Cold Medicine (2)

"You're fine right now, but if you eat too much, you'll be in trouble. Do you really have to prove it yourself?" Tiger Girl felt utterly powerless.

"Will something really happen?" Thirteenth Young Master still had a certain trust in Tiger Girl. Since she said so, it might indeed be true.

What nonsense. It was true to begin with. Only you could be so clueless, and you call yourself an alchemist.

"Yes, something will happen. I'll throw away these expired potions later. If any potions are about to expire next time, you mustn't drink them either. Medicine is only for when you're sick, and you can't take it recklessly. Don't go taking stomach medicine when you clearly have a cold." Tiger Girl gently reminded him.

"Got it. I'm not that stupid." Thirteenth Young Master said disdainfully, as though he would never do something so foolish. As for whether he actually would or not, that was hard to say.

At that moment, he sighed again and said regretfully, "But isn't that too wasteful?"

"..." Tiger Girl was speechless. It would have been one thing if anyone else talked about waste, but he was a famous Prodigal Son. How could he possibly know how to write the word "waste"?

"Young Master, you call yourself the number one Prodigal Son under heaven. Are you really worried about wasting a little medicine?"

"A Prodigal Son is a Prodigal Son, but a Prodigal Son can still avoid waste. I squander money; I don't waste things." Thirteenth Young Master began explaining what a Prodigal Son was. A Prodigal Son should not be equated with wastefulness.

"This..." Tiger Girl had nothing to say. Come to think of it, although Thirteenth Young Master squandered plenty, he truly did not like wasting things.

In any case, her foolish young master could no longer be explained by common sense.

Tiger Girl smiled, then continued with her tasks for the day. Her foolish young master did the same, and the two of them carried on with their new day.

At this time, the foolish young master was thirteen, and Tiger Girl was fourteen...

The Royal Academy of the Imperial City was a supreme institution of higher learning that not even every noble could enter. It was currently ranked second across the entire continent, though this position was heavily disputed.

Yet the dispute was not because the Royal Academy wanted to be first and refused to remain second. Nearly everyone acknowledged the first place, from the bottom of their hearts. No one could shake First Academy's position.

Since first place was not in dispute, it was the Royal Academy's second-place ranking that was. That was right—the academies ranked third and fourth were eyeing that second place like tigers watching their prey, seizing every opportunity to claim it.

As for how these rankings were determined, it was not through someone gathering information and assigning scores in every category. The method was actually very simple: once every ten years, the arena tournament determined where your overall strength ranked.

In other words, the rankings only lasted ten years. After ten years, if you lost, you fell; if you won, you rose. This was the so-called thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—except the cycle here was much shorter, only ten years.

This arena tournament was not all mixed together either. By category, it was divided into the Magic Competition, Martial Arts Competition, and the Alchemy Competition, which had very few participants. Of course, there were also mixed competitions. By composition of participants, it was divided into the Individual Competition and the Team Competition.

On this continent where might was supreme, academies all aimed to increase individual strength. Thus, the strength of their students represented the strength or weakness of the academy itself.

It was worth mentioning that the academies ranked second through fourth were basically occupied by academies from the Three Great Empires. First Academy, however, belonged to none of the Three Great Empires. It belonged to a tiny, inconspicuous little nation. Or rather, it could be said that the nation was the academy, and the academy was a nation.

Perhaps that was why it could become First Academy. There were quite a few fewer political factors involved.

Even in the Three Great Empires, most nobles chose First Academy as their first choice. The Ye Clan was no exception. Take Thirteenth Young Master's older brother, Ye Hui—he attended First Academy, as did Thirteenth Young Master's Second Sister and some of his other cousins.

In truth, if Thirteenth Young Master had not been somewhat special, the Ye Clan would have sent him to First Academy as well. But given his current situation, even if the Royal Academy ranked very low, they would still have him study there. They would not feel at ease if he were too far away; this way, they could at least look after him.

There was one more thing. Thirteenth Young Master's younger elder sister, Ye Lanyu, had refused to go to First Academy. Using the excuse that she needed to care for her younger brother, she stayed at the Royal Academy. With her abilities, she would have stood among the best even at First Academy. At the Imperial City's Royal Academy, she was naturally an outstanding student as well.

Because she was a girl, the Lineage's requirements for her were not too strict. She could study wherever she liked.

Since they attended the same academy, the two naturally went to school together every day. And so, Ye Lanyu once again appeared prettily before Thirteenth Young Master. By now, she possessed every quality of a beauty and had become the object of pursuit for many young nobles in the city.

She seemed to be just at the age of sixteen, in the full bloom of her youthful maidenhood.

"Little brother, it's time for school." Ye Lanyu kicked open the courtyard gate and dragged the already prepared Thirteenth Young Master away. Her series of movements was exceptionally practiced, completed in one smooth flow.

"Oh..." Thirteenth Young Master was completely used to such scenes. He let Ye Lanyu pull one of his hands while using the other to hold a book and read.

Seeing this from the courtyard, Tiger Girl expertly packed up their things into the Space Pouch, then hurried after the sibling pair ahead of her.

Every day, Tiger Girl followed this unusual pair of siblings to the Royal Academy. Her status was naturally that of Thirteenth Young Master's study attendant. Nobles were permitted to bring a servant or similar attendant with them to study; academies throughout the continent allowed this, though nobles had to pay additional tuition for their attendants.

Of course, not every noble brought a study attendant. Ye Lanyu, for instance, did not have one.

The Ye Clan's carriage delivered the three of them outside the Royal Academy's gates, where they got down and walked inside. This was also one of the Royal Academy's rules: no means of transportation could enter. Otherwise, the entire Royal Academy would suffer massive traffic jams every day, considering that everyone here was a noble of extraordinary status.

Whenever this happened, a crowd gathered outside the academy, waiting for the three of them to arrive. Naturally, they were not waiting for Thirteenth Young Master. Though he provoked envy, he had not offended anyone overall, so there would be no scene of people surrounding and attacking him.

The people were waiting for the person beside Thirteenth Young Master—his sister, Miss Lan Yu.

"Miss Lan Yu, these are nine hundred and ninety-nine roses from Aphrodite Flower Shop. They represent my love for you..." A cluster of roses appeared before the three of them, yet the person holding them remained unseen; only his voice could be heard.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like roses." Ye Lanyu said with an apologetic smile, her tone and bearing so noble and gentle.

That truly was the attitude a young lady from a distinguished family ought to have. But would this Miss Ye really have such a side to her? Had she changed after growing up?