"Everyone!" Shen Weiwan cleared her throat, deliberately imitating Xiao Yu's usual court tone, "The purpose of this court is to 'deceive people in a proper way and prevent them in a proper way'! First, please allow His Highness the Seventh Prince to demonstrate 'how to gracefully see through a scam'!"
Xiao Yu slowly stepped onto the stage, the hem of his black dragon robe sweeping across the steps. He raised the gilded snuff bottle in his hand, its lotus pattern gleaming faintly in the sunlight. "Yesterday, someone claiming to be a 'remnant of the previous dynasty' used this bottle to trick me out of ten thousand taels of silver." He gracefully unscrewed the lid, his nose twitching slightly as a helpless smile broke out. "Unfortunately, it's not ambergris inside, but croton powder, specially supplied to our Prince's Palace."
The crowd was stunned for a moment, then erupted in thunderous laughter. Shen Weiwan took the opportunity to wave the croton leaves in her hand and said, "If you want to learn this trick, go sign up for the 'Fraud Prevention Elementary Class'! The tuition is only three pounds of crotons!" Before she finished speaking, a long line suddenly formed at the registration desk. Some people even shouted at the top of their lungs, "I've stockpiled ten pounds of crotons at home! Can I sign up for the VIP class?"
At that moment, a scholar wearing a kerchief squeezed to the front of the stage, a letter of challenge fluttering in the wind. "Dean Shen! I refuse to accept your challenge! I've heard you're a master of deception. Do you dare challenge me?" He flung the letter aside with a smug smile. "Here are three copper coins, one of which is fake. If you can find it in three seconds, I'll accept you as my disciple!"
"That's easy!" Shen Weiwan was about to reach out when a small figure swooshed onto the stage. Henkeng, his round face tilted upward, eyes wide open: "I'll do it!" He grabbed three copper coins and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Trap!" Xiao Yu's face suddenly changed. He reached out to stop it but was a step too late.
With a "puff" sound, Kenkeng spat out three copper coins covered with saliva. Xiaopang pointed at one of them and said, "Mom! This one is fake! It tastes more bitter than medicine when you bite it!" He said it with confidence, and there was copper rust on the corner of his mouth.
The scholar was stunned: "You...how can you bite money!"
"My mother said, 'Real gold fears no fire, but fake money will be exposed if you bite it!'" He wiped his mouth and suddenly pulled out a small notebook from his sleeve pocket. "Can I become your disciple now? The tuition is..." He tilted his head and thought for a moment, "I'll teach you how to make traps with croton powder!"
The laughter from the audience was nearly enough to blow the roof off the room. The scholar, blushing, tried to run, but Wawa suddenly jumped out and grabbed his legs. A little girl, pigtails swung, whispered, "Sir, don't go! Pay your tuition first! Our tuition is very cheap. As long as..." Her eyes rolled, "As long as you help clean our classroom for a month!"
As dusk fell, Shen Weiwan lay in Xiao Yu's arms, counting the banknotes. In the flickering candlelight, the thick stack of banknotes made her cheeks flush. "Your Highness," she poked his chest, "what do you think will be written about me in history books?"
Xiao Yu played with the croton flower hairpin in her hair and chuckled softly, "History books will write: There was a remarkable woman in the Dasheng Dynasty. With her devious wits, she tricked the swindlers away, amused the common people, and even brought the prince home."
"Hateful!" Chen Weiwan hit him. "It should be written: Chen Weiwan uses traps to stop evil and creates the 'Golden Age of Sand Sculpture' in Dasheng!" She suddenly sat up, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe in the future, there will be a story about 'Chen Weiwan's battle with swindlers' in the children's textbooks!"
"Yes, yes, whatever the madam says is right." Xiao Yu pulled her back into his arms and kissed the top of her head. From outside the window came the sounds of Keng Keng and Wa Wa's laughter. Gazing in the moonlight, the two little guys were busy in the garden—they had drawn a giant trap on the ground with croton powder, with a wooden sign next to it: "Beware of the Greedy Cat!"
Chen Weiwan listened to the children's playful laughter, then glanced at the heavy banknotes in her arms, and suddenly felt her eyes warm. In her previous life, as she breathed her last in the snow, she had never imagined life could be so vibrant and unrestrained. Now, without relying on sorcery or schemes, relying solely on her devious wits, she had trampled her enemies underfoot, lived a legendary life, and even created a world that made the people proud.
As for whether they could truly "cheat and create a prosperous era"? Shen Weiwan nestled into Xiao Yu's arms, a smile playing on her lips. Who cares? At least at this moment, she was laughing heartily and living freely, and that was enough. Outside the Prince's Mansion, the new story of the "School of Cheating" was spreading to every corner of the capital, along with the swaying Croton lanterns.
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