The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Cheng Youning was afraid of running into Hong Yuncong at the Imperial Academy. On the very first day his not-so-bright brother-in-law arrived at the academy, their relationship became common knowledge. Cheng Youning tried to hide it but couldn't, which made Hong Yuncong, who was just coasting along, a big shot in the junior class, and someone no one dared to mess with, because the Crown Prince in the senior class was his brother-in-law.

Cheng Youning explained, "These are spirit dogs that were presented as tribute from other countries. I obtained them from my grandfather!"

"This dog brother-in-law doesn't need to ask the Emperor for anything. I have several greyhounds at home, and they're all more spirited than yours!"

Cheng Youning was stunned. "Are these dogs very common?"

A group of students watched in silence, their eyes fixed on the dog, their ears perked up, all wanting to hear what Hong Yuncong, who was just coasting along, had to say!

Hong Yuncong said with great emotion, "Brother-in-law, this dog is not just common, we all have one in our homes. In spring and autumn, we take it out to hunt rabbits, and it catches them one after another!"

Cheng Youning was even more shocked. She looked at everyone and asked, "Does every household in your family have a spirit dog?"

Everyone who had been looked at by Cheng Youning blushed and felt a chill run down their spines. The group of young noblemen looked somewhat embarrassed, and then they laughed awkwardly at Cheng Youning, "Yes... but the breed can't compare to yours, Your Highness. You look like you have a noble bloodline and are a rare breed!"

Another person chimed in, "That's right, this dog's body is unusually long! A fine dog indeed." This person was Su Changjing, the youngest son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. He usually liked to hang around Cheng Youning and always said things that Cheng Youning wanted to hear!

"Yes, an absolutely wonderful dog!" The speaker was Wei Wenchen, the third son of the Minister of Rites. He had also passed the provincial examination last autumn, but his score was behind Cheng Youning, ranking more than a hundred places below him. However, he was not very old, about the same age as Song Qianyuan, and was considered a young outstanding candidate among the provincial graduates.

Cheng Youning began to suspect, and started to doubt what everyone was saying. He looked at Song Qianyuan, who was silent in the crowd, and asked, "Song Qianyuan, do you have this kind of hunting dog?"

At this moment, Song Qianyuan, like most people, was also staring at the dog. Although every household had a few dogs, they all wanted to know if the hunting dogs brought as tribute from the Southern Yan Kingdom were the same as the ones they kept at home.

"Your Highness, Qian Yuan's family does indeed have such hunting dogs, but their coat colors are different, so I don't know if they are the same breed!"

As soon as Song Qianyuan spoke, Cheng Youning knew that this kind of hunting dog was very common. He wasn't stupid; different coat colors meant they were the same breed. "I occasionally visit your home to see my teacher, but I've never seen any hunting dogs there!"

If Cheng Youning had seen this hunting dog at the Song family's house, she wouldn't have brought it out to show off in public right now.

"My family keeps all our dogs in the backyard." Song Qianyuan knew that the Crown Prince was young and his family had a lot of small animals, but they had never kept a dog. Wealthy families didn't keep dogs in public. They kept dogs simply because they liked dogs and would take them with them when hunting pheasants and rabbits. They weren't kept for guarding the house. Guarding the house was the job of the gatekeeper. So, the dogs in their homes weren't kept in public.

"No wonder! How does your hunting dog compare to mine?"

After some thought, Song Qianyuan chose to speak frankly. The words that were against his will were on the tip of his tongue, but he still couldn't bring himself to say them. "We'll have to wait and see on the hunting grounds. But judging from Your Highness's hunting dog, it seems to be well-trained and should be quite good!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Youning agreed with Song Qianyuan's point, "Then let's go hunting sometime and see whose hunting dogs catch more rabbits."

Hong Yuncong was playful; all he could think about was playing and eating. "Then why bother looking for a time? We don't have classes tomorrow, so let's go hunting. Let's all bring our dogs and meet at the hunting grounds in the south of the city!"

Everyone looked at Cheng Youning, wanting to hear her opinion. A group of spirited young men, upon hearing that they were going hunting with their family's hunting dogs, were all itching to try it themselves.

Cheng Youning thought for a moment and made a decision, "Then let's meet at the hunting grounds outside the South City tomorrow! Whether you want to hunt or watch the excitement, we'll meet tomorrow morning!" He also wanted to know if his hunting dog could catch a rabbit.

The next day.

After court, Cheng Youning hurriedly took off his court robes and changed into hunting clothes that he had prepared in advance.

As soon as he stepped into the sedan chair, the old steward called out to him, "Your Highness, you've just finished court. Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

Cheng Youning turned to the old steward and reported, "I've made plans with my classmates from the Imperial Academy to go hunting at the hunting grounds south of the city today!"

"But they can't skip breakfast!" The old butler was extremely worried about the grandfather and grandson! He would make sure they ate even one less meal!

Cheng Youning glanced at the sky, looking somewhat anxious. "Old steward, it's already late for them. I'll just grab something to eat on the way."

"That won't do! You wait here, this old servant will go to the imperial kitchen to get you some food!"

"Oh? No need!" Before Cheng Youning could finish speaking, the old steward had already turned and walked towards the imperial kitchen.

Cheng Youning had no choice but to sit in the sedan chair and wait. The time that followed was the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Cheng Youning said to Qiao Rong, "The old steward is so slow. Go and greet him. If I had known it would be like this, I would have preferred to have breakfast!"

Qiao Rong pointed into the distance and said, "Your Highness, look, the old steward is here!"

The old steward, carrying a maroon carved snack box, jogged over and arrived panting heavily before Cheng Youning. "Your Highness, this old servant has brought you some delicious food!"

"Why bother delivering it personally when you're old enough to do it yourself? Just tell one of the workers to do it. You should go back and rest! I have to go now; I bet everyone's waiting for me at the hunting grounds!"

The old steward, still worried, cautioned, "Your Highness, please bring more men with you. Be careful while hunting!"

"Old steward, don't worry. My father used to be a hunter, and I am the son of a hunter. I am an expert hunter. Today, we will mainly test the hunting dogs that are presented as tribute from the Southern Yan Kingdom. You can go and rest. We will have rabbit meat for dinner tonight. Tell your great-uncle that we will be having wild game tonight."

The old steward wiped his sweat and chuckled, "This old servant will tell the Emperor in a moment to wait and eat the game that His Highness hunted tonight."

As soon as Cheng Youning raised his hand, the four sedan bearers lifted the sedan chair. He said, "Your Highness, sit tight," and the four of them ran in unison toward the palace gate, with Qiao Rong running alongside them.

"Your Highness, what delicious food did the old steward bring you?" Qiao Rong hadn't eaten either, and was already starving. As she ran, her stomach kept growling.

Cheng Youning curled her lip in disdain, slammed the lid of the food box shut, and tossed it to Qiao Rong.