Huh?
The dogs in front of them looked like ordinary hunting dogs, mostly the slender hounds commonly used by noble families, along with some mastiffs brought from the north.
These dogs all looked the same.
What did Qi Yuan mean by this?
The dogs had been swapped?
Xiang Jie immediately asked the dog handlers, “How long have you trained this batch of dogs?”
The handlers were even more confused than he was: “Four years. These dogs are all about five years old, exactly the age when they are the fastest to react and the most ferocious.”
They had been raised for four years, and the dog whistles had never failed.
Yet today, when the pack went out of control, the whistles had no effect at all?
He had originally thought the dogs had been overly frightened and gone mad, not even recognizing their masters.
But now, it turned out that the masters of these dogs were not the Xiang family at all?
If that were the case…
The person behind this had replaced all of the Xiang family’s dogs, what were they trying to do?
No, the intention was already obvious.
Qi Yunzheng and Shen Jialang were the targets.
Who was it?!
From the moment Qi Yuan said that the hunting dogs before them were not the original batch, Ling Chuhan had already cursed her in his heart.
It really was this wretched woman!
She actually understood dog training!
Otherwise, she could not have spotted the problem at a glance.
No, how could she possibly know how his batch of dogs responded to whistle commands?
Every household trained dogs differently; the whistle rhythms and commands were all different.
That was exactly why no matter how the Xiang family’s handlers blew their whistles, they could not control the pack.
But why would Qi Yuan know the whistle rhythms and commands used by Duke Cheng’s household?
He suddenly lifted his head.
Qi Yuan’s gaze was also sweeping through the crowd. When she saw Ling Chuhan, she stared at him with a half-smile and said softly, “Brother Xiang, actually, it’s very simple to find out whose dogs these are.”
As she spoke, she glanced at the pack behind her and slowly continued, “Dogs recognize their owners.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she smiled at the handlers: “If these aren’t your dogs, and you want them to find their real owner, what should you do?”
What should they do?
Xiang Jie’s right eyelid twitched; he felt something was off.
Without thinking, one handler answered, “Let them smell one by one. Dogs have extremely sensitive noses. When they meet their owner, their reaction will be completely different.”
Qi Yuan immediately smiled. “Exactly. There are only this many guests present, so let them smell everyone one by one. We must find out whose dogs these really are, who replaced them.”
She spoke calmly: “Otherwise, if someone can silently bribe servants to swap all the hunting dogs today, next time they might set a fire at the estate, or even plant something forbidden. Wouldn’t that be so?”
Xiang Jie did not hesitate at all. He immediately asked the handlers, “Can you control one dog and lead it to identify people?”
The dogs had calmed down now, but their earlier ferocity was still terrifying.
Before the handlers could answer, Qi Yuan raised her brows and said, “I have a method.”
As she spoke, she lifted the dog whistle and brought it to her lips as if about to blow it.
Then suddenly, she raised her hand and pointed toward Ling Chuhan in the distance: “Young Master Ling, it’s you!”
Ling Chuhan’s hand froze instantly.
He had originally intended to blow his whistle to drive the dogs away, but who would have thought that Qi Yuan had never intended to let the dogs identify their owner at all? She only wanted to see who in the crowd would blow a whistle!
What a cunning and treacherous woman!
Everyone else had already seen his movement and were stunned.
Xiang Jie’s voice turned cold as he demanded, “Ling Chuhan, shouldn’t you give me an explanation?!”
Ling Chuhan said nothing. He tightened the reins, turned his horse around, and left immediately.
They were just dogs. As long as he left, who could prove the dogs were his or that he had replaced them?
The idea of letting the dogs identify their owner by scent was ridiculous anyway.
Dogs couldn’t speak. As long as he later issued commands, those dogs would obediently sit still without even wagging their tails.
Qi Yuan had tricked him, that was why he hadn’t reacted in time.
Outside the grassland was the main road. As long as he crossed it, he could shake off these people.
After that, he could easily push a scapegoat forward.
Wen Mingfeng would be perfect.
He had no intention of staying here!
Qi Yuan snatched a nearby horse, leapt onto it, and immediately gave chase.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
What was going on?!
How had things suddenly become like this?
No, there must truly be something suspicious about Ling Chuhan.
If he were innocent, why would he run?
But then again, Qi Yuan chasing him, what could she do?
She wasn’t an imperial guard.
Nor was she from the prefectural court or the Dali Temple, could she really solve a case?
Xiang Jie’s entire body tensed. Without another word, he grabbed a horse and sped off as well.
Xie Ying, worried, had no time to comfort Qi Yunzheng and also found a horse to follow.
From a distance, Xiang Jie saw Qi Yuan leaning low over her horse, and countless thoughts rose in his mind.
He had always known Qi Yuan’s riding skills were good, but he had never known they were this good.
Though he himself was also pushing his horse to the limit, Qi Yuan rapidly caught up to Ling Chuhan.
Meanwhile, he himself remained nearly four horse-lengths behind her no matter how hard he tried.
What skill!
He praised silently, then saw that Qi Yuan had already caught up to Ling Chuhan and was steadily closing in.
Their horses were almost touching, running side by side.
Ling Chuhan was furious.
Several times he tried to pull his reins and crash into Qi Yuan’s horse.
But Qi Yuan always avoided perfectly.
That wretched woman!
He was filled with rage but could only curse inwardly.
What terrible luck!
This wretched woman even knew dog whistles!
Holding the reins with one hand, he glared viciously at Qi Yuan, seized an opportunity, and suddenly urged his horse to leap over a fallen tree ahead. Then he bent a branch and released it.
The branch snapped back with tremendous force. At such speed, if Qi Yuan’s horse were struck, it would certainly fall.
He waited to see Qi Yuan trampled to death.
But the expected scream never came.
Uneasy, he turned back, only to see Qi Yuan had already pulled her reins and was laughing softly.
The ominous feeling in his heart intensified.
At that moment, Xiang Jie shouted loudly, “Watch out! Ahead is a ravine! A ravine!”
Ling Chuhan finally realized what the problem was.
His hair stood on end. He yanked hard on the reins, but it was too late.
The horse could not stop. It stepped into empty air and plunged straight off the cliff.
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