Semua Bab The Price of Being Right: Bab 1 - Bab 9

Looking at Mr. Whitmore's face, so certain that I'd embezzled money, I almost laughed.The rare tropical poison inside Irene needed the best wild botanicals as a primer if it was going to be suppressed.That hundred thousand wouldn't even buy half a root hair from a century-old mountain ginseng.I knew I was only adopted by the Whitmores. To repay their kindness, I'd never once asked for money.For five years, I'd worked three jobs a day to buy herbs.To save money, I'd even gone deep into the mountains to gather them myself. More than once, I'd fallen from cliff walls and come back covered in injuries.But I couldn't be bothered to explain.When people have already decided you're a thief, trying to prove yourself only makes them wonder where you got the money and accuse you of putting on an act.Irene heard the noise in the living room and came out with her cane.When she saw what was on the floor, her eyes turned completely cold."I thought you were just playing petty trick

Three days later, the Whitmore family held a grand homecoming banquet for Tyler.To show off their connections, Mrs. Whitmore even invited Dr. Eleanor Mercer, one of the country's leading herbal medicine authorities.Dr. Mercer had originally come to congratulate them out of respect for her past friendship with the Whitmores.But when she saw Irene being helped onto the stage by Tyler, her expression changed dramatically.Irene was smiling and greeting guests with a flushed face, but in Dr. Mercer's eyes, the sight was terrifying.Irene's forehead was dark, and the black line at the base of her neck had already spread behind her ear.Dr. Mercer pushed through the crowd and rushed onto the stage, shouting, "Mrs. Whitmore! Your face has that false, feverish flush, and the black line has crossed your ear. This is poison reaching the heart. This is the body's last rally before death!"Did you stop the suppressant Julian prescribed? Hurry! Take his heart-protecting pill right now and

The Whitmores searched for me like mad.My calls wouldn't go through. Their messages were blocked.It wasn't until eight that evening that Mrs. Whitmore used her social connections to learn I was attending a medical masters' exchange dinner.When Mrs. Whitmore barged into the banquet hall with Mr. Whitmore and Tyler, all three of them froze.In the center of the glittering hall, I was wearing a perfectly tailored custom suit, surrounded by the country's top medical experts.Among them was Dr. Mercer, the same woman they had cursed as superstitious and chased out of the homecoming banquet earlier that day.At that moment, Dr. Mercer looked like an eager student, asking me for advice with excitement all over her face."Dr. Whitmore, I've spent three days studying the nine-turn cardiac stabilization technique you mentioned, but I still can't get one point's positioning right. Would you be willing to guide me?"I smiled faintly and was about to speak when Mrs. Whitmore's shrill voi

The hospital issued its final warning. If they couldn't pay the medical bills, the tubes would have to be pulled.With no other choice, Mrs. Whitmore prepared to mortgage the villa.When she went home to look for the deed, she kicked the old canvas bag Tyler had dumped on the floor the day I left.Looking at the scattered herbs on the floor, Mrs. Whitmore was overjoyed.She remembered I'd once said these herbs were expensive.Desperate enough to try anything, she stuffed the scattered things back into the bag and took a taxi straight to an herbal pharmacy.Unfortunately for her, the expert on duty today was Dr. Mercer.Mrs. Whitmore pushed the canvas bag onto the counter, her voice hoarse. "Dr. Mercer, please look at these herbs. How much are they worth? I need money urgently to save a life..."Dr. Mercer had been visibly impatient, but when her gaze swept over the contents of the bag, she froze.She put on her reading glasses, picked up one slice of herb with trembling hands,