"This is all because the emperor is bored, using the excuse of testing the wisdom of his children, he gave each person a difficult problem," Seventh Brother said.
"Oh, that's why. Then let me think about it carefully..." Ye Lang nodded.
"You take your time, but a little faster, you have only three days!" Seventh Brother urged awkwardly.
"I understand, I will find a solution as soon as possible." Ye Lang waved his hand and said.
"Remember, don't forget..."
"If you keep babbling, I'll forget right away!"
Seventh Brother immediately closed his mouth.
...
Goal: To keep the ground of the bustling street free of any pedestrian traffic!
Conditions: No damage to the ground, no placing of anything on the ground, no deliberate blocking of the area...
A simple goal, but almost impossible due to the conditions. Despite racking their brains, Ye Lang's seventh brother and future seventh sister-in-law couldn't come up with a solution, so they had to seek Ye Lang's help.
They turned to Ye Lang not only because he was an "alchemy genius," but also because of his luck, hoping to benefit from it.
Ye Lang's seventh brother even believed that even if Ye Lang came up with a solution, with no change to the ground, the involvement of Ye Lang alone would have a mysterious effect on people.
Lady Luck, please stay by our side this time!
Seventh brother thought that, since there was no specific time stipulated, choosing a time when there were fewer people would ensure success, as long as nobody passed through during the specified time.
However, they also understood that if they chose such a time, the emperor might send someone to walk through, or others might pass by, which was not restricted by the rule prohibiting onlookers from passing by.
Their plan was solely focused on finding a solution during this time, and they had not considered a time when there were many people.
In the evening, Ye Lang informed his seventh brother that he had come up with a solution...
"What? You want the emperor and his entourage to come and see it when there are the most people around tomorrow?" Seventh brother asked in astonishment, as he hadn't considered doing it during that time.
"Yes, it's advantageous to have more people around. It would be more complicated with fewer people. Also, we should choose a time with ample daylight," Ye Lang nodded in response.
"What are you planning? I must remind you that we are not allowed to do anything, so how can we keep people away from a section of the street?"
"If we are not allowed to do anything, then why did the emperor pose this question?" Ye Lang smiled faintly. "Don't worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer. And even if I fail, you still have two days left. Didn't they say the challenge is time-limited, not limited in attempts?"
"That's true," seventh brother nodded. The emperor treated all challenges the same way—completion within a set time frame, with multiple attempts allowed!
The next day, the emperor and his retinue came to the liveliest area of the imperial city, where there was a dense crowd, and stopped, ready to test the answer provided by future seventh sister-in-law.
"Are you sure you want to do this at this time, in such a place?" the emperor furrowed his brow and asked.
It seemed that the emperor had also thought about this question, but he had never considered it in such a time and environment.
"Um..." future seventh sister-in-law nodded, then looked at seventh brother beside her. He could only smile bitterly; at this point, he could only trust in Ye Lang's solution.
"Then, go ahead!" the emperor said somewhat expectantly, curious to see what solution his daughter had come up with.
"Ye Ming..."
"I know..." Seventh brother walked to a certain spot and uncovered something that had been concealed there. Underneath was a deep, dark hole!
"Hey, we were instructed not to damage the ground. What are you playing at, Thirteen? Get out here and explain yourself!" seventh brother immediately barked.
"What's wrong? You're giving us away by acting like this," Ye Lang, who had been hiding and drinking tea on the side, responded somewhat helplessly.
The emperor and his retinue only just noticed Ye Lang's presence at this moment and understood that he was behind this.
At that moment, a figure from the crowd swiftly made their way over to Ye Lang, looking somewhat displeased...
"Your method won't work, you've already broken the rules!" Seventh brother complained, feeling exasperated. This wasn't playing fair; saying that it would be fine as long as they uncovered this thing was not acceptable.
"Don't worry, I haven't broken the rules. You can just watch and see! Oh, and Princess Seven, why are you looking at me like that?" Ye Lang said, then turned to the person staring at him, who turned out to be Princess Seven, who had come along.
Princess Seven, who had visited on a whim, hadn't expected to run into Ye Lang, and certainly hadn't expected him to be helping her future sister-in-law work out the challenge!
"What do you think?" Princess Seven was still somewhat annoyed, grabbing Ye Lang's hand and pinching it sharply.
"I don't understand what you mean," Ye Lang said, looking at Princess Seven perplexed. He had no idea what she meant.
Meanwhile, the situation on the other side was unfolding. Since the appearance of the black hole, no one had passed through the area. They all diverted their paths.
Even if some people couldn't see the black hole on the ground, they would notice the phenomenon of most people avoiding the area, which would draw their attention and prevent them from ignoring the black hole. This was perhaps why Ye Lang chose a time when there were many people around.
"Fool, who are you helping now?" Princess Seven slapped Ye Lang's hand.
"The future seventh sister-in-law, of course. What's wrong?" Ye Lang answered naturally.
"Do you know what's happening here?" Princess Seven continued to ask.
"Of course. It seems that the emperor wants to give a challenge to each of his children, so she came to ask for my help," Ye Lang replied.
"Now that you know, why didn't you come ask me?" Princess Seven pouted, and her action left the emperor and his entourage stunned.
They had hardly ever seen Princess Seven with that expression. Although she wasn't the most important person to them, she was still their daughter and sister, and they thought they knew her somewhat.
"Ask you what?" Ye Lang asked blankly.
Oh, I don't know what to say to you. Why are you so clever sometimes and so slow at other times? Seventh brother and the emperor shook their heads in unison.
Princess Seven was a princess, the daughter of the emperor, so she wouldn't be exempt from a challenge just because she was the emperor's daughter.
"You blundering fool!!" Princess Seven guessed that Ye Lang hadn't even considered it. "I'm a princess, don't forget. Father also gave me a challenge. Haven't you ever thought about that?"