Chapter 21: Mulberry Dwelling

“Do you really think it’s nothing? After teasing me like that?”

“I wasn’t teasing you. You’re overthinking things! I was only looking at your skin. Maybe I’ll try to lighten mine too—it might look better. You’re reading too much into it!”

Sinossan shot Xuanyuan Juesi a sidelong glare, noting that he was still pressing down on her. She could distinctly feel that something about him was amiss.

“Am I really overthinking it?”

“Yes, you are! Now, can you get up?” She was nearly out of breath. The bastard—did he really intend to do something to her? The thought brought a flush to her cheeks, and yet, something inside her felt increasingly unsettled.

It was impossible for anything to happen between them. Absolutely impossible. She repeated this to herself. Even though, back in 2550, things were so open that such matters barely caused a ripple, she was in ancient times now. The difference was astronomical.

She needed to maintain her composure, her restraint. Otherwise, after so long without a man, she’d be desperate enough to throw herself at someone. And with someone else, maybe it would be easier. But the problem was Xuanyuan Juesi.

No, absolutely not. She warred with herself in silence.

“What are you thinking?” He tapped her nose with his finger.

“Nothing. What about you?” She snapped herself back to reality. What was she just thinking, fantasizing about such things?

Xuanyuan Juesi glanced at her, then rolled away, getting off her and lying to one side. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

But Sinossan was certain—his body had reacted. Yet this man had remarkable self-control; he hadn’t acted on it. Instead, he’d just forced himself to stay in check.

“If you’re interested in those sorts of things, you could always go find Miss Qin. I’m sure she’s very taken with you.”

At the Qin Pavilion, it had been obvious that Miss Qin tried to stick close to him, in a way no ordinary courtesan would dare. Her feelings for Lou Ziqing were clearly genuine.

“Have you been with someone before?” he asked, noting the ease and frankness with which she spoke.

“Of course. By your standards here, I suppose you’d call me a woman of many lovers. So what?”

He looked at her with sudden disdain, but didn’t get up, remaining where he was.

“Are you disgusted by me? Your eyes say it all. My beliefs are different from yours. We come from different worlds. Telling you this won’t make you understand, so you’d best let me go. That would be the wisest course.”

She watched the veins stand out on Xuanyuan Juesi’s forehead—he must be struggling to hold back. But this time, it wasn’t desire he was suppressing, it was anger.

Sinossan climbed off the bed and dressed, settling by the table. Xuanyuan Juesi soon did the same, dressing in silence and leaving without a word.

She knew full well that what she’d said had destroyed whatever impression he had of her, maybe even driven it to the lowest depths. But she had only spoken the truth. Whether he could accept it was his problem.

She had no need to hide, no need to change. She would simply go on as she was.

If he couldn’t accept her, all the better. She could devote herself entirely to researching that stone, and return to the year 2550—that was her world. Even if that world was filled with sorrowful memories for her, it was still far preferable to this one.

The strange, oppressive atmosphere weighed on her, leaving her feeling out of sorts.

“Princess, are you all right?” Yiyi rushed in, seeing the princess lost in silence.

“Does your head still hurt?” She reached out to touch Sinossan’s forehead.

“No, my fever’s gone.” She took Yiyi’s hand away, looking at her, dazed.

“Is that so? That’s good. Drink some porridge, it’ll help you recover.”

“Yiyi, you’re so kind. Thank you.” Sinossan hugged Yiyi around the waist and rested her head there.

“Princess, I’m not the good one. You’re the one who’s truly good. Because of you, I’ve become so much more confident, started to have thoughts of my own. You are the best, the very best.” Yiyi looked at the princess clinging to her. In truth, the princess was very fragile, nothing like her strong exterior.

Indeed, deep in Sinossan’s heart, she was a fragile soul.

But all she could do was pretend to be strong, to put up a front. She wondered how much longer she could keep it up.

After breakfast, they set out from the prince’s residence again. She’d expected difficulties after what had passed between herself and Xuanyuan Juesi, but to her surprise, everything went smoothly.

They arrived at the small shop and began renovations. Though she was handy, Sinossan had no experience with actual remodeling. In her world, just a phone call and half a day’s time would see things handled. For simple renovations, 3D printing could handle almost anything, with excellent quality. Now, though, she had to do the carpentry herself.

Primitive manual labor was about to begin. She and Yiyi set to work—making shelves, and though clumsy at first, they managed to put up many wall panels and fasten them in place, then filled the shelves with goods. They commissioned tables and chairs from a local carpenter, not wanting to take away anyone’s business.

The shop looked quite lovely when finished, stylish and full of plants, a refined and elegant place.

They used their homemade wine to draw in customers, and the place soon became a teahouse and wine bar. The second floor was set as a tea lounge.

“Princess, we need a name for the shop,” Yiyi said, looking at her. Sinossan nodded.

“What should we call it?” She had thought carefully about it.

In the end, she named it ‘Sanju,’ and as its reputation grew, many scholars and gentlemen of taste came to visit. In no time, Sanju was packed to the brim every day.

Drawing on her memory, Sinossan developed new products daily, but soon found herself overwhelmed by the workload. Xuanyuan Juesi sent over two helpers to assist.

They began limiting the number of guests, serving only one hundred a day, while the rest could collect reservation tokens.

Yiyi learned many new skills from Sinossan—delicate pastries, the French bread the princess called it, and how to blend wine, which was said to be far more complex than grape wine.

Though Yiyi was clever, even she struggled to master it. If Yiyi found it difficult, the others couldn’t manage at all. So Sinossan had to do much of the work herself. But with her hands so full, she had little time to dwell on things she ought not to think about.

She even began to feel that such a life might not be so bad.

But things could not remain this idyllic forever. Her life, after all, was destined to be filled with twists and turns.