Chapter Sixty-One: The Liu Family

Zhao Mu turned around in confusion and looked at the gate guard surnamed Li.

The guard cupped his fists at Zhao Mu and said, "Since Young Master Zhao has hunted a tiger, you can bring it to the county magistrate's office. After verification of the kill, the magistrate will issue a certain reward."

Zhao Mu was momentarily stunned. Such a good thing actually existed?

However, the current Great Qi Dynasty was rotten to the core. He could not guarantee whether the tiger would still belong to him after he delivered it to the magistrate's office.

Seeming to perceive Zhao Mu's hesitation, the guard surnamed Li smiled and said, "Young Master Zhao can rest assured. The magistrate's office will only cut off the tiger's tongue to prevent anyone from using the same tiger to claim rewards again in the future. The remaining tiger carcass will still belong to Young Master Zhao."

Hearing this, Zhao Mu was somewhat tempted.

At this moment, Wen Zhi also chimed in, "Had Brother Li not brought it up, I almost forgot myself. Since we hunted this pair of large and small tigers, the magistrate's office will reward us with at least five taels of silver, and we will even receive a plaque proclaiming us Tiger-Hunting Heroes!"

He had previously served as a gate guard, but gate guards belonged to the military and were not part of the same system as the county magistrate's office.

Therefore, he was not familiar with such matters.

Furthermore, tigers were fierce beasts that might not be encountered even once in many years. It was only when the guard surnamed Li mentioned it just now that he recalled this custom.

Zhao Mu opened his mouth and asked, "There's even a Tiger-Hunting Hero plaque?"

Wen Zhi nodded and said, "Naturally! With this plaque, one is a true Tiger-Hunting Hero. Who in the surrounding ten miles and eight villages wouldn't envy that?"

Hearing this, Zhao Mu suddenly felt a trace of sorrow.

Ten miles and eight villages?

Although peace and prosperity seemed to prevail within Taiping County today, the villages in its vicinity had long since been reduced to desolate ruins with nine out of ten houses empty.

Even if he truly obtained this Tiger-Hunting Hero plaque, whom would it make envious?

The refugees fleeing in panic from all directions?

"Forget it, let's leave this matter entirely to Brother Qin to handle."

With a calm tone, Zhao Mu cupped his fists and said, "Many thanks for Gate Guard Li's kind intentions, but I am in a rush to return. I'll leave this matter in Brother Qin's hands."

Qin Jian nodded. He knew that Zhao Mu was not a person who coveted fame and fortune.

Besides, although a Tiger-Hunting Hero plaque might seem glorious, it was of little practical use.

It could neither serve as food nor be exchanged for silver.

It would be better to act as if none of this existed, though the reward mentioned by the guard surnamed Li was worth pursuing.

Just a tiger's tongue; being able to exchange it for five taels of silver was already quite valuable.

Shortly after Zhao Mu left, Qin Jian immediately instructed his men to take the large and small tigers to the county magistrate's office, where the kill was verified and five taels of silver were awarded as a bounty.

Meanwhile, the rumors spread by Qin Jian regarding the various benefits of eating tiger meat quickly swept through Taiping County.

Although most of those who could afford tiger meat knew that these so-called benefits were largely exaggerated gossip, there were still plenty of people eager to try something novel. After all, tiger meat was not something one could eat every day.

However, following Zhao Mu's suggestion, Qin Jian imposed restrictions on those who wished to partake.

If you want to eat, bring silver.

But if you want to eat more—apologies, we have a limit!

Each person could only consume a specific portion, and not an ounce more!

Those wealthy patrons, however, were not without solutions. Wasn't Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant enforcing a limit?

Couldn't they simply arrange for more people to come?

Eight people would sit at a single table, with six of them acting merely as fillers!

Only the remaining two would be the ones to truly enjoy the tiger meat!

Among all the cuts, the most sought-after was undoubtedly the little tiger whip.

Although the adult tiger was a female, the smaller tiger killed by Liu Jun and the other two was a male.

Even though that cub was not very old, it was still a tiger, wasn't it?

As the saying went, "what you eat repairs what you lack," and many men eager to display their prowess engaged in a fierce competition for that little whip.

In the end, the military commander garrisoning Taiping County directly dispatched a squad of his soldiers, who left ten taels of silver and took the little whip away.

Qin Jian did not feel cheated by this.

After all, for such a tiny piece, selling it for ten taels of silver was already quite substantial.

Not to mention ten taels, even one tael of silver would not have been a loss!

While the wealthy patrons were feasting heartily at Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, members of the Liu family in Taiping County also received the news.

"Master, someone brought two tigers to Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant today. It's very likely the very tiger that killed the young master!"

A servant, having received the intelligence, hurried over to report.

The Liu family was no ordinary household in Taiping County; they were a well-known wealthy clan.

Over the years, by doing business with the northern barbarians, they had long since amassed a fortune.

By now, they had no other ambitions; their singular focus was on producing a scholar in the family who could pass the imperial examinations and attain official rank, transforming the Liu family from a clan of merchants into a family of letters.

Among the younger generation of the Liu family, Liu Jun was the one most highly regarded by the head of the household.

Not only was Liu Jun the legitimate son of the head, but his older sister had also been married off as a concubine to a lieutenant under the military commander garrisoning Taiping County.

Although Taiping County was merely a county town, because it was the city closest to the barbarians, the Great Qi Dynasty stationed a garrison of several thousand troops there specifically for defense.

Aside from the commanding general, there were three lieutenants under his command.

Although the Liu family had wanted to forge a marital alliance with the commanding general, the latter looked down upon a merchant family like theirs.

Consequently, the Liu family had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and ally with one of the lieutenants.

Though only a lieutenant, his official rank was still far above that of the magistrate of Taiping County.

Relying on this connection, the Liu family wielded considerable influence in Taiping County.

A few days ago, Liu Jun had gone hunting with the two young masters of the Shen and Qi families, but yesterday, only the young masters of the Shen and Qi families had returned.

Furthermore, they brought back devastating news to the head of the Liu family.

To cover the other two, Liu Jun had faced a ferocious tiger alone, and it was feared he had already perished in the tiger's jaws!

Although the family head suspected there was more to the story, he had no choice but to silently accept it.

In just a single night, the head of the Liu family seemed to have aged ten years.

Liu Jun was not only his legitimate son but also his most promising descendant, one who was expected to bring honor to the family name through scholarly success.

Yet now, he had died in a tiger's maw simply because of a hunting trip into the mountains!

He had wanted to immediately organize a search party, but the youths from the Shen and Qi families stammered and could not pinpoint the exact location where they had left Liu Jun behind.

With no other option, the Liu family head had prepared to organize a party to head into the mountains today.

He wanted to see the man alive, or his corpse if he was dead!

To his surprise, just as he finished organizing his men, word came that someone had become a Tiger-Hunting Hero.

"Who hunted the tiger?"

The head of the Liu family sprang to his feet and demanded loudly, "Where is he? Bring him before me immediately!"