The Silly Alchemist

“Ah, I almost forgot! Let me know if you have any problems. I’ll help,” said Ye Lang, who suddenly remembered that his ‘future wife’ was also the emperor’s daughter.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to know the answer,” the seventh princess giggled softly. All she cared about was that Ye Lang was willing to help her. Unlike the rest, she didn’t really care to solve the riddle.

“Why not?” Ye Lang was confused with the princess’ reaction.

“You don’t have to worry about that. All I want is for us to live peacefully. We don’t need this kind of nonsense in our lives,” the seventh princess said softly while gently tugging on Ye Lang’s arm.

The onlookers more or less heard seventh princess’ conversation with Ye Lang. If there was one trait that they admired about the seventh princess, it was her candidness.

It was obvious to everyone that the emperor’s challenge for all his children served as a test to identify the most suitable heir to the throne. Although this was not a definite test, its importance wasn’t insignificant either.

Even if his children did not ascend to the throne, as long as they had exhibited outstanding qualities, the emperor would still reward them, which include governmental positions and ruling authority.

“Eh,” Ye Lang replied, indifferently. He did not fully understand the seventh princess’ explanation, nor did he really care about the challenge at hand. However, Ye Lang blurted out -

“What’s your challenge?”

“......”

The seventh princess mulled before continuing, “The challenge is to let two individuals drink soup from one bowl. However, the taste of the soup should be different for the two individuals. The condition is that the two individuals’ sense of taste must not have any problems.”

“That’s it? That’s too easy…” Ye Lang exclaimed, mildly surprised. Ye Lang believed everybody would be able to solve such a challenge, it was almost as if it was a coincidence.

“You have a solution already?” the seventh princess replied, equally surprised.

“Ok, here’s how it goes…”

“......”

And so, Ye Lang and the seventh princess started whispering their plans to one another.

From their actions, it was clear that their relationship was unique!

The emperor’s servants smiled among themselves, for they were already familiar with the two’s intimate interactions. Both of them had been like this since young!

However, not everyone was smiling. There were an unhappy few among the small crowd, which were seventh brother and his fiancé.

“Ye Lang…”

“Seventh sister…”

“Can the both of you get on with it and finish the job here?!” the couple yelled in unison.

“Isn’t your challenge happening now? It’ll be done when his Majesty says time’s up!” Ye Lang replied absent-mindedly, before resuming his conversation with the seventh princess.

“Sister, when Ye Lang says the problem is solved, it’s solved! He never lies, though he does blurt out the truth at inappropriate times!” the seventh princess also replied in agreement, before returning to her conversation with him.

“Alright, please explain why a hole is not considered damaging the streets,” said the emperor, who decided to address the elephant in the room.

Even those who initially intended to jeopardise the challenge by walking towards the hole had already abandoned the idea of doing so. After all, everyone was very curious about the rationale behind his solution.

Naturally, all eyes turned to Ye Lang, for they knew it was he who came up with this solution. As for the original participants themselves, seventh brother and his fiancé, they were temporarily ignored by the crowd.

However, Ye Lang was immersed in his conversation with the seventh princess, completely oblivious to the ongoing situation around him.

“Oh, it’s over? About the explanation for the hole...” Ye Lang started as he walked towards the hole, and slowly placed a foot into the hole…

“Ye Lang! Are you insane-” seventh princess panicked, reaching to pull Ye Lang away from the hole. However, she abruptly halted herself.

Ye Lang’s foot was just placed on top of the black hole as if it was hovering seamlessly above it.

“How… how is this possible?”

“Could it be magic? Alchemy?”

“......”

The crowd was stunned. Even after all the speculation, they couldn’t fathom how Ye Lang managed to pull this off.

“Crazy, right?” Ye Lang laughed excitedly towards the seventh princess.

“How did you pull this-” seventh princess replied, but was interrupted by Ye Lang.

“Just come over here and you’ll know,”

The seventh princess walked over and readied herself to place a foot on the hole.

And so, both Ye Lang’s and seventh princess’ feet were on the hole, looking as if they were standing on flat ground.

“Wait, is this just the ground?” asked the seventh princess, as she stepped on the ‘hole’ a few more times. Each step she made was accompanied by an obvious ‘thud’ sound, a clear indication that her foot made contact with a solid surface.

But… the appearance of the hole looked very convincing, how could it possibly be a solid surface?

“This is actually a solid surface. A completely undamaged, untouched surface. All I did was add a three-dimensional painting, so onlookers experience an optical illusion. Not everything you see is real!” Ye Lang laughed and pulled the seventh princess away with him, leaving the crowd to gawk and marvel at his solution.

Ye Lang’s final statement left everyone else scratching their heads, wondering if the challenge can be considered complete. Based on the conditions, the challenge was to be considered complete. Alas, Ye Lang’s solution shed a new perspective on problem-solving, and the crowd agreed that Ye Lang’s solution was indeed very impressive.

However, this challenge was meant for seventh brother and his fiancé. The fact that they requested Ye Lang’s aid to solve this challenge, was something that the emperor and his subjects must discuss.

When someone brought up seventh brother’s request for Ye Lang’s aid, the emperor had the following reply, “Do you always solve problems alone? Without asking for counsel?  As the leader of a country, it is better to utilize the strengths and skills of your subjects for the benefit of the country, rather than wasting your time and resources fighting a lost cause on your own.”

“Little seven,” said Ye Lang, who had picked up Ye Lanyu’s habit.

“What’s up?” replied the seventh princess rather directly.

“Wanna go to the auction house?” Ye Lang suggested, his eyes gleaming.

“What’s so fun about the auction house? Aren’t you bored of it already? You go there every day!” said the seventh princess, striking down his suggestion.

“The items are different every day. Who knows? We might find something we like,” replied Ye Lang, who cluelessly dismissed seventh princess’ disinterest.

“All you care about is playing and having fun! Without the support of your family, god knows what you’ll become!” snapped the seventh princess, with a hint of worry.

She was worried about Ye Lang. If he didn’t change his attitude, he could lose the aegis of his family. And if that happened, she had no idea how Ye Lang’s future would be.

Then again, the seventh princess felt that her worries were unfounded. It’s not as if the Ye clan’s foundation would collapse in a short span of time. Unless something unfortunate were to occur.

If so, if the Ye clan were to collapse, she was convinced that as long she was by Ye Lang’s side, she could take great care of him!

“If so, then I’ll make a living by being a prodigal son!” Ye Lang laughed, amused with his own childish reply.

“I’m so done with you!” said the seventh princess, exasperated. She was certain there was no other individual who could think like Ye Lang. He would earn money just to be prodigal! What a joke!

“So… we’re not going to the auction?” asked Ye Lang, while looking at the seventh princess.

“Fine, let’s go! It’s not like I have a choice anyway,” snapped the seventh princess. She had always given in to Ye Lang. It wasn’t like she had a different opinion, she was just afraid that she wouldn’t enjoy it.

“Come on, don’t be like this. I’ll get you something later,” coaxed Ye Lang while helping the seventh princess up a carriage to head to the auction house.