There was no hesitation or refusal.

Xie Jinyao felt at ease.

Ye Zhen didn't know about the heavenly lightning, or perhaps he had heard of it, but he didn't know that the place that was struck was the Prayer Platform.

Otherwise, how could she dare to sit there and wait to be struck by lightning?

Xie Jinyao wasn't afraid of being held accountable after the incident; the heavenly lightning was real, and it wasn't something a mere mortal like her could control.

Once the rumors spread, no one will care about this, and the Prime Minister will clear up any mess for her.

"Congratulations, Princess. Only someone like you is qualified to sit on the Prayer Platform."

Xie Jinyao complimented her.

Ye Zhen was also very pleased, "Second Young Madam, you flatter me."

After exchanging a few polite words with her, Ye Zhen glanced at Xie Jinyao's belly and said, "This is a rare Buddhist ceremony. Now that the Second Young Mistress is here, she will surely attend as well, right?"

Xie Jinyao wanted to see Ye Zhen die, but she valued her life more.

Kneeling for an hour was very unsafe for her, who was pregnant. Besides, the lightning was terrifying. Even if she knew that other places were safe, she just wanted to stay indoors and dared not take any risks.

Touching her belly, she said, "I came here today to pray for the baby in my womb, but unfortunately my body is not cooperating. I just helped distribute the Laba porridge and I'm already feeling unwell."

But the Dharma assembly is only held once a year, and it would be a real pity to miss it. I can only go to the Guanxin Pavilion later to copy scriptures and pray for blessings.

You can see the Dharma Assembly Square from the window of Guanxin Pavilion, but it's safer than outside.

Ye Zhen's face flashed with disappointment, and then she tried her best to persuade Xie Jinyao to also go to the square to kneel and pray for blessings.

Xie Jinyao was furious. Ye Zhen was too wicked. Knowing that she was pregnant, he still wanted to make her suffer.

This further confirms that Ye Zhen was unaware of the dangers of the Prayer Platform; otherwise, she wouldn't have had the leisure to scheme against her.

Finally, Cui Yihuan made an excuse that she was worried about the baby in Ye Zhen's womb and wanted to take her to rest, which made Ye Zhen shut up.

“She went too far. The Dharma assembly lasts for quite a while. How can a pregnant woman be made to kneel for so long? She must have a grudge against Miss Xie and took her anger out on you because you look like Miss Xie.”

Cui Yihuan said indignantly, "Sister, you are pregnant. For your safety, you should stay away from the princess in the future. She is not as magnanimous as she seems."

This was the first time she had so bluntly criticized Ye Zhen in front of Xie Jinyao.

But it was precisely what Xie Jinyao was thinking.

Everyone outside says Ye Zhen is a good person, but in Xie Jinyao's heart, Ye Zhen is utterly wicked, and all his goodness is just a pretense.

"Sister, does she often bully you in the past?"

Cui Yihuan remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Xie Jinyao grasped her hand, "You are the wife of the Marquis of Zhongyong, why should you have to put up with the attitude of an adopted daughter? Sister, it really breaks my heart to see you like this."

As if making a huge decision, he stuffed a packet of powder into Cui Yihuan's hand, "After the Dharma assembly, find a way to give this to her, and your sister will teach her a lesson for you."

Although Ye Zhen had just acted as if she knew nothing about the heavenly lightning, Xie Jinyao was afraid that she was faking it.

If the heavenly lightning fails to kill Ye Zhen, then have Cui Yihuan drug her. After that, have someone throw Ye Zhen into the back mountain to be burned to death by heavenly fire.

If Ye Zhen dies from the heavenly lightning, the medicine powder will be useless, so she instructed that it be given after the Dharma assembly.

Cui Yihuan was moved once again.

"Won't this get you into trouble? She's a princess and the future crown princess."

Xie Jinyao laughed, "Don't worry, sister. It's just a common sleeping potion. I just had someone throw her into the back mountain to scare her and prevent her from becoming too arrogant."

Only after learning that she wouldn't kill Ye Zhen did Cui Yihuan feel relieved, looking like a coward and extremely afraid of trouble.

But when she returned to Ye Zhen's side, her eyes were cold, and she told Ye Zhen everything Xie Jinyao had said.

"This person is malicious. She's given away 20,000 coins and given medicine powder. What exactly is she trying to do? Do you have any plans? Could she have tampered with the Prayer Platform?"

Xie Jinyao went to great lengths to send Ye Zhen to the Prayer Platform, which was surely not for any good reason. However, Cui Yihuan had no idea that there would be heavenly lightning, so she couldn't figure out what trick Xie Jinyao was up to.

She didn't know, but Ye Zhen did.

Just as Xie Jinyao had guessed, the old women, bored, discussed the strange occurrence of thunder in a clear sky for several days.

Coincidentally, Fahua Temple was not far from the Taoist temple, and the curious old women took turns going to Fahua Temple to inquire about the details.

Therefore, Ye Zhen not only knew that the Prayer Platform would be struck by lightning, but she also knew why it would be struck by lightning.

The pillars on the Prayer Platform were originally reinforced with iron rods, but over the years, the stone carvings on top of the pillars fell off, exposing the iron rods inside.

Iron rods can attract lightning; my mother told me this when I was a child, during a correspondence with her.

Because an executioner in southern Jiangsu was struck by lightning while raising his knife, the criminal claimed that he was innocent, and Heaven punished the executioner.

Ye Zhen knew the criminal was not a good person, but as a child she couldn't understand why lightning would strike the executioner, so she wrote a letter to her mother.

The mother replied that iron attracts lightning, and the executioner's knife was made of iron. When the lightning struck, he raised the knife higher than usual, which is why he was struck by lightning.

Therefore, when she heard the old women talking about lightning in her previous life, she thought of what her mother had said. However, people did not know that iron could attract lightning. In her previous life, she could not bear to see people being injured by lightning again, so she kindly told the old women. None of them believed her, and naturally they would not spread her words.

This time, Xie Jinyao repeatedly approached Cui Yihuan, and she kept wondering how Xie Jinyao would deal with her.

Upon learning from Cui Yihuan that Xie Jinyao was coming to the Laba Festival prayer meeting at Fahua Temple, she understood Xie Jinyao's scheme.

Upon arriving at Fahua Temple ahead of time, I found that the iron rods were indeed exposed. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, I sealed the iron rods of the balusters back up.

Xie Jinyao was completely unaware of this. She returned to her room in Guanxin Pavilion and felt very tired, perhaps because she had walked too much that day. So she lay down on the couch and wanted to take a short rest.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep, unaware that a thin, black iron rod was firmly erected on her roof. At the other end of the rod, a thin wire hung down from between the tiles and was tied to Xie Jinyao's long hair...