The hanging flower gate of the Prince's Palace's west wing creaked in the autumn breeze, and the plaque above the lintel, "School of Tricksters," swayed gently in the wind. The gilded characters shone cunningly in the twilight. Chen Weiwan squatted in the corridor, sifting red chili powder through a thin bamboo sieve. The setting sun stretched her shadow into a slender silhouette. The chili powder falling from the sieve created a crimson mist in the afterglow, choking Chuntao next to her and causing her to step back repeatedly, her embroidered handkerchief pressed tightly against her mouth and nose.
"My lady," Chun Tao rubbed her itchy nose and looked at the chili powder piled up like a mountain in front of Shen Weiwan, "This is the third time! If you keep sifting it, I'm afraid even the dogs in the palace next door will sneeze!"
Chen Weiwan proudly shook the sieve, her fingertips stained with fine powder. "What do you know? Didn't that old hag Wang Ma scold us at the street corner last time for corrupting the children?" She lowered her voice, the teardrop mole at the end of her eye trembling with her smile. "This time, I'll let her taste the 'Flaming Red Lips'—the finer the sieve, the stronger it will be when it chokes her throat!"
Before he could finish his words, the creaking of carriage wheels suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate, followed by the eunuch's shrill voice: "The Empress Dowager has arrived—"
Shen Weiwan's hand trembled, and half a sieve of chili powder spilled onto the pearwood table, a vibrant red like rouge. "Why is my mother here at this hour?" she hurriedly covered herself with her handkerchief. Chuntao frantically hid the sieve under the table, but accidentally knocked over the itchy grass bag next to it, sending tiny grass fragments flying all over the floor.
"Grandma!" Kengkeng and Wawa had heard the noise and rushed out like two happy little animals, the red velvet flowers on their pigtails swaying in the wind. The empress dowager walked in, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, followed by four burly young eunuchs. Each of them held a gilded wooden box in their arms, the copper rings on the corners tinkling in the setting sun.
The Queen Mother glanced at the chili powder and grass debris scattered on the ground. Far from being angry, she smiled so hard that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and her pearl necklace rustled with laughter. "Well, Wan'er, you've been hiding here secretly gathering your 'weapons'? I heard that someone dared to destroy your 'Swindlers Academy'?"
Shen Weiwan hurried over, her eyes fell on the wooden boxes, her heartbeat quickened: "Mom, what are you doing..."
"Don't call me mother, call me 'the treacherous friend'!" The Queen Mother tapped the nearest wooden box with her cane, and the copper rings made a crisp sound. "I'm here to bring you 'strategic supplies'!"
Xiao Yu hurried over from the other end of the corridor. Seeing the wooden boxes filling the yard, he had forgotten to straighten the cuffs of his dark brocade robe and reached out to stop her: "Mom, what weird things are you giving Weiwei again? That fake silk snake you gave me last time, wow, I keep crying out 'snakes are coming' in my dreams!"
"Bah!" The Queen Mother glared at her son, the red-gold hairpins in her silver hair trembling violently. "That's to train your courage! Wan'er, don't listen to him, open it and take a look!"
The eunuchs hurriedly lifted the lids of the boxes. Shen Weiwan took a closer look, her pupils suddenly dilated - the first box was filled with oil-paper packages, with the words "aged chili powder, Western itchy grass, croton powder" written crookedly in cinnabar on the dark brown wrapping paper; the second box was even more dazzling, with palm-sized silk fake snakes spitting out red tongues, jumping straw frogs with their bellies stuffed with soybeans, and a dozen cloth bags with secret pockets sewn on them; the third box was the most exquisite, with a small gold-painted jar filled with sparkling powder, which reflected colorful light in the setting sun.
"This packet of chili powder is discarded chili powder that's been in the imperial kitchen for ten years," the empress dowager said, picking up a heavy oil-paper package and shaking it proudly. "Last year, when I was testing dishes for the new imperial chef, he took one bite and flipped over in the kitchen because of the spiciness!" She pointed at a fake snake with gleaming scales. "I had the Shanggong Bureau make this thing out of tribute satin, with glass beads for eyes. Last time, I used it to tease a newly selected talent, and she fainted on the spot. Oh, and this packet of itching grass, a new variety imported from the Western Regions, it'll itch your skin for three days and three nights!"
Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she was so moved that her throat choked with sobs. She rushed over and hugged the Queen Mother's arms, rubbing her forehead against her brocade sleeve embroidered with phoenixes: "Mother! You are really my dear mother! Even dearer than my own mother!"
"That's right!" The Queen Mother patted the back of her hand, the ruby armor on her nails making a crisp clinking sound. "Think back to when I was a concubine, which concubine in the palace didn't receive my 'care'? These are my most precious treasures, more valuable than the jewels awarded by the emperor!"
Xiao Yu watched from the side, shaking his head. He reached out to grab the bag of itchy grass, but the Queen Mother slapped his hand away: "Go away! Why should a man interfere? Wan'er is acting on behalf of heaven and punishing those gossipers!" She leaned closer to Chen Weiwan and lowered her voice mysteriously, "I heard that Nanny Wang was saying bad things about you in the West Market again? Use this bag of chili powder from me and stuff it into her sachet. I guarantee that if she sneezes, sparks will fly!"
Unable to contain themselves, Kengkeng and Wawa grabbed a fake spotted snake and chased it around the yard, scaring Chuntao so much that she screamed and hid behind a pillar, even the jade hairpin in her hair crooked. Chen Weiwan picked up a packet of Western Region itchy grass, picked up a little grass scraping with her fingertips, and smiled almost ear to ear. "Mom, you've arrived at the perfect time! There's a poetry gathering tomorrow at Shangxin Pavilion on the outskirts of the city. I don't know how that bitch Shen Ruorou managed to sneak back from the family temple, and she threatened to embarrass me at the gathering!"
"Chen Ruorou?" The Queen Mother raised an eyebrow and slammed her dragon-headed cane down on the bluestone slab. "Is that the cousin who stole your marriage? I'll go too! Let's see who dares to act like a troublemaker under my nose!"
The next morning, the hibiscus flowers beside the Shangxin Pavilion were in full bloom, their pink and white petals falling all over the ground. As soon as Shen Weiwan and Kengkeng Wawa arrived, they saw Shen Ruoruo, dressed in a dazzling pink dress, surrounded by a group of noble ladies. Seeing Shen Weiwan, she immediately raised her voice: "Oh, isn't this the Seventh Prince's Consort? How can you have the leisure to come to such a small place? Are you tired of staying in the palace and come out to have fun?"
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