Chapter 46 - Lying with Eyes Open

Lady Zhao sighed after she told the story. The worst thing about living by the foot of the mountain was that there were lots of poisonous animals and anyone could easily get bitten.

Lu Jiao’s eyes darkened. She had tended to Xu Duojin’s wound so he shouldn’t end up paralyzed. However, it looked like he was going to get some persisting symptoms.

If he consumed the medicine as per her prescription, he would be fine. Sadly, the Xu family obviously didn’t trust her and she had no reason to eagerly go to them with the prescription.

Lu Jiao and Lady Zhao separated after they spoke briefly. Lu Jiao took the cold noodles and dishes to the east bedroom for the whole family to eat together.

The four little ones ate on the table while Lu Jiao fed Xie Yunjin.

As Xie Yunjin ate, he stared at Lu Jiao, “Your prescription actually works?”

Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow, “You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to.”

Xie Yunjin noticed that she was in a bad mood and blinked a few times, “Something bothering you?”

Lu Jiao glanced over to Xie Yunjin. Under the dim light, the man’s handsome face was engulfed by a layer of subtle coldness that made his skin appear as smooth as jade.

Deep inside his gaze however, there were traces of warmth.

Was he worried about her?

Surprised, Lu Jiao stared at Xie Yunjin, which caused him to look away.

Lu Jiao suspected that she was overthinking and sighed, “I am just annoyed. I wanted to help that family but they only found me bothersome.”

She didn’t need to explain for Xie Yunjin to know she was referring to Xu Duojin’s family.

Right after she came down the mountain, Lu Jiao went to look for paper and brush just so she could write out the prescription as soon as possible. In the end, the Xu family didn’t believe her and sent the wounded into town to get treated.

Xie Yunjin raised an eyebrow, “It’s because you never revealed yourself to have such a skill before. That’s why nobody believes you. If you give everyone more time, they will learn to trust you.”

He then suddenly turned towards Lu Jiao again, “Is your prescription really that effective? The wounded won’t lose teeth, lose hair, or get a slumped back? He won’t be paralyzed?”

Lu Jiao nodded confidently, “As long as treatment targets the poison in question, the patient shouldn’t suffer from long term symptoms. A lot of doctors are not able to come up with effective treatment because they don’t have a good understanding of the type of snakes. For example, ringneck snakes are considered to have fast spreading venom that attacks others’ nervous system. So, when coming up with a treatment plan, centipedes and scorpions must be used. Most people don’t dare to use those and that’s why they cannot get rid of the poison in their body fully.

Other snakes, such as cobra, are considered inflammatory. Once bitten, the patient may get infected very easily and their wound can quickly evolve into another disease. When that happens, the doctor must pay attention to what the most deadly symptom is. From there, medicine can be prescribed.”

Lu Jiao’s eyes lit up as she spoke knowledgeably. Though her face was rather large, it didn’t affect her confidence and dazzlingness.

Xie Yunjin stared at her and could not at all remember how much he used to hate her.

As he stared, he couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of person was this woman in her previous life?

Not only was she knowledgeable towards medicine, she was also an expert with snake venom. Ah, right, before, she also took the fishbone out of Xie Xiaobao’s throat. All of this information indicated to him that this woman likely was a doctor before.

Xie Yunjin couldn’t help but to ask, “Other than snake venom, what other illnesses can you cure?”

Lu Jiao froze and started to ponder. Was this a good opportunity to tell him that she was a doctor? It started to feel like she was going to get exposed sooner or later.

Lu Jiao thought about it and gawked at Xie Yunjin with much honesty, “I know a little bit but not too much.”

Before Xie Yunjin could ask more questions, she continued in her serious tone, “Do you know how I know so much?”

Xie Yunjin remained silent and raised an eyebrow. Then, he took a big bite of the noodles Lu Jiao was feeding him. Silently, he thought, ‘Let me see just how many stories you can make up’.

Lu Jiao explained whole-heartedly, “When I was young, there was a widowed grandma who escaped to my village. Most of the villagers didn’t like her and didn’t speak to her. I noticed that she never had enough food so I would visit her with food regularly. After we became close, she started to teach me medicine. That grandma was a doctor and a good one at that.”

The excited manner she exhibited while telling the story almost fooled Xie Yunjin.

Xie Yunjin’s lips stretched up. Now he learned another skill of this woman’s – to lie with her eyes open. She was so good he almost fell victim.

Lu Jiao didn’t know what Xie Yunjin was thinking. Seeing that his expression didn’t change, she thought her lies worked.

She sighed in relief. So she managed to explain how she knew medicine.

It was true that there was a widowed grandma who lived in the Apricot Flower Village. It was also true that the original host enjoyed hanging out with her.

The thing was, everyone who lived in the Apricot Flower Village was very busy. Even children were asked to fetch hay for the pigs. Since the original host was often sick and had nobody to play with, she had no choice but to hang out with the grandma.

Of course, the details as to what happened could be kept a secret. After all, that grandma died four to five years ago.

Lu Jiao’s mood lifted and she grinned at Xie Yunjin, “I only know some surface level knowledge. I’m no expert.”

Just then, Xie Yunjin suddenly asked, “If the grandma knew medicine, she must also know how to read. How come she didn’t teach you how to read? Reading can help with learning, right?”

Lu Jiao was stunned as her brain worked extra hard to find an answer.

“I do know how to read. Really, I just don’t know a lot. I was too focused on having fun when I was young so I didn’t take learning too seriously. That’s why I don’t know how to read well.”

To prove that she knew how to read, she went to pull a book off the shelf and worked hard to find characters that she knew the meaning of.

“This is: man, book, painting, help, shell, pen, death, storage, car, long, insect, light.”

Lu Jiao quickly went over the characters she knew and smiled at Xie Yunjin.

“See, I can read.”

Under the dim light, the woman’s chubby face somehow softened and cuteness seeped through her visage.

Xie Yunjin cursed at himself for having those thoughts. Just what kind of evil existed inside that woman’s body? How could he find her cute? Was his brain damaged?

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But to silently watch this woman pull tricks out of her sleeve was rather fun.

Intrigue and interest crawled up Xie Yunjin’s normally cold face. His brows and eyes now looked like they had been carefully sketched.

Lu Jiao became lost in his eyes but she quickly retracted her gaze. This man was not to be messed up – she better watch how she behaved.

The four little ones finished eating and were in a very good mood. The Fourth Born rushed over to butter up his mom.

“Mommy, your cooking is number one in the world!”

Lu Jiao instantly giggled, “How many people’s cooking have you had? How can you claim my cooking is number one?”

The Fourth Born’s eyes shaped into crescents as he smiled. His gaze was full of soft light, “Even if I end up eating many many people’s cooking, mommy’s cooking will remain the best.”

He then called out the other three babies, “Don’t you guys agree?”