Chapter 14: Under a Curse

Madam Liu’s face changed drastically, and she almost immediately tried to snatch the Seven Treasures Longevity Lock away, her expression twisted with a terrifying ferocity.

Zilan reacted quickly, immediately instructing someone to stop her.

“Madam Liu, are you out of your mind? How dare you act up in front of the young mistress!”

Old Lady Wang was also startled. She patted her chest, looking pale as she backed away with Ying Jie in her arms.

Madam Liu was pinned to the ground by two rough servant women, struggling angrily. Hearing this, she snapped, “You’re the ones who’ve gone mad! Allowing this grandmother and granddaughter duo to deceive everyone! The young miss’s collar was specially fetched by the old lady from a virtuous monk. How could there be a problem with it? The ones with a problem are them! Old Lady, hurry up and throw them off the ship! Don’t let them harm the young miss!”

Old Lady Su squinted her eyes, her gaze cold as she looked at Madam Liu. “There’s no need for you to remind me. Once my granddaughter examines this collar and confirms that there is no problem, we’ll naturally leave the ship.”

In truth, she wasn’t sure if Ying Jie’s collar had a problem, but she trusted her little granddaughter would not target someone else’s belongings without reason, so she had warned Old Lady Wang.

Moreover, after the commotion earlier, Ying Jie, who was being held by Old Lady Wang, didn’t even blink an eye. Her eyes were dim and lifeless. Not only did Su Huan feel that something was wrong, even Old Lady Su felt that the child wasn’t quite right!

This Seven Treasures Longevity Lock, made from gold, silver, glass, conch, coral, agate, and amber, glittered in Old Lady Wang’s hand.

Su Huan reached out her little hand, gently stroking each of these gems, carefully feeling their texture, her expression incredibly serious.

Suddenly, she stopped, touching the agate bead and shaking it in front of Old Lady Wang. “Yi ya yi ya~”

Old Lady Wang quickly looked at Old Lady Su. “Sister, what is Fifth Miss saying?”

Old Lady Su awkwardly cleared her throat. “Shall we open it and see?”

“Yi ya!”

Su Huan nodded decisively.

Immediately, Old Lady Su felt more at ease and said to Old Lady Wang, “Let’s open it. There might be something inside.”

Zilan couldn’t help but advise, “Old Lady, this was consecrated by a monk. If we break it, will it lose its power of disaster removal and blessings?”

Old Lady Wang hesitated, but when she glanced at the pure-eyed little Su Huan in Old Lady Su’s arms, she made up her mind and said, “Let’s open it.”

“Understood.”

Zilan reluctantly took the agate off the Longevity Lock and handed it to a rough servant to carefully break it open with a hammer.

Suddenly, a golden beetle crawled out.

“Ah! How could there be a bug inside the agate?”

The rough servant was startled and quickly backed away.

The beetle’s shell had the pattern of ancient coins, and it looked sinister. After being struck out of the agate, it immediately flew toward Ying Jie, trying to crawl into her brain!

The servants, seeing this, hurriedly jumped back, terrified of being affected by the bug. Old Lady Wang also broke into a cold sweat, quickly bending over to protect Ying Jie tightly in her arms.

But the speed of the bug was terrifyingly fast. In the instant that Old Lady Wang reacted, it was already in front of her.

“Old Lady! Be careful!”

Zilan cried out, trying to step forward to protect her.

At that critical moment, a small hand suddenly reached out and, with a slap, grabbed the bug firmly in a fist.

Strangely enough, the beetle had been moving at lightning speed before, but once it was in little Su Huan’s hands, it struggled violently for a while, then became passive.

Zilan breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly helped Old Lady Wang step back.

“Yi ya yi ya~”

Su Huan called out to Old Lady Su, who immediately understood. Without needing to comprehend what Su Huan had said, she quickly found a jar and sealed the bug inside, tightening the lid.

Still shaken, she held Su Huan tightly in her arms, calling for someone to bring water to wash her little hands.

“My brave granddaughter, you scared me to death! What if that bug was poisonous and bit you? Promise me you won’t do that again!”

Su Huan smiled and stayed obediently in Old Lady Su’s arms, no longer paying attention to the Seven Treasures Longevity Lock.

“I’m scared to death. What was that thing?”

Old Lady Wang looked up at the jar with lingering fear.

Zilan was about to comfort her when she suddenly noticed that Ying Jie’s complexion had turned purple, and she was clutching her neck, her eyes rolling back in her head as if possessed. Zilan screamed in horror, “Ah! Old Lady, the young miss! The young miss is not well!”

“What? Quickly! Call the doctor!”

Old Lady Wang looked down and instantly felt her scalp go numb. Her face changed drastically, and she quickly ordered for the doctor to be summoned.

Old Lady Su was also startled by Ying Jie’s change. Instinctively, she hugged her granddaughter and stepped back a bit.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, another scream rang out.

It was the wet nurse who had been with Madam Liu. She scrambled away from Madam Liu, looking as though she had seen a ghost. Madam Liu was now displaying the same symptoms as Ying Jie—clutching her neck, her eyes rolling back, her face turning an alarming purple.

Old Lady Su was momentarily stunned by this horrifying sight, feeling dizzy.

Suddenly, a soft little hand wrapped around her finger. She felt as though she had been refreshed by a gentle breeze, and her discomfort eased considerably.

“Yi ya yi ya~”

Su Huan conveyed the current situation to Old Lady Su through her spiritual power. Instantly, Old Lady Su felt a new memory enter her mind. As everyone else panicked, she stepped forward and said, “Everyone, don’t panic! The young miss has been cursed! The bug has been sealed. All we need to do now is to tap three times on her Bai Liao, and she’ll be fine! Don’t go near Madam Liu. The curse has been broken, but Madam Liu has suffered a backlash!”

Her words instantly soothed everyone’s panic. Zilan quickly came to her senses and began tapping three times on Ying Jie’s Bai Liao.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

She hit hard, afraid that a light tap wouldn’t work.

After the three taps, Ying Jie suddenly relaxed her grip on her neck, and weakly started crying. She finally seemed to show some life again, no longer like a lifeless baby.

“It worked! Old Lady, it worked!”

Zilan was overjoyed, watching Ying Jie’s change. She quickly turned to Old Lady Su and asked, “Old Lady, why did tapping my sister three times work?”

Old Lady Su replied, “This is called ‘awakening the spirit.’ Madam Liu used her evil magic to transfer the young miss’s fate to someone else. The first tap calls back her fortune, the second calls back her status, and the third calls back her life span. When a person’s fortune, status, and life span are restored, they naturally return to normal.”

After saying this, she paused, sensing that the memory she had just gained was beginning to fade, but it didn’t affect her much.

“Thank you, Sister, for saving my granddaughter!”

Old Lady Wang, relieved that the child was fine, burst into tears, holding her tightly. She was about to kneel before Old Lady Su.

Old Lady Su quickly helped her up. As grandmothers, she understood that Old Lady Wang’s love for Ying Jie was no less than her own love for her granddaughter.

Old Lady Wang nodded tearfully, then turned to glare at Madam Liu. “Liu Shi, when you were sold by your husband’s family and had nowhere else to go, I took you in as Ying Jie’s wet nurse and gave you and your daughter a way to survive. Why would you change my granddaughter’s fate? Why harm my granddaughter?”

Madam Liu didn’t answer Old Lady Wang’s question. She glared viciously at Su Huan, hoarsely screaming, “Who… what are you?! How could you catch… my… golden silkworm bug?!