Xiao Yu looked at his father's red nose and said helplessly, "Father, Weiwan said that next time she will give you a milder version with rose petals."
"No need, no need!" The emperor waved his hand, rising from the throne, his boots rolling across the Persian carpet. "I just like this pungent feeling! By the way, do you still have those fake snakes? Bring me two. I want to scare that old stubborn man who petitioned for the crown prince. Every time he opens his mouth, I get itchy all over!"
Just as Xiao Yu was about to persuade him, he saw Shen Weiwan jumping in with a food box in her hand. Her skirt swept across the copper corner of the threshold, and there was a little icing on the food box: "Father, I brought you spicy rice cakes!"
The emperor's eyes lit up, his goatee curled up, and he leaned forward to look at the food box: "Is it the same one you used to trick your cousin last time?"
"Exactly!" Chen Weiwan opened the food box like she was presenting a treasure. Twelve bright red rice cakes were neatly arranged, the surface sprinkled with glittering icing sugar, and underneath was buried finely ground chili powder. "This time, I added double the amount of Western Region Seven-Star Pepper. I guarantee that after one bite, it will be so spicy that you won't be able to say anything bad. Even your cough will be filled with the spiciness!"
The emperor laughed heartily, picked up a piece and took a bite. His eyes widened instantly, and he stuck out his tongue to fan the air. The sleeve of his dragon robe almost swept over the inkstone: "It's strong! You are worthy of being my good daughter-in-law... cough cough! The spiciness of this is even stronger than the strong liquor I drank in the past!"
At night, Chen Weiwan was grinding ink in the palace study. Xiao Yu pushed the door open and came in, holding a letter. The wax seal was the emperor's exclusive dragon pattern. "My father sent it, and he said it was urgent."
Unfolding the letter, the emperor's calligraphy was written in a flamboyant style, the ink still slightly smudged: "Daughter-in-law, I heard that the remnants of the Liu family have hidden private funds in the city? Next time you try to trick them, remember to call me! We'll discuss the division of the profits between us... Also: Ten more pounds of spicy rice cakes, I want to give them to the concubines in the harem!"
Chen Weiwan laughed so hard that she fell backwards. The letter paper trembled in her hands like a leaf in the autumn wind. The tip of the pen in the inkstone dripped ink, and a small dark cloud spread on the rice paper: "Your Highness, look, your father's handwriting is like Chuntao's when she was just learning to walk! He even said he would give it to the concubines. I'm afraid he wants to see them jump for joy!"
Xiao Yu sighed helplessly, reaching out to brush away her hair, his fingertips rubbing against the ink spots on her face: "I finally understand. You two are the real father and daughter, right? Each one is more troublesome than the other."
"That's right!" Shen Weiwan raised her chin proudly, ink splashing on the front of her wedding dress, "From now on, we will be a family of three... No, it's the two of us plus father, together we will solve all the injustices in the world!"
Xiao Yu scratched the tip of her nose, and the ink spots made her look like a little cat. "Okay, okay, I'll do as you say. But first, I'll make a promise: you're not allowed to give Father powder that makes him choke and cry anymore. When he sneezed yesterday, he soaked the memorials."
"I know!" Shen Weiwan responded, but secretly stuffed a packet of newly developed "Osmanthus Happy Powder" into his sleeve. There was a crooked pig painted on the powder packet. "Your Highness, try this first. It won't choke you, but you'll smile foolishly after sneezing. It's suitable for you to use when you go to court!"
Xiao Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he took advantage of the situation and hugged her in his arms, smelling the scent of ink and rouge in her hair: "I have really fallen into the hands of you two 'deceiving duo'."
Outside the window, the night watchman struck the second watch. Faint laughter and shouting from the patrolling guards drifted through the palace walls, mingled with a newly composed jingle: "The Emperor loves to cheat people. His daughter-in-law teaches him to show off. Fake snakes and chili peppers are all in action. Joy fills the imperial courtyard!"
Shen Weiwan leaned against his chest, unable to help but laugh as she thought of the emperor playing with the fake snake like a child. She knew that with the emperor as her "best ally," her future adventures in deceiving others would be even more exciting. Meanwhile, deep within the palace, the emperor was playing with a rubber snake in front of a bronze mirror, his robes trembling with laughter. Beside him, Li Zhong silently wiped his sweat as he gazed at the two fake snakes on the imperial desk, wondering if the throne room of the Great Sheng Dynasty was truly about to become a "base for deceiving others."
Sure enough, within three days, the people of the capital city had made up a new joke, which was sung by a man selling candied haws and spread throughout the streets: "The imperial concubine's dowry is so strange, with peppers and fake snakes neatly arranged. The emperor followed his daughter-in-law and made a fuss, and all the civil and military officials in the court were shaking!" This royal anecdote of the Dasheng Dynasty, like a never-ending farce, became a topic of conversation that the people never tired of listening to after dinner.
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