A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

The slap landed on Wang Laoqi's face, instantly silencing the surrounding crowd, who were all dumbfounded.

Wang Laoqi was so dizzy from the beating that he staggered back a few steps, covering his face, and looked at the officer with a blank expression.

"Sir...Sir, what's wrong? I'm just helping you catch a thief..."

Wang Laoqi couldn't understand why he was slapped when he had already given money to bribe the empress.

Wang Mang, who was standing to the side, was also startled. His face froze, and he stood there blankly.

Those present were also unsure what had gone wrong.

The officer's eyes were icy as he stared intently at Wang Laoqi, and he shouted sternly, "Catch a thief? This tiger is to be presented to General Zhao. Are you trying to disobey the general's orders by blocking our way?"

"To be presented to General Zhao?"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the room.

The onlookers were all surprised and looked at Chen Mo next to the cart, unable to believe it.

Could it be that what Chen Mo just said was actually true?

"That kid Chen Mo actually has the qualifications to work for General Zhao? How is that possible?"

"I initially thought he stole it, but I never imagined it had such a prestigious background..."

Whispers arose all around again.

"This soldier is right. This tiger was hunted and killed by Lieutenant General Zhao himself. We two commoners were just ordered to bring the tiger to town. We never expected that someone would be so bold as to try to steal Lieutenant General Zhao's things."

Chen Mo said calmly.

"What?! It was actually the tiger that General Zhao hunted down himself?!"

"No wonder, it's all thanks to Lieutenant General Zhao..."

"I knew it! Aside from a hero like General Zhao, who could defeat such a huge tiger!"

The crowd changed the subject and began praising General Zhao.

However, many people still wondered why Zhao Canjun had Chen Mo and his men transport the tiger he had killed himself.

Could it be...?

Unlike the surprise of others, Sun Dazhu was filled with doubt and confusion.

This tiger was clearly hunted to the death by him and Chen Mo, so how did it become that General Zhao killed it with his own hands?

Sun Dazhu was illiterate and couldn't quite grasp the situation. He just looked at Chen Mo's calm expression and didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Upon hearing that it was General Zhao who killed the tiger, Wang Laoqi and Wang Mang's faces turned pale instantly, completely losing their previous arrogance.

"Just now, this Wang father and son dared to claim they killed the tiger and said they didn't take General Zhao seriously. What's wrong? Now they're afraid to admit it?"

Looking at the panicked expressions of the Wang family father and son, Chen Mo couldn't help but sneer.

This huge accusation immediately made the Wang family father and son's legs go weak.

"You! You're slandering us!" Old Wang Qi hurriedly retorted, "Sir, we never said anything like that! This kid is framing us!"

"Arguing with you?"

The officer frowned and asked sternly again, "Then why did you bring men to stop us? Speak!"

This deep, resonant question immediately caused Wang Laoqi to collapse to the ground.

The officer ignored his explanations and turned to the soldiers behind him, ordering, "Take them all away and await the general's decision!"

"Sir, spare our lives! We've been framed!"

The Wang family father and son begged for mercy, but the soldiers ignored them and dragged them away.

The constables present immediately sheathed their knives and dared not utter a word.

Although the government office is the Wang family's backer, it seems that Chen Mo has an even greater backer now.

Seeing this, the onlookers dispersed, wondering what the relationship was between Chen Mo and General Zhao...

After everyone had left, the officer turned his attention back to Chen Mo and his group.

He glanced at the tiger on the cart and whispered, "Come with me."

Chen Mo nodded, and he and Sun Dazhu pushed the cart, following the officer's steps.

A moment later, several government troops arrived on horseback, tied the cart containing the tiger to the back of the horses, and then led Chen Mo and the others to the north city, five miles away.

Throughout the journey, Sun Dazhu had many doubts, but after glancing at the government troops in front of him, he kept his mouth shut.

Before long, the group finally arrived at the military camp in the north of the city.

The officer led Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu to a camp tent.

"The general is inside, so remember to watch your words."

The officer gave a reminder, and then led the two into the tent.

Zhao, the military officer, was sitting in the middle, his face still bearing that same stern expression.

There were several other officers in the tent, and when they saw the tiger's carcass being carried in, they couldn't help but show surprise.

"General, the tiger has arrived."

The officer stepped forward and bowed.

"Greetings, General."

Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu bowed to each other.

General Zhao raised his head, his eyes involuntarily turning to the tiger's carcass, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

"good!"

He laughed loudly, got up and walked to Chen Mo.

But the next moment, Zhao Canjiang suddenly drew the sword from his waist.

Chen Mo frowned, but remained calm.

"It's this wretched beast who's caused my son to be bedridden and unable to get out of bed!"

After saying this, he raised his sword and slashed it down hard at the tiger's head.

With a cracking sound, the tiger's skull was split open.

Inside the tent, everyone knew the general's temperament and simply watched quietly.

Chen Mo remained silent, secretly observing Zhao Canjiang's expression.

Judging from the general's reaction, his offering of a bounty for the tiger was indeed solely to avenge his son.

Zhao, the military officer, sheathed his sword, turned around, and stared at Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu, who were kneeling on the ground.

"Get up, everyone."

He said lightly.

"Thank you, General."

Chen Mo pulled Sun Dazhu to his feet, but the latter was already too frightened to move.

"I never expected that you two country bumpkins would actually have the ability to hunt tigers. I underestimated you."

There was a clear hint of admiration in Zhao's eyes.

"We two commoners are simply fulfilling our promise to present the tiger to the general."

Chen Mo stepped forward and bent down.

"Indeed, you are quite capable."

General Zhao nodded in satisfaction, looking Chen Mo up and down.

He knew perfectly well that the truly capable person was probably the young man speaking before him.

Even when facing a general like him, this young man remained calm and composed, and even yesterday he boldly declared that he could hunt a tiger in a day.

This is definitely not an ordinary person...

While admiring him, Zhao, the adjutant, also felt a sense of apprehension.

How could such a poor and remote place produce such a person?

"Thanks to the good fortune of meeting General Zhao yesterday, I was able to successfully hunt the tiger."

Chen Mo responded humbly once again.

"However, my husband and I fought the tiger last night and were not careful. The tiger skin is now somewhat incomplete, and we also cut the tiger into several pieces for easier transport. We hope that General Zhao will forgive us."

"Very well, all I want is this beast's life; nothing else matters."

General Zhao didn't care at all.

"Guards, give them a reward!"

Soon, two soldiers came out carrying a tray.

Upon closer inspection, there was at least a hundred taels of silver on it...