Chapter 73: The Emperor's Dilemma (2)

“This is all because His Majesty was bored and used the excuse of testing his children’s wits, giving each of us a difficult puzzle,” Seventh Brother explained.

“Oh, so that’s the reason. Let me think about it…” Ye Lang nodded and replied.

“Take your time, but do hurry a bit. There are only three days!” Seventh Brother urged, a little embarrassed.

“I know. I’ll try to come up with something as soon as possible,” Ye Lang said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Just don’t forget, you must remember—”

“If you nag any more, I’ll forget immediately!”

Seventh Brother instantly fell silent.

…

The task: Make sure that no one walks on the street in the busiest district.

Conditions: You are not allowed to damage the ground, place anything on the street, or block off the area by any artificial means…

A simple goal, but the conditions rendered it nearly impossible. Seventh Brother, his future wife, and the others racked their brains but could not come up with a solution, so they turned to Ye Lang for help.

Their request wasn’t just because Ye Lang was an “alchemy prodigy,” but also because of his uncanny luck. Perhaps with his luck, they could succeed.

Seventh Brother even believed that as long as Ye Lang was involved, even if the ground was unchanged, people would mysteriously avoid it.

Lady Luck, watch over your darling this time—don’t look away!

Seventh Brother thought, since there was no specified time, they could choose a moment when few people were about. Luck would surely be on their side; as long as no one passed through during the allotted time, they would succeed.

But both he and his future wife realized that if they picked such a quiet moment, the Emperor might send people, or others could come through. There was no rule against observers passing by.

Their thoughts were thus focused on finding a solution within the allotted time; they never even considered doing it during peak hours.

At dusk, Ye Lang told Seventh Brother he’d found a way…

…

“What? You want the Emperor and his entourage to come at the busiest hour tomorrow?” Seventh Brother asked in shock. As described above, he had never considered doing it at such a time.

“Yes, the more people, the better for us. Fewer people would be even more troublesome. And it has to be during the day, when there’s plenty of light,” Ye Lang replied confidently.

“What on earth are you planning? Let me remind you, we’re not allowed to do anything. How are you going to make people avoid a patch of open street?”

“Who said we can’t do anything? If nothing at all could be done, why would the Emperor set this challenge?” Ye Lang smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a satisfactory answer. Besides, even if I fail, you still have two days left. Didn’t they say there’s a time limit but unlimited attempts?”

“That’s true…” Seventh Brother nodded. The Emperor’s puzzles all had the same rules—finish within the time limit, and you can try as many times as you like!

The next day, the Emperor and his party, dressed in plain clothes, arrived at the busiest street in the capital. In the thickest of the crowds, they stopped, ready to see how the future Seventh Sister-in-law would answer the challenge.

“Are you sure you want to do this here, at this time?” the Emperor asked with a frown.

From his question, it seemed he’d considered this, but never expected anyone to attempt the solution amid such a crowd.

“Yes…” the future Seventh Sister-in-law nodded, glancing at Seventh Brother, who only managed a wry smile. He had no choice now but to trust Ye Lang’s plan.

“Very well, begin!” The Emperor sounded curious; he wanted to see what his daughter would do.

“Ye Ming…”

“I know…” Seventh Brother walked to a spot and lifted the cloth covering something. Underneath—there was a deep, black hole!

“What the hell, you’re not supposed to damage the ground! Thirteen, what are you playing at? Are you just mocking us? Get out here right now!” Seventh Brother shouted at once.

“What? Calm down. If you make such a fuss, everyone will know it was me,” Ye Lang replied helplessly from where he had been sipping tea.

Only then did the Emperor and his party notice Ye Lang’s presence and realize he was behind this.

At that moment, a figure slipped through the crowd and came to stand beside Ye Lang, staring at him with disapproval.

“Your plan won’t work—you’ve broken the rules!” Seventh Brother said indignantly. “You said there’d be nothing to worry about as long as we lifted the cloth, but look at this! How is this nothing?”

…

“Relax, I haven’t broken any rules. Just watch,” Ye Lang said, then turned to the person glaring at him, who was none other than the Seventh Princess.

The Seventh Princess had come on a whim, not expecting to run into Ye Lang—let alone that he would be helping her future sister-in-law tackle the challenge!

“What do you think?” The Seventh Princess was still a little upset. She grabbed Ye Lang’s hand and pinched him hard.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Ye Lang said, puzzled.

Meanwhile, the challenge was progressing. Since the black hole had appeared, not a single person had stepped across the street—everyone went around it.

Even those who couldn’t see the black hole would notice the detour made by most people, drawing attention to it, leaving no opportunity to ignore the hole. This was likely why Ye Lang chose to do this when the street was packed.

“You fool, whose side are you on?” The Seventh Princess slapped Ye Lang’s hand.

“Seventh Sister-in-law’s, of course. Why?” Ye Lang replied innocently.

“Do you even know what’s happening here?” the Seventh Princess pressed.

“Sure. Apparently the Emperor wanted to give each of his children a puzzle, and she came to me for help,” Ye Lang replied.

“If you know that, why didn’t you ask me?” The Seventh Princess pouted, an expression that left the Emperor and his party momentarily stunned.

None of them had ever seen her look like that. She might not be the most important daughter, but she was still their child, their sister—they knew her well enough.

“Ask you what?” Ye Lang asked, blankly.

Alas, they didn’t know what to do with him. How could he sometimes be so clever and other times so slow? Seventh Brother and the Emperor both shook their heads.

Who was the Seventh Princess? She was a princess, the Emperor’s daughter. If every prince and princess had received a puzzle, she certainly wouldn’t be an exception.

“You idiot!” The Seventh Princess had guessed that Ye Lang hadn’t thought of this. “I’m a princess, don’t forget. Father gave me a puzzle too—haven’t you thought of that?”