It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

But she felt that thinking about it was too complicated, so she asked in return, "Then what do you think we should do?"

The housekeeper was completely bewildered: "Huh, me?"

Yes, you.

Newton nodded, his tone deliberately serious, and said, "This will be your test. As long as you don't cause her any real harm or insult her body, you can do whatever you want—I'll come over to check in two hours."

In Newton's view, not being able to harm or insult the body was no different from being locked up for two hours, but it sounded much better in name.

When the housekeeper heard the word "test," she felt that she was facing a major test in her life, and at a crossroads in her career, which she could not ignore.

She immediately puffed out her chest and said, "I understand, please leave it to me."

------

Li Cheng rode in a carriage, swaying and wobbling, back to Newton's territory.

The construction site not far from the castle was bustling with activity, but there were noticeably fewer people around.

Those people weren't complaining about the income from making coal briquettes; they just needed to go back and prepare for next year's planting. Deeply ingrained habits made them believe that farming was the most secure way of life, even though the income from making coal briquettes was clearly higher than that from farming.

It's impossible for me to work a regular job; at most, I can farm and do some extra work when I have free time.

However, this is not a major problem; it is estimated that the situation can be completely changed in one or two years. The most troublesome issue is the resistance from the estate owners.

Manor owners need peasants to cultivate their land and to keep the people tied to the land; capitalists need peasants to work for them and to allow the free movement of people. The competition between the two for labor inevitably leads to fundamental conflict.

However, this situation is not too serious at present, and it will intensify once various factories become widespread.

......

Li Cheng glanced at the construction site along the way, and seeing that there were no major problems, he left and headed towards the castle.

As soon as he entered, he caught a glimpse of the blond little boy sitting by the fireplace, drinking tea and reading a book.

Newton seemed to be in a good mood today, with the corners of his mouth constantly turning upwards, and his two slender legs, clad in white stockings, swaying back and forth in the air, indicating that his brain was in a very active state.

Li Cheng thought to himself that lolis really do need to wear white stockings, and walked to the sofa and plopped down on it.

? !

When Newton saw that Li Cheng had actually returned at such a crucial moment, he was so startled that he almost dropped the book in his hand.

"what happened?"

Li Cheng was a little puzzled, wondering if there was any need to be so surprised by his return.

"...It's nothing, I was just startled." Newton lowered his head a little guiltily, pretending to continue reading, while changing the subject, "Didn't you say you'd be back in a day?"

Now it was Li Cheng's turn to feel guilty. He coughed twice and said, "I accidentally got drunk, so I rested for an extra day."

Are you drunk?

Newton instinctively sensed something was amiss, but instead of delving into it, he changed the subject, saying, "Oh, you must be hungry."

"...Then you should go take a shower right away, you stink."

Newton wanted to hurry to the interrogation room and ask the housekeeper to release Didley, who was being held captive. If Li Cheng found out, he might get a spanking, or even be subjected to some very perverted things.

Li Cheng didn't suspect that they were planning to transfer him away. Instead, he looked down and smelled himself: "Do I smell bad? I just washed myself yesterday, and even washed my clothes and changed into them this morning. I shouldn't smell bad."

"If I say it stinks, then it stinks."

Newton closed the book and said firmly, "Go take a bath now."

"Now?"

Li Cheng frowned upon hearing this: "Even if you want to take a bath, you have to wait for the water to boil first, right? Do you expect me to take a cold bath now?"

Newton realized he had overlooked this problem and felt annoyed. But when one plan failed, another came up. She put on a stern face and asked, seemingly with concern, "Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

"It's okay, I'm not too hungry. I'll sit down and rest for a while."

Seeing that Newton was showing concern for him repeatedly, Li Cheng sensed something was off. He asked in confusion, "Speaking of which, since just now, I've had this feeling that you're trying to get rid of me?"

Although he was exposed, Newton firmly denied it, saying, "I did not."

Li Cheng was skeptical: "Really not?"

"no!"

Newton seemed quite displeased.

Just as Newton firmly rejected the idea, the housekeeper, who had fully utilized her imagination and creativity and believed she had successfully completed the task, saw that two hours had passed and the lord still hadn't come to inspect the results, so she volunteered to take on the task herself.

"My lord, the task you assigned has been successfully completed!"

The housekeeper walked into the hall with a smug expression as she gave her report.

It wasn't until they got close to the sofa that the housekeeper noticed Li Cheng next to Newton. Her face immediately turned horrified, and Newton's body, holding the book, became incredibly stiff, like a rusty machine.

"Task?"

Li Cheng seemed to understand something, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "What mission?"

......

Knowing he could no longer hide the truth, Newton explained everything in detail.

Li Cheng then learned that Newton was furious because the admirer who came to see him didn't recognize him at all, but instead mistook him for Isaac Newton's daughter and kept calling him "little girl." So he tied her up and sent her to the interrogation room.

"They're just locked up?"

Li Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it wasn't a big problem; he could just apologize later.

The housekeeper broke out in a cold sweat and added in a low voice, "It's not just that he's locked up..."

?

Li Cheng and Newton both looked at the housekeeper.

Feeling a little embarrassed by the way she was being stared at, the housekeeper said, "The lord said it was a test for me, and that he would come to check on me in two hours, so I did a little bit of work... well, but I followed the lord's orders and didn't cause her any real harm or insult her body..."

Before Li Cheng could even scold the sycophantic housekeeper, he was the first to stand up and rush to the interrogation room, where he witnessed the horrific scene.

In the dark and filthy interrogation room, the blonde, blue-eyed female knight (fake) was tightly bound with hemp rope, her mouth stuffed with a rag, lying on the floor like a lifeless corpse. Her clothes were intact, but her boots had been taken off and thrown aside, revealing two white feet that, despite being well-trained, surprisingly showed few calluses.

If that were all, there was also a wooden basin filled with water and a quill pen next to her.

The quill pen was clearly intended for the soles of her feet, and most of the water in the basin had disappeared, apparently spilling all over Dideli and soaking her clothes.

If it weren't for the winter clothes, she would have been completely exposed. Even so, her voluptuous figure, hidden under her clothes, was still faintly visible, and she also suffered from the cold.

"Goo."

Hearing footsteps approaching, Dideri didn't even look up, but weakly uttered the classic line from the female knight: "Kill me."

Chapter 200 You'll have to sign a written agreement!

Arrow towers, typically built at fixed intervals on city corners or walls, served as fortified strongholds. They protruded from the flat city walls, allowing defenders positioned within to fire outwards along the direction the wall faced. This allowed defenders to protect the city gates from all directions.

As decoration, the arrow tower was preserved by the castle's original owner, though it's more like a small balcony. This balcony, however, is at a higher level than the rooms and is connected to them by a small upward staircase.

Newton now stood straight on the narrow, cramped platform of the arrow tower, her small body incredibly frail, while the cold wind outside howled, making one worry that she might be blown over at any moment.

She gazed quietly at the scenery outside the castle, then suddenly said, "Galileo also stood on the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped those two famous iron balls."

A man's voice came from behind: "You're right."

Newton then added, "My landing speed should be the same as that of the iron ball."

"..."

The man's voice paused for two seconds: "Yes, so can you come down now? It's windy in the arrow tower, don't get cold."

Newton coldly replied, "No."

The man's tone softened: "Don't worry, I won't do anything."

"You're lying."

Newton calmly pointed out, "You're probably just trying to appease this woman, planning to drag her back to your room and give her a good spanking once she believes you and lets her guard down."

"Li Cheng, I've seen through your sweet talk; you can't fool me."

Li Cheng's lips twitched when his true thoughts were exposed.

He never expected that this little kid would grow up so much, especially in the place where he shouldn't be growing up. He was afraid that it wouldn't be so easy to fool him in the future.

Damn it, there's not a single sign of growth in the areas that should be developing! Can't you put the nutrients in the right places...? Li Cheng glanced at Newton's unremarkable chest, still maintaining a gentle expression, and said, "I'm not lying to you..."

"I do not believe."

Newton said calmly.

"Then how can you believe me?" Li Cheng's tone sounded somewhat helpless. "It's really dangerous for you to be standing by the arrow tower like this. What if you fall? Even though it's only on the second floor, you could still get hurt."

Standing by the arrow tower like this is really not a good solution, because it's really cold.

"Um......"

Newton lowered his head in thought, then gave a serious look: "You write it down!"

After witnessing the mess the housekeeper had made in the interrogation room, Newton knew something was wrong. He quickly ran to the nearest arrow tower with his short legs, looking like he was ready to jump down if anyone dared to come any closer.

Although the second floor poses relatively little threat, and I've heard that the smaller the person, the less injury they suffer from a fall from a great height—a child jumping from half a floor is basically unharmed, while an adult, even if they don't suffer a fracture, will at least experience numbness in their leg...

But Li Cheng was still intimidated by this action.

I'm a little reluctant to part with it.

Thus, the two entered the era of deterrence. Due to the circumstances, Li Cheng had no choice but to discuss having Newton come down from the arrow tower on his own initiative. In the end, the discussion seemed to involve something like a written agreement.

"Then wait a moment, don't fall."

Seeing that there seemed to be no room for negotiation, Li Cheng disappeared from sight, and then returned a moment later with a note with writing on it. He showed it to me and said, "The note is here. Come down from the arrow tower now."

"Hold it still and let me see clearly."

After Newton shouted, he tried to observe from a distance of about three meters until his originally large blue eyes were narrowed into tiny slits before he could finally see what was written on the note.

I promise I won't spank her for Isaac Newton ordering his servants to imprison his guests—Abel Lee

It seems there's no problem... Newton lowered his head and fell into thought.

"how?"

Seeing this, Li Cheng confidently asked, "The agreement is ready, can you come down from the arrow tower now?"