The eastern wing of the General's Mansion has recently become the sweetest spot in the capital, its mornings filled with the mingled aroma of sweet-scented osmanthus candy and peach blossom pastries. Shen Weiwan slumped over the carved wooden railing on the second floor, the tassels of her moon-white skirt grazing across a handwritten copy of the "Guide to Preventing Scams" drying on the railing. The courtyard was bustling with activity. The Imperial Tutor's wife was directing her maids to stuff sesame candies into their sleeves, while jade bracelets jingled against the rosewood table. Meanwhile, the young master of the West Market Silk Shop, pinned to the blue brick floor by his father, sobbed as he demonstrated the "Chili Powder Keyhole Tactic" defense, his nose as red as a ripe hawthorn.
"Look, young lady!" Chuntao came over, carrying a gilded tray with steaming peach blossom pastries on it. "Madam Li's cuffs are almost all covered in sugar. The silk shop's young master's voice is so loud that even Lady Liu in Lingnan can hear it!"
Chen Weiwan bit off a piece of peach blossom pastry, the crust falling onto her skirt. She looked out at the chaotic scene in the courtyard, and suddenly remembered the chill in the ancestral hall on the day of her rebirth. She could still feel the pain of her aunt's nails digging into her palm when she pulled her hand for the red gold hairpin. A cold glint flashed in her eyes, quickly dispelled by the laughter in the courtyard. She rubbed the pastry at the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and said, "What's the rush? Back then, I was cheated by the Liu family and didn't even have a complete set of clothes. Now let them practice their tricks so they won't panic when they encounter real tricks in the future."
"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Yu's voice came from behind. The cedar scent of his dark brocade robe enveloped her. He reached out and brushed away the crispy crumbs in her hair. "Are you thinking about opening the academy in Lingnan again?"
Chen Weiwan turned and threw herself into his arms, her nose nuzzling the gold-embroidered python pattern on his chest. "Your Highness, look," she pointed at the Taifu's wife, whose sleeves were stuck to sugar in the courtyard. "Once we make 'Croton Field Management' a compulsory course, we can send the enrollment brochure to Lingnan! If Liu learns it, maybe she can even grow croton as a tribute!"
Xiao Yu laughed and rubbed her hair with his fingertips. "You've been holding grudges so much that you've turned them into your career." He looked at the students in the courtyard, all in a mess. The Grand Tutor was chasing the Emperor for an explanation, and the Emperor was still dangling the 'Imperial Secrets of Tricking People' in his hand. "If this keeps up, the academy should be renamed 'The First Circus of the Capital.'"
"This is called combining theory with practice!" Shen Weiwan raised her chin, and the glass hairpin in her hair shone with colorful light in the sunlight. "By the way, Your Highness, I have created a new 'Thirty-Six Strategies for Couples to Prevent Scams'. The first strategy is 'Sweet Talk Strategies'. Would you like to try it?"
"Forget it," Xiao Yu pinched her cheek, rubbing the candy stains on the corners of her mouth with his fingertips, "I'm afraid that one day you'll trick me into handing over the keys to the national treasury."
"No way!" Shen Weiwan stuck out her tongue and suddenly leaned close to his ear, her warm breath brushing against his earlobe. "I only pit those with bad intentions, but for someone as good as Your Highness..." She suddenly stood on tiptoe and bit his earlobe. "Of course I want to pamper him in my heart!"
Xiao Yu's ears flushed crimson. Just as he was about to retort, the classroom erupted in laughter. The Emperor, in his casual attire, was wielding a wolf-hair brush, dripping ink onto the Grand Tutor's official uniform. He exclaimed, "Watch this! This 'ink-stained blue lotus scheme' is far superior to your 'fake accounting scheme'!" The ink splattered across the Grand Tutor's chest, resembling a black-feathered chicken.
"Your Majesty, look at how much this ink halo resembles a pair of lotus flowers!" Chen Weiwan quickly smoothed things over, pointing at the ink and making up a story, "It symbolizes that the Grand Tutor and Your Majesty are of one mind, ruler and subject!"
The Grand Tutor glared at her, puffing his beard, but the Emperor beat him to the punch and patted his shoulder: "That's right! Wan'er's explanation is more effective than yours! Come on, come on, teach me how to use 'Pepper Powder for Memorials'!"
Xiao Yu sighed helplessly, pulling Shen Weiwan to hide behind the rockery: "Ever since my father became your student, the impeachment memorials from the Censorate during the morning court have all tasted like frosting."
Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and pressed it against her belly: "Your Highness, do you think our child will be born with the talent for digging holes? For example, when he was in swaddling clothes, he stuffed itchy grass into the nurse's sleeves?"
Xiao Yu froze, looking down at her sparkling eyes, a tenderness instantly filling them. He crouched down, his fingertips gently resting on her flat belly. "As you wish," he said in a low, husky voice. He looked up at her, his eyes twinkling. "Even if he steals my jade seal to exchange for candied haws, I'll just consider it your 'entrance fee.'"
"What if she changes your court boots into a 'croton sprayer'?" Shen Weiwan blinked and teased him deliberately.
"Just think of it as replacing the saddle for my mount." Xiao Yu suddenly laughed out loud and lowered his head to kiss her forehead. "But... have you really thought it through?"
Chen Weiwan looked at his handsome profile, recalled the coldness of the snow in her previous life, and then looked at the Taifu who was chasing the emperor in the courtyard. She nodded vigorously: "I've thought about it! I want to have a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The brother will be responsible for digging the pit, and the sister will be responsible for spreading sugar in the pit, forming a 'pit-sweet combination'!"
Xiao Yu burst into laughter, suddenly bending over and scooping her up like a princess. Shen Weiwan exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. The hem of her moon-white skirt swept the "Guide to Preventing Pitfalls" off the railing, and amidst the fluttering pages, she could hear the students' boos. Madam Taifu laughed so hard that she dropped the sesame candy in her hand, where it was snatched up by a passing cat.
"Xiao Yu! Put me down!" Shen Weiwan hit him with a red face, but was hugged even tighter.
"No," Xiao Yu looked down at her, his eyes almost overflowing with doting, "I'm going to take my 'Queen of Tricks' back to my room and practice how to create a 'trick-proof combination'."
At this moment, the emperor's voice came from outside the rockery: "Wan'er! Quickly teach me how to add croton powder to the Prime Minister's ginseng soup without being discovered!"
Shen Weiwan poked her head out of Xiao Yu's arms and shouted, "Your Majesty! First learn the 'sugar covering technique'! Use osmanthus sugar to cover the smell of croton powder!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
