master Zhong have a way to help me out of this trap? Those words, I really can’t say them."

Wan Jiang sneered internally at her predicament but spoke with a smiling face, "It is Young Master Zhong’s suggestion that you should honor the bet willingly. If we’ve lost, we should admit it graciously." He whispered a hint, "Miss Xiang, Young Master Zhong prefers generous girls. He really doesn’t care about your medical skills, otherwise, who would be a better fit than Lu Yingxue?"

"Besides, it was you who lost to Miss Qiao because of your lesser skill. It wasn’t the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles of the Lu Family that lost. Everyone understands that. It’s just a matter of saying a sentence; reneging on a bet will only make you look bad. At worst, when we return to the Imperial Capital, Young Master Zhong will put in some good words for you with the Lu Family Head."

Xiang Mingzhu licked her lips, "Will he really help me?"

Wan Jiang did not promise, but simply said, "You still possess the engagement token, don’t you understand Young Master Zhong’s intentions?"

His words slightly soothed Xiang Mingzhu’s wounded spirit, and she nodded.

"But..."

Wan Jiang continued to stoke her ego, "Young Master Zhong likes girls who are brave and accountable, and he hopes you will consider the bigger picture. Since you’ve lost, you have to take responsibility. If you avoid even this matter, how will you be the lady of a great family later on?"

Swayed by his words, Xiang Mingzhu cast an eye over the relaxed figure of Young Master Zhong in the corner.

Was Young Master Zhong testing her?

The "lady of a great family" that Wan Jiang referred to must mean the Zhong Family.

"Miss Xiang, please consider it yourself," Wan Jiang insisted while staring at her.

Xiang Mingzhu clenched her teeth, hesitated for a long while, and finally said, "Alright. Please tell Young Master Zhong that I’m doing this all for him. I hope he won’t let my sincere feelings go to waste."

"Of course, I will certainly convey the message."

Wan Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, having convinced her.

At the same time, he marveled at the effectiveness of using attraction as a tactic. The "Thirty-Six Stratagems" truly did not deceive.

Xiang Mingzhu took a deep breath, turned around, and slowly walked back to Qiao Xi. Her eyes were full of resentment as she fixed her gaze on Qiao Xi, "You’re just lucky. I concede defeat. This was only the preliminary selection. It won’t be so easy to win in the Imperial Capital."

The Imperial Capital was the Lu Family’s domain.

Qiao Xi watched her coldly, "Does the Imperial Capital consume people?"

"The Imperial Capital won’t eat people, but it can make life a living hell," Xiang Mingzhu snapped, her eyes darting toward Qiao Xi’s wrist. "There are many masters in the Imperial Capital who didn’t participate in the preliminary but advanced directly. Qiao Xi, I don’t believe you’ll have such good luck next time!"

"Is it luck that I rely on?" Qiao Xi said coldly.

Xiang Mingzhu huffed heavily and walked around Qiao Xi towards the Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic’s platform.