Chapter 401 Let Him Wait_1
From An Jing and Xiao Changyi’s residence to the Imperial Capital, under normal circumstances, traveling by carriage would take more than a month, and riding a horse about twenty days—horse riding here refers to traveling by horse during the day and resting at night.
Even if it were an emergency that required traveling 800 li in haste, it would still take four to five days.
If Xiao Changyi were to go alone, riding Zhuri day and night without rest, even though Zhuri could cover a thousand li in a day, it would still take three days to reach the Imperial Capital.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi set out for the Capital on August 20th. The Emperor of Xiyun’s birthday was on September 12th, leaving only twenty-one days between. An Jing and Xiao Changyi decided they couldn’t afford to take their time traveling to the Imperial Capital, nor did they want to rush through day and night. As the Emperor’s birthday was still twenty-one days away, there was no urgent need. Thus, they planned to travel during the day and rest at night.
It wasn’t just for their own rest, but also to give Zhuri, their warhorse, a chance to rest.
Although An Jing had already learned to ride a horse, it was still exhausting to travel every day, especially since it was her first time. Her legs, in particular, were incredibly sore and felt almost alien to her.
Each evening, Xiao Changyi would massage An Jing’s legs to help ease her discomfort.
An Jing felt it was much like her first military training, where she was dead tired at first, but as she got used to it, it became less exhausting, and her legs seemed to adapt to the constant horse riding. After ten days, An Jing only felt a little tired, and her legs were no longer as sore.
Eventually, she didn’t even need Xiao Changyi to massage her legs at night.
Zhuri truly lived up to its reputation as a warhorse capable of covering a thousand li in a day; even though they didn’t travel by night and rested at noon, Zhuri was faster than an average horse, and they reached the Imperial Capital in merely fifteen days, not the anticipated twenty.
They had not dallied on the way, and with the Emperor’s birthday still six days away, Xiao Changyi wasn’t in a hurry to enter the palace and see the Emperor of Xiyun. Therefore, An Jing agreed with Xiao Changyi the night before that they would first find an inn to stay in the Imperial Capital and enjoy a few days there before entering the palace.