Chapter 478 – Prodigal  

Little Black, ‘Are you blind? From which eye did you see this wolf bite someone? As long as you don’t harm this wolf’s master, I’m very reserved. This wolf isn’t interested even if you stretch your neck over!’

“Little Black sit down!” Yingchun didn’t dare to give orders to Little White, but in order to prove that the two were a new breed of dog that appeared fierce on the surface but had a gentle temper, she decided to issue orders to the one that was easier to control.

Little Black was stunned for a moment. It turned its head to look at its master, and then decided to give its master’s maidservant some face. It sat down hesitantly and sulkily rolled its eyes at the city guards.

“Little Black, hand!!” Seeing that it had given her face, Yingchun excitedly stretched out her own hands and waited for Little Black to give her the honor of shaking its hands.

Idiot! Little Black gave her a major eye roll. However, for the sake of entering the city to stay with its master and drink the tasty water, it reluctantly stretched out one of its paws and placed it on Yingchun’s fair hand.

“Little Black, turn around!!” Yingchun, who was in high spirits, continued to command Little Black. Little Black turned around in a circle impatiently, and then turned to find Xiaocao to pacify it, leaving Yingchun with a proud back view. ‘Master, your maidservant is such an idiot!’

Yu Xiaocao patted its proud head and smiled mischievously. She waved the bone in her hands, and then...threw it past the crowd. She threw it...

The crowd only saw a black figure flash by them like a wind. Some of them thought that they heard the sound of the wind above their heads, but they didn’t see anything when they looked up. Before they had even lowered her heads, they saw a black belly whizzed past the top of their heads. When they looked into the middle of the crowd again, the ‘big black dog’ had already retrieved the bone that its owner threw and returned to its owner’s side.

“Good!!” Cheers came from the crowd. With the bone in its mouth, Little Black gracefully paced around the crowd before returning to its master’s side. It put it back into its master’s hands with an expression that seemed to be asking for comfort and praise.

Little White, who was on the side, maintained a haughty and reserved appearance. As if it was looking at an ‘idiot’, it ‘enjoyed’ its brother’s performance. ‘This wolf doesn’t know that wolf! It’s such a disgrace to the wolf clan!!’

With Royal Prince Yang, who had a dark face the entire time, in the group, the city guards didn’t dare to make things difficult for them. The city guards sent a silly low-ranked soldier to provoke Little Black and Little White to see if they would attack people. However, the two only looked at the soldier like he was an idiot and even revealed a disgusted expression when he put his hand in front of their mouths.

“Heh heh, Boss, these two aren’t wolves. They’re just big dogs that look like wolves! I grew up in the mountains, and I’ve never even seen a wolf king this big! Perhaps, they’re really a new breed that Royal Prince Yang brought back from overseas.” The foolish soldier rubbed Little Black’s head and hugged its neck like they were close friends. It was fortunate that the one he touched was Little Black. Had it been Little White, would he still be able to say the same thing?

Little White, ‘This wolf isn’t going to let that stupid human touch me like that dummy Little Black!”

Seeing this, the city guard bowed to apologize to Royal Prince Yang. Royal Prince Yang snorted coldly and didn’t even look at him. After being ignored, he tried to explain his own difficulties to Yu Xiaocao.

“This is your duty, so Official Wang is a responsible city guard!” Yu Xiaocao gave him face by giving him a high evaluation. After a long hold up, the group was finally allowed to enter the gates.

After entering the capital, the two acted incredibly obedient as they guarded closely beside Xiaocao’s horse carriage. However, they were too eye-catching. From time to time, there would be screaming or disorder. Little Black and Little White had innocent expressions on their faces, ‘What does them being cowards have to do with us?’

However, it was inevitable that such powerful and majestic ‘big dogs’ would attract covetous eyes. Just like now, the prodigal son of Duke Rongguo had blocked the path of the carriage.

Duke Rongguo had gotten his son, Ning Donghuan, at an old age. Duke Rongguos’s wife was in her forties when she gave birth to him, so she naturally doted on him excessively. An overly benevolent mother would result in a good-for-nothing son. Using his family background and measly martial art skills, Ning Donghuan led a group of prodigal sons of wealthy families in the capital to stir-up trouble everywhere. But, with Duke Rongguo around, he didn’t commit sinister crimes like harassment and murder.

In addition to causing trouble in the capital, Ning Donghuan also had another hobby, which was hunting! He had average riding and hunting skills, so he was always searching for good hounds. In the rear garden of the Duke Rongguo Estate, a large area had been used to specially raise his hounds.

The hounds in Duke Rongguo Estate were very famous in the capital. In order to make things more fun, many children of noble families liked to borrow hounds from the Ning Family when they went hunting. Ning Donghuan had an open-minded and uninhibited character, so he never refused anyone who came to borrow things from him. Therefore, although he was profligate, he was quite popular among the children of noble families in the capital.

Today, Ning Donghuan went to the suburb of the capital to hunt with his group of friends. The pedestrians all avoided them when they saw the fierce appearance of the dozen or so hounds in his hands. He had good results today, especially the stag that weighed over a hundred catties. Tomorrow, he should have a plum blossom appreciation and roasted venison banquet and invite his close friends to have some fun.

He was bringing the game home in high spirits, but all of a sudden, his normally ferocious hounds became timid and wailed sadly for some unknown reason. Some leashes went limp in their legs and couldn’t walk properly. The servants, who were holding their leases, had to drag them forward, leaving a trail of defecation.

Ning Donghuan felt very embarrassed and his heart was full of confusion. When he looked up, he saw two huge dogs on both sides of a carriage. They were about half the height of the horses that were pulling the carriage. Their dignified and striking appearance made it hard for him to look away. Weren’t they the prime example of the almighty canine in his heart?

“Ahem! Please stop for a moment!!” Ning Donghuan blocked the horse carriage. As if they were super glued, his eyes were glued onto Little Black and Little White. He completely ignored the frowning and cold-faced Royal Prince Yang, who was next to the carriage.

Even if he saw him, he may not be able to make the connection between the handsome Zhu Junyang with the legendary black-faced death god. Royal Prince Yang wasn’t in the same social circle as him, so they never had much interaction. Thus, it was understandable that Ning Donghuan didn’t recognize him.

Yu Xiaocao poked her head out from the carriage and looked at the unfamiliar Ning Dinghuan with a frown, asking, “What’s the matter?”

However, Ning Donghuan knew who Yu Xiaocao was. Due to the miserable situation of the Ministry of Appointments’ Right Assistant Minister household, many of the noble families in the capital had strictly warned their children to never offend the new agricultural official, Yu Xiaocao. Otherwise, their entire family would only be able to eat dirt!

After Ning Donghuan recognized Yu Xiaocao, he had a bad feeling in his heart. It seemed like he wouldn’t be able achieve his wishes today. But, when he looked at the pair of black and white ‘canines’, he felt as if there were dozens of cats scratching on his heart. Thus, he decided to give it a try.

“So it’s Your Grace the Feudal Princess. Please accept my, Ning Donghuan’s, greeting!” It was never wrong to be polite. Even if the other party was unwilling to sell the dogs in the end, he wouldn’t leave a bad impression, right...

Zhu Junyang’s brows were tightly creased together, ‘What does this brat want? What’s with his flattering expression? Is he trying to seduce his little lass? This won’t do. I must see what he wants—Oh! It’s a false alarm, so he was after the two stupid wolves!!’ His brows slowly relaxed and he looked as if he was waiting for a good show.

‘Who’s Ning Donghuan? Am I familiar with you?’ However, one shouldn’t hit someone who was smiling. Yu Xiaocao revealed a kind smile and asked, “Young Master Ning, is too polite. May I ask why Young Master Ning stopped this maiden’s carriage?”

“That...may I know if these two dogs belong to the feudal princess’s family?” Ning Donghuan’s gaze had never left the two big wolves. He didn’t beat around the bush and directly asked.

“That’s right! They’re usually raised in the mountains, so they have quite a wild temper. It’s their first time in the capital, so they probably didn’t offend Young Master Ning, right?” When Yu Xiaocao reached out her hands, Little Black automatically moved his head closer for its master to touch.

Seeing that the black canine was so intelligent, Ning Donghuan’s desire to obtain it grew even stronger, “Feudal Princess, would you be willing to give me one of your two dogs? I’m willing to pay a lot of money to buy it!!”

He often wandered around the capital, and the good thing about this was he knew a little about everything in the city. He didn’t understand why this little girl with the surname Yu bought Assistant Minister Li’s old estate when the emperor had just awarded her with a property that made people envious.

However, this new feudal princess, who was born in a peasant family, had just arrived in the capital for only half a year. Even though the sales of the greenhouse vegetables were amazing, she probably didn’t have much money on hand after purchasing the estate, right? So, she would probably be interested if he offered a lot of money, right? Ning Donghuan decided that, as long as the price was within ten thousand taels, he would swiftly agree to buy the dog!!

“You mean them?” Yu Xiaocao looked at the two giant wolves sitting beside the carriage, like guardians. She thought, ‘Even if I sell them to you, would you be able to control them?’

Ning Donghuan looked at her brightly with full of expectant eyes, waiting for her reply. Yu Xiaocao showed a troubled expression and said, “These two are a new breed that Royal Prince Yang brought back from overseas. They have been with me since they were little palm-sized puppies, so they are like family to me. Young Master Ning, if I ask you to sell your family for money, would you?”

“Uh...” Ning Donghuan really wanted to say that he was willing to give away his younger step-siblings for free, as long as she was willing to give the two dogs to him! However, he couldn’t say this out loud. He could only try asking again, “Don’t you have two? You can just give me one. The price is negotiable...”

“The price isn’t the problem.” Seeing that he wasn’t easy to deal with, Yu Xiaocao let someone else handle the trouble, “They were given to me by Royal Prince Yang, so how can I just sell them away? If you can get the consent of Royal Prince Yang, then I’ll give you one for free!”

After she said that, she looked at Zhu Junyang, who was just watching the show, with a warning gaze that said, ‘See what happens if you dare to give away my Little Black and Little White!!’