It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Seeing Veronica's strange look, Li Cheng felt completely uneasy. What was this feeling, like being caught writing a fantasy story with himself as the protagonist? He was innocent! To be honest, the male protagonist, Saint Tom, had absolutely no resemblance to him!

However, based on her preconceived notions, Veronica had already concluded that "Domineering Love" was a fantasy novel written by Li Cheng with himself as the male protagonist.

Veronica wasn't too bothered by the possibility that she might be the model for the female protagonist in the book—she was mentally prepared to be seen as an object of affection.

"This is a misunderstanding."

Li Cheng still wanted to try again: "That's not what I meant. What I meant before was that when I unintentionally found out you liked..."

Before he could finish speaking, Veronica seemed to have thought of something and interrupted with a smile, "It's okay, it's just a personal hobby, don't mind it, there's nothing wrong with being honest."

"......"

Having shot himself in the foot, Li Cheng gave up resisting and let the princess think whatever she wanted.

A moment of silence fell over the meeting room, but the awkward silence did not last long, and Holly soon returned to the meeting room.

Although this silly maid often seemed rather dim-witted, she had a keen sense that something was amiss in the room.

After reporting what she had seen in various places to Veronica, she began to glare at Li Cheng with a mixture of doubt and anger—although she didn't know what had happened, she was sure that the princess was right and it was all Li Cheng's fault.

Li Cheng glared back without flinching—what a joke, a mere grasshopper spirit can't possibly turn the world upside down.

“Yes, you did a great job,” Veronica praised Holly, then said, “Now we can go back.”

Holly couldn't possibly object, but she was still somewhat surprised: "Your Highness, shall we leave now?"

Veronica nodded, giving someone a meaningful look: "Yes, leave the rest to him."

Chapter 144 Whitehall

Hampton Court Palace, southwest London, on the banks of the Thames.

As the residence of King Charles II, the entire palace was built in 1514 in the Tudor style. It has 1280 rooms and its overall appearance is not only solemn and dignified, but also has a kind of simple and genuine charm.

However, this most magnificent building in Britain today was not originally the king's palace. It was purchased and built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and it took a huge amount of money to complete it over seven years from 1515 to 1521.

Wolsey's actions were too high-profile, and coupled with his immense wealth, they eventually drew the ire of the king. To save his life, two years before his death in 1530, the palace was given to King Henry VIII.

In 1529, Henry VIII moved into the palace and began its expansion. To accommodate more than a thousand nobles and servants to dine in one place, a large hall was built—Whitehall.

And this is also Li Cheng's destination today. The venue where the current King Charles II displays his tooth extraction is a hall with an exquisite oak relief ceiling and a large number of decorations, considered to be the most beautiful hall in all of Britain—doesn't that sound a bit awkward? Is it really okay to use a place that can be used as a museum in later generations to let people watch themselves have their teeth extracted?

Li Cheng silently complained to himself.

He was now being led by his attendants to Whitehall, and since he was traveling alone, the journey was rather dull.

Just when Li Cheng was extremely bored, he noticed a tall, burly man walking out from around the corner ahead—it was Arnold, the former barber he had met before, now the king's doctor.

However, unlike his calm and composed demeanor when they met last time, Arnold's facial muscles were taut, and his gait showed stiffness and awkwardness.

Seeing someone he knew put Li Cheng in a good mood. After speaking to the attendant who was leading the way, he stepped forward and greeted him, "Dr. Arnold, relax, don't be so nervous."

Arnold paused in his steps, then turned to look at the source of the voice. Upon recognizing Li Cheng, he froze, "Mr. Li, you too have been invited by His Majesty the King?"

"Don't you know?"

Li Cheng was a little puzzled: "I heard that it was you who reported my suggestion to the King, and that's why the King put me on the invitation list."

Arnold replied matter-of-factly, "Reporting is my duty, but I have no right to interfere with who His Majesty invites."

"Okay, let's not talk about that."

Li Cheng shrugged: "You seem pretty nervous. What's wrong?"

“There are some, but I can adjust right away,” Arnold shook his head gently.

Li Cheng seemed to understand the reason for his nervousness, so he comforted him, "It's nothing, it's just getting a tooth pulled, don't be too nervous."

Arnold's expression was somewhat conflicted, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he gave a smile and said, "Thank you."

......

After saying goodbye to Arnold, Li Cheng arrived at Whitehall. Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still couldn't help but twitch his lips when he actually saw the scene inside.

Aside from those invited, there were about a hundred people in Whitehall, including attendants and guards. While this wasn't considered crowded for the hall, it was still outrageous for a tooth extraction scene—some people might not be good with numbers, but imagine you go to the hospital to have a tooth extracted, and there are two classes of medical students sitting next to you...

Li Cheng arrived relatively late because he was chatting. However, even if he had arrived a little earlier, it wouldn't have mattered. Next to the seat in the very center of Whitehall, the one used for tooth extractions, the seats had already been assigned according to rank.

Prince Edward and Princess Veronica, children of Charles II, were in the very front row. Standing with them were several important ministers and nobles—in short, the highest-ranking group.

Further inside are the positions of Arnold and his assistant doctors; their roles are different and cannot be generalized.

As for Li Cheng, he was probably standing a little ahead of the outer circle of attendants...

However, staying in the back also had its advantages. While paddling, Li Cheng could hear the conversations of the people around him.

"His Majesty is up to his old tricks again. What's so interesting about pulling teeth?" The speaker was an unnamed man standing in the back row. Although he was unnamed, he must have some ability to receive an invitation from Charles II.

Hearing the unknown man's somewhat disrespectful words, the person he was talking to didn't react unusually, and instead said normally, "I heard this tooth extraction is a little different..."

After some time of this idle chatter, Charles II finally arrived.

Although he wore the magnificent robes and boots reserved for royalty, Charles II's small mustache added a touch of approachability to his dignified appearance, preventing him from feeling distant—in this respect, Charles II was above average in terms of looks, although Li Cheng had no idea where that average was drawn...

Unfortunately, this air of grandeur was ruined the moment he opened his mouth. Charles II waved to the crowd and said with a cheerful expression, "Everyone's here, right? It's all good to have a lively atmosphere like this."

It would be better if it were more lively, why does getting a tooth pulled have to be a big event!

Li Cheng's lips twitched. He looked around and saw that everyone around him had an expression of indifference. Then, thinking about the titles such as "King of Happiness," "King of Joy," and "Monarch of Pleasure," he suddenly understood how unreliable historical records were—these historians were too good at making things up.

The same person in a prosperous era might be seen as a carefree king, ruling by doing nothing; but in the late stages of a dynasty, he might be seen as neglecting state affairs and indulging in pleasure all day long. Not to mention the subtle nuances of historical writing, where changing a single word can drastically alter the entire narrative.

Just as Li Cheng was lost in thought, Charles II looked around and then loudly asked the person next to him, "Where is Albert Lee, the one I specially invited? Is he here?"

So, at the invitation of his attendants, he walked in front of everyone, looking completely bewildered, amidst their stares.

"Your Majesty, what brings you to me?"

Li Cheng looked at the man in front of him who insisted on calling him out of the crowd and felt genuinely annoyed—if you want to watch someone get a tooth pulled, then watch, but why call him out in front of so many people?

"You're Albert Lee?"

Charles II first looked Li Cheng up and down, then patted him on the shoulder and said, "Haha, very good, you did a great job."

After making this incoherent praise, Charles II addressed the people around him, saying, "I have long believed that natural science is extremely useful, and I have been telling you all this, but no one has believed me."

"Now that we have this anesthetic called ether, none of you will have to endure the pain during surgery anymore. Do you still believe me?"

"And the young man next to me is the inventor of ether."

Hearing this, Li Cheng finally understood why Charles II had organized this tooth extraction spectacle—it was all to show off his foresight and vision!

However, speaking of which, the Royal Society was also established by Charles II... From this perspective, Charles II was indeed quite farsighted, but his expression and tone made people feel a little uncomfortable.

Prince Edward stood at the front of the crowd and said calmly, "Father is right."

Then everyone realized what was happening and praised Charles II for his foresight—although some of them had never heard of anesthetics before, it didn't stop them from praising him.

"Haha."

Charles II chuckled smugly, then spoke again, this time with much more seriousness: "I know none of you know much about this, so go back and find out quickly—for one thing, do you know how many lives this can save? Right now it's ether, but what about in the future? Many more things with amazing effects will be discovered."

"As far as I know, there is also a method of repeatedly distilling alcohol to disinfect wounds that has been discovered. I am ready to promote this method to the army, which can greatly reduce the casualty rate of soldiers."

Li Cheng was a little stunned by what he said, mainly because he was surprised that the other party reacted and made a decision so quickly.

It seems that although Charles II may appear somewhat unserious, he still considered matters from the perspective of a king.

After saying all this, Charles II turned to Li Cheng and said, "Although I still have some questions for you, let's pull the tooth first and let these ignorant people see what's going on. We'll talk about the rest later."

Despite being called ignorant, none of the usually arrogant noble ministers reacted; only a few frowned and smiled wryly, probably because they couldn't do anything about Charles II.

Li Cheng said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

.......

Charles II finally sat down in the soft chair in the very center of the venue, ready for his tooth extraction.

Arnold had been waiting for a long time. On the table in front of him was a specially made spherical glass bottle with two interconnected tubes, which was a tool made to facilitate the administration of anesthesia.

Arnold bowed his head and asked, "Your Majesty, may we begin?"

Charles II first shifted to a more comfortable position before saying, "You sound quite nervous today—go ahead, Arnold, and do it with confidence."

Arnold paused for a moment, then said, "...Yes, Your Majesty."

Once everything was confirmed to be correct, Arnold poured the ether from the side tube into the bottle and then inserted another tube into Charles II's mouth, controlling his nasal breathing and forcing him to breathe only through his mouth.

This action lasted for about five minutes. Under the curious gaze of the crowd, Charles II slowly fell into a coma. His rosy complexion and even breathing made people wonder if he was asleep.

However, everyone quickly dismissed this speculation. It turned out that in order to ensure that Charles II was completely anesthetized, Arnold then used methods such as flipping his eyelids and gently pricking him with a needle to confirm. Throughout the process, Charles II remained motionless and allowed himself to be manipulated.

This amazing scene caught everyone's attention, arousing their strong curiosity and desire to discuss it, causing a very small commotion.

"This anesthesia seems to be very effective. His Majesty was actually telling the truth. I thought he was just saying it casually before."

“It looks like it’s really lost consciousness. Maybe I should consider getting it pulled. The bad tooth on my right side has been hurting me for years. On the worst days, I couldn’t even sleep.”

"Don't rush, let's wait and see the results."

As nobles, this group of people lived a life of luxury and ate plenty of meat and fish, so they all had some dental problems. However, they did not choose to have their teeth extracted because of the intense pain. They endured the pain until they had no other choice.

But now that they've seen a painless tooth extraction method right in front of them, they're somewhat tempted... Besides, even if they don't have a tooth extracted, wouldn't they need it for other surgeries? What if one day they have to have a finger cut off due to infection? Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to have it cut off painlessly while under anesthesia?

Thinking of this, the nobles looked at Li Cheng with eagerness and friendliness—no one would have any ill will towards a doctor, after all, it's impossible for a person not to get sick.

Although Li Cheng wasn't a doctor at all...

Meanwhile, the real doctor, the eight-foot-tall Arnold, was having two equally strong assistants hold Charles II's head and body steady to prevent him from shaking—in the past, it would have taken at least three people to hold him down, and even then, they might not have been able to control him...

After making all these preparations, Arnold finally picked up the most ferocious and terrifying iron pliers on the table and solemnly shoved them into Charles II's mouth.

Then came an exceptionally horrific and bloody scene. Even in modern times, the process of tooth extraction is far from elegant, let alone in the relatively backward 17th century, where it was incredibly simple and brutal.

The large pliers gripped the tooth, and then pulled it back forcefully. This was the complete process of tooth extraction. Even the disinfection was done only after Li Cheng gave the order; previously, they would have just rinsed it with water.

But Arnold lived up to his reputation as the king's doctor because of his exceptional tooth extraction skills. His precise application of force and strong biceps allowed him to remove the wisdom tooth from the edge of his mouth in the fastest and most effortless way.

So quickly, a wisdom tooth with flesh and blood still attached to its end was clamped onto the table by pliers. The whole process was swift and efficient, taking less than ten minutes.

However, this time his focus wasn't on his technique, but on Charles II, who had remained unconscious since inhaling a sufficient amount of ether, and hadn't uttered a single sound even during the painful tooth extraction process that looked painful to onlookers.

It seemed that the ether anesthesia was very successful, but before everyone could exclaim in surprise at this unprecedented anesthesia procedure, the situation seemed to have changed.

Previously, people were either focused on observing Arnold's specific actions of having his tooth extracted, or they looked away because they couldn't bear to watch.

In short, no one noticed that, unnoticed, the rosy complexion of the unconscious Charles II gradually turned ashen, and his lips became slightly pale.