The late autumn morning breeze, wrapped in the fragrance of osmanthus, infiltrated the Prince's residence. Chen Weiwan nibbled on a piece of freshly baked croton cake, the crispy crumbs scattering across her moon-white skirt. Leaning against the carved porch, she watched the accountant, Mr. Zhou, bobbing his head over his abacus, his wolf-hair brush swishing across the account book. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh, startling a dozing sparrow under the eaves.

"Uncle Zhou, what are you so happy about?" Shen Weiwan leaned over on tiptoe, her nose still stained with pastry crumbs. The old housekeeper's wrinkled face was wrinkled with laughter. He tremblingly turned the account book over. On the yellowed rice paper, beneath the large words "Scam Academy Dividends", the amount of silver and money was so large that she gasped - the zeros after the number made her eyes dizzy.

"Look, young lady!" Uncle Zhou wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, his beard trembling. "Ever since the academy opened, all the con men in West Market have switched to selling candied haws! Yesterday, a fortune teller in the south of town tried to trick an old lady into buying a 'disaster warding talisman,' but she ended up stuffing a bag of croton powder in his hand, claiming it was 'fighting poison with poison to ward off disaster!'"

Chen Weiwan paused in her chewing. The farce on West Street three days ago suddenly flooded back to her mind: a vendor selling fake jade pendants, promising "10 times the price of a fake," was exposed on the spot by a woman buying groceries. The most outrageous thing was the "certificate of appraisal" she pulled from her sleeve pocket, with a bright red seal that read "Graduated with Distinction from Dasheng Scam Academy."

"Mom! Look what I caught!" A crisp child's voice came from far away. Heneng rushed over like a happy deer, his brocade cuffs still stained with grass debris, and the oil-paper bag in his arms tumbled open, revealing three shiny fake gold ingots that rolled to Shen Weiwan's feet. "I found this on a pickpocket in the south of the city!" The little guy put his hands on his hips, his eyes sparkling. "The thief cried and said that now everyone on the street has changed their profession to become a 'prop actor'!"

Wawa followed behind with her pigtails swaying, holding a crumpled flyer with wet ink on it: "Mom! Someone is recruiting actors for 'scam plays'. You can earn five taels of silver a day by playing a con man!" She pointed to the crooked picture on the flyer - a con man in a conman hat was being chased by the people, with a banana peel under his feet.

Chen Weiwan stared at the children's "trophies" and suddenly remembered a popular saying: "The Scam Academy has opened, and scammers are crying like crazy. Want to learn how to prevent scams? Come and sign up!" She slapped her thigh hard, sending pastry crumbs flying all over her. The slap was so hard that the croton wind chimes hanging in the corridor jingled.

"What bad idea has your wife come up with?" a familiar voice called from behind. Xiao Yu had just finished his morning court session, his dark python robe still frosted from the palace gates. But when he saw Shen Weiwan's shining eyes, he curled his lips helplessly—he was too familiar with that look; whenever she showed it, it was sure to be "not good."

"It's not a bad idea! It's the ultimate goal!" Shen Weiwan turned around on the spot, her skirt sweeping over the potted croton plants in the corridor, "Look, ever since the academy became famous, all the bad guys in the capital have no way to survive! If everyone in the world can cheat others, then no one will dare to do evil?" She became more and more excited as she spoke, standing on tiptoe to hold onto Xiao Yu's shoulders, and the croton flower pendant in her hair dazzled people.

Xiao Yu raised his hand to wipe the cake crumbs from the corner of her mouth, a faint sweet fragrance lingering on his fingertips: "Oh? You want to 'cheat and create a prosperous world'?"

"That's right!" Chen Weiwan's eyes shone like stars. "If we let the Northern Di envoys come to teach us, they won't dare to use poisonous scorpions as a gift! If we teach the Southern Chu merchants how to cheat people, they won't be ashamed to sell fake pearls! If everyone becomes smarter, isn't this a prosperous age?" She danced with joy, startling the parrots in the corridor and shouting, "Prosperous age! Prosperous age!"

"Then I'll be worried." Xiao Yu sighed deliberately. "Once the Minister of Revenue learns the 'Eighteen Ways to Default on a Debt,' I'm afraid he'll have to take out half the imperial seal and say 'pay the debt with something in exchange for something in return' when I go to collect my salary."

"Then we'll open another 'anti-scam class'!" Shen Weiwan's eyes flashed, and she immediately responded, "Teach everyone how to counter these tricks!" She suddenly lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "Maybe we can even get His Majesty to attend the class. Then we won't have to worry about him being tricked into a tax reduction by the censor's 'torture trick'."

Before she could finish her words, Chuntao came stumbling over, clutching a thick stack of invitations, her hair matted with sweat. "Miss! The invitations to become apprentices from various prefectures have piled up like a mountain! Princess Beidi sent someone to ask if we could group-buy the 'Quick Start Package'! And..." She gasped, pulling out a gold-stamped invitation, "The Dali Temple Minister wants to invite you to give a lecture to the yamen runners, saying it's to 'improve their case-handling wisdom'!"

"We want to be teaching assistants!" Kengkeng and Wawa raised their hands simultaneously, their chubby palms almost slapping Shen Weiwan in the face. "I'll teach you how to use croton powder to draw traps!" Kengkeng rolled up his sleeves, revealing a bracelet made of croton shells on his wrist. "Just sprinkle it under the bad guys' feet, and I guarantee they'll run faster than a rabbit!"

Xiao Yu looked at his wife and children, their eyes sparkling, and shook his head helplessly yet dotingly. He reached out and tucked Shen Weiwan's scattered hair behind her ear, gently shaking the croton-shaped ornament on the jade crown. "Alright, I'll be the reluctant leader of your 'anti-scam squad.' But I'll be frank—" He suddenly leaned in, his warm breath brushing against her ear. "If my wife cheats me, you'll have to pay her back double."

Three days later, the imperial city's south gate was festooned with lights and colorful banners. The plaque reading "Dasheng College of Tricksters" gleamed in the sunlight. It was carved from croton wood and inlaid with glittering icing sugar. Chen Weiwan stood on the three-meter-high stage, surveying the densely packed crowd below—crimson-robed Hanlins whispering among themselves, fans raised, merchants carrying loads perched on tiptoe to peer. Most conspicuous were the front row of Northern Di merchants wearing felt hats, each with a croton-shaped amulet strapped to their scimitars.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!