The wine glasses and decanter on the table were eventually bought by the shopkeeper for 2,000 taels of silver each.

As for the tea set that the Zhao family still has, they will have to wait until the Zhao family returns to Wufang Town and retrieve it from Wangyue Tower.

As for the price, it's one pot and six cups; we'll discuss that later.

This really worried the shopkeeper.

If he weren't so well-mannered, his face would definitely be screaming "Go home now!"

To show their close relationship, the innkeeper decided to waive the cost of the meal for the Zhao family. But that's unacceptable.

The favors bestowed upon the Zhao family are not to be squandered like this.

It's difficult to deal with a shopkeeper who refuses to accept money.

Zhao Qingyan pondered for a moment, then reached into her small backpack—actually, she took out a pink glass rabbit figurine from her spatial storage.

This was a free gift she received when she was bored in her past life and shopping for various tableware and tea sets.

It's small in size, just the right size to hold and play with in your hand.

"Since the shopkeeper is so hospitable, I can't refuse him. I have a little trinket here, please accept it."

When the little rabbit lay quietly in Zhao Qingyan's small hand, the shopkeeper's eyes widened.

They spoke politely, but their eyes were fixed intently on the rabbit, as if afraid it would fly away if they blinked.

He couldn't resist the awe the glass rabbit had instilled in him. He knew it was valuable, but shamefully, he was tempted.

Finally, the Zhao family returned home with a huge sum of money. Only the shopkeeper remained, excitedly washing the wine glasses and decanter by hand.

With the list already published, there was no need to stay in the prefectural city any longer. After completing the formalities regarding their status as students of the imperial examinations, the Zhao family prepared to return to Wufang Town.

Since it's a trip home, I must say goodbye to the few acquaintances I know in the city and make arrangements for my return journey, starting with the route.

Upon learning that the Zhao family was returning to Wufang Town,

The manager of Wangyuelou delivered several bolts of fine cotton that looked to be of superior quality, along with some durable pastries, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

When Zhao Qingshan went to say goodbye to Zhang Rongtian, he casually mentioned the dangers that had occurred, especially the bandits at the natural barrier.

This caught Zhang Rong's attention. There were bandits entrenched in Lingnan Prefecture, and it was necessary to eliminate them.

The prefectural government office could not be left empty, so they gathered twenty skilled constables and borrowed three hundred elite soldiers from the thousand-household battalion outside the city. They then followed the Zhao family all the way to the natural barrier to suppress the bandits.

Wow, what a sight! We rushed here on horseback, not daring to linger, and now, with so many guards on the way back, it feels a bit like we're just riding on someone else's coattails.

The Zhao family knew they were using these people as shields; otherwise, they would have been ambushed by bandits at the natural barrier.

Although their own family members were generally quite strong, they were still hampered by Zhao Qianci, Qingyi, and Qingyang.

If the strong ones manage to climb the mountain, while the weak ones remain at the foot of the mountain and are captured by the bandits as hostages, then we're doomed—the whole group will be wiped out.

With these people following them, the Zhao family felt more confident. At least the three people who needed protection were now taken care of.

A day later, the group arrived at the insurmountable barrier.

It's quite a coincidence that the bandit leader, who had lost so many brothers, was still able to escape thanks to the Zhao family. They've changed their methods of robbery, and now they specifically target the intersection on the way back from the prefectural city.

His purpose was naturally to wait for the Zhao family to return. He couldn't quell his anger as the head of the gang without eliminating the Zhao family.

The gang leader has been acting like a madman lately. Previously, the brothers would mostly guard the pass, assess the passerby's finances and fighting ability, and then some or all of them would rob them.

Now, the leader basically stays at the foot of the mountain every day, his eyes always fixed on one direction.

Military strategist Wei Ran was very worried, fearing that the chief had really gone mad, and where would he find the good life he had now?

Not only do they have no worries about food and drink, but they are also waited on hand and foot. In the mountain stronghold, aside from needing to say a few nice words to appease the head of the household,

In reality, most of the time, the boss has to listen to him.

Therefore, he genuinely didn't want anything to happen to the head of the gang.

Seeing the chief's bloodshot eyes staring at the direction of the prefectural city again today, I couldn't help but advise him...

"Boss, go back to the village and rest. You've been working too hard lately."

We brothers know exactly what that family's carriages and horses look like. As soon as we see any sign of them, we'll definitely let you know.

If they continue to work like this, the head of the household's health will not be able to take it.

When we finally capture that family, we will devour their flesh raw, tear out their tendons and skin, and grind their bones to dust before we can quell our hatred.

While Wei Ran was still trying to persuade the bandit leader to return to the mountain, the bandits on the scouting side spotted the Zhao family members.

"Report, boss, we just saw that car that gave you a ride. It's about two miles away from us."

"Boss, should we hide and catch them off guard?"

Enemies meeting are bound to be furious, and the leader slapped Jin Douzi on the head.

"Hide my ass! Weren't we well hidden last time? Who would have thought those people would play by their own rules and shoot arrows at us from a great distance? The ones who died or were injured were all our brothers."

This time, I refuse to believe that with the combined strength of all hundred brothers in our mountain stronghold, we can't wipe out their mere three-cart force.

He spoke with such heroic spirit.

On their way back, when the Zhao family was about 10 li away from the natural barrier, they handed over their three weaklings to the yamen runners for protection.

Sitting in the Zhao family's carriage were Zhang Rong, Tian Li, and a centurion from the city defense battalion.

At this time, the Zhao family distanced themselves from the main force, not for any other reason than to avoid alerting the bandits ahead.

The Zhao family drove their carriage slowly and leisurely, stopping about a hundred meters from the natural barrier.

The leader, wielding a ghost-head saber, led a group of his underlings and menacingly surrounded the Zhao family's three carriages.

"Those of you in the car, get off here right now if you know what's good for you. Last time you crossed my chasm, you killed and wounded countless of my brothers. Today, you will pay for this in blood."

Today, Zhao Qingyan was in the first carriage when she heard the chief's words. She lifted the curtain and chuckled.

"I'd like to hear from the boss how he intends for us to pay for this blood debt!"

Her voice was gentle and soft, tinged with laughter, as she leaned out of the carriage to speak.

Standing on the carriage, although she was just a young girl, she had an air of looking down on everyone else.

Zhao Qingyan chose to stand on the carriage to speak simply to show off; unfortunately, she was short, so she had to stand higher.

The bandits had never seen a family where the adults didn't speak up, allowing a little girl to make decisions so arrogantly.

"Hmph, brat, why are you spouting so much nonsense? Blood debts must be repaid in blood. You killed so many of our brothers last time, so how many of your men did we kill?"