Aguda looked at Shen Weiwan's toothless grin in his arms, then at Xiao Yu's half-smile, and suddenly felt that these mother and son were more terrifying than a caged scorpion. His other prepared provocations—such as having warriors wrestle with Dasheng generals, or a horseback archery competition—instantly lost their momentum. This southern woman and her baby were so difficult to deal with. If they angered the Seventh Prince, they might not even be able to return to the Northern Di grasslands. He twitched his lips dryly: "Regarding the marriage, I... I will discuss it with His Majesty in detail."
Shen Weiwan stopped when she saw that things were going well, and bowed to the emperor while holding Kengkeng: "Your Majesty, I will take the children back to the palace first, so as not to scare the envoy."
As they walked out of the Golden Palace, Wa Wa suddenly raised a half-eaten cake and called out to Aguda in a baby voice, "Grandpa Messenger, next time I'll treat you to some Sabado sugar cake! It's so sweet!"
Aguda's foot twisted suddenly as he was walking down the stairs, and he almost rolled down the white marble steps. Xiao Yu quickly supported Shen Weiwan, and said with a smile: "You, next time, can you not bring your child to cheat people? Look how scared the envoy is."
"How can I not bring it?" Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows and poked the chubby face of the child with her fingertips. The child was making a face in the direction of Aguda. "You have to start cheating people from childhood, otherwise how can you cheat the whole world in the future? Look at the reaction speed of the child, follow me!"
Kengkeng nodded immediately, "Mom's right! Next time I'm going to feed the messenger's horse croton seeds so it can run faster than a scorpion, and then I'm going to tie firecrackers to its butt!"
Xiao Yu sighed, but couldn't help laughing. He watched the cunning glint in Shen Weiwan's eyes, the two children's lively appearance, and suddenly felt that the intrigues in the Golden Palace were far less satisfying than the "daily deceptions" in the Prince's Mansion. With a wife and children like this, the Dasheng Dynasty was likely to be tricked to death by them - but such a life was much more interesting than reviewing boring memorials every day.
Back at the Prince's Mansion, Chuntao brought some iced sour plum soup. Seeing Kenkeng pouring out half a handful of croton seeds from his pocket, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Young Master, why do you always have croton seeds in your pocket? They smell so good."
Hekeng stuffed a croton seed into his mouth and immediately grimaced at the bitterness. He reached out to grab the sour plum soup in Shen Weiwan's cup: "Mom said that croton seeds are a 'trickster artifact' and you carry them wherever you go! Last time, I used it to trick the fat boy from the Taifu family. He didn't dare leave the house for three days!"
Chen Weiwan took the handkerchief Xiao Yu handed over and wiped the croton crumbs from the corner of Kengkeng's mouth. "Chuntao, go to the account office and get twenty taels of gold. Make a pure gold croton sachet for Kengkeng, and inlay it with ruby eyes. Hang it around your neck. It will look so elegant."
Xiao Yu: "......" He knew that this deceptive habit was deeply rooted in Shen Weiwan, and even the child became a "croton maniac".
That night, Aguda tossed and turned in the inn, unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the horrific sight of the scorpion dying of diarrhea. The attendant he had sent to investigate returned with a peculiar expression: "Sir, that Madam Shen is the one who tricked my aunt into going to Lingnan to dig for croton seeds! The young master of the Seventh Prince's Mansion is even more formidable. Just yesterday, he used maltose to stick the Taifu's white beard into the shape of the character '八'. The Taifu was laughed at by His Majesty during court..."
Aguda sat up suddenly and decided to discuss the marriage with the emperor early tomorrow morning - this Dasheng Dynasty is too terrible, especially that treacherous mother and son. It is better to quickly marry a princess and take her back to report to the emperor, otherwise one day they will use croton to trick him so that he can't even find the tent of the Northern Di!
At this moment, the lights in the warm room of the Prince's Mansion were brightly lit. Shen Weiwan was holding Wawa and telling her a bedtime story: "Once upon a time, there was an envoy who came with a poisonous scorpion to provoke, but he met a little kid..."
"If you meet that little kid, you'll be in trouble!" Kengkeng poked his head out from under the quilt and rushed to answer. "The little kid took out the croton seeds and sprinkled them, and the poisonous scorpion had diarrhea and died!"
The whole family was rolling in laughter. Xiao Yu leaned against the doorframe, watching his wife and children laughing in the light. Shen Weiwan's tears clung to her eyelashes, like broken diamonds. Kengkeng and Wawa rolled together, kicking the quilt to the ground. He suddenly felt that the supreme power of the Golden Palace was far less precious than the mundane world before him.
"Your Highness," Shen Weiwan looked up at him, a cunning light flashing in her eyes, "Tell me, which blind person should I trick next time?"
Xiao Yu walked over, rubbed her frizzy hair, pinched her chubby little face, and finally took Shen Weiwan into his arms, rubbing his nose against the top of her head: "It's up to you, just don't get me into trouble too."
"That's not certain." Shen Weiwan smiled like a cunning fox and poked Xiao Yu's chest with her hand. "Who made you my husband? It's more interesting to trick your own people!"
The moonlight outside the window was bright, filtering through the carved window lattices into the warm room, casting the shadows of the three people on the ground. Laughter from the Prince's residence drifted far away on the night wind, startling the nightingales perched under the eaves. Shen Weiwan leaned against Xiao Yu's arms, listening to his steady heartbeat, knowing that these days of "swindling the world" were just beginning. She, along with her entire family, would transform the Dasheng Dynasty into their own "trick theater"—after all, this was what she, Shen Weiwan, desired: the most exhilarating, unrestrained life!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com