The autumn wind blew sycamore leaves across the courtyard of the General's Mansion. Shen Weiwan squatted before her great-grandfather's tomb, picking at the newly grown moss at the corners. The old butler stood nearby, leaning on a cane, his silver beard still trembling slightly. "Miss, the tomb has been dug out. Let's fill it up quickly and don't disturb the ancestors' peace."
"What's the hurry?" Chen Weiwan didn't even raise her head, digging the loose soil beside the base of the tombstone, "Dad said he left me a treasure, maybe it's hidden in the grave!" As soon as she finished speaking, her fingertips suddenly touched a cold, hard object.
Chuntao squatted beside it and used a branch to push away the fallen leaves: "Miss, what do you think this is?"
A piece of bluestone half-buried in the soil was exposed, with the crooked word "secret" engraved on the corner. Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up and she called to the servants: "Quick! Pry this stone slab open!"
Beneath the stone slab was a three-foot-square pit, and inside lay a rusty iron box. Seeing this, the old housekeeper nearly fainted: "This... is this something the old general buried with our ancestors?"
Shen Weiwan didn't care and grabbed the servant's crowbar to pry open the iron box. There was no gold ingot inside, only an old book wrapped in oil paper, with the words "Secret Records of the General's Mansion's Pranks" written in cinnabar on the cover.
"The Secret Book of Pranks?" Shen Weiwan flipped open the book, which was filled with pictures and crooked handwriting describing silly tricks. The first page showed a figure pouring chili powder into a keyhole, with the words "Chili powder is best for blocking a keyhole, making the opponent cough."
Chun Tao came over to see: "Miss, you have used this trick before! Last time, Liu's door lock was blocked like this!"
Shen Weiwan slammed the table and laughed, shaking the pages of the book. "So cheating people is a family tradition! I was wondering how I could be so good!" She turned to the second page, which showed a little man sprinkling white powder into someone's tea: "Break croton powder in tea, and you'll fart all over. This is a must-have for home and travel."
Xiao Yu arrived without him noticing. He picked up the book and raised his eyebrows. "'Chili Powder Lockhole'? 'Croton Tea'? You've used all of these moves before, right?"
Chen Weiwan stuck out her tongue: "Great minds think alike!" She turned to the last page and saw that it was written by her grandfather: "Don't blame me, my son. I am afraid that you will be deceived because of your honesty, so I left you this secret book. Remember: Don't have the intention to deceive others, but be careful to prevent being deceived!"
The old butler was stunned: "Was the old general so naughty back then?"
When the news reached the palace, the emperor laughed so hard that he threw the memorial away: "Haha! It turns out Wan'er's ability to deceive people is inherited from her ancestors! Quickly ask her to send the book to me, I want to copy a copy!"
Shen Weiwan looked at the moves in the book and suddenly had an idea: "Your Highness, let's open a 'School of Tricks'!"
Xiao Yu held his forehead: "As long as you are happy..."
From then on, a new legend spread in the capital: the eldest daughter of the general's mansion unearthed the secret manual of deceiving people, and even the emperor wanted to become her disciple. And Shen Weiwan's legend of "deceiving people" also turned a new page.
The autumn sun filtered through the three-hundred-year-old sycamore tree at the General's Mansion, casting dappled shadows on the blue brick floor. Chen Weiwan squatted before her great-grandfather's tomb, her fingertips still stained with dirt from yesterday's grave-digging, sighing over the bluestone stele. Chuntao squatted nearby, fiddling with newly grown moss with a branch. The hem of her skirt, embroidered with lotus flowers, swept across the ground, startling a few crickets hiding under the fallen leaves.
"Miss, you've been squatting for half an hour. The old housekeeper said that if you don't go to eat, lunch will get cold." Chun Tao looked up at the sun, then looked down at the curled sheepskin treasure map in Shen Weiwan's hand. "Why don't we stop thinking about it? Anyway, the old general's 'treasure' is just a grave. Who knows..."
"Shut up!" Chen Weiwan snapped the parchment map shut, startling the sparrows perched on top of the stele. "How could my own father lie to me? This treasure map must hold a hidden secret!" She poked her finger at the missing cinnabar circle on the map. "Look at this circle. The more you look at it, the more it looks like a manhole cover. Maybe there really is a treasure underneath!"
The old housekeeper came tremblingly with a jujube wood cane, his silver beard fluttering in the wind. Seeing Shen Weiwan circling in front of the tombstone again, he almost poked his cane into the ground: "My eldest lady! You just dug out the great grandfather's tomb yesterday, what else do you want to do today? If you dig it again, you will really scare the ancestors!"
"Grandpa Housekeeper, my father said he left me ten thousand taels of gold!" Chen Weiwan held up the sheepskin map, the silver bells in her hair tinkling softly as she moved. "The circle on this map is definitely not a grave, it's a manhole cover!" The more she spoke, the more reasonable it seemed. She stood up and patted the dirt off her skirt. "Chun Tao! Go call two servants, let's dig three more feet down!"
The old housekeeper stamped his feet anxiously, his cane banging against the brick floor loudly: "You can't do that, Miss! You can't dig around under the foundation of this monument..."
Chen Weiwan didn't care about that. Without waiting for the servants to arrive, she grabbed a small shovel beside her and started digging. Seeing this, Chuntao had no choice but to help. Like two little squirrels, the master and servant had quickly dug up half a foot of loose soil beside the stele's base. Suddenly, Shen Weiwan's shovel struck something hard with a clang.
"Found it!" Her eyes lit up, and she threw down the shovel and started digging the soil. Chuntao hurried over, and the two of them dug away the fallen leaves and wet soil. A bluestone slab half buried in the soil was exposed, with a crooked word "secret" engraved on the corner, as if it was casually drawn by a child.
"What...what is this?" Chuntao poked the stone slab, and the cold touch made her shiver.
The old butler took a closer look and suddenly gasped, his cane dropping to the ground with a clang. "This... is this the stone coffin that the old general buried with our ancestor?!"
Shen Weiwan ignored him and called to the servant who had just arrived: "Quick! Pry open this stone slab! The treasure my father has hidden must be underneath!"
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