Chapter 97: The concubine's sister crawled and said that others were insincere?

The heavy snow for several days has dyed Qifeng Mountain a pure white, making the way up the mountain much more difficult.

Although the young monks from Chengfo Temple had cleared a mountain path, the snow had not stopped and the road was soon covered with a layer of frost again.

However, Chengfo Temple is a large temple with a strong incense business. No matter how difficult it is to get there, there are still many people who come to worship Buddha.

On the mountain road, in addition to the larger carriage of Xie Yao and the wife of Anping Marquis, there were also several carriages of ordinary people in front and behind, all moving forward slowly. The poorest ones also had maids holding umbrellas and moving forward step by step.

Therefore, many people noticed the woman in the snow and looked over.

It was snowing heavily, but Xie Zhi was only wearing a thin padded jacket, revealing her slim and frail figure.

She was covered in snow, her hair was loose, a few strands of wet hair stuck to her cheeks, and her pretty face was frozen bluish-white.

Looking at his expression, he seemed like he would faint at any moment, but he was still holding on, bowing every three steps and kowtowed every five steps, leaving a trail of footsteps on the snow.

"What is she doing?"

The wife of Marquis Anping put down her teacup, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Why don't you take a carriage in this freezing cold weather? You insist on kneeling in the snow. Are you asking for trouble?"

Xie Yao said softly, "Big sister must have a deep meaning for doing this. Perhaps it's because she is worshipping Buddha with a more sincere heart. Wait a moment, I'll go over and ask."

Before they could ask, a carriage behind Xie Yao stopped on the mountain road.

The face of a noble lady from Beijing appeared in the car window. She recognized Xie Zhi and asked kindly, "Are you the eldest daughter of the Xie family? It's difficult to travel in the snow. Would you like me to give you a ride?"

Xie Zhi continued walking, a smile forming through his cracked lips. "Thank you, Madam, for your kindness. I appreciate it. However, worshipping Buddha requires sincerity, so I still want to go up the mountain this way."

The lady's maid muttered in the carriage, "Isn't she a fool? In such a cold weather, why would she humiliate herself like this?"

"He's just seeking fame and reputation," the lady noticed something, a trace of disdain flashing in her eyes, "It's not a festival, who are you kneeling for?"

Xie Yao sat in the warm and comfortable car and passed by Xie Zhi.

She only revealed a cold profile, looking down at her sister condescendingly.

"Why do you have to crawl, big sister? If the carriage breaks down, you might as well take my car." She said calmly.

Xie Zhi raised his head with great effort, thinking that Xie Yao was mocking him, and did not notice that there was a wife of Marquis Anping in her carriage.

"Second sister, just go up the mountain comfortably. I want to pray for my beloved's safety. I heard that you have to bow every three steps and kowtow every five steps to pray at the Chengfo Temple to be considered pious."

Xie Zhi bit his bloody lips and deliberately raised his voice.

Xie Yao raised her eyebrows and smiled, asking back, "Big sister, what you mean is that we have to kneel down and walk to be considered sincere. Does that mean all the pilgrims who came to worship Buddha today and rode in carriages are not sincere? Does the eldest princess also have to kowtow three times and bow nine times when going up and down the mountain, otherwise, her heart is not sincere either?"

Xie Zhi wanted to use the fact that she was sitting high in the luxurious carriage to highlight her sincerity in worshiping Buddha diligently.

So, Xie Yao directly stated her purpose.

In her previous life, Xie Zhi was halfway up the mountain with another noble lady from an aristocratic family when the carriage broke down, so she got off and knelt down.

Although some people suspected that she was seeking fame, seeing that she was wearing thin clothes and was praying for the emperor, everyone could only compliment her on her piety.

But now, things are different.

Xie Zhi took the initiative to abandon the carriage, just to pray for the safety of his sweetheart. It was obvious that he did it on purpose. He also said that kneeling and kowtowing was the only way to show sincerity. Wouldn't that offend all the people who took the carriage up the mountain?

The ordinary people who were walking up the mountain also looked embarrassed when they heard this.

The other two or three carriages slowed down after hearing the noise.

Xie Zhi only felt several gloomy gazes falling on her, which frightened her so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.

She quickly said, "Second sister, you misunderstood. This kind of prostration to the Buddha is my own business. I insisted on doing this just to seek peace of mind."

Xie Yao retracted her gaze and hugged the hand warmer: "So that's how it is. Then big sister, kneel slowly. I'll leave first."

The curtains were closed, and she instructed the maid, "It's too cold, and the heater in the carriage doesn't seem to be warm enough. Pu Wei, add two pieces of silver frost charcoal and make a pot of hot tea."

"Yes, miss."

Xie Zhi heard a faint warm sound coming from inside and his nails dug into his palms.

The strange looks from those around her also made her want to cry.

Xie Zhi was so cold that she couldn't cry. Her knees ached bitterly in the snow, but she continued to move forward.

Her father did not lie to her. Just now, she had seen the carriage of Eunuch Qingcai passing by in the palace.

When she reached the top of the mountain, all she had to do was ask Eunuch Qing why this was so, and she would be able to answer naturally: she and Marquis Anping were in love with each other.

So many pilgrims who came to Chengfo Temple saw her affection for the Marquis, and with Eunuch Qing, maybe she could even get a marriage granted by the Emperor!

When the time comes, those who look down on her will have to pay the price!

Xie Zhi narrowed his eyes and looked at Xie Yao's carriage as it drove away, with a gloomy and resentful look in his eyes.

Let her be proud of herself, but after today she won't be able to laugh anymore.

The carriage reached halfway up the mountain, leaving Xie Zhi far behind.

Xie Yao recalled her previous life, when Xie Zhi prayed for the emperor in front of Eunuch Qing.

This time, it was Marquis Anping.

If her behavior gets out, and Eunuch Qing asks the emperor for grace, she can marry into the marquis's mansion.

But what she didn't know was that Jiang Congyan, the wife of Marquis Anping, was in her carriage at this moment!

The wife of the Marquis of Anping was not a fool. When she saw Xie Zhi, she remembered the day when this concubine and her husband exchanged glances in the Marquis's mansion.

She looked at Xie Yao's calm expression again and understood everything. Second Miss Xie invited her to go with her just to let her see this scene.

She had to thank Miss Xie Er. If she hadn't asked her to come, Marquis Anping would have given her a sister tomorrow.

And she was still in the dark and had no idea.

"Sweetheart? I think she is crazy about climbing up the social ladder. She dares to set her sights on the Marquis. She is so young and shameless!" The wife of the Marquis of Anping sneered in a fierce tone.

The maid beside her also heard it: "This concubine's lover is the Marquis. She is so bold and presumptuous before she even gets married. Madam, you must not let her enter the mansion!"

The wife of the Marquis of Anping rolled her eyes and said, "As long as I'm here, there's no way the Marquis would dare to take this little vixen as his concubine's daughter."

As soon as he finished speaking, something strange happened.

The carriage made a loud bang and the body of the carriage tilted suddenly.

"Ouch—" the Marquis's wife screamed.

Xie Yao stood up calmly, with no surprise in her eyes.

She held onto the car wall with one hand and used the other to hold onto the Marquis' wife who was about to fall out.

However, things were more dangerous than she had expected. The carriage was still tilting, and the sound of horses neighing could be heard outside. Two maids in the carriage were knocked down, and the teacups and stove were also overturned.

Xie Yao helped the Marquis' wife sit down, picked up a long sword, flew out, and rode on the back of a horse.

"What's going on?"

"Second Miss, the wheels got stuck in the mud and snow, and a rock broke the wheel track."

The driver quickly explained, "It's a two-horse carriage. I don't usually drive it, and this horse... isn't very obedient."

Xie Yao lowered her eyes and took a closer look, and found that the old horse pulling the cart under her crotch was breathing heavily, its mane was standing up, and it was very irritable and restless, as if it would kick up its hooves and run away at any time.

It seems that the horse was drugged.

Her eyes darkened, she held the reins tightly, bent down, scooped up a handful of ice and snow from the bluestone next to her, covered the old horse's mouth and nose with it, then reached out and grabbed the horse's neck to comfort it.

Finally, place your thumb and index finger on your lips and blow sharply.

The horse became strangely quiet when it heard the whistle.

After the carriage stabilized, the wife of Marquis Anping tremblingly lifted the curtain.

Xie Yao said, "Don't worry, Madam Hou, everything is fine now."

The driver let out a cry of terror.

Xie Yao looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the carriage was now tilting and sliding to the end of one side of the mountain road. A dozen feet away was a snow slope that was almost a cliff.

If she had gotten off the horse a little later, the horse would have gone crazy and would have dragged her down the steep slope.

The people in the car will be injured if they don't die.

This is Qifeng Mountain. With such an ominous thing happening, it is very likely that the wedding will be cancelled.

"Miss, the carriage is broken. How are we going to get up the mountain?" Pu Wei asked.

Could it be that they, like Xie Zhi, had to brave the snow and cold to climb up on foot?

Xie Yao looked up and saw a mansion.