Chapter 96: The Marquis’s Compliments, the Concubine’s Sister Appears

"Sister, I've been waiting for a long time."

The voice of Lady Anping Marquis came.

The maidservant of the Marquis's Mansion helped her down from her carriage. She was wearing a mink fur coat and had her hair in a bun. She walked forward elegantly and dignifiedly: "When your maid came, I had just gotten up. I was a little lazy in the winter, so I'm late. Please don't blame me, sister."

"I invited Madam Hou to come to Chengfo Temple on a whim. How could I blame you?" Xie Yao also got out of the car, saying gracefully, "Pu Wei, get Madam Hou a new hand warmer."

The wife of Marquis Anping took the gold-inlaid hand warmer and couldn't let it go.

She was a daughter of the Jiang family and was used to seeing good things, so as soon as she picked it up, she could feel the value of this hand warmer.

She is worthy of being the granddaughter of the Xu family, she sighed inwardly.

Although Lady Anping is the Marquis of Anping's legal wife, the Marquis is usually extravagant and spends money recklessly, so there is not much spare money in the house.

She had to ask the empress dowager for help from time to time, or go back to her parents' home to beg for money.

If not for this, she would not have been willing to go if Wenchang Bo had invited her to the Winter Solstice Banquet in order to propose marriage to her half-sister, Miss Jiang San.

Lady Anping Hou's gaze fell on Xie Yao and the carriage behind her.

"Look at this carriage, with its golden bridles and jade harnesses, carved saddle and embroidered hubs. It's clear that my sister's situation in the Earl's Mansion is very good." She joked with a smile.

Xie Yao said, "Madam Hou, you are making fun of me. This carriage frame was simply arranged overnight by my father after he learned that I was to be canonized as the Princess of Jingbei."

The wife of the Marquis of Anping could not help but sigh, "Sister, what you said is truly enviable. Yesterday, the palace presented such a stream of betrothal gifts that anyone who saw it would say that Sister is so lucky to be valued by the King of Jingbei. You deserve it."

Her eyes were open and there was no jealousy in them.

The wife of Marquis Anping was a smart and sensible woman. She said this out of pure envy.

"It's cold, Madam Hou, why don't you get in my car and talk? I have a lot of things I want to ask you." She invited sincerely.

Seeing Xie Yao lower her posture, the smile on Lady Anping's face became much more sincere, and she even held her head higher in front of the maid.

The second lady of the Xie family acknowledged her as her elder sister.

Although King Jingbei has disabled legs, he is the only king of Dayan who has military merit.

Xie Yao is the Princess of Jingbei. From now on, whenever I, the Marquis' wife, see her, I will have to bow to her.

What's more, she was also at the Winter Solstice Banquet and could see that Second Miss Xie was no ordinary person.

Today, Xie Yao sent her maid to the Marquis' Mansion to invite me to go to Chengfo Temple together, and now she invited me to get on her carriage.

This gave her great face, and of course she was happy.

The wife of Marquis Anping asked the coachman and carriage to stay at the foot of Qifeng Mountain, and got into Xie Yao's carriage with a maid.

The carriage was extremely spacious and could accommodate six or seven people. The silver frost charcoal in the stove was burning brightly, and the incense was curling up and the fragrance was floating in the air.

The Marquis's wife took the hot tea from Pu Wei and first smelled the refreshing fragrance of plum blossoms. "Is this Queshe tea brewed before the snow, using plum blossom snow?"

"Yes, my mother loves snow tea the most. I asked someone to collect the snow water from the plum blossoms in the backyard." Xie Yao picked up the teacup and took a sip with a faint smile.

"Tea this good is hard to come by even in the palace," the Marquis's wife surveyed the carriage. "The walls are lined with brocade, and the stove is heated with silver frost charcoal. It's much more comfortable than my carriage. My sister really knows how to enjoy life."

"Madam Hou is too polite. They are just vulgar things, not worth mentioning."

"There's always gossip out there, saying my sister doesn't know anything after returning from the border. In my opinion, the exquisiteness of tea and the intricacies of driving a car are all elegant. If anyone keeps gossiping, I'll definitely confront them."

The wife of the Marquis of Anping was filled with righteous indignation and took the initiative to flatter him.

Changing the subject, she asked, "I heard that Zhidai from the Empress Dowager's palace came to the Earl's Mansion yesterday?"

Xie Yao nodded: "Aunt Zhidai misunderstood the Queen Mother's intention and has been sent back to the palace."

The wife of the Marquis of Anping said, "Zhi Dai was originally the granddaughter of the old Minister of Rites, and she almost became a concubine of the late emperor. Therefore, she is a little arrogant and likes to make her own decisions."

"Years ago, when I was waiting to be married, she came to teach me etiquette, which made me very uncomfortable. Sister, please don't blame the Queen Mother for a slave girl."

She secretly explained for the Queen Mother.

Many people in the capital knew that Prince Jingbei came to the Duke's mansion to deliver the marriage proposal and slapped Zhidai in the face.

As the empress dowager's daughter-in-law and niece, she had to speak for the empress dowager.

Xie Yao said calmly, "Since Madam Hou said it was Zhidai who acted on her own, how could I blame the Queen Mother?"

"It's great that my sister thinks this way." Lady Anping Marquis nodded with a smile.

Xie Yao exchanged pleasantries with her, but they were not close friends and only spoke briefly.

The wife of Marquis Anping is named Jiang Congyan, and she is a true member of the Queen Mother's party.

All the flattery at this moment was to prevent Xie Yao from blaming the Queen Mother for Zhidai's matter, and to win her over at the same time.

However, because Xie Ming'an was a follower of the Queen Mother, Xie Yao was destined to be hostile to the Queen Mother.

As they were talking, the mountain road became rugged and the carriage slowed down.

The driver said, "Second Miss, there is a carriage from the palace ahead."

The wife of Marquis Anping lifted the curtain and saw a carriage moving slowly ahead, driven by two young eunuchs from the palace.

"That's Zhang Qingcai's car." She recognized it.

"Yes, since returning to the country, Her Royal Highness the Princess has been praying for the country at Chengfo Temple. Your Majesty comes to visit the Princess every few days. If he is busy with state affairs, he will ask Zhang Qingcai to come to Chengfo Temple on his behalf."

Zhang Qingcai's carriage was ahead of them and quickly disappeared in the snow.

Xie Yao looked at the mountain road.

Eunuch Qingcai has appeared, is Xie Zhi far away?

The next moment, the wife of the Marquis of Anping really fixed her gaze: "Sister, look, is that your concubine's daughter?"

She was deeply impressed by Xie Zhi, not only because he was her sister's good friend, but also because this concubine's daughter dared to seduce her husband in front of her that day.

A familiar thin figure appeared in the snowy field.

Xie Yao narrowed her eyes, stroked the warm hand warmer in her arms, and yawned lazily.

"She's truly a big sister. Before I left today, she said she wanted to come to Chengfo Temple, too, and invited me to go with her. But since I saw she was anxious, I let her go for half an hour."

After a pause, she looked puzzled. "I didn't expect that after walking for so long, she still hasn't reached the top of the mountain, but is walking here instead?"

It was just as Xie Yao expected.

In this life, Xie Zhi could no longer enter the palace, but he still deliberately dressed lightly and wanted to come to Chengfo Temple with him.

Harming oneself is one reason, and another reason is...

Her target was no longer the emperor, but the Marquis of Anping.