It would take at least half a month to travel from Qiuling Town back to the capital by carriage, while it would only take about ten days on a fast horse.
However, Wei Wei and the others weren't sure if Wei Shuxuan would stop in the small towns along the way for a few days. If so, it would take even longer.
Before setting off, Wei Shuxuan asked Xin Shang and Wei Wei which route would take the least time. After leaving the palace and arriving at Youqu Town, they had deviated from their original route.
"This is the fastest route back to the capital, Miss Xuan."
"How long does it take at the fastest by carriage?" Wei Shuxuan looked at the map and asked thoughtfully.
"Half a month at the fastest. Fortunately, Miss Xuan hasn't been away from the palace for too long."
"Oh? Why do you say so?" Wei Shuxuan looked up at Xin Shang with a puzzled look on her face.
"Miss Xuan, you may not like to hear this, but almost every morning during the court session, the lord is forced by the ministers... to depose the queen, then hold a selection of maidens and choose a new queen."
Hearing Xin Shang say this, Wei Shuxuan felt that her leaving so casually had brought a lot of trouble to Xin Zizhao. However, he didn't mention any of these troubles in his letter. Suddenly, she really wanted to see him soon!
"Okay, stop talking. I already know the general situation. Let's set off for the palace as soon as possible."
After taking a nap in the carriage, the drowsiness that had been tightly wrapped around Wei Shuxuan's head like a golden hoop disappeared when she woke up. Sima Yongheng was reading a book in the carriage. Seeing Wei Shuxuan sit up, he said, "Sister Xuan, you're awake."
"Yeah..." Wei Shuxuan sat up. She pulled aside the curtain of the carriage and saw the beautiful scenery outside. The weather seemed especially fine today. The blue sky was cloudless. The gentle sunlight shone in through the window of the carriage, accompanied by a cool breeze. The hair hanging on Wei Shuxuan's cheek was blown, and she tilted her face slightly, feeling the sunlight and the breeze.
They were now on a country lane. There were green rice fields on both sides of the road. Occasionally, they could see a few cows walking slowly in the fields, and also the scarecrows standing in the middle of the rice fields, guarding them. Wei Shuxuan rarely saw such simple rural scenery in modern times. It was full of tranquility and beauty.
"Ah, it's really beautiful here! If possible, I also want to live here!" Wei Shuxuan stuck her head out of the window, feeling the continuous oncoming cool wind.
"Miss, it's very dangerous for you to stick your head out like this!" Wei Wei couldn't help but remind her.
"How could it be!" This wasn't a modern road with cars coming and going. How could something happen!
Just as Wei Shuxuan had this thought, suddenly a black shadow rushed towards her at high speed. Wei Shuxuan was so scared that she quickly retracted her head. Fortunately, she reacted quickly, otherwise she would definitely have collided with it. What on earth was that thing!
She looked out curiously again and heard Xin Shang's voice, "Miss Xuan, that's a dragon falcon. It usually likes to look for food in the fields and peck at the straw of the scarecrows. They fly very fast, but their eyesight isn't very good. They always collide with carriages. So, if someone sticks their head out of the carriage, they might mistake the person for a scarecrow..."
Xin Shang sounded helpless towards the end. Obviously, Wei Shuxuan didn't expect it to be so dangerous even in such a place. If she had dodged a bit slower just now, her face would definitely have been pecked by those so - called dragon falcons.
"It's really scary..." Wei Shuxuan still felt a bit scared when she thought about it.
"Sister Xuan, don't you know the dragon falcons in our Kingdom of Royal Dragons?" Sima Yongheng looked at Wei Shuxuan strangely.
".... I do know them, but I just didn't expect them to rush over like this!" Wei Shuxuan looked at Sima Yongheng and gave herself an excuse. She really didn't know. Since she was lying, she had to tell at least a hundred more lies to cover it up.
"This is really dangerous, Sister Xuan. Don't be so playful next time."
Sima Yongheng didn't notice the uneasiness hidden in Wei Shuxuan's eyes. He thought it was just because Wei Shuxuan was playful. After all, that was just her personality. Although Sima Yongheng was good at observing people's expressions, he was still far inferior to Xin Zizhao. If it were Xin Zizhao, he would definitely see through her uneasiness at once.
"Yeah, I just woke up and wanted to relax my mood. I didn't expect them to appear right in front of me!" Wei Shuxuan pretended to be someone who knew about dragon falcons but was still shocked by their speed. Obviously, Sima Yongheng no longer suspected her.
They had to pass through a long country lane to reach the next small town. Since it was a different route from when they left the palace, when leaving Qiuling Town for the capital, the first small town they would reach was Jijing Town, then Quan'an Town, and then Baiyang Town. Actually, it was the same route that Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao had taken before.
Finally, they got out of the country lane. The scenery of the small town came into view for Wei Wei and Xin Shang. The houses with blue bricks and red tiles were neatly arranged.
"Miss, we'll soon reach Jijing Town!"
Hearing Wei Wei's voice, Wei Shuxuan quickly lifted the curtain and looked out. But she didn't dare to stick her head out again. Sure enough, she saw all kinds of houses clustered together. This small town seemed so small, and its name was so strange.
"Okay, then we'll stay in Jijing Town for one night tonight."
It was almost dark when they officially entered Jijing Town. Wei Shuxuan felt that it was so quiet all around. She lifted the curtain again and saw that there was no one on the street outside. She could only occasionally hear the sound of the wind blowing.
"Goodness, why is it so quiet here? It's no different from a deserted city!" Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but complain. She thought it was just like the scenery in the movies she had watched after a zombie apocalypse.
"Cough cough cough, Miss Xuan, don't talk nonsense," Xin Shang coughed a few times and interrupted Wei Shuxuan's complaint. "It's very quiet here at night, so it's named Jijing Town. This is the only small town in the Kingdom of Royal Dragons without a night market. However, it's very lively during the day. Also, the townspeople here are very warm - hearted and hospitable."
"Can we still find an inn now?" Wei Shuxuan was more concerned about this question.