Since the merchant caravan had yet to depart the capital, there was no need for a drawn-out exchange of messengers and missives.
After confirming where the caravan was lodging, Yun Shu paid a personal visit the very next day.
The person in charge of the Liu family caravan was a collateral elder of the Liu clan. Tracing back three generations, he even shared a great-grandfather with the current Left Chancellor.
Liu Xingsong had not expected this at all. He had only just returned from nearly a year sailing abroad for trade, dragging himself back to the capital at the fastest pace with crates of rare and exotic goods from overseas. He was utterly exhausted, his joints aching, and only wished to rest for a month or two at the family estate.
Then Princess Sheng An herself appeared at his doorstep.
Why would such a lofty figure come to meet him in person?
Could it be... she had taken a liking to those grand skirts or strange high-heeled shoes they brought back, and wanted to ask if they had more?
But even if that were the case, surely Her Highness didn't need to come herself.
Liu Xingsong was completely baffled, but as soon as the message was delivered, he shot up from his reclining chair, flustered and scrambling to smooth out his robe as he hurried toward the front courtyard.
"This humble subject did not know Her Highness was arriving. Forgive me for failing to welcome you properly at the gate."
"I came without sending word ahead. What fault could you possibly have?" Yun Shu waved her hand casually, dispensing with formalities. She cut straight to the point.
"You're the one overseeing the Liu family's overseas caravan, yes?"
"Yes, this humble subject is indeed the one."
While Yun Shu remained relaxed, Liu Xingsong dared not act the same. Even after rising from his salute, he kept his posture bent in deference, subtly shifting direction as Yun Shu moved about, so he never showed her his back.
Yun Shu gave a faint nod, then continued her inquiry.
"You've spent nearly a year at sea. Surely you've traveled to many distant lands. Tell me, do you have a map?"
"This humble subject... I did sketch a rough outline, but..." Liu Xingsong hesitated, his face showing a trace of difficulty.
"But what?" Yun Shu's brow lifted. "You cannot show it to This Princess?"
"Of course not!" He panicked, fearing Her Highness might misunderstand.
"Your Highness wishes to see it, how could this humble subject possibly refuse? It's just that... the map may not be very accurate."
"Explain."
"This humble subject clearly sailed westward the entire journey. We never deviated from course, yet somehow... we ended up back at Tian Sheng."
Yun Shu blinked. "So the world really is round."
"Pardon? What... what did Your Highness say?"
Before Liu Xingsong could even finish his sentence, Princess Sheng An clapped her hands together with sudden excitement.
"The world is round."
He was utterly dumbfounded.
"The... heavens, perhaps. But the earth? How could the earth be round?" he muttered.
"I don't know either." Yun Shu shrugged, as if to say, don't ask me for answers.
"There was a book I read once. It claimed the world is actually a sphere, and that we all live on the surface of this ball. That's why, if you keep going in the same direction, you end up back where you started."
Liu Xingsong stood in stunned silence.
A ball? They lived on a ball?
Wouldn't they fall off?
He had always heard it said, "The heavens are round, the earth is square." The earth must surely be flat.
But then again... if the world really were flat, how did he end up back in Tian Sheng?
Liu Xingsong's head was spinning. He wanted to ask what book the princess had read that claimed such nonsense, but Yun Shu had already moved on.
"Enough of that for now. Show This Princess the map. I've never been overseas before."
"Yes, of course."
Unable to do anything but obey, Liu Xingsong forced his confusion aside and invited Yun Shu into his study.
"Please, Your Highness, take a look."
With great care, he unfurled the map he had spent countless hours drawing on the ship during dull, idle days at sea.
He pointed to the approximate center of the parchment.
"This here is the Great Sheng Empire."
Though the map was little more than an outline—one that was rough and imprecise—Yun Shu could still make out the general shape and regions.
Rough as it was, it confirmed what she had long suspected: the layout of this world was not so different from the one she remembered.
Good. That would make things much easier.
Leaning on her elbow, she casually pointed to a region on the map.
"This Princess read in a travelogue that the people of this land have pale skin, with hair of gold, red, brown, and black. Some even have blue or green eyes. They're nothing like us, is that right?"
"That is correct."
"And over here," she continued, pointing elsewhere, "they say there's a creature with a hard, spiked shell, and it smells absolutely foul, but somehow... still tastes alright?"
"...Yes." Liu Xingsong hesitated for a beat, then added, "The locals call it something like 'Du Er Yan'."
"Du Er Yan?"
That did sound vaguely like the ancient transliteration for durian.
Yun Shu wasn't entirely sure, but it hardly mattered. That wasn't the main point.
She continued asking about various regions and their most famous exports, slowly narrowing in on what she truly wanted. Her finger finally landed on an island nation not far from Tian Sheng.
"This Princess has heard there are many silver mines on this island. Is that true?"
"Silver mines?"
Liu Xingsong blinked. That part he truly didn't know. If they had that much silver, the island should have been wealthy. But when their caravan passed through, all they saw were squat, babbling locals who looked as though they had just crawled out of caves.
Then again... perhaps they had come from mine shafts?
Now that he thought about it, that actually seemed plausible.
No wonder they looked so rough. If they had spent their days laboring in the mines...
Besides, the travelogue Her Highness referenced had been oddly accurate thus far. Everything else she mentioned had lined up perfectly. Why would the silver mines be an exception?
Princess Sheng An would not have come here in person unless it was something important. She must have her eye on that island.
If he claimed to know nothing about the mines, after answering everything else so smoothly... what if the Princess—or worse, the Emperor—suspected him of trying to conceal the truth or seize the silver for himself?
That would be a disaster.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Liu Xingsong quickly nodded.
"Yes, yes, I believe that is correct!"
Oh?
So quick to take the hint?
Yun Shu had prepared a whole string of guiding questions, yet half of them hadn't even been needed. This man had already given her exactly the answer she was looking for.
She stood, nodding in satisfaction.
"No wonder Sixth Brother spoke well of you. You really are quite clever."
===
Because my babies have been clamoring for me to pick up another yuri novel, I decided to do it right now (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ Since I already finished translating "The Invincible Money-Grubbing Fairy," that freed up one slot. This new project will be a modern setting yuri, and just like "My Cold-Hearted Boss Wants to Marry Me," it's another short novel.
That said, I should be honest with you: yuri isn't my main focus. I'll still translate yuri, but the frequency won't be that high. If you'd like me to add more yuri projects, I'll definitely consider it—but only if the requests reach my "minimum slot." How many requests do I need? That's a secret of course (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
On another note, I'm also starting a new apocalypse-themed project, since "Mom's Apocalypse Survival Log" is almost fully translated. The difference this time is that the new novel is one of my personal favorites. I've literally reread it 5–6 times already, and it has over 1000 chapters serialized!
Both of these newly picked projects are still going through the book vetting process. I'll update you all once they're approved and available on my profile. Please look forward to it~ (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ