The Silly Alchemist

“Wait a second… Why did you say I owe you? Didn’t I treat everyone at the city square the other day?” asked Ye Lang, confused. “What do you want?” 

Everyone was expected to pay for their food after the commotion ended However, someone suddenly suggested going to the same place to feast together. A place that was going to hold so many people wouldn’t be so ordinary. 

The first choice was the palace square as it was the largest space- but it wasn’t a place open for anyone. 

The second choice was the city centre square. While it wasn’t as big as the palace, it was a place that often held huge events. It suited their needs. 

After some discussion, everyone finally settled on the city centre square. Surprisingly, the emperor and his subjects attended the banquet as well, making this occasion more formal and legendary- a tradition that would be passed on for generations. 

There was a huge crowd there, with people of all kinds of status and backgrounds. Ye Lang practically welcomed everyone, even the ones who weren’t initially at the arena and only came when they heard the news. 

The crowd grew until the square overflowed with people. These people spilt over into the nearby streets and shops, which were now packed too. The city square itself was also sending waves of people in all directions now. 

These people didn’t only gather at the place, they contributed in the preparations for the ultimate grand banquet too. It would’ve been very heavy work if only a few people prepared for a banquet for thousands of people. However, it was different when thousands of people contributed too. 

They arranged the tables and chairs, prepared plates and bowls, helped transport ingredients, cooked, served food…

The entire city participated! 

The banquet was so grand that every citizen of the city was celebrating together. Even the largest celebration of the largest festival never attained a scale as this. The emperor and his subjects were stunned. 

No one cared about their status or standards at this grand banquet…

They only cared about one thing: to eat and drink as much as they could! To be happy and contented! 

This was a rare sight. Who would’ve thought that this was all because of one person? No one would’ve expected that person to be Ye Lang, the prodigal son! 

At this moment, Ye Lang was…

“Damn it! Who added wine into my tea?! I don’t drink!!

Ye Lang started to blush as he gulped down a little more alcohol. He then started his drunken spree...

“Sis, I’m going to sing a song for you!”

“Really?”

“Little piggy,  you have two holes in your nose…”

“...You asshole! How dare you!!! Go to hell!!”

“...”

While she knew Ye Lang never drank (he’d probably never drank a single sip of alcohol either), she didn’t expect him to get drunk immediately…

After Ye Lang was out cold, Ye Lanyu, the seventh princess and Zhen Xiaoyan, who were busy serving food, rushed to him to hold him up. When they confirmed he was very drunk, they sent him home. 

Long Anqi was relieved to see these girls caring so much for Ye Lang, though she was a little uncomfortable to see that she didn’t have the chance to care for him. 

At this point, although the main character, Ye Lang, was absent, everyone was still sober. The grand banquet only ended late at night. 

…

Ye Lang, being drunk, wasn’t sure what happened next. He was sure of one thing though: he did treat pay for everyone’s meals! 

And if he paid, what were they doing here? He didn’t mind treating them again, but this didn’t make sense! Did he still owe them anything? 

“Hey, I did treat you all, I don’t owe anyone anything!” replied Ye Lang calmly. 

“Uh… Thirteenth prince, I think you heard us wrong! We didn’t mean you owed us…” they explained hurriedly after a pause. 

“What?” He still didn’t understand. Did THEY owe him something? 

“Have you forgotten? We said we’d treat you to a meal if you helped us win!” reminded the crowd. 

“Oh yeah, you did! So what food are we going to get?” While Ye Lang liked squandering money, he didn’t mind if other people wanted to buy him a meal. And this had been a promise too. 

“What would you like to eat?” Obviously they had to ask him before they bought him food. 

“I want some of fatty’s cooking!” blurted Ye Lang without thinking twice. Zhen Xiaoyan’s cooking popped into his mind whenever he thought about good food. 

“Fatty? Oh, Zhen Xiaoyan? I know her, she cooks at Zhen Youwei restaurant sometimes. She’s rarely there these days but anyone who’s eaten her cooking always complimented her. Her cooking really is awesome,” commented someone. He looked forward to her cooking too. 

“That’s because she only cooks for me and herself,” said Ye Lang very straightforwardly. 

“That’s impossible, she’s tiny now. How can she eat that much? Unless…” They suspected that Ye Lang would finish all the food. They’d never heard of him having a huge appetite, but it was believable. 

“Unless what? Fatty has to eat a lot too you know, or something will go wrong in her body,” replied Ye Lang. “Eh, didn’t you want to buy me food? Let’s go to Zhen Youwei then. It’ll be best to meet her there.” 

“Alright!” 

…

The crowd left for the restaurant. More people tagged along when they heard the news. This was going to be another banquet again- they weren’t sure if the place could fit them all.

“Is Zhen Xiaoyan here?” Someone asked once they stepped into the restaurant.

“Yes. She’s not going to the academy today and she’s in the kitchen. But I’m not sure she’ll cook for you guys.” answered the staff immediately when he heard the question. He seemed very used to these questions as if he’d answer them a million times before.

Many people visited this restaurant. 

While they couldn’t guarantee to be able to eat Zhen Xiaoyan’s cooking, they’d still come here to eat. They wouldn’t leave just because they couldn’t eat her food! This all started since the grand banquet, thanks to Zhen Xiaoyan cooking for the emperor. She’d initially intended the food to be for Ye Lang but the emperor tagged along. 

Then Ye Lang got drunk and didn’t end up eating much! 

The emperor enjoyed all the benefits in the end… 

Her dishes amazed the emperor and his subjects, who indirectly advertised her incredible cooking. Free advertisement for her family! 

“She won’t cook for anyone, but I’m sure she’ll do it for this one person!” declared a person confidently, smiling. 

Unfortunately…

“I’ve heard this a million times today. I can’t even count how many rich people told me that. It’ll end up the same,” advised the staff, “I advise you all not to expect too much. Our chefs here are all top chefs, we won’t let you down!” 

There were many customers who thought Zhen Xiaoyan wouldn’t reject them because of their status. However, they didn’t expect her to not care a single bit. She wasn’t here to be a chef! She was only here to cook for herself, she had access to more ingredients here. 

Her family would have a headache whenever she was here- but it was a small problem. She could use whatever she wanted, no one stopped her. 

The ingredients she used were often rare and treasured greatly. 

Nonsense! Why would I come here if I could get them anywhere! I could just cook at home! -This was what Zhen Xiaoyan said. She was here for the ingredients, or she could’ve cooked with the same utensils back home. 

Her family once attempted to hide these ingredients but failed every single time. They didn’t expect Zhen Xiaoyan to be so talented, so sensitive to food. She often found everything very easily. 

Eventually, they did nothing except sulk with a headache. 

However, things were different now. Zhen Xiaoyan rose in fame- it didn’t matter if it was because of her talent, her appearance or her culinary skills. And she was attracting heaps of customers. Now, they wanted Zhen Xiaoyan here every day, every moment. 

They also tried to get her to cook for the customers, but she could care less about them. All she did was look for the ingredients she needed and leave with them. They were completely helpless when Zhen Xiaoyan’s only aim was to…

Bring Ye Lang good food!