Chapter 374 — What a Pity It Was Fake
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
First to the stage was Kang the miracle doctor's eldest son, Kang Guifeng. Head high and chest out, he strode up, a red brocade box in his hands, its wrapping exquisitely fine.
"Father, what I bring you is a century-old snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains!" Kang Guifeng presented the brocade box with both hands and said reverently, "I wish you health and long life!"
"Good, very good! Bring it here and let me see!" Kang the miracle doctor instructed the emcee.
The emcee hurried the brocade box up and presented it to Kang the miracle doctor. It was opened, and inside lay indeed a Tianshan snow lotus — to judge by its size, if not a full hundred years old, then seventy or eighty at the least!
"Oh—" The whole hall was stirred. Worthy indeed of a family of miracle doctors — even the birthday gifts they gave were rare treasures seldom seen!
After the eldest son, Kang Guifeng, had withdrawn, the next to present his congratulatory gift was the younger son, Kang Cuipu. In his hands he too held a brocade box of like kind, incomparably fine.
"Father, what I bring is a thousand-year ginseng, already taking on human form! This is a wild ginseng that your son had men searching the mountains for three years and three months to find!" Kang Cuipu presented the brocade box with both hands and said reverently, "I wish you a life as long as the southern hills!"
"Good, good, good!" Kang the miracle doctor said "good" three times over, and motioned to the emcee: "Bring it up and let me see! Let me see what a thousand-year ginseng looks like!"
The century-old snow lotus the eldest son had brought was already a rare sight; that this ginseng should be a thousand years old made it rarer still. How could Kang the miracle doctor not be stirred beyond measure?
The emcee hurried the brocade box up and presented it to Kang the miracle doctor. He opened it, and inside lay indeed a ginseng of enormous size! It had already grown into human form — whether or not it was a thousand years old, it was truly a rare treasure of the world, seldom seen.
The guests all let out gasp after gasp, gazing enviously at the great ginseng in Kang the miracle doctor's hands, their mouths never ceasing their words of congratulation.
"Your uncle has certainly learned how to flatter — sending over such a fine ginseng. Except it is a fake. Seems he's the same sort as that Kang Jingming: a swindler and a cheat." Wei Zhao had not spoken loudly, addressing only Kang Xiaoyinbo, Tang Zhi, and Xiaofen, yet the guests standing nearest to them overheard every word.
"A fake? Is it really fake?" At Wei Zhao's words, the nearby guests stirred with consternation and, one after another, turned to look at him.
Had no one paid it any mind, the matter would have passed quietly enough. But as ill luck would have it, their commotion reached Kang Cuipu's ears, and he turned a cold, baleful gaze upon Wei Zhao, his look anything but friendly.
Kang Cuipu, however, said nothing. He merely shot a glance at his son, and Kang Jingming sprang out at once, jabbing a finger at Wei Zhao and bellowing, "Where does this creature come from, stirring up trouble here? What do you mean, fake? Since when is there such a thing as fake ginseng?"
Seeing Kang Jingming leap out in such a fluster, Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "Cultivated ginseng is fake by its very nature. Never mind a thousand years — it isn't even ten."
Wei Zhao had no wish to meddle in Kang Xiaoyinbo's family affairs, but this Kang Jingming was truly detestable; he did not mind a few words of mockery at his expense, enough to make a fool of both him and his father.
"Guards! Throw this man out of here! How dare he make trouble at my grandfather's birthday feast!" Kang Jingming roared, beside himself with fury.
Every guard in the banquet hall knew of the connection between Wei Zhao and Li Yixun, and so, though they heard Kang Jingming's order, none dared lift a hand.