Chapter 98 The Princess Invites Xie Yao to Ride on the Phoenix Chariot

The wife of Marquis Anping was supported by her maid and ran to the mountain road, wishing she could get eight feet away from the carriage.

She would not think that the carriage breakdown was an accident.

She made a sudden decision to ride the carriage of the second daughter of the Xie family up the mountain. Could it be that someone wanted to harm Xie Yao and she was the one who suffered as a result?

The wife of Marquis Anping did not want to meddle in other people's affairs, so she pretended to be frightened and did not ask any more questions.

Thinking of how Xie Yao had just steadied the reins and subdued the frightened horse, she sighed sincerely, "My sister is quite skilled. If it were someone else, they would have panicked a long time ago."

Xie Yao lowered her eyes and stroked the horse's mane.

She had anticipated that there would be problems with the carriage.

What is meant to come will always come.

But the wheel tracks were stuck in the snow, and the horses pulling the cart had been drugged. Xie Zhi couldn't do such a thing.

Xie Zhi only wanted to earn a reputation for being a devout Buddhist by kneeling down on the mountain, so how could he dare to do something that would hurt himself?

If Xie Yao and she were riding in the same carriage at the beginning, and the horse got frightened and overturned the carriage, she would not be in danger of her life because of her martial arts skills, but she might not be.

Only Xie Ming'an, who appears to be a righteous man in the court and is like a kind father at home, but in fact treats even his beloved concubine as a tool in his hands, can do this.

If something happened to Xie Zhi today and Xie Yao was injured, who would suspect that the person who committed this crime was their father?

But unfortunately, Xie Mingan forgot what day it was today.

Xie Yao said, "The driver is stupid, and the horses at home are not very good. They frightened the Marquis' wife."

The wife of the Marquis of Anping forced a smile: "Fortunately, it was just a false alarm."

As she was speaking, the maid accompanying her suddenly looked off into the distance and said, "Madam, look, there's a family over there. Why don't we go over there and rest for a while, then wait for someone we know and borrow their carriage?"

Lady Anping Hou looked in the direction she pointed.

Sure enough, in the distance, hidden behind a pine forest covered with snow, there was a mansion with green walls, black tiles, and closed red doors. On the lintel hung a plaque with the words "Qifeng" inscribed on it.

"How could there be a mansion halfway up the mountain from Chengfo Temple?" the Marquis's wife asked in confusion.

Xie Yao replied, "It's the eldest princess's residence on Qifeng Mountain. She often prays at Chengfo Temple, and the emperor specially gave this courtyard to her."

"The eldest princess?!" Lady Anping Hou's eyes lit up, but then she became troubled again and looked hesitant.

The eldest princess is the emperor's eldest sister, a meritorious official of the State of Yan, and the most beautiful woman in Dayan many years ago. She has long wanted to make friends with her.

But after the eldest princess returned to the country, she was indifferent to the many rewards from the emperor, and did not care about the empress dowager's solicitation, and always remained neutral between the various forces.

As a daughter of the Jiang family, she was afraid that if she went there rashly, she would be turned away and become a laughing stock in the eyes of Second Miss Xie.

Seeing that the strange pilgrims passing by were looking at them, Lady Anping Hou's eyes became even more hesitant.

She didn't want to walk in the snow like the concubine before, no, she didn't want to crawl.

"Go down the mountain now and ask the marquis's carriage to come up and pick up my sister and me." She turned and said to the maid.

Just as the maid was about to accept the order and leave, a group of palace servants walked out of the courtyard gate.

The leading eunuch was Shuangxi, who was beside the eldest princess.

Under the shocked gaze of Lady Anping, Shuangxi walked straight up to Xie Yao and bowed respectfully to her.

"Thank you, Second Miss. The Princess invites you to ride on the phoenix carriage with her to go up the mountain to pray for blessings."

Xie Yao nodded slightly and continued, "The wife of the Marquis of Anping was invited by me. I wonder if Your Highness would allow me to bring her along?"

Shuangxi took a quick glance and said politely, "Let me ask His Highness what he thinks."

Lady Anping Marquis had no complaints about the young eunuch's indifference.

The eldest princess was of such high status that she even looked down upon the queen mother. Yan State had no queen, so it was not an exaggeration to say that she was the most noble woman in the entire Yan State.

In front of the eldest princess, what is she, the wife of Marquis Anping?

After a while, Shuangxi returned and said, "His Highness said that since the Marquis's wife is traveling with the Second Miss, they should come together."

Two palace servants dragged the carriage of the Bo Mansion out of the snow and pulled it to the side.

Xie Yao sent the coachman down the mountain by himself. She took a look at the carriage and found that the princess's men were checking the carriage, so she curled her lips.

Then, she followed Shuangxi neither humbly nor arrogantly.

The wife of Marquis Anping was stunned and hurriedly followed her.

The eldest princess actually invited the second lady of the Xie family to ride along?

Can I also ride on the phoenix carriage thanks to her?

She secretly looked at Xie Yao and saw that she looked calm, which made her feel that Second Miss Xie was even more unfathomable.

As soon as I reached the door of the mansion, I saw several maids looking around at the door, stamping their feet anxiously.

"What are they looking for?" Xie Yao asked.

Shuangxi bowed and said, "In reply to Second Miss Xie, the eldest princess left a jade hairpin in front of the door when she got up this morning, and they are searching everywhere for it."

Xie Yao glanced around and suddenly pointed at a pine tree: "Excuse me, sir, please take a look and see if there is anything under this tree."

Shuangxi stepped forward, but without much hope.

Those palace maids searched for an hour but to no avail. Could it be that Miss Xie could find it just by pointing randomly?

Suddenly, his fingers touched the texture of jade.

Shuangxi was stunned for a moment, then quickly dug away the snow.

It turned out to be the jade hairpin inlaid with phoenix pearls that the eldest princess had lost.

"Found it, Your Highness, found it!"

Shuangxi was overjoyed and picked up the jade hairpin to report.

Not long after, the eldest princess' phoenix carriage slowly appeared.

The wife of the Marquis of Anping quickly knelt and bowed, her head bowed low. "This humble servant greets Her Royal Highness, the Princess. May Your Highness live a thousand years."

Honeysuckle came out from behind the phoenix carriage and quickly returned to Xie Yao's side.

After she went to Anping Marquis' Mansion to find the Marquis' wife, she followed Xie Yao's instructions and told the eldest princess something in advance.

"Come up."

A majestic voice came from across the car curtain.

"Yes," Xie Yao also bowed, turned around and helped the Anping Marquis's wife, whose legs were weak, up, "Madam, let's go."

The interior of the phoenix chariot was as warm as a spring day, filled with the quiet and rich scent of sandalwood.

The eldest princess Li Xiangyi is over thirty years old and her face looks a little pale.

She sat upright on a soft couch covered in white fox fur, dressed in a gorgeous dress embroidered with a golden pattern of phoenixes and phoenixes. She was a beauty, with eyes and eyebrows as bright as peonies and red plum blossoms, yet she exuded a noble and cold air that kept people at a distance.

The wife of the Marquis of Anping's heart was pounding, and her palms were sweating with nervousness. "Your Highness, I have met you. Your Highness is so graceful and elegant. I have lost my composure. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

When she was a young girl, this eldest princess had been married to the Yong Kingdom as a peace agreement by the order of the previous emperor and became the imperial concubine of the Yong Kingdom emperor.

Last year, when the eldest princess returned to the country, she just accompanied the civil and military officials and royal relatives to greet her from afar.

Even at the palace banquet, she had never been so close to the eldest princess.

The eldest princess stroked the jade hairpin that she had lost and found again, and ignored the wife of the Marquis of Anping. Instead, she raised her eyes and looked at Xie Yao.

"Thank you, Miss Second, nice to meet you again. You and I are destined to be together."

She paused, a look of inquiry in her eyes. "This jade hairpin belonged to my mother. I've been wearing it in my hair lately, but this morning I suddenly realized it's gone. Others have been searching for an hour but haven't been able to find it. How did you see it so easily?"

Xie Yao met her gaze calmly and replied with a smile:

"I've been practicing archery since I was young in the Strong Women's Camp, and my eyesight is exceptional. I just noticed that the snow around that pine tree is thinner than the other trees, so I hazarded a guess that Your Highness had lingered beneath it."

"I wanted to try my luck, but I didn't expect to find it."