The pomegranate tree in the west wing of the Prince's Palace was laden with lantern-like fruits. The autumn sun filtered through the layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the bluestone slabs. Shen Weiwan crouched on the stone platform beneath the tree, peeling a ripe pomegranate with her fingertips. The ruby-like seeds burst open in her palm, and the overflowing juice reflected on her fingertips red. Keng Keng stood on tiptoe, holding half a pomegranate to her lips. His chubby face was stained with the bright red juice, as if smeared with rouge. "Mother, this one is the sweetest. The seeds are even translucent!"
Suddenly, the crisp tinkling of bells and pendants echoed from the palace walls, mingled with the distinct shouts of ceremonial guards. Chuntao, clutching the hem of her moon-white skirt, stumbled in from the Moon Gate. The silver butterfly hairpin in her bun had fallen to the side of her ear, and her hair was damp with sweat. "Madam! The Emperor... The Emperor has arrived with his imperial guards and a sedan chair carried by twenty-four men! The ceremonial guards are practically filling the alley!"
Chen Weiwan's hand trembled, and half a pomegranate seed rolled onto the hem of her moon-white skirt, spreading a small blush. She hurriedly stuffed the chili powder bag hidden in her sleeve into the crevice and kicked the small clay pot of itching powder at her feet. "Why is my father-in-law causing trouble at this time? Quick! Hide the slingshot and the fake snake in the hole of the pomegranate tree. Don't let him see them!"
Before he had finished speaking, a bright yellow procession had already passed through the hanging flower gate. Twenty-four Jinwu Guards, their armor plates clacking against each other, surrounded the emperor, dressed in his ochre-yellow formal attire. A jade goldfish hung from the sash of his waist, tinkling with every step. The gilt corners of the brocade box held by the young eunuch behind him dazzled in the sunlight. The emperor pointed at the pomegranate tree, its branches bent so hard that the leaves rustled. "Wan'er!" he cried, his voice like a bell, shaking the leaves. "Wan'er! I can smell the sweet fragrance of your yard even from the palace. Are you ripening it with the secret methods of the 'School of Tricksters'? These pomegranates look even redder than those in the Imperial Garden!"
As Chen Weiwan bowed, she caught a glimpse of the bright yellow silk cloth beneath the brocade box. Through the crack in the lid peeked the gilded edge of a half-rolled book. She bowed and said, "Your Majesty, your presence has brought glory to this humble courtyard of yours. The pomegranates are but commonplace, nothing compared to the rare treasures found in the Imperial Garden."
The emperor casually sat down on a rustic stone bench. A crisp "creak" startled the sparrows from the pomegranate tree. He pointed at the swarm of birds flying towards him, his beard trembling with laughter. "I'm here today to discuss a major imperial business!" He patted the brocade box beside him, and the lid snapped open, revealing an abacus inlaid with gold and jade. The beads were made of South China Sea pearls. "I heard your academy is short of 'imperial teaching materials'? I'm here to bring you a job!"
Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and opened the brocade box. Besides the abacus, there was a book with a blue cloth cover next to it. The book was inscribed with cinnabar, "The Thirty-Six Strategies of Exploiting Others". It was stamped with the emperor's personal seal, the size of a thumb. There was also an imperial comment on the title page: "I have personally recorded the key points of explicably explicating others, which can be passed on to future generations."
"I want to invest!" The emperor rubbed the oily Hetian jade ring on his finger, his eyes shining like a child seeing honey. "Your academy is now very popular. How about giving me 30% of the profits? I can even go to the academy myself and serve as a 'royal demonstration teaching material' for the students!"
Henkeng immediately rushed over, holding a half-eaten pomegranate, juice dripping from his chubby little hand onto the emperor's dragon-patterned boots. "Grandpa Emperor, you want me to be your teaching material? We'll have to be tricked once before it counts!"
The emperor laughed heartily and lifted Henkeng onto his lap. The hook of his jade belt rubbed Henkeng's face, making him grimace. "Little brat, you can trick me? Back when I was on an incognito tour, your father was still chewing his toes in his wet nurse's arms!"
Shen Weiwan suppressed her eagerness, and the teardrop mole at the end of her eye trembled with a smile: "It is natural that the emperor wants to buy shares, but this 'royal teaching material' must have a royal style - you must personally demonstrate to the students 'how to be deceived willingly', so that everyone can see the royal family's demeanor."
"Deal!" the emperor slapped his thigh, sending pomegranate seeds tumbling across the stone table. A few tumbled into his boots. "But first, the money you'll earn will buy my darling grandson some candied haws from a time-honored Beijing suburb. I want them coated in three layers of icing sugar with walnuts in the middle!"
Three days later, a bright yellow curtain hung in the main hall of the "School of Tricksters." The emperor, dressed in his dark formal attire, sat at the head of the table, the toes of his dragon-patterned boots scraping impatiently against the blue brick floor. Below sat more than twenty students—an old beggar wrapped in a patched gray cotton robe, clutching a torn, tattered book; a young eunuch in a blue cloth jacket, his clothes ripped with nervousness; and two young men from aristocratic families who had sneaked out, their jade pendants jingling as they stole glances at the emperor.
Chen Weiwan clapped her hands from the carved podium, the clapping of her bracelets drowning out the chirping of cicadas outside the window. "Attention, students! Today we'll be teaching 'Advanced Tricks of the Trade,' the art of painting cakes to appease hunger. Please welcome the royal model student—His Majesty!"
The emperor cleared his throat, his face deliberately stern, but he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. Henkeng came forward, holding a chipped clay pot. The bottom of the pot was padded with gold foil, and the half-filled pot of stones gleamed in the morning sun. "Grandpa Emperor, I have a pot of 'Western Region Gold Beans' here. How about exchanging your jade ring for them?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows and deliberately spun his ring loudly: "Little brat, this broken stone is worthy of exchanging for my mutton-fat jade? My ring is a relic of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Grandpa Emperor, look!" He grabbed a handful of pebbles and threw them toward the window. Specially made gold powder danced in the beam of light, making the pebbles seem coated in flowing gold foil. "These are immortality beans my mother made, wrapped in gold foil from Persia. Eating three of them can add a hundred years to your life. Even Qin Shi Huang didn't eat them!"
Chen Weiwan immediately joined in, waving her round fan, pointing at the gold powder: "Father, look at the quality of this! Even the Imperial Household Department's workshops might not be able to produce such a dazzling effect!"
The emperor hesitantly picked up a stone, and his fingertips were immediately covered with gold powder. He hesitated for a moment, then finally took off the jade ring and threw it into the pottery jar: "Change it! Do you think I'm afraid of a young boy like you?"
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