It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

But Agnes managed to control her expression and said with a smile, "Dad was really angry and punished me by making me stay at home to reflect on my actions. But later Mom found out what happened that day and asked me to come and apologize to Mr. Banana."

As she spoke, she held the wine bottle high and said sincerely, "This bottle of wine is a very precious imported French fruit wine that my father cherishes. He usually can't bear to drink it. Let me pour you a glass, Mr. Banana, as an apology."

"You cherish it so much? You're reluctant to drink it? I find it hard to believe."

Li Cheng glanced at Agnes suspiciously and asked, "How much is a bottle of your wine?"

Agnes had no idea how much the wine cost; who would dare ask the price when stealing it? So she just made up a huge number: "One... one thousand pounds a bottle!"

"One thousand pounds a bottle?"

Li Cheng was speechless. He suspected that this brat had no idea what a thousand pounds meant: "Is your bottle made of gold, or is the wine inside made of gold?"

“You say this kind of wine isn’t available in England? It’s all imported wine, shipped from abroad. You think it’s too expensive, but my dad thinks it’s too expensive too.”

"Okay, then pour me a drink... Is this bartender alright?"

"No problem, no problem. You're so close to my dad, why would I worry about you drinking fake alcohol?"

......

Agnes poured a full glass of amber-colored liquor. Li Cheng picked it up, brought it to his nose, and smelled a refreshing fragrance mixed with a hint of liquor.

The wine already possessed two qualities: color, aroma, and taste. Although he didn't know much about wine, he instinctively felt it must be good wine, and he believed it to some extent.

He took another small sip, and the amber-colored liquid, upon touching his tongue, brought a rich and mellow taste to his heart. Then, the unique sweetness of the fruit spread throughout his mouth, but he could hardly taste any alcohol.

Hmm, it looks like a sweet wine with a low alcohol content?

Thinking that Agnes was just a little girl, Li Cheng had no suspicions and simply drank it all in one gulp. The smooth, mellow liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach, giving him the refreshing feeling of drinking a whole bag of fruit.

Li Cheng couldn't help but open his mouth wide in satisfaction: "Burp~"

Agnes chuckled to herself as she watched him down a glass in one gulp.

This wine, called 'Fruit of Life,' was created by a French winemaker inspired by Russian wines. Although it tastes like a sweet wine at first, it's actually quite strong, and you'll feel dizzy after a short while.

Agnes once secretly drank a little out of curiosity. At the time, she was afraid of being discovered, so she only drank a small cup. Later, she still fell into a deep sleep. The servant noticed something was wrong and reported it to Chairman Smith, who then imposed a seven-day confinement.

Although this is related to her young age and low alcohol tolerance, Agnes estimated that Li Cheng would be drunk after three drinks at most.

A month, oh a month!

I was detained for a total of one month!

Do you know how I lived? Every day, my nagging tutor forced me to stay in my room to study and memorize those meaningless literary works.

As the culprit, you'd better enjoy the taste of being drunk and making a fool of yourself today.

Pulling herself back to reality, Agnes eagerly picked up the bottle and asked hopefully, "Is it good? Would you like another one?"

"Oh, that's alright."

Li Cheng put down his wine glass with considerable satisfaction and said, "It is indeed good wine, but one glass is enough. It wouldn't be good if I got drunk."

Upon hearing his words, Agnes showed an extremely disappointed expression.

No, one cup is too little.

Besides, what are you afraid of getting drunk for? I'm here to get you drunk, and I'm even using this 'Fruit of Life' that's so easy to overdrink. What do you mean by just drinking one cup?

Agnes tried to persuade him to drink: "Just one more, just one. This wine isn't so easy to get drunk on."

However, Li Cheng was different from many people of this era. He did not develop the habit of drinking alcohol instead of water. He would never drink much even sweet wine or beer with very low alcohol content and firmly refused her.

Agnes wanted to persuade her again, but by then her time outside had ended, and the servants her mother had sent had begun looking for her.

I will be back!!!

After being taken advantage of for a free time, Agnes left with the servants with this classic line in her mind, feeling extremely unwilling.

She can talk back to her father and sneak away, but she can't disobey her mother. Otherwise, she'll offend both sides of the family, and her good days will truly be over.

The brief interlude has ended.

Although Li Cheng had dodged one of Agnes's retaliatory attacks and hadn't drunk too much, he was still a little dizzy after that one glass of wine.

However, he didn't care, assuming it was because the temperature in the hall was a bit high. He simply took off his coat and didn't think much about the cup of Fruit of Life from earlier, since it really didn't taste like alcohol.

Time passed gradually.

Li Cheng later spoke with the group of people again, conveying some of his intentions.

Now he's become quite familiar with the Lincoln nobles and merchants. With Toviloniko's recent appearance, it's estimated that no one in Lincoln will deliberately make things difficult for him in the future; on the contrary, many merchants will proactively come to him with money and requests for cooperation.

However, as the banquet was about to end, Holly suddenly ran up to Li Cheng and whispered to him, "Come with me, His Highness wants to see you."

Li Cheng was not surprised by this. He shook his head, which was still dizzy for some reason, and followed the grasshopper-shaped maid with her unique aesthetic sense as he left the banquet hall.

Chapter 193 *Hiccup*, Can I take it off and let you see?

Chairman Smith was busy dealing with his colleagues and had no time to notice Li Cheng's quiet departure.

As for the others, although they noticed, they didn't say much. They all guessed that Li Cheng might have some important secret to discuss with the princess, and some even thought to themselves, 'This time, we've won big!'

So he left the banquet hall without being bothered by anyone.

It was still daytime, and the pale winter sunlight slanted into the corridor. Although many people believed that banquets should be held after sunset, most people still preferred to do so during the day due to the inconvenience of lighting equipment.

On the way, Holly asked about what happened at the banquet, specifically Anne's impulsive fake lover scheme, which Holly had witnessed for quite some time.

Holly had been to the Shakespeare Theatre and met Anne under the alias 'Cornelian Cherry,' which was so obviously fake, that she was extremely shocked to see her here.

She asked in confusion, "I remember she was an actress under Miss Therese, right? How did she end up in Lincoln with you, and even become your lover?"

"They're all fake."

Li Cheng shook his head and casually replied, "Annie was being harassed by that guy named Kevin, and refusing him didn't work, so she thought of asking me to help her pretend to be his lover—let's not talk about that, why is that every time..."

Every time Li Cheng saw Holly, he would see her signature green. Although the styles and accessories varied, the overall tone was always green. Coupled with her status as a maid, if it weren't for the fact that this was England, Li Cheng would have thought she was the reincarnation of Xiaoqing from the Legend of the White Snake.

Xiaoqing, is that you, Xiaoqing?

This question had been on Li Cheng's mind for a long time, and fueled by the effects of the wine from the Fruit of Life earlier, he finally asked it.

Holly retorted, "Isn't green pretty?"

Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he said with great difficulty, "Um...it looks good."

Holly nodded in agreement: "I think it looks good too, and most of the flowers and plants along the roadside are green, and the leaves are green too, so I choose green clothes for myself."

What do the roadside flowers and plants have to do with choosing clothes? Besides, there are almost no green flowers in the world! Because they can't be distinguished from leaves at all, and bees and butterflies don't pollinate them! Do you really want to be forever alone, never bothered by bees?

After internally grumbling for a while, Li Cheng finally managed to say, "Luckily you're not wearing a hat."

Holly: "?"

The journey wasn't too far, and the two chatted casually for a bit before arriving at Veronica's place, the study in the Smith family villa.

Veronica kept a low profile regarding her visit to Lincoln, only temporarily staying in a villa provided by her butler—note that this butler was not a butler in the traditional sense, but rather held an official position.

England's administrative structure can be divided into three levels: county (county mayor), centurion (steward), and village (sheriff).

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the county magistrate was also known as a retired earl and wielded immense power.

As the name suggests, a steward is a steward appointed by the county magistrate, responsible for managing the hundred-household district within the county, and reporting to the county magistrate.

As a basic-level position, the sheriff was usually held by the local gentry and did not receive a salary. In villages ruled by lords, the lord could appoint one at will, but it was not a problem if no one was appointed; as long as taxes were paid on time, they would generally not be interfered with.

In reality, the actual situation was far more complex than these three levels. In addition to the county magistrate, there was the county governor, and later there were officials with real power such as inspectors and circuit judges, but the administrative structure was generally three levels.

After all, England is such a small place; there's not much more that can be carved out...

Far away.

Li Cheng entered the study and found that although the study was not large, it was extremely ingenious and practical in its construction. A large desk was located in the center of the study, facing the door and backed by a window that let in light. There were rows of bookshelves on both sides, extending several rows to both sides.

Looking further in along the bookshelf, you can see a small bed not far away. If you're tired, you can lie down on it while still dressed, without having to go through the hassle of running back to the bedroom or changing into pajamas.

Li Cheng was surprised that Smith actually enjoyed reading, but what he didn't know was that this study was specially prepared for Agnes...

Since she was his own daughter, the so-called solitary confinement couldn't actually mean locking Agnes in a dark room. Instead, he kept her in this study, and over time, he naturally made thorough preparations for her.

Veronica was sitting behind her desk, head down, intently flipping through a book. Her long, untied black hair often fell playfully to her sides, forcing her to occasionally reach up and tuck the strands behind her ears.

Speaking of hands, even when reading, Veronica still wears her white silk gloves, which shows how much she loves them.

"Your Highness, Mr. Li has arrived."

Holly's calling woke her from her books.

Veronica looked up and saw that Li Cheng had arrived. She then gently closed the book with a 'snap', revealing the words "The Domineering Noblewoman Falls in Love with Me - 2" on the cover.

Then she casually uttered her first words upon meeting: "Your friend hasn't sent any new works in a long time."

!!!

Upon hearing this opening, Li Cheng broke out in a cold sweat, and even his previously dizzy head cleared up considerably... Damn, so much has happened lately that I've completely forgotten about writing the book.

Before he could come up with any excuses, like his friend being sick or having a family emergency, it was definitely not because he stood her up... Veronica continued, "Aren't you wondering why I'm still in the mood to ask about the new book?"

Li Cheng was taken aback: "Has some important clue been discovered?"

"...No, not at all."

Veronica shook her head regretfully and said, "Although many people have doubts about Edward and think that everything is too far-fetched, in the end there is a lack of evidence. He did it too thoroughly, burning everything to the ground with a single fire."

Li Cheng asked in confusion, "Then what is this...?"

Instead of answering directly, Veronica turned around and took an opened bottle of wine and two glasses from the mahogany shelf behind her.

"Would you like a drink?"

Veronica smiled and asked. She had drunk quite a bit during this time and had gradually come to like this extremely common hobby among the nobility.

Li Cheng then noticed that the wine bottle, which he had previously thought was just a decoration, had actually been opened. Judging from the level of the liquid inside, Veronica had probably already drunk a glass.

He then realized that he had been wondering why Veronica had been behaving strangely today, assuming it was because of the shock of Charles II's death, but it turned out it was just because she had a few drinks...

But this is just sweet fruit wine, and you're already like this after just one glass? Your alcohol tolerance is really low!

Li Cheng cursed inwardly, but instead of refusing, he took the wine glass and tilted his head back.

Glug glug—

Upon tasting the wine, a rich fruity aroma instantly spreads throughout the mouth, flowing smoothly down the throat and into the stomach.

This smell... it's so damn familiar...