Chapter 72 The Emperor’s Dilemma (1)

“...”

Was this guy doing it on purpose?

Everyone was stunned; they all suspected Ye Lang was deliberately provoking people. Given Ye Lang’s personality, it was entirely possible for him to say something like that.

According to their reasoning, Ye Lang must have mistakenly believed that Shalan’s child belonged to Moya, which was why he congratulated them right in front of Moya.

Precisely because of this assumption, Ye Lang had directly asked the question, as if to sprinkle a bit more salt on their wounds...

“Ye Lang...” Zhen Xiaoyan felt a bit helpless and quickened her pace, wanting to drag Ye Lang away.

“Xiao Qi, when did this brat learn to be so mischievous?” Ye Lanyu, who happened to be there as well, asked the Seventh Princess beside her.

“How would I know, if even you don’t? And why are you calling me Xiao Qi now?” The Seventh Princess was rather curious about her new nickname.

“Well, you’re going to be my sister-in-law eventually. What’s wrong with calling you Xiao Qi? Or do you still want to act all princess-like with us?” Ye Lanyu replied.

“Of course not. I just think calling me Xiao Qi is a bit... odd. It sounds like I’m his seventh wife or something, when I’m actually the first.” The Seventh Princess sounded a bit dissatisfied.

“Don’t worry, your place as the first is unshakable. You’ll also have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t marry any unsuitable women,” Ye Lanyu said, grasping the Seventh Princess’s hand as if entrusting her with a grave responsibility.

“Mm! I will!!” The Seventh Princess promised earnestly.

As the two spoke, their conversation drifted away from the original subject and landed on the matter Ye Lang never paid attention to—his marriage with the Seventh Princess. He never considered that he might actually marry her one day.

Of course, the Seventh Princess had thought she would definitely marry Ye Lang, but had never assumed she would necessarily fall in love with him!

“Sis, I’ve come to take you home! Seventh Princess, you’re here too, so you can go home on your own. I won’t see you off,” Ye Lang said bluntly.

“You...” The Seventh Princess was exasperated. “Can’t you invite me to go home with you?”

“Oh, you want to come too? Sure,” Ye Lang replied offhandedly.

“I want to come along too...” Zhen Xiaoyan chimed in.

“No way. You’d better hurry home, otherwise your condition might flare up again. Too much trouble,” Ye Lang refused flatly.

“Are you still expecting lunch today?” Zhen Xiaoyan asked with a smile, completely unfazed by his refusal.

“Ahem, you can come too. I’ll take you home, and if that doesn’t work, you can stay in that room for the night,” Ye Lang immediately changed his mind, generously allowing Zhen Xiaoyan to stay over if needed.

Ye Lanyu and the Seventh Princess exchanged a speechless glance, but their conviction only grew stronger: to win a man’s heart, one must first grasp his stomach.

Looks like I need to learn how to cook, they both thought, each for her own reasons, deciding to venture into the culinary arts.

—

“What about them...” The three girls, seeing Ye Lang about to leave, couldn’t help asking curiously. By “them,” they naturally meant the pitiful Moya and Shalan.

“Aren’t they doing just fine? Look, so loving...” Ye Lang replied indifferently.

“You call this loving?” the three girls asked in unison.

“Fighting means intimacy, scolding means love...”

...

A sharp slap rang out as Shalan struck Moya’s face, tears streaming down as she cried out,

“Why won’t you believe me? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

She acted this way because Moya had just said something deeply hurtful, perhaps not realizing his next words would wound her even more.

“Why should I believe you? When you were with me, you were already a woman, not a girl!” Moya said coldly.

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Though Moya had spoken obliquely, everyone understood his meaning.

“You... Moya, I hate you...”

At that moment, Shalan’s heart shattered completely. She regretted not preserving her virginity—if she had, there would have been no such misunderstanding.

Only now did she grasp the truth in what others had told her: a woman should not easily give her body to a man, not even one she loves, unless she is sure he will cherish her for a lifetime...

...

“Fatty, it’s just as well you’re so traditional, otherwise you’d have suffered for it. Someone like Moya isn’t right for you!”

“I never thought he’d be this kind of person. I must have been blind,” she replied.

“As long as you know now. Next time, choose a good man like me.”

“Ha! You, a good man? Don’t forget, you’re the one who pushed me into that pit in the first place!”

“Hey, I was just giving you a chance to let your feelings out. Otherwise, you’d have turned into a weirdo by now.”

“You’re the weirdo... hmph!”

...

“So, Ye Lang, did you do all this just so I could see Moya’s true colors?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Ye Lang answered.

“You replied so quickly—I get the feeling this was just a coincidence,” she said.

“Heh, was it?”

...

Because of this incident, everyone saw Shalan as a fickle woman. Though men still pursued her, none truly cared—only seeking casual fun.

In the end, Shalan numbed herself with alchemy, abandoning all feelings and growing ever colder.

Moya fared no better. His former charm was destroyed in an instant; girls no longer chased after him, his popularity plummeted, and someone else took his place among the Four Young Lords.

And as for Ye Lang, the cause of it all, he was presently being pestered by someone.

“Thirteen, hurry up and think of something!” Seventh Brother pleaded with Ye Lang.

“Settle your own affairs; I’m not getting involved,” Ye Lang refused outright.

“It’s because I can’t sort it out that I’m coming to you. Only you can help—after all, you’re the alchemy genius!” Seventh Brother looked at Ye Lang with pitiful, pleading eyes.

Since the incident with Zhen Xiaoyan, Ye Lang’s alchemy skills had gained widespread recognition and drawn much attention.

“So what if you can’t solve it? It’s not even your problem,” Ye Lang insisted.

“Thirteen, this concerns your brother’s lifelong happiness. Your future sister-in-law’s approval depends on you,” Seventh Brother whined.

“Fight for your own happiness.”

“I am fighting for it right now!” Seventh Brother persisted.

“... I really don’t want to deal with you,” Ye Lang said, exasperated.

“Come on, Thirteen, just say yes for your brother’s sake.”

“All right, all right, I get it. So what’s the story with this future sister-in-law of mine? How did she end up with such a strange problem?” Ye Lang relented, unable to refuse any further.