It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

His first impression of Prince Edward was fairly good; although he didn't look very healthy, his tone seemed quite approachable.

However, the other party's first question refreshed his thinking.

Edward's smile faded, replaced by a calm expression, but something seemed to be brewing within that calm: "I heard from Arnold that you asked him about something very interesting."

Chapter 146 The Death of Li Cheng

A room in Hampton Court Palace.

Prince Edward calmly posed a question: "I just learned from Arnold that you seem to have asked him about something very interesting."

Something interesting?

Li Cheng was a little confused.

He recalled the conversation at the time, and it seemed that he was asking Dr. Arnold about things like the tooth extraction procedure. If he had to say something special, he just casually asked the King's doctor if he had ever seen a case of fingers that were eroded and blackened.

But why did Prince Edward suddenly ask this? Did he notice something?

Li Cheng wasn't quite sure, so he chose a more appropriate way to say it: "Your Highness is referring to some special cases, right? I was helping a friend write a paper and happened to find some information about them, so I asked out of curiosity."

Edward was taken aback: "A thesis?"

"Yes, I have a friend..."

Li Cheng then explained the matter of Annie's homework, describing it as a common little thing between friends.

This seemed to be beyond Edward's expectations. After listening quietly, he frowned and asked, "Is that all?"

Li Cheng nodded: "That's all."

"..."

Edward lowered his head, lost in thought. After a moment, he looked up and asked, "What were you and Veronica doing in Whitehall? Why did you ask someone for a dog?"

How does he even know this?

Li Cheng felt that the impossible guess seemed to be vaguely coming true.

He suppressed his doubts: "I want to test the medicine to see if there's anything wrong with it. After all, with His Majesty the King in such a situation in front of everyone, our first reaction is to wonder if there's something wrong with the medicine."

"What's the conclusion?" Edward asked.

"...Ether itself is not the problem. Perhaps His Majesty's constitution is somewhat special, causing some adverse reactions. Or perhaps Dr. Arnold did not control the dosage properly and used too much."

Li Cheng racked his brains trying to describe it as a normal medical accident: "It's normal for new drugs to have some unexpected problems. I'm very sorry about Your Majesty's situation."

Just as Li Cheng was still trying to pretend he didn't know anything, Edward seemed to have gotten tired of this meaningless conversation and suddenly said, "Excess ether... Heh, that's a good excuse. That's what I was planning to do anyway."

???

Wait, wait, wait, no way...

Li Cheng stared at Prince Edward, who had suddenly uttered such astonishing words, and was utterly dumbfounded.

He couldn't help but press further, "You mean...?"

Edward's lips curled up: "Just as you thought, I had Arnold poison Charles II to make him like this, and I've done this many times before—well, do you understand now?"

The other party's words, which could be considered a direct self-disclosure, dispelled some of Li Cheng's doubts, but what followed was even greater doubt.

The biggest question among these issues is: what was Edward trying to achieve by going to all this trouble? Why would he poison his father in the first place? Charles II only had Edward as his nominal son; there was no one else competing with him for the throne.

However, Edward clearly had no intention of answering Li Cheng's questions; he continued on his own.

"I didn't originally intend to target you, although I heard that you seemed to have caused quite a bit of trouble, making quite a scene, and that you were getting so close to Veronica."

Edward paused for a moment, then continued, "But unfortunately, you weren't very lucky. Just like me, you ended up knowing things you shouldn't have known."

After saying this nonsensical thing, Edward called out to the door, "You can come in now."

As he finished speaking, the door to the room was opened, and three guards with short swords at their waists walked in. The first two walked expressionlessly behind Li Cheng, while the last one stood guard at the door, preventing anyone from entering.

"Your Highness, what are your orders?"

"catch him."

Edward coldly gave the order.

Li Cheng knew he had to do something. He quickly scanned the room, but the only weapon in the small room was a small fruit knife on the table, which was hardly offensive. It was a pipe dream to think he could take down two guards with that.

So, gritting his teeth, Li Cheng charged forward, his target the window not far in front of him.

Edward probably didn't expect Li Cheng to plan to run away so directly, and his reaction was a beat slow, but he still reached out to grab him.

Unfortunately, this was just a feint. Li Cheng turned around, grabbed the fruit knife on the table, and rushed towards Edward. Compared to dodging the guards' pursuit or jumping out of the window to escape, which were impossible feats, taking a hostage was more likely, especially since Edward looked sickly and didn't seem like he could fight.

Edward hadn't fully reacted yet. Seeing Li Cheng, who was about to run away, turn around and rush towards him, he panicked and instinctively tried to kick him.

Li Cheng ignored his kick and dodged to the side.

At this moment, he was only half a step away from Edward and was about to control him, but unfortunately, he was too slow. At such a close distance, the guards arrived in the blink of an eye. The two of them didn't bother with any fancy moves and simply grabbed Li Cheng tightly with one arm each.

Edward recovered from his earlier panic, but he was still a little shaken when he looked at the fruit knife in Li Cheng's hand.

"A knife, right?"

He turned his head somewhat angrily and said to the guard, "Give me the sword."

Then a third guard stepped forward and handed over his sword.

Edward took the sword, his face contorted with rage, and slowly drew it: "Is there anything else you want to say?"

"......"

Li Cheng lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Can't we discuss this some more? To be honest, I really don't care about what you've done. Who you want to kill or what kind of conspiracy you have, it has nothing to do with me. If all else fails, I can run away to the other side of the world, how about that?"

"No."

Edward replied coldly, then raised his short sword: "Is this what you wanted to say?"

"......"

Li Cheng was silent for two seconds, then looked straight at Edward, a slightly comical smile playing on his lips: "I will be back."

Edward was initially a little startled, but then he became increasingly angry—this guy dared to threaten him.

So, in an attempt to vent his emotions, he stabbed her with his sword.

puff-

As Edward moved, a sharp pain erupted from Li Cheng's chest and then spread throughout his body.

The pain was so intense that he couldn't control his vocal cords at all, letting out a muffled groan followed by a sharp gasp.

"Hiss... Although it wasn't interesting at all, it was still a rather novel experience, hehe."

As Li Cheng spoke, he lowered his head, gazing at the sword that had pierced his chest. His face was reflected in the gleaming blade—a face that showed no fear even in the face of death, a face that Edward could hardly comprehend.

Human life is only once. Is there anything more terrifying than death? Why is there no fear on the face of this man?

Edward abruptly pulled out his sword, followed by a gush of blood.

An overwhelming sense of weightlessness and dizziness washed over him from all directions. Li Cheng's eyes snapped open, then slowly closed again. Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard two sentences.

"Your Highness, what should we do with this person's body?"

"Dump it in a deserted suburb and bury it in a hole."

------

Edward watched the man slowly collapse to the ground, breathed a sigh of relief, and then his face contorted with rage.

"Damn it, we didn't have to be in such a hurry. Those idiot Catholics were exposed. The smuggled gunpowder was reported and discovered. We had no choice but to take this opportunity to move up the pace."

"Luckily, the troublesome person was dealt with. If I hadn't asked Arnold, I wouldn't have known that it was almost leaked, and that it was someone who was very familiar with Veronica."

"Ha, I probably wouldn't have known if that doctor hadn't told me. I had to threaten my family at first."

Edward muttered a string of irritated words, then handed the body over to the guards. After changing into blood-free clothes, he went to the medical room.

Veronica stood at the door of the medical room, her brow furrowed.

Edward looked worried and stepped forward to ask, "How is Father?"

"The situation suddenly worsened."

Veronica noticed that Edward had changed his clothes, but she didn't have time to care why: "Dr. Arnold is inside trying to wake Father right now."

Upon hearing this, Edward looked worried and said, "I hope Father will be alright."

.......

Charles II could not be saved and remained in a coma until his breathing gradually weakened and eventually stopped.

On November 16, 1666, Charles II died from an overdose of ether used for anesthesia during a tooth extraction.

The nation mourned, and a grand funeral was held in London, as people deeply missed the "Happy King."

In his grief, Prince Edward ascended the throne. As he was the seventh British king to bear the name Edward, he was known as Edward VII.

However, Li Cheng's disappearance also prompted Newton and others to search for him, but they found nothing. All they knew was that he disappeared after attending the king's tooth extraction that day.

Veronique, grieving the news of Charles II's death, later harbored some doubts about this ambiguous claim, but had no evidence.

------

"........"

"........"

Li Cheng's consciousness was in a state of chaos, as if he were floating in a dark ocean, with only some subconscious thoughts remaining.

He died. I never imagined he'd die like this...

It felt like a death sentence from the very first encounter. So this is what death feels like? It was like falling into a void.

But then again, I thought I could live like this forever, and now I'm dead. That guy with the twisted sense of humor is unreliable too; why hasn't he shown up yet?

Just as Li Cheng was thinking this, a thunderous symphony suddenly exploded in his ears, accompanied by countless applause and cheers.

???

With great effort, Li Cheng opened his eyes and realized that he was standing on a red stage, seemingly surrounded by countless spectators.

However, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there were no clapping audience members or symphony orchestras in the audience. Instead, not far from the stage, there was an incredibly handsome man sitting leisurely in a red soft chair.

Li Cheng looked completely bewildered: "What are you doing?"