Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Jiaofang Hall.

After Guard Xiong reported that Miss Xia had made a discovery, Fu Shi was persuaded by her brother Fu Zhao to refrain from going to search for her. Later, disregarding her health, she insisted on returning to the capital to be with the Empress.

She was still wearing a heavy veil, afraid that the illness would be passed on to her aunt.

Behind him, besides the respectful eunuchs and palace maids, was a beautiful young woman dressed in palace attire, who was about sixteen years old.

She pressed her thin lips together, her stubbornness seeping from her very bones.

The palace servants trembled even more in fear.

"Cough cough."

"aunt!"

"Shi'er, is there any news...?"

"Aunt, there's a new lead. My cousin was rescued by a noblewoman, and the girl left marks along the way. My brother has already followed them. It just won't be long before he returns! Cough cough... Please don't worry. My cousin is protected by a true dragon; he will surely be safe and sound." Fu Shi gently embellished the clues of the incident as she slowly told the Empress.

He also kept an eye on the expression of the woman in palace attire beside him, afraid that someone might cause trouble again.

At that point, she might really not be able to hold on.

Hearing this,

The Empress stood there stunned, not saying a word, perhaps because she had been screaming for too long last night and had exhausted her strength.

Fu Shi took the tea presented by the palace maid and carefully fed it to the Empress, encouraging her to cheer up.

"What girl..." the woman in palace attire murmured softly, as if she wasn't asking Fu Shi.

But Fu Shi still understood what she heard. After tidying up her teacup, she forced a relaxed and bright smile and prepared to explain Xia Youtian's background to the woman.

"Don't overthink it. Rong'er will explain it to you when he gets back."

The Empress interrupted Fu Shi, seemingly remembering something. She sat up and slowly said to the woman in palace attire with concern, "Wan'er, you've had a long day. Go and rest in the side hall. When Rong'er returns and sees you looking so haggard, she'll blame me for not taking good care of her."

Having said too much at once, the Empress leaned on Fu Shi to catch her breath.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave." The woman in palace attire, supported by her maid, walked towards the side hall without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.

She and the Crown Prince were bound together by power and influence; they had never met before their marriage.

The Crown Princess holds a noble position and bears heavy responsibilities.

Although she disliked this rigid and solemn life, she endured it for her mother and sister.

But later, she was gradually influenced by the prince's carefree attitude.

She developed different feelings for him, but her mother's admonitions kept echoing in her ears.

In the royal family, never give your heart away.

Later, perhaps sensing her coldness, the crown prince gradually lost his enthusiasm for her.

In old storybooks, there was a tale of a woman who saved a man's life when he was in distress, and he repaid her kindness by marrying her.

That day has finally come.

Xuan Wan felt as if her heart was being torn apart and fell into a deep sleep.

......

At the end of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), at the city gate.

Four hours had passed since Fu Zhao took up his post on the city wall. The task of tracking down the inhabitants of Qingtan Lake and its tributaries was handed over to the Imperial Guards.

On the surface, it was out of concern for his nephew, fearing he might be in danger.

In fact, if the crown prince doesn't return...

Fu Zhao is the first person responsible besides the murderer.

At this moment, he stood ramrod straight, oblivious to the moisture seeping into his armor. The surrounding air was damp and cold, and even his breath carried a heavy dampness.

But Fu Zhao remained motionless, his gaze unwavering as he stared intently in the direction of Qingtan Lake.

"Report!——"

Several fast horses arrived at the city gate tower, and then passed through layers of checkpoints to reach Fu Zhao's side.

His expression was indifferent, showing no emotion.

Such reports would come every half hour, bringing only updates on the search for the missing person; Fu Zhao had heard far too much useless information.

The excitement had long since faded.

"how?"

"The Imperial Guards followed the tributary where the clues were left and found a bamboo raft moored near the dam. It was the same raft that had disappeared in the reed marshes upstream. However, there was no trace of His Highness nearby."

"About four or five miles away from the bamboo raft, there was a small town where they found traces of what appeared to be the Xia family. The group consisted of two men and three women who rented a two-horse carriage and headed towards Dingzhou."

"Dingzhou?" Fu Zhao exclaimed, somewhat incredulous. He absolutely did not want to doubt the Xia family.

But this behavior is really strange.

Why did the Xia family find Xia Youtian but not His Highness?

Why didn't they head towards the capital, but instead went west to Dingzhou?

"Your Highness, the Imperial Guards have already sent men to follow their trail, and we believe they will catch up with them soon!"

The speed of the royal guards' horses was far superior to that of a half-worn carriage; they would catch up in less than half a day.

Judging from the timeline, they will probably catch up with the Xia family just as dawn breaks.

Fu Zhao's feelings were complicated.

They were afraid of not being able to catch up, yet also afraid of catching up too fast, and that they would immediately face the worst truth.

He has already informed his father of his desire to get married.

If it weren't for the fear of affecting the second son of the Xia family in the imperial examination, and the concern that some people in the court might use Xia Yibai's official position allocation after passing the exam to engage in some underhanded deals and blackmail.

Fu Zhao had long been unable to contain himself and headed to Fengzhou City.

even,

They even found out the preferences of their future mother-in-law, and had been preparing a gift for the meeting, including the eldest sister's child whom the sisters always talked about.

If so, then all the feelings of attraction are fake.

"drive!"

Xia Youtian was happily driving the carriage, estimating that they were about to accomplish two great things: rescuing His Highness the Crown Prince and escorting her second brother to the examination hall.

There were no external obstacles along the way.

The biggest difficulty was simply that the horses had a problem.

Who would have thought that these two horses, who have been partners for so many years and both look so strong and capable of running, would actually have a falling out!

Because of the problem of hay when they rested, they actually ran in both directions when they set off, and the pulling and tugging almost caused the carriage to fall apart!

Between their actions and expressions, Xia Youmi actually managed to discern that they often did this.

Now, we finally found out why the carriage and its horses were sold.

There's no such thing as finding a bargain.

Everything cheap has a price tag.

If Xia Yisong hadn't just brought them food, and they hadn't had time to run far, the injured and sick people in the car wouldn't have been able to control the situation at all.

Xia Yibai's hands were chafed from pulling the reins.

Fortunately, Xia Youmi only allowed him to use his left hand.

If his elder brother hadn't turned around in time, Xia Yibai would have definitely used all his strength to stop the horse.

By then,

His dream of taking the exam vanished.

Fortunately, everyone worked together and were all skilled horse trainers, so they quickly brought the situation under control.

The two mischievous horses were left in the wild and gained complete freedom.

Drawing on the experience gained at "Star Willow Hall", the group arranged ropes to change to a single-horse harness system and then adjusted the vehicle's center of gravity.

They rode the horse their elder brother had previously ridden to the town, arriving just before the market closed. They sent Xia Yisong to buy a horse on his own, while the others took a detour outside the town.

This is also one of the advantages that Xia Youmi chose by taking this route.

Before the prince's pursuers were completely wiped out, it was impossible to know whether those following the trail were friend or foe.

The original official road, which circled the city, was the most labor-intensive.

When the troublesome matter was over, things went incredibly smoothly. We entered the familiar route half an hour before the city gates opened.

"Stop! Get out of the car for inspection!"