Chapter Six: Disappearance

Having learned from their previous experience, they were more cautious this time, watching from the sidelines—and felt fortunate for their decision. In learning how to be a lord, one inevitably had to study certain imperial laws and understand the state of the empire. Upon seeing these, the thirteenth young master immediately voiced several ideas that left the Ye family both alarmed and anxious.

“These laws are unfair. Why is there such a disparity between the standards for nobles and commoners? The law should treat everyone equally—even if the emperor breaks the law, he should be convicted and lose his head!”

“This slave system ought to be abolished…”

“The nation’s leaders should be chosen by the people…”

…

After countless efforts and failures regarding the thirteenth young master’s titular career training, Mr. and Mrs. Ye grew thoroughly exasperated. Eventually, bewildered, they directly asked him what kind of person he wanted to become and what he wished to do in the future.

The thirteenth young master pondered for a moment, then smiled and replied, “I want to become a wastrel!”

Mr. and Mrs. Ye exchanged astonished glances. After a long pause, they asked, “What? Say that again?”

“I want to become a wastrel,” he repeated, adding, “A wastrel with power, influence, wealth, and beautiful women—oh, and it would be best to have a few sycophants as well!”

“Why do you want to become that?” At that moment, the couple didn’t know what to say, so they foolishly inquired.

“I want to squander. I want to be prodigal!”

…

“Ye Lanyu!” Mr. and Mrs. Ye roared, rushing off in a particular direction—more precisely, toward a particular person: the thirteenth young master’s elder sister, Ye Lanyu.

In their eyes, there was no way the thirteenth young master could have come up with such bizarre notions on his own; the only possibility was that Lanyu had instilled them in him. So now, they intended to give her a proper lesson.

Poor Lanyu, once again inexplicably made the scapegoat. Likewise, the thirteenth young master could only look at his parents in bewilderment, utterly at a loss as to what this had to do with his sister.

At this time, the thirteenth young master was just over five years old, yet already possessed such grand ambitions—a true prodigy indeed.

There was another matter: the thirteenth young master’s name. The Ye family had always found this a bit odd. They had originally named him Ye Tianyou, hoping that Heaven would bless him.

But strangely, ever since he learned to read and write, the thirteenth young master always wrote his name as Ye Lang, and ignored anyone who called him Ye Tianyou. Only when addressed as Ye Lang did he respond.

Though unusual, everyone eventually grew accustomed to it and forgot the name Ye Tianyou, replacing it with Ye Lang—thus, this became the thirteenth young master’s lifelong appellation, his name.

Ye Lang—was this mere coincidence, or was there another reason? For now, no one knew. All they knew was that, since the young master had decided to be a wastrel, he needed to spend money—and to spend money, one must first have money. Without money, how could one squander, indulge, or waste fortunes?

This, however, was easily resolved. Although the young master had never left the house or needed to spend, the amount of pocket money he received each year was considerable—almost rivaling that of a minor tycoon.

And this was only his allowance. If he ever asked for more, he’d receive it.

With this financial foundation, the next step was crucial—going out!

For most, leaving the house was an ordinary affair, but for the thirteenth young master, it was quite troublesome. No one in the Ye family would permit him to go out—not yet, at least.

Yet, something strange happened again.

“Master, madam, something’s wrong! The young master is missing!”

At the maid’s panicked and fearful cry, the Ye family suddenly realized the rarely-seen thirteenth young master had vanished—no trace of him could be found anywhere within the estate.

At first, they thought Ye Lanyu might be playing a game with her brother, but this was soon dismissed. Lanyu was currently being disciplined and kept apart from her brother—no chance of contact.

In fact, at that very moment, Ye Lanyu was meditating and practicing her magic. Upon hearing the news, she immediately abandoned her training and anxiously joined the search for her little brother.

The entire Ye family was thrown into upheaval—it was impossible not to be. The family’s patriarch nearly mobilized the entire clan in the search.

No one at that moment stopped to ponder how the thirteenth young master had disappeared, though the question gnawed at them. How could a five-year-old child, especially one considered slow, vanish without a trace? It was utterly baffling.

But for now, finding him was the priority. No matter how much of a wastrel he might be, he was still the current head of the Ye family’s grandson, Ye Chengtian’s son.

Very soon, Ye family members were scouring every street and alley in the imperial capital, joined by the alerted city guards, all searching for any trace of the thirteenth young master.

This commotion bewildered many onlookers, who couldn’t fathom what had happened to cause such an uproar.

Curiosity piqued, people began to inquire, and though they didn’t learn exactly who was missing, they discovered the search was for a five-year-old noble child—a black-haired, black-eyed boy who might seem a bit slow to react.

Those with sharper senses quickly deduced who he was. In the capital, few noble children could prompt such a search, and fewer still matched the description.

Now, everyone wondered why this young master had gone missing. Wasn’t he always at home?

Some searched out of concern, others with ulterior motives. Soon, more and more people joined the search throughout the city.

Unless the young master had already left the capital, he was bound to be found soon—at least, everyone thought so.

But things did not go as expected. After three days of searching—turning the capital upside down—there was still no sign of the thirteenth young master. Where could he have gone? How had he eluded the search? Was he kidnapped? These questions churned in everyone’s minds…