Chapter 480 – A Small Sacrifice

Zhu Junyang, ‘Hmph, Yu Xiaocao, you’re being so unfaithful. Not to mention that you’re staring at the other party and coveting his beauty, but you also want to buy him and keep him at home? Do you think that this prince is dead?’

Ning Donglan, ‘This child speaks so recklessly. Had it not been for her young age, I would have thought that she was flirting with me!’

Ning Donghuan, ‘Feudal Princess, if you like him, please take him away. I won’t take a single coin. Gods knows how much I want to get away from my wicked second brother!! Why don’t I exchange my second brother for one of your dogs?’

Yu Xiaocao realized that she had said the wrong thing, so she laughed hollowly and said, “Although my analogy isn’t very appropriate, my meaning is apparent. I won’t sell them. Then...both Young Master Ning, let’s bid our farewells here and never meet again...”

When the carriage moved, Ning Donghuan almost rushed up to pull on the reins. Seeing his rather forceful movement, Little Black, who was originally looking at the new surroundings with a foolish expression, suddenly showed a fierce gaze and revealed its sharp teeth, which appeared very gleaming and frightening. Ning Donghuan’s beloved dogs cried in sorrow and couldn’t even stand up due to their weakened legs.

The onlookers cried out in fear and fled away for fear that the big fierce dog would bite anyone it caught. When Xiaocao, who had gone back into the carriage, saw the situation, she softly called “Little Black!” With that, the previously ferocious ‘big dog’ instantly returned to a fawning attitude. It went back next to the carriage and tried to stick its head into the window. However, its head was too big and ended up being stuck.

Yu Xiaocao pushed hard to get its mouth out. Seeing Little Black’s sad expression, she patted its big head and pacified it, “It’s getting late, so let’s go home!”

‘Miss Yu, since you’re reluctant to give away these two, when they have pups, can you give me one?” Ning Donghuan still didn’t want to give up. It wasn’t easy to encounter a world-renowned canine, moreover, two of them at the same time. Just one of them was more powerful than all of his hounds together. Thus, he really didn’t want to lose this chance.

“Let’s talk about it again when they have pups!” Yu Xiaocao shrugged her shoulders without giving a definite answer. Her Little Black and Little White were both male, and there was no way that she could control when they had pups.

“It’s a promise then...” There was no way that Ning Donghuan, who was obsessed with dogs, couldn’t identify the gender of the two wolfhounds. “Tomorrow, I’ll send over several dogs that are going through the dogs that are in the heat. Hehe, what do you think?”

‘Send dogs over? So that they can be extra meals for Little Black and Little White?’ Oh right, she had never seen Little Black and Little White bite other people’s dogs when they were in the village. On one hand, it might be because the dogs in the village always ran away in fright when they saw the two of them. On the other hand, the two were very confident about their identity so they were unwilling to bully the weak. She was curious whether the two would bite dogs if they were hungry.

“Let’s go! No matter how much you look at them, you still won’t be able to obtain them!!” After the horse carriage had gone far away, Ning Donglan kicked his third brother’s, who was still looking eagerly at them, butt.

Ning Donghuan’s eyes darted around, and then he suddenly looked at his handsome second brother with bright eyes, like a big dog begging for food. Ning Donglan pinched the area between his eyebrows, sighed, and asked, “What do you want? Just say it and don’t make that disgusting face.”

“Heh heh...” Ning Donghuan laughed hollowly. He moved closer to his second brother and fawned, “Second Brother, you’re the top among the capital’s Four Gentlemen. You’re the best in terms of appearance and talent. You should have also seen the stunned look in the feudal princess’s eyes earlier, so...”

“Use human speech!” Ning Donglan glared at him with contempt. He and his older brother were both intelligent and steady, but his third brother was completely different. He had turned into such a ridiculous person. He seriously didn’t want to admit that he was his real younger brother!

“I’ll guarantee with my own reputation that the feudal princess definitely likes you... Aiya, Second Brother, why did you hit me again?” Before Ning Donghuan could finish speaking, his second brother had interrupted him with a smack.

Ning Donglan gave him a sidelong glance and snorted, “Reputation? Do you even have any? Please think before speaking, okay! Didn’t Father already say that we can offend anyone except Miss Yu? You’re damaging her reputation in public. If she hears about this, you can just gnaw on cabbages and radishes in the future!”

“Uh...” Although Ning Donghuan was a meat lover, he wasn’t someone who only consumed meat. He had a rather balanced diet. He couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of the lack of good food on the table in the future, “Second Brother, aren’t we just having a chat between ourselves? There’s no way that it would reach other people’s ears. As your younger brother, I must state the facts. If the feudal princess is really interested in you, you should just sacrifice yourself a bit!”

If Miss Yu became his second sister-in-law, wouldn’t those two wolfhounds belong to the Ning Family? As her younger brother-in-law, she probably wouldn’t mind lending them to him for a few days, right? Moreover, after Miss Yu married over, they could have greenhouses in their family’s farmstead, and they could plant all the vegetables and fruits that they want to eat! In that way, they wouldn’t have to send people to line up in front of the fruits and vegetables shop every morning... A suspicious liquid substance was flowing out of Ning Donghuan’s mouth.

If they weren’t in the middle of the street, Ning Donglan would have kicked this fool far away! This brat seriously didn’t have a filter! Not to mention the fact that there was only a moment of astonishment and no romantic interest in her gaze at all, but the possessive attitude of Royal Prince Yang, who was beside her, alone was enough to show that Miss Yu was already taken!

To offend the powerful and unapproachable Royal Prince Yang for the sake of a girl, who hadn’t even grown up, was something that anyone with a brain wouldn’t do! Moreover, how old was Miss Yu? Twelve? Thirteen? He was already twenty-five years old. If he was born a few years earlier, he would be old enough to be her father. How could he take an interest in such a young child?

When Ning Donghuan got home, he received a beating from his second brother. He complained to Duchess Rongguo, “Mother, Second Brother is bullying me again! Be honest, don’t you think that my words are right?”

In regard to her second son, who was talented but not very close to her, Duchess Rongguo always spoke in a slightly careful manner. Although she felt bad for her youngest son, she didn’t dare to agree with him, “Your second brother is right to be concerned. For marriage, the mutual affections between the two sides is very important. Otherwise, it’s not a marriage but a feud! Although this Miss Yu was quite capable, she was still young, and it’s still hard to determine her temperament. Your second brother appears to be indifferent to everyone and everything, but in fact, when someone with such temperament falls in love, the feelings will last a lifetime. So, I don’t really want him to have anything to do with Miss Yu...”

“But...Mother, those two dogs are extremely rare fine breeds...” Ning Donghuan hoped that his second brother, who was seven to eight years older than him, would be able to have a good life partner, but he also couldn’t let go of Little Black and Little White.

Duchess Rongguo poked his head helplessly and said, “It’s no wonder that your second brother needs to discipline you. You want to sell your second brother for the sake of two dogs?”

Ning Donghuan’s head drooped like a defeated rooster, and he could only say, “Tomorrow, I’ll send over several good-looking female dogs. I don’t believe that there are only cats that don’t eat fishes!”

Little Black, ‘This wolf isn’t a cat, and I’m not interested in female dogs! Even when the little female wolves in the mountains tried to flirt with me, this wolf can still resist the temptation. You want to know what this wolf yearns for? Of course, it’s the tasty water in my master’s hands. This wolf will take as much as I can get!’

It was almost dusk by the time they returned to the Yu Estate. The two families lived not too far from each other, so Lady Fang had calculated the time that the Yu Family would arrive at the capital and came to the Yu Estate in the early morning to help tidy the house. The kitchen was also stocked up with fresh fruits and vegetables. Needless to say, things like grains, seasoning, and so on had been prepared a long time ago.

A small portion of the servants of the Yu Estate were transferred from the General’s Estate to help out, while the rest were bought from the official intermediaries. There were servants who had been dismissed by families in dire situations and servants from families that had committed a crime. There were also some servants who were strictly trained to serve the families of officials. Now that there was a feudal princess in the Yu Family, they were no longer considered unimportant low-ranked officials. Thus, the head of the official intermediaries were especially attentive!

“They’re here, they’re here!!” The ones waiting at the entrance were the doorkeeper, the steward of the outer court, and Tanchun. Upon seeing the carriage turning onto the street in front of the house, the young girl exclaimed with a crisp voice that was full of excitement.

“Open the door. Quickly open the door to welcome the masters to the capital!” The steward in charge of the outer court was selected from the official intermediaries. Allegedly, he used to be a steward of a certain official who had committed a crime. He was capable, but his loyalty needed further observation.

When the horse carriage stopped in front of the main entrance, the doorkeeper tactfully placed a small stool beside the carriage as a footrest. Zhu Junyang got off his horse, went forward, and stretched out his hand to help Xiaocao off the carriage. The servants in front of the Yu Estate and imperial bodyguards, who followed him to Dongshan Village, were astounded upon seeing this. To be able to have Royal Prince Yang support her off the carriage, they must reevaluate the importance of their masters in their heart.

Some other servants swiftly put a footrest beside the carriage in the back. Yu Hai jumped out of the carriage first. He had originally wanted to ride a horse, but it was more comfortable to sit in the carriage in the cold winter. Thus, he was persuaded to ride in the carriage with his wife by his children.

Madam Liu got off the carriage with the help of her husband. When she saw that the grand entrance and high walls weren’t much different than that of their house in Dongshan Village, the fear in her heart gradually disappeared. So what if this was the capital? The officials in the capital didn’t live more luxuriously than them ah!

However, she felt somewhat uncomfortable with these pretty maidservants, who eagerly came to support her. They were all delicate young girls who had hands that were more fair and tender than her, yet they served her cautiously for fear that they would make mistakes.

The clever Tanchun noticed the slight awkwardness of the madam, so she quickly said to Erya, who was standing on the side foolishly, “You’re Older Sister Erya, right? It’s quite cold outside, so you should quickly help the madam inside!”

Upon hearing her words, Erya, who didn’t know what to do in front of this group of pretty maidservants, finally found her place. She smiled gratefully at Tanchun, and then walked up to Madam Liu. In a silly manner, she said, “Madam, Erya will support you. Be careful when walking up the steps!”

With someone familiar around, Madam Liu gradually relaxed. She looked back at her children, who were surrounded by the servants, and her youngest daughter, who had carefully made all the arrangements. After that, she nodded and quietly entered the main entrance.