The Silly Alchemist

“Why not? You’re quite old, you look older than my grandma.” Ye Lang was telling the truth. Compared to the empress dowager, this lady looked older.

“You... You...” The arrogant lady was so furious she couldn’t speak.

“This is such a waste of time! I’ll find another person to bring me to the garden. Farewell! I hope I don’t see you again, I’ll be very annoyed if I see your old face again,” said Ye Lang, preparing to leave.

“Wu Ji! Make him lose his teeth! Let’s see if he dares talk so rudely to me next time!” yelled the lady.

She hadn’t been so short-tempered all her life. It was due to an event, plus Ye Lang’s frustrating personality that made her abandon all composure.

However, she had always been very arrogant. If it wasn’t because of her rank, someone would’ve taught her a lesson already.

“Yes! Mother!” said the arrogant boy named Wu Ji. This name suited him, for it meant ‘no reservations’, which also signified a person who was rude and arrogant.

The young man prepared to attack.

“Wait!” stopped Ye Lang.

“What, do you regret it? I’ll still forgive you if you get on your knees and apologise, then slap your face fifty times,” said the lady.

“I don’t have time for this, I just need to deliver these flowers. I’ve got to get back. Even if I did, I still wouldn’t fight you because I respect the emperor and this is his territory,” said Ye Lang, slowly walking around the young man.

“Imbecile!” The young man was ready to hit Ye Lang.

“Wait!” It was the girl who hadn’t spoken.

“Why, little sister?” asked the young man.

“Brother, the flowers are so pretty, don’t ruin them! You give the flowers to me and my brother will let you go,” said the girl coldly without looking at Ye Lang.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The daughter was equally rude. She only stopped the fight to get his flowers.

“Apologies, this flower is for my little cousin sister, it’s not for you,” said Ye Lang.

“Your cousin? Which little servant is it? The servants are getting bolder these days, can’t believe they let people like him inside,” said the lady, now realising that Ye Lang was only allowed entry only because he had a cousin working here as a servant.

But this cousin was impressive too, for she could make the guards let him in.

“Servant... you’re funny. Talking to you is a waste of time.” Ye Lang did not want to continue this conversation. In a flash, he left.

“?!”

The young man who was pretending to be cool, blocking his path, was stunned. He couldn’t believe he couldn’t stop the flower delivery boy.

“Wu Ju (Brother)! What are you doing? Why did you let him go?” said the mother and daughter at the same time. He did not speak. Wu Ji must’ve made a mistake, if he ran now, he could stop Ye Lang.

However, he realised that he couldn’t catch Ye Lang at all. Ye Lang seemed like a ghost, he found that when he sped up, Ye Lang sped up too.

Although he was running at maximum speed, he was shocked to find that he couldn’t catch Ye Lang.

In the end, he felt that Ye Lang was no ordinary figure. A person who could enter the palace was no ordinary person either, it was best not to get entangled in these matters.

“Wu Ji, what’s the matter? Why did you come back?” asked the lady.

“Mother, that boy is no ordinary person, I couldn’t catch him!”

“That’s impossible! If you can’t catch him, then he must be quite skilled. How could a person like that deliver flowers? There must be a problem. Inform the guards and the emperor,” said the lady immediately, suspecting Ye Lang.

“Alright1”

A search for Ye Lang began in the palace. Coincidentally, Ye Lang had been walking through quiet areas so no one knew they were looking for Ye Lang, or the search would’ve been stopped long ago.

The emperor was startled by this news. He did not know when a person like that entered the palace, hence sent people to conduct investigations.

“I’m finally here.” Ye Lang was lucky enough to find the gardens. There was no one here. The lady and her children thought Ye Lang had used the garden as an excuse, hence did not provide this information to the guards.

They thought Ye Lang must be going to visit his cousin, the servant. Didn’t he say he wanted to deliver flowers to his cousin? He must have to meet her first. They didn’t expect Ye Lang would literally leave the flowers in the garden instead of giving it to someone. Ye Lang put the flower back at its spot. It didn’t take much effort either, the plot had been left empty.

Then, Ye Lang removed the alchemy formations on the flower pot and studied the plant. He left after he checked that the plant was alright.

Since he had nothing else to do, he built a little stove and started to roast food in the middle of the garden.

“Roasted chicken wings, my favourite!” Ye Lang turned his chicken wings over the fire, humming a song happily. Anyone who saw him would’ve been driven insane.

“This is the palace garden! How could you roast food in the middle of it! Then again, it seems like a fun time. It was a quiet place, the scenery was beautiful. Other than the fact that he could be scolded by the emperor, everything was perfect.

“Eh? What’s that?” When Ye Lang was about to bite into his chicken wing, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

“Fire!” yelled one of the guards loudly as they searched for the mysterious flower delivery boy.

“There’ll be someone to put out the fire, stop yelling!” Another person frowned. These things would be dealt with by the people in charge, they didn’t have to worry.

“But there’s so much smoke and it doesn’t look like someone’s putting it out.”

“What? Where?”

“The palace gardens.”