First Assistant's Petite Wife Has Space

Chapter 378: Rebuffed

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Zhang Biyan laughed heartily, “With the way we’re praising each other, others might make fun of us.”

After speaking, she looked at Lu Jiao with sincerity and said, “I haven’t had the chance to interact with you before, and I didn’t know that your temperament would suit my taste so well. In the future, we sisters should spend more time together. ”

“Lady Zhang, you’re being too kind. Both Yunjin and I are countryside folks. If we were to visit Lady Zhang’s home, we would probably feel out of place and become a laughing stock.”

This was Lu Jiao’s polite refusal, but Zhang Biyan seemed not to perceive it and continued grinning.

“What countryside folks? Honestly, Brother Xie here is destined for greatness in the imperial palace. By then, I might have to look up to Lady Lu. I just hope that you will remember to spare a glance at us little folks.”

Zhang Biyan spoke eagerly, and Li Wenbin, who was beside her, suddenly turned to look at her.

Zhang Biyan didn’t notice, but Lu Jiao caught sight of it and instinctively turned her head to look at Li Wenbin, who promptly smiled and turned to walk inside.

Lu Jiao felt that Li Wenbin’s expression just now was somewhat strange.

However, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. The group walked to the entrance of Xie Yunjin’s main bedroom, where Lin Dong stood respectfully and called out, “Madam.”

Lu Jiao nodded and invited Li Wenbin and Zhang Biyan to enter.

Inside the room, Xie Yunjin had already tidied up and was sitting on the bed. As soon as Li Wenbin entered, he greeted him loudly.

“Brother Li, you went through much trouble to come here.”

Li Wenbin smiled and said, “You saying that makes me feel like an outsider.”

Li Wenbin then asked with concern, “How’s your injury? Are you okay?”

Xie Yunjin shook his head, “I’m fine. The wound has scabbed over, so I’ll be able to move around soon.”

Actually, he could already move around, but Lu Jiao strictly ordered him to stay in bed for a few more days to prevent the wound from reopening.

At home, Lu Jiao’s words were final, so he could only stay in bed.

After hearing Xie Yunjin’s words, Li Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief and said, “That’s good, that’s good.”

Zhang Biyan approached and greeted Xie Yunjin, “Then I’ll wish Brother Xie a speedy recovery.”

Thinking about how his injury was related to the Zhang family, Xie Yunjin felt extremely disgusted with them.

However, as there was no evidence to prove that the Zhang family was behind it, he couldn’t show his feelings.

He simply nodded with a calm expression as a greeting.

He had always been cold and distant, and Zhang Biyan didn’t challenge him. She turned around and said to Li Wenbin, “You stay here and talk with Brother Xie. I’ll go to the back courtyard to have a chat with Lady Lu.”

Li Wenbin nodded, “Sure, go ahead.”

Zhang Biyan turned to Lu Jiao, who then led her to the back pavilion.

After they sat down, Zhang Biyan had her maidservant present the gifts they had brought today.

There were not only decades-old ginseng and ganoderma, there were also precious Chinese herbal medicines like Polygonum multiflorum and snow lotus.

Zhang Biyan thought her gesture would impress Lu Jiao. She found out that Lady Lu was a skilled doctor at Baohe Tang and therefore should be awed by these gifts.

However, looking at Lu Jiao’s calm and indifferent expression, Zhang Biyan couldn’t tell if she was pleased or indifferent. Did she not care or did she not recognize these decades-old medicinal herbs?

Zhang Biyan couldn’t help but smile and said, “I actually wanted to give Brother Xie some hundred-year-old ginseng and ganoderma, but those are extremely rare. So, I only found some decades-old ginseng and ganoderma. I hope Lady Lu won’t mind.”

Lu Jiao turned her head and smiled at Zhang Biyan. Did this woman think she didn’t recognize decades-old ginseng and granoderma? She had actually presented them so eagerly, believing that Lu Jiao would be pleased.

Lu Jiao looked calmly at Zhang Biyan and said, “Ginseng and ganoderma are indeed precious. Lady Zhang, you should take these back. To be honest, although our Xie family is not wealthy, we live by the mountains, and I enjoy collecting medicinal herbs. Therefore, we have an abundance of ginseng and genoderma in our home, even decades-old ones are quite common in the mountains.”

Afraid that Zhang Biyan wouldn’t believe her, Lu Jiao turned to Feng Zhi, who was beside her, “Feng Zhi, go and bring out our ginseng and ganoderma for Lady Zhang to see.”

Feng Zhi promptly went out and fetched the ginseng and ganoderma from the storage room. Besides these two, he also brought some other precious medicinal herbs.

The ginseng and ganoderma from the Zhang family were packaged in exquisite and luxurious boxes, while the ones Feng Zhi brought were in ordinary boxes.

However, as soon as Feng Zhi brought them out, Zhang Biyan noticed that the ginseng and ganoderma from Lu Jiao’s home were of better quality compared to theirs.

Zhang Biyan’s cheeks felt a little hot. She had intended to impress Lu Jiao, but

instead, she ended up being rebutted. Lu Jiao effortlessly presented these precious herbs.

Zhang Biyan felt a bit embarrassed and suspected that Lu Jiao might have guessed the reason for her and Li Wenbin’s visit today. But Lu Jiao didn’t care for it, which meant she didn’t accept the goodwill from the Zhang family.

Though feeling somewhat annoyed, Zhang Biyan didn’t show it and continued to speak with a smiling face.

“It seems that I made a mistake. Lady Lu, please don’t laugh at me.”

Lu Jiao shook her head, “Lady Zhang, your intention is kind, why would I laugh at you? It’s just that we happen to have these herbs in our home. I won’t hide it from you; the mountains near our home are abundant in medicinal herbs. Some families don’t know what they are and end up stewing decades-old ginseng as if it were ordinary radishes. As a result, the whole family suffers from excessive internal heat and almost got burned to death.”

Lu Jiao deliberately said this to embarrass Zhang Biyan. She wanted to make her realize that while Zhang Biyan considered ginseng and ganoderma precious, some people in their area treated them like ordinary vegetables.

As expected, Zhang Biyan’s expression turned unsightly. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Lu Jiao, unsure whether Lu Jiao’s words were true or false. She didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

However, when she thought about the purpose of today’s visit, she calmed down and said, “Another day, I’ll invite you to go shopping. Although our Qinghe County is poor, we also have some nice things. My family owns several shops like that. If you find something to your liking, you can tell me, and I’ll gift it to you.”

Hearing this, Lu Jiao smiled and looked at Zhang Biyan, “To be honest, Lady Zhang, I’m a bit peculiar in my tastes. I don’t really like women’s stuff like gold and silver jewelry. What I enjoy the most is treating patients. You’ve probably heard that I have some medical knowledge. Apart from my interest in medical practice, I’m not interested in anything else.”

Zhang Biyan’s face turned slightly cold after she heard Lu Jiao’s words. She silently cursed Lu Jiao for not knowing what was good for her and for treating herself so highly.

Despite her displeasure, Zhang Biyan didn’t flare up again. She still left room for maneuvering, planning to scheme later.

But today, Zhang Biyan no longer had the intention to stay and continue to be courteous. She stood up and said, “It’s getting late. We’ll head back now. We can talk more another day.”

Lu Jiao smiled and said, “If you ever feel unwell, don’t hesitate to find me for medical treatment!”