As soon as Yuan Qi touched it, he knew that the Five Elements Coins had been tampered with by a master. Otherwise, how could ordinary evil energy reside in the Five Elements Coins?

The Five Elements Coins themselves can ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune.

"These five-element coins are indeed problematic. They have been nurtured with malevolent energy, and a small evil-gathering array has been set up on them. Hanging them at the bedroom door will not only fail to ward off evil spirits, but will also make the person living there sick and deplete their vital energy. Over time, the person living there will die. Everything happens silently, truly killing without a trace."

Those who were laughing just moments ago can no longer laugh; they all stare at Yuan Qi and Jiang Zhengqing with ashen faces.

Yuan Qi knew that Jiang Zhengqing wouldn't believe her easily, so she casually returned the Five Elements Coins to Jiang Zhengqing: "If you don't believe me, you can take it and let Master Xuanji take a look, and see if I'm talking nonsense."

"Someone come here," Jiang Zhengqing said in a deep voice.

A strong-looking servant entered: "My lord, what are your orders?"

“I remember my mother saying that the Five Elements Coins were brought by Cui Gu. Let’s take her into custody first. I’ll go find Master Xuanji right now.”

"yes!"

"My son..."

A hoarse, weak voice came from the bed, and everyone shuddered and looked towards the bed.

The old lady actually woke up!

Jiang Zhengqing recalled Master Xuanji's words: the old lady's only chance of survival lay with the Seventh Miss.

However, the old lady disliked concubines and their children, and even more so, women from other families, so she didn't take Master Xuanji's words to heart.

“Mother!” Jiang Zhengqing smiled unconsciously and walked over: “Master Xuanji was right. Your only chance of survival was Xiao Qi. As soon as she arrived, you woke up.”

He didn't dare to touch the old lady, and ordered someone to quickly fetch the family doctor.

Yuan Qi pouted, her small face full of displeasure. When they first met two days ago, this old lady Bai scolded her, and Jiang Zhengqing also joined in the scolding. In just one day, Jiang Zhengqing's expression changed completely.

It's disgusting.

The old lady turned her head weakly and saw Yuan Qi.

However, her eyes remained cold, showing no gratitude that the other person was her only hope for survival.

Yuan Qi even saw disgust in the other person's eyes.

Jiang Bailu had served the old lady for many years and could see through her thoughts at a glance. She moved gracefully and knelt by the bedside, saying, "Grandmother, it's good that you're awake. She insisted on taking down the pair of five-element coins at the door, and you woke up as soon as they were taken down. It was just a coincidence."

Grandma Bai nodded, feeling very relieved after hearing her granddaughter's words. She took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and handed it to the nanny beside her: "Your child is really pitiful. She doesn't have a single good thing on her body. She saved me by chance. Consider this bracelet a thank you gift."

A thank-you gift?

My own granddaughter, why are you thanking me?

That's very polite.

Yuan Qi felt a chill; the old lady clearly disliked her and treated her like an outsider.

Xiangli Mingzhu was very jealous. The old lady had indeed worn this bracelet for many years and cherished it very much. Even when she entered the house, the old lady was reluctant to take off the bracelet as a greeting gift. Now she actually gave it to this maid born to her mistress.

She was furious.

Jiang Bailu stared at the bracelet, with only one thought in mind—she wanted it.

Yuan Qi accepted the jade bracelet without ceremony, lowered his head to examine it, and estimated how much it could sell for.

Jiang Bailu watched as Yuan Qi put the bracelet on her slender, white wrist. The bracelet was too big, loose and unsuitable for her at all, but it fit her wrist perfectly...

Yuan Qi noticed the other person's intense gaze and deliberately shook his wrist at them.

Jiang Bailu glared fiercely at Yuan Qi: You just wait!

A maidservant came in to report: "Madam, Old Madam, Cui Gu has arrived."

Jiang Zhengqing helped the old lady lie down and led everyone into the courtyard.

A middle-aged maidservant knelt down with a thud.

This maid was none other than Cui Gu. She was usually very easygoing and considerate. She was a well-known kind person in Songhe Courtyard. Even Jiang Zhengqing did not expect that she would harm the old lady.

A servant had already prepared a grand chair, and Jiang Zhengqing plopped down in it, throwing two strings of five-element coins in front of her: "Tell me, where did you get these five-element coins?"

He didn't ask who instructed her to harm the old lady. When Aunt Wang was alive, she had often fought with the old lady. Cui Gu had served Aunt Wang for many years, and Aunt Wang was very kind to her servants. It was obvious that Cui Gu was there to avenge her mistress.

When Cui Gu saw the five-element coins, she knew that the truth had come out. The old lady was not dead, and she was unable to avenge Aunt Wang. She was filled with hatred!

"I found it and thought it was a good thing, so I gave it to the old lady to use." Knowing that her death was imminent, Cui Gu made up a lie. When no one around her was paying attention, she pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair and plunged it into her own neck.

Blood gushed out like a spring, staining a patch of ground red in no time. Jiang Bailu and the others were young and had never seen such a bloody scene before, so they felt uncomfortable and instinctively hid behind their elders.

Only Yuan Qi remained unmoved.

Jiang Zhengqing looked closely and realized that the silver hairpin was a gift from the old lady to Cui Gu. Now she was using it to commit suicide. What bad luck!

He waved his hand: "Drag him out and bury him."

Xiangli Mingzhu urged the servants to quickly remove the body, and complained, "She's an ungrateful wretch. The old lady was always good to her, and she actually tried to harm her."

Even though it was Yuan Qi who discovered the clues and made a great contribution, she didn't mention it at all.

Xiangli Mingzhu continued, "It's just that we don't know where these Five Elements Coins came from. If we don't find out, it will always be a hidden danger."

Aunt Li, who was standing to the side, was also very disgusted: "The person is dead, how can we investigate? I hope no one will cause these kinds of trouble again."

Aunt Li glanced at Yuan Qi, feeling a pang of heartache: "This child saw such a filthy thing the first time she met the old lady. She's been wronged. If it weren't for Seventh Sister, who had spent a few years at the Taoist temple, our old lady would have suffered a great loss."

Jiang Zhengqing finally spoke a fair word: "That's right, it's all thanks to Seventh Girl."

He noticed that Yuan Qi was still wearing the same clothes she wore when she first entered the manor, and she only had a jade hairpin in her hair, which looked quite ordinary. So he said, "Madam, go to the storeroom and get a few bolts of fabric to make a few more outfits for Seventh Girl, and also buy her some jewelry. After all, she is a young lady of the manor, and she can't be too shabby."

Jiang Bailu wanted to say that Yuan Qi, a concubine, was not worthy of the good stuff in the storeroom.

Xiangli Mingzhu grabbed her arm, preventing her from speaking.

"Your Excellency is right. It was my negligence as the mistress of the house that I failed to prepare properly for Seventh Girl. I will have someone make some clothes for her right away."

Aunt Li quickly pulled Yuan Qi aside: "Seventh girl, I'll take you to choose later. You've done a great service, and the Marquis and his wife are in a good mood today. Whatever you want, the Marquis and his wife will give it to you."