Shen Weiwan ignored her and just winked at Kengkeng. Kengkeng immediately understood and staggered forward with a gilded brocade box in his arms. A sweet smile was on his chubby face: "Aunt, my mother said you look so beautiful today, so I asked you to give me a gift!"
Shen Ruorou glanced at the brocade box with a smug look, thinking that Shen Weiwan must be scared and pretended to be reserved when she opened it. Inside lay a hairpin inlaid with rhinestones, and underneath the rhinestones was a small package of itchy grass wrapped in gauze. She was just about to pick up the hairpin and pin it to her temples when Shen Weiwan suddenly exclaimed, pointing her finger at her bun: "Oh, aunt! There's a big bug in your hair!"
"Ah?" Shen Ruorou was so frightened that her face turned pale. She subconsciously reached out to brush it away, and her fingertips just happened to rub against the gauze bag, and tiny itchy grass fragments immediately covered her hands. She suppressed the sudden itch in her neck, trying to maintain her dignity in front of the Queen Mother, but she didn't notice that Wawa was like a nimble little animal, circling behind her and tying a bulging cloth bag to the hem of her skirt with a red thread.
During the poetry reading, when the grass-fighting segment arrived, Shen Ruorou felt her neck and the backs of her hands becoming increasingly itchy, as if countless ants were crawling on them. Unable to bear it any longer, she excused herself behind the rockery, using the excuse of changing clothes. Just as she lifted her skirt to scratch, she heard a crash, and the soybeans in her cloth bag splattered all over the floor. She screamed and fell backwards, landing on her back with a thud. The itchy grass debris in her skirt flew out, sticking all over her face and body.
"Oh! What happened to Miss Shen Er?" The noble ladies who were watching screamed and stepped back, their pointing eyes piercing Shen Ruorou like needles.
Shen Weiwan pretended to be panicked and ran over, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, but her eyes flashed with a cunning light: "Aunt, what's wrong with you? Are you suffering from some strange disease? Call the imperial physician quickly!"
The Queen Mother, sitting in the main seat, was laughing so hard that she nearly knocked over the gilded teacup in her hand. She said to the Taifu's wife beside her, "Did you see that? This is what happens when you dare to mess with my grandson's wife! I told you before, my Wan'er is not to be messed with!"
Shen Ruoruo felt itchy and embarrassed, and the rouge on her face was smudged. She got up from the ground in a panic, not caring about her manners, and hurriedly left with her face covered. Behind her, she heard the noble ladies' suppressed laughter.
When the poetry gathering ended, the Queen Mother took Shen Weiwan's hand and smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits: "Wan'er, your ability to deceive people is really better than mine! It's even better than the time I used laxatives to punish Concubine Li!"
Shen Weiwan supported the Queen Mother's arm, smiling with her eyebrows curved: "It's all thanks to the 'magic weapon' you gave me, mother. The effect of the itchy grass is immediate as soon as it touches the skin!"
Xiao Yu helplessly interrupted, "Mother, please stop teaching Weiwei. Now the whole capital knows that there's a 'professional scammer' in the Prince's Mansion. Even father asked me yesterday if we should give Weiwei the title of 'Master of Scams'!"
"Well done!" the Queen Mother glared. "If anyone dares to bully my grandson's wife and great-grandson, I will help Wan'er to bully them!"
Back at the Prince's Mansion, Shen Weiwan sorted the "tricking materials" sent by the Queen Mother into different categories and put them into the warehouse, while Keng Keng and Wawa helped by hanging several fake silk snakes on the beams of Xiao Yu's study.
"Dad! Look!" Kenkeng suddenly jumped out from under the desk, holding a fake green snake.
Xiao Yu was reviewing memorials when he suddenly saw a "venomous snake" lunge at him. He jumped from his chair in shock, his ink pen leaving long slashes across the memorial. He looked at the fake snakes hanging from the beams, then at the chili powder and itchy grass scattered on the floor, rubbing his temples with a headache. "Weiwei, what is your mother teaching you? If this continues, my prince's mansion will become a 'night parade of a hundred demons'!"
Shen Weiwan squatted on the ground to organize the cloth bag. When she heard this, she looked up and smiled brightly: "Your Highness, this is called inheritance! From now on, our family will be a 'family of tricksters', so glorious! When Keng Keng grows up, he can trick the examiner to the point of confusion when he takes the imperial examination!"
Xiao Yu looked at the cunning glint in his wife's eyes, then at the two children chasing each other with fake snakes, and shook his head helplessly. The setting sun shone through the window lattice, gilding the room full of "trick materials" with a warm golden edge, and also illuminated the familiar, "annoying" curve at the corner of Shen Weiwan's mouth.
In the dead of night, Shen Weiwan looked at the shadow of the fake snake looming on the beam of the study, and couldn't help asking Xiao Yu beside her: "Your Highness, how could the Queen Mother have accumulated so many tricks?"
Xiao Yu hugged her, resting his chin on the top of her head, and said with a smile: "Do you think life in the palace is easy? When Mother was young, she fought many battles of wits and courage with the concubines in the palace to win favor. These materials are her 'trophies' from those days."
Shen Weiwan suddenly realized why the Queen Mother was so supportive of her "business of deceiving people"; it turned out they were kindred spirits. She turned around, nuzzled Xiao Yu's chest, and winked slyly, "Then, when we deceive people from now on, can we ask Mother to join us? There's strength in numbers!"
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and pinched her cheek: "It's up to you, just don't drag me into this."
"That won't do," Shen Weiwan stood on tiptoe and stole a kiss on his lips, "You are the head of the family, of course you have to take the lead and be the target for the children's 'pitting practice'!"
Xiao Yu completely lost his temper and could only lower his head to kiss her. The moonlight from the window gently poured into the room, illuminating this pair of happy enemies. He knew that with the "deceitful duo" of Shen Weiwan and the Queen Mother around, the Prince's Mansion would only become more and more lively, and he, the Seventh Prince, was afraid that he would be willing to be a "tool" for the rest of his life. However, listening to the faint laughter of the "Kengkeng" and "Wawa" in the next yard, his heart warmed - wasn't this life full of laughter and "deceit" exactly the fireworks of the world he had always dreamed of?
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