The croton fields of the Dasheng Dynasty glowed a vibrant green in late autumn, their pods so full they threatened to burst. In this wondrous field, a scene so breathtaking it could make one convulse for three days and nights, a figure emerged from the earth, startling the sparrows pecking at the bean leaves. Liu, her hair covered in grass dust, emerged from the tunnel, her coarse prison uniform stained with the purple-black croton juice, looking as if she had just emerged from a dye vat.
"Bah!" She spat out the dirt in her mouth and looked towards the capital where smoke was curling in the distance. A resentful light flashed in her triangular eyes, "Chen Weiwan! Even if I, Liu, die, I will bring you down!" Three days ago, she bribed the jailer with croton cakes that she had hidden for half a year, and spent another three months digging a tunnel to the pigpen. Before leaving, she also took three bags of top-grade croton from the farm. At this moment, they were wrapped in a piece of rag, hanging heavily around her waist.
Meanwhile, a spectacular scene unfolded in the martial arts arena of the Beijing Kengren Academy. Shen Weiwan, clutching a bared-fanged, vicious dog by the tail, suddenly collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "Oh! The vicious dog is on the move!" The dog stumbled under her pull, only to be frightened by the laughter of the onlookers and tuck its tail between its legs. Kengkeng immediately rushed forward, holding a small flag: "My mother's 'fake fall' was a success! Here's a croton candy as a reward!"
"Hahahaha!" Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that she fell backwards. Croton powder fell from her sleeves and dotted her skirt. Chuntao hurried forward to brush off the dust and whispered, "Miss, you spread the croton powder more evenly than perfume."
Xiao Yu leaned against the porch pillar, his hand unfolding a "tactical map" depicting various croton traps. He raised an eyebrow at the words, "We just received a secret report from the Ministry of Justice. Your aunt ran away from the croton fields. Before leaving, she took three bags of beans with her, saying she was going to make a comeback."
Kengkeng immediately raised his hand, his chubby face flushed with excitement. "Mom! Can we play 'Catch Auntie' again? I'm going to use croton powder to draw traps on the ground!"
Wa Wa hugged Xiao Yu's thigh and shook him: "Dad! Hit her butt with croton!"
Chen Weiwan scratched her dented nose, and a smile formed in the corners of her eyes. "No rush, let her run wild for a few days. She was so impressive when she tricked me in the General's Mansion, but now I'm afraid she can't even get a piece of steamed bread out of me." She turned to Chuntao and said, "Prepare the horses, and go to West Street for a walk. I heard there's a new 'Honest People's College' there."
Three days later, on West Street in the capital, a tattered wooden sign teetered in the autumn breeze. "I don't learn to cheat people, I only learn to suffer!" Nine crooked characters, like a chicken claw choked by a croton, were written below, with the words "Ten taels of tuition, guaranteed to teach you until you learn." Liu, wearing a stolen coarse cloth skirt and her face smeared with lead powder so thick it could crumble, stood at the doorway, shouting louder than a scissors sharpener: "Don't miss this if you pass by! Learning the art of honesty is a blessing in disguise!"
The crowd of onlookers huddled together, and someone recognized her and lowered their voices: "Isn't this Liu, the one who was tricked into the Croton Field by the Seventh Prince's wife?"
"Hush! Look at the powder on her face. I'm afraid she's smeared it with wall dust."
Liu's ears were sharp, and she immediately glared at him, "What are you looking at?! This dean was too honest back then, that's why she got ripped off so badly by that little bitch! Now I've come to my senses, and I want to teach everyone in the world to be truly honest people!" She deliberately pulled up her sleeves, revealing the red marks of pretending to be "abused." "See? This is what happens when you learn to rip people off!"
At this moment, a ragged beggar approached with a cane, a moldy cake half visible from his patched sleeves. He blinked his cloudy eyes and asked, "Madam, can I really eat enough by learning your tricks?"
Liu's eyes lit up, and she grabbed the beggar's hand as if she had seen gold, her nails almost digging into his arm: "Of course! As long as you pay ten taels of tuition, I guarantee you..."
"But I have no money," the beggar rubbed his open-toed straw sandals. "How about I kowtow to you three times to pay for the tuition?"
Liu was about to turn her back, but then she thought: I might as well trick a student into showing off. She pulled out a hard steamed bun from her pocket, which she had stolen on the road. "Okay! You can start with a basic course. Look, the first step to being an honest person is to believe everything they say!" She stuffed the bun into the beggar's hand. "For example, if someone says it's made of gold, you have to believe it!"
The beggar nodded immediately, took the steamed bread and put it in his arms. Suddenly he took out the moldy cake and handed it to her like a treasure: "Madam, this is the cake I saved for three days. It is more valuable than gold. I will give it to you to pay your tuition!"
Liu looked at the dark blue mold spots on the cake, and her face instantly turned greener than a croton leaf. "You...you're trying to trick me with this?"
"You just said that you believe everything others say!" The beggar raised his voice confidently, "I said this bread is made of gold, and you have to believe it!"
The people around could no longer hold back and burst into thunderous laughter. Someone pointed at Liu and cursed, "Serves you right! You cheated an orphan and a widow back then, and now you've been cheated by a beggar!" Liu was so angry that she trembled all over. She watched helplessly as the beggar gnawed at her steamed bread and ran away, leaving only the moldy cake in his hand that could kill someone.
"Hahaha! Auntie is still so stupid!" Shen Weiwan walked out from behind the crowd, holding Wawa. Henkeng followed beside her, holding a small flag with a crooked picture of a croton on it. The red silk package she was holding swayed in the sun, like a brightly colored slapping cloth.
When Liu saw Shen Weiwan, her triangular eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and her voice became hoarse with anger: "Shen Weiwan! You little bitch! Why do you haunt me every time!"
"Aunt, calm down," Chen Weiwan smiled like a cat stealing fish, slowly opening the package to reveal a brand new sandalwood plaque, "I saw that your college was in need of a good sign, so I asked the carpenter to make one for me as a token of my niece's appreciation."
Four large, gilded characters gleamed brightly on the plaque: "Scam Academy Branch." Below them, smaller characters read: "Exclusively accepting idiot students, tuition is free—all you have to do is eat three pounds of croton seeds for the dean!"
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