Chapter 74: The Emperor’s Dilemma (3)

“Oh, I almost forgot! If you have any difficult questions, just tell me and I’ll help you.” Only now did Ye Lang remember that his “future wife” was also a princess.

“Heehee, you don’t need to worry about that. I have no intention of answering this question,” the Seventh Princess whispered with a playful smile. As long as Ye Lang was willing to help her, that was enough for her. The others were all eager to answer the question, but she simply didn’t want to.

“Why not?” Ye Lang couldn’t understand the Seventh Princess’s attitude at all.

“There’s no need to ask. I just want us to live peacefully, without these kinds of troubles,” the Seventh Princess murmured, gently wrapping her arm around Ye Lang’s.

The others could more or less hear their exchange, and they all admired this about the Seventh Princess—her ability to let go so freely!

This time, the Emperor’s challenge was directed at every prince and princess. Anyone could see that this was a test for the succession to the throne. Even if it wasn’t the final one, it was still crucial.

Even if one couldn’t inherit the throne, performing well would still win the Emperor’s favor, granting power and status!

Yet, the Seventh Princess didn’t care about this opportunity at all!

“Oh.” Ye Lang didn’t mind either. Although he didn’t quite understand what the Seventh Princess meant, he couldn’t be bothered with such matters. Still, he asked, somewhat cluelessly, “What’s your question? Let me take a look.”

“Well, I’ll tell you. The question is: make two people drink from the same bowl of soup, but have them taste different flavors. Of course, there can be no difference in their sense of taste,” the Seventh Princess said softly.

“That’s it? That’s way too easy…” Ye Lang exclaimed, a bit surprised. This question was such a coincidence—he believed many people would know the answer, at least on Earth.

“You already have a solution?” The Seventh Princess asked in astonishment.

“Let me tell you, it’s like this…”

Ye Lang and the Seventh Princess leaned in, whispering secrets to each other…

Once again, the two seemed to be perfectly in sync!

The Emperor and the others smiled. They were already used to seeing Ye Lang and the Seventh Princess so close; the two had been like this since childhood.

They never cared about who else was around!

However, not everyone was pleased—Seventh Brother and Seventh Sister-in-law, for example.

“Thirteen…”

“Seventh Sister…”

“You two, can you stop flirting for a moment and help us solve our problem first?” the pair said in unison.

“Isn’t your problem already being handled? Once His Majesty calls time, it’ll be done!” Ye Lang replied indifferently, and continued whispering to the Seventh Princess.

“Sis, if Ye Lang says he’ll solve it, then it’s as good as done. He never lies—if anything, he only tells the truth when he shouldn’t!” the Seventh Princess agreed, then went right back to whispering with Ye Lang.

“…”

“All right, what I want to know now is, how can you treat this hole as something that doesn’t break the rules?” The Emperor cut in, sensing there was no need to say anything else.

As for the others, those who had wanted to step up and personally test the “hole” decided to hold back. They, too, were waiting for an explanation—how could such a blatant violation be justified?

At this moment, everyone turned to Ye Lang. After all, it was clear he was responsible, and Seventh Brother and his wife had been temporarily sidelined.

Yet Ye Lang seemed oblivious, still quietly discussing others’ problems with the Seventh Princess.

“Thirteen!!”

“Oh, is it time for me to explain the black hole? Actually…” Ye Lang walked up to the black hole, stepped right to the edge, and then, without hesitation, stepped into the black hole itself—

“Ye Lang! Are you crazy…?” The Seventh Princess cried out at first and tried to grab him, but when she saw Ye Lang now, she was struck speechless.

Because, at that moment, Ye Lang was actually standing on top of the black hole, as if suspended in midair…

“How can this be?”

“Magic? Alchemy?”

“…”

Everyone present was dumbfounded. No one could fathom how Ye Lang had done it, and wild speculation erupted.

“Surprised?” Ye Lang grinned at the Seventh Princess, looking quite pleased with himself.

“You’re the one who’s crazy! How did you…” The Seventh Princess wanted to ask, but Ye Lang interrupted her.

“Don’t overthink it. Just come here and you’ll see.”

“Oh…” Taking him at his word, the Seventh Princess stepped right onto the black hole herself, never even considering the possibility she might fall.

And just like that, she stood next to Ye Lang atop the black hole, as if it were solid ground.

“Huh? It’s ground underneath?” The Seventh Princess tapped her small foot, hearing the telltale sound of shoe against floor.

But wasn’t that supposed to be a black hole? How could it be solid ground?

“This is indeed solid ground, perfectly intact. I just added a three-dimensional painting on top to create a visual illusion. Sometimes, even what you see with your own eyes isn’t necessarily real!” Ye Lang smiled, then took the Seventh Princess by the hand and led her away, leaving the others behind in stunned contemplation.

It wasn’t only his final remark they pondered, but also whether the challenge should be considered complete. By the rules, it seemed they had succeeded, and in a most impressive way.

However, since it was Seventh Brother and his wife who had asked Ye Lang for help—essentially bringing in outside assistance—this raised a question.

When someone brought this up, the Emperor simply dismissed it: “Which of you hasn’t asked someone else for advice? Who completed it entirely alone? As ruler of a nation, the most important thing is to recognize talent and put it to use, not to get bogged down doing everything yourself!”

“Little Seven…” Ye Lang imitated Ye Lanyu’s way of addressing her.

“What is it?” The Seventh Princess didn’t object, answering readily.

“Where should we go for fun? How about the auction house?” Ye Lang asked, his eyes lighting up.

“What’s so fun about that? You go there every day, aren’t you tired of it yet?” The Seventh Princess’s interest waned, and she pinched Ye Lang in annoyance.

“The items are always different, and sometimes you run into something interesting.” Ye Lang didn’t notice her lack of enthusiasm at all.

“What’s so interesting? All you do is waste money. If your family weren’t supporting you, who knows what you’d turn into!” The Seventh Princess was a bit worried as she spoke.

She worried about Ye Lang; if he kept going like this, what would happen if he lost all his protection? How would he face the world alone?

Although she felt her worry was a bit unnecessary—the Ye family’s foundation wouldn’t collapse anytime soon, unless something truly extraordinary happened.

Even without the Ye family, as long as she was there, she’d look after Ye Lang herself!

“In that case, with no family to squander, I’ll just have to earn money to squander!” Ye Lang replied with a laugh.

“Earn money to squander… You really are hopeless!” the Seventh Princess sighed. There probably wasn’t another person in the world whose sole reason for earning money was to spend it!

“So, shall we go to the auction house or not?” Ye Lang asked, looking at her.

“All right, all right! I just can’t say no to you!” the Seventh Princess replied in exasperation. She always gave in to Ye Lang, at least in matters like this, never once objecting, even if she herself wasn’t interested.

“Don’t look so glum. I’ll buy something for you as a present later.” Ye Lang pulled the Seventh Princess into a carriage, heading straight for the auction house.