Two days later, Xia Qingqing and Fan Sheng's family boarded a carriage bound for the prefectural city.

Originally, only Xia Qingqing and Fan Sheng were going, but the night before their departure, Xia Qingqing asked Luo Suyue for her opinion.

“Sister-in-law, why don’t you come with us? Brother Fan said you’ve never been to the prefectural city before. It’s a good opportunity to go and explore together. I’ve heard that the prefectural city is much more prosperous than here.”

Luo Suyue smiled and waved her hand: "I won't go. It's such a long journey and I'm too lazy to go. Besides, I need to stay home with Yaoyao."

“Yaoyao can come with us too. She probably hasn’t been to the prefectural city before, right? I think she’d like to visit it,” Xia Qingqing said.

"Is this... not a good idea?" Luo Suyue was still a little hesitant.

This is a fear of traveling far from home that people who have never traveled far from home have.

The world outside was not peaceful, and she often heard people talk about robbery and theft, which could result in the loss of money or even one's life.

Xia Qingqing held her hand affectionately: "What's wrong with this? Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'm very capable. I will definitely protect you and Yaoyao."

Luo Suyue couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "You're such a delicate little girl, you can't even protect yourself, how can you talk about protecting me and Yaoyao?"

"Who said that? I'll show my sister-in-law my strength today," Xia Qingqing said proudly, determined to prove herself no matter what.

She went to the yard and found a big rock: "Sister-in-law, do you believe I can lift this rock?"

Luo Suyue, of course, did not believe it; that stone weighed at least two or three hundred pounds.

"Qingqing, maybe we should just forget about it, or you'll hurt your back."

Xia Qingqing clapped her hands, bent down and easily picked up the stone: "Sister-in-law, now you believe me, right?"

Luo Suyue looked at Xia Qingqing with a blank expression, and stammered, "Qingqing, you're so amazing!"

Xia Qingqing revealed a hint of smugness: "Hehe, it's just so-so."

If she weren't worried about scaring Luo Suyue, she wouldn't mind showing off her ice-based supernatural abilities. However, people in ancient times were generally superstitious, and she didn't want Luo Suyue to mistake her for a monster or a deity.

"Now you believe I can protect you and Yaoyao, right? It's settled then. We'll set off for the prefectural city together tomorrow."

Xia Qingqing could tell that Luo Suyue actually wanted to go to the prefectural city, but had some concerns. So she didn't give her a chance to think about it anymore and made the decision directly.

Upon learning that she could go to the prefectural city with her parents, Fan Yao happily jumped up and down twice.

“Great! I’ve wanted to go to the prefectural city with Father for a long time. I can finally go.”

"Mother, is my brother coming with us too?" Fan Yao asked expectantly.

Luo Suyue gently patted her daughter's head: "Your brother doesn't have time and can't come with us for now. We'll take him another time, okay?"

She wasn't worried about her eldest son, since he was a man and skilled in martial arts, and could go wherever he wanted in the future.

But the younger daughter is different. The time before marriage is precious for a woman. If she can meet a good man after marriage, her life may be better. If she meets a bad man, her life will be difficult.

For at least the past ten years or so that her daughter has remained unmarried, Luo Suyue hopes that she can be carefree and happy every day.

The next day, Fan Sheng drove the carriage and took the three of them to the prefectural city.

They planned to stay in the prefectural city for two nights, so they gave their servants the day off.

It was the first time Fan Yao had ever ridden in a carriage for so long, and he couldn't sit still for more than an hour.

She kept lifting the carriage curtain to look outside: "Mother, Aunt Qing, have we arrived in the prefectural city yet?"

"It's still early; we haven't even finished half the journey yet," Luo Suyue said with a light laugh.

"It's too far, I want to sleep," Fan Yao said, yawning.

Luo Suyue pulled her onto her lap: "Then you sleep for a while, and I'll wake you up when we get there."

Fan Yao nodded her little head and soon fell asleep in her mother's arms.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a screeching halt, and the sound of horses neighing loudly could be heard from outside.

Xia Qingqing steadied herself and lifted the curtain to see more than a dozen menacing-looking people blocking the road: "Brother Fan, who are these people?"

“They must be bandits from Yunling Mountain,” Fan Sheng said with a grave expression.

He cursed inwardly, thinking how unlucky he was. He had traveled this road dozens of times over the years and had never encountered these bandits before. How could he be so unlucky on his first trip with his wife and daughter?

Xia Qingqing touched her nose. She guessed she had jinxed herself. She had said she would protect Luo Suyue just yesterday, and now she was in danger.

However, she didn't take these people seriously. No matter how high their martial arts skills were, they were still afraid of a kitchen knife, and no matter how good their kung fu was, they could be taken down with a single shot.

The bandit leader opposite them saw Xia Qingqing get out of the carriage and his eyes lit up. He whistled lewdly, "What a pretty little lady. You're unlucky to have met me today, hehe."

"You big idiot driving the carriage, leave your money and the beauty behind and get the hell out of here!"

Luo Suyue's heart tightened when she heard the sound, and she immediately wanted to go out to check, but Xia Qingqing pushed her back: "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid, it's a small problem. You take Yaoyao and don't come out."

Having witnessed Xia Qingqing's strength yesterday, Luo Suyue didn't rush to sabotage her: "Husband, Qingqing, you two should also be careful."

Seeing that Fan Sheng showed no intention of getting off the carriage, the people on the other side became angry: "Don't be so stubborn! Didn't you hear me telling you to get out of here right now?"

If they hadn't realized this person was a trained fighter, they would have already rushed up and snatched him away.

"You're dreaming! You won't get any money!" Fan Sheng gripped the reins tightly with both hands.

If he were alone, he might still have a chance to fight, but with three women behind him, he would have no choice but to force his way through.

No sooner had Fan Sheng finished speaking than the bandit leader was shot in the forehead by an arrow and fell off his horse with a thud.

"Third Master, Third Master, what's wrong with you?" The other bandits were terrified when they saw this and jumped off their horses to check on the man.

Xia Qingqing showed no mercy, firing arrows at the bandits as if they had eyes, and in a short while, five or six of them fell.

The people on the other side finally realized what was happening, and disregarding their dead brothers, they angrily attacked the carriage.

Xia Qingqing quietly activated her ice blades; the transparent ice blades quickly melted into a puddle of water after striking the opponent's brow.

Fan Sheng stared in disbelief at all of this. In less than three minutes, not a single one of the originally menacing bandits remained alive.

Xia Qingqing patted his shoulder and reminded him, "Brother Fan, hurry up and go, someone will be here soon."