It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

"Help! Someone has broken into a private residence!"

Newton hadn't held out much hope, but something unexpected happened: Li Cheng seemed to have really given in and put her back on the ground.

But instead of standing up, he squatted down and sat on the ground without caring about the dirt, clutching his legs and gasping for breath.

???

Newton instinctively felt that Li Cheng was trying to deceive her again, but when she saw his furrowed brows, tightly pursed lips, and pained expression that didn't seem fake, she began to feel doubtful again.

If it's true, wouldn't it be pathetic to doubt him?

She asked hesitantly, "What's wrong with you?"

"I twisted my ankle."

Getting a response is a victory... Li Cheng looked up and forced a smile: "It must be from jumping down earlier—it's nothing, just a minor problem, I'll be fine after sitting for a while."

What should I do if I twist my ankle... Newton looked up in a bit of distress, and when she saw the deck chairs on the lawn in the yard, she had a sudden idea and said, "There are chairs over there, I'll help you over there."

“Okay.” Li Cheng readily agreed.

Newton crouched down, and because of her height, she could only put one of Li Cheng's arms on her shoulder. Then she stood up and, like helping a drunkard, stumbled and helped him to lie down on the recliner.

After that, she took a stool from the side and had Li Cheng put his sprained foot on it.

She said, "Setting it up will help it heal faster."

Once everything was arranged, Li Cheng suddenly felt something was missing, so he smacked his lips and said, "I'm suddenly a little thirsty."

Newton hesitated for a moment, but then, driven by inertia, he said, "I'll go get a glass of water."

She jogged back into the house, fetched a teapot and a cup, and placed them on the brown wooden table next to Li Cheng.

After taking a sip of water, Li Cheng's eyes lit up: "I'm still a little hungry."

"I just bought some fruit."

So Newton hurriedly ran back into the house...

------

When Freya returned to the courtyard, this was the scene she saw:

Li Cheng leisurely lay on the cool chair with his eyes closed. There was a teapot and a fruit plate on the table. Newton sat next to him, diligently peeling grapes and then carefully feeding them to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng slurped it up in one gulp, smacking his lips as he said, "So, you've submitted your paper several days ago, but haven't received a response, right?"

Newton responded with a sullen "Hmm..."

"You're not really going to go to Oxford, are you? I'm just kidding..." Li Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's wait two more days. I'll help you if anything happens."

"Hmm~"

Newton responded briskly, and his movements of peeling grapes quickened.

She suddenly remembered something and said, "Haven't you always been curious about the Third Princess? She's coming to Cambridge tomorrow to attend a lecture. Would you like to go and see her?"

The Third Princess, Veronica Stuart. During this time, Li Cheng often heard this name, sometimes from the gratitude of citizens on the streets, and sometimes from Stoller's praise and warning.

The frequency of her visits was so high that it subtly surpassed that of her father, Charles II. And often, her brother, a prince who, like his father, enjoyed a life of pleasure, would appear alongside her name.

"Oh, the Third Princess wants to listen to a speech?"

This time, Li Cheng was genuinely interested and pressed for details: "Whose speech was it? What time was it? Where was it held?"

"Hope's, 2 p.m., at the Great Hall."

Newton curled his lip, revealing a look of utter disgust, and said, "I'm not going. If you're going, go alone."

Knowing the deep-seated hatred between the two, Li Cheng didn't try to dissuade them. He simply nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go alone and come back after I see the Third Princess."

......

While the two were talking, Freya stood at the door, deep in thought, trying to figure out what had happened.

what happened?

Weren't they just putting up a fierce fight?

Although she didn't understand, judging from the black suitcase still standing quietly on the ground, she guessed that Li Cheng hadn't even gone back to his room.

call out--

Just then, Newton accidentally dropped the grape he was peeling on the ground.

She crouched down to pick it up, and her eyes met those of Freya, who was standing at the door.

Newton: "......"

Freya: "......"

Newton suddenly realized what he was doing and wished he could disappear into the ground.

She looked flustered, quickly straightened up, and stuffed the grapes that had fallen to the ground, were half-peeled, and still had their skins on, into Li Cheng's mouth. Then she clapped her hands and pretended nothing had happened.

Li Cheng, with his eyes closed, was completely unaware that Freya had returned. He was comfortably opening his mouth to catch the grape when he bit into a half-peeled one and subconsciously said, "This grape skin isn't completely removed."

"Peel it yourself if you want to eat it!"

Newton threw down a resentful remark, and then she simply stopped sitting in the yard, got up and ran back into the house in a few steps—looking at her utterly hopeless expression, one was worried that she might do something rash.

"Everything was fine just now, what happened again..." Li Cheng opened his eyes in confusion and saw Freya standing at the gate, and then he understood what was going on.

"Hehe... Freya, is your ladder alright now?"

Li Cheng gave an awkward smile, then did a somersault and jumped off the recliner, looking completely unharmed.

Freya bowed and said expressionlessly, "Sir, the ladder has been returned. The neighboring couple kindly wished you well."

She paused, her tone becoming somewhat strange: "They also advised you to pay more attention to your wife's feelings, since pregnant women are very suspicious."

I hope Newton will never know that, to cover up my lie about borrowing a ladder, I told my neighbor she was pregnant and suspected I was having an affair... Li Cheng stepped forward, picked up his suitcase, and said seriously, "Freya, promise me one thing, okay?"

Freya said firmly, "I will not deceive Miss Newton."

Li Cheng's tone remained serious: "This is a matter of life and death for me."

Freya tightly closed her lips to show her determination.

Li Cheng lowered his voice: "I'll tell Newton a few more stories later, so she'll come to be your body pillow at night."

Freya was silent for a moment: "...However, there are some minor matters that do not need to be reported to Miss."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: "New Discoveries"

1:30 PM.

Cambridge.

Li Cheng entered the Great Hall, which was already packed with people, receiving the most guests of his life.

Even with so many people, the Great Hall of the People remained relatively quiet.

There is no other reason.

Because in the very front row of the seating area sat a very important audience member.

The Third Princess, Veronica Stuart.

At the onset of the Great Plague in London, facing the dire situation where many nobles and even King Charles II had to flee, she remained steadfast in London and decisively quelled the riots. She even made an example of those merchants who took advantage of the situation to raise prices by executing them.

She then dispatched doctors to provide free treatment to the citizens, concentrated the seriously ill patients, and immediately cremated the corpses.

At the same time, she also sealed off the entire city of London, prohibiting everyone from entering or leaving except for fleets transporting supplies, including nobles who wanted to leave, and those who disobeyed... They were imprisoned in dungeons and awaited ransom from their families.

This series of iron-fisted measures not only successfully controlled the spread of the plague, but also established her supreme authority in the hearts of Londoners, earning her the reputation of the 'Iron Princess'.

Li Cheng had only heard her legends and had never seen her in person.

Given this opportunity, he naturally wanted to observe carefully.

Unfortunately, it seemed that many people shared the same idea, so guards dressed in light armor and with long swords at their waists formed a circle around her, heavily protecting the Third Princess in the middle, so tightly that not even a fly could get in.

Even those daring enough to try and catch a glimpse of the Third Princess's beauty were deterred by the fierce guards' glares and quickly gave up, obediently finding a place to sit.

Li Cheng arrived late, and besides a circle of guards, there was also a group of people crowding around him, so he could only barely see the Third Princess with her curly black hair and the corner of her silk dress; he couldn't even see her chin.

"Never mind, distance makes the heart grow fonder..." He forced himself to comfort himself, then found a seat near the front row, intending to watch the speech again after the Third Princess had finished listening to it.

Looks don't matter, I just want to meet this third princess.

However, as soon as he sat down, Li Cheng saw a familiar blue-haired young man walk in through the door. He was short and had delicate features.

He's an old acquaintance, Inman Moore, the son of the oil mill owner.

Inman had been grounded by his father, but he had obviously sneaked in. As for the reason, one could probably guess from the bouquet of fresh daffodils he was holding—he was giving flowers to the Third Princess, whom he admired.

However, there were too many people around the Third Princess, and those fierce guards would never allow an unknown person like him to deliver flowers.

After standing there observing for a while, Inman, still holding his daffodils, dejectedly found a seat near the front and sat down.

......

About fifteen minutes later.

A scholar walked up the marble podium via a side staircase.

He looked to be around fifty years old, with a high nose bridge, a solemn face, and wore a loose black robe. His hair and beard were neatly trimmed, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses with a long silver chain around the edge, giving him the appearance of a learned scholar.

There were no megaphones in this era, so there was a strict requirement for giving a speech: you had to have a loud enough voice.

The louder your voice, the clearer the audience hears you, and the more persuasive your words usually are—at least more persuasive than your quieter peers.

This middle-aged scholar clearly had a talent for this; his first words resonated throughout the entire Great Hall of the People.

"I am Hope, and I am very happy that you are here to hear my speech."

???

Is this Hope?

Li Cheng, sitting in the audience, was utterly astonished.

Due to Newton's embellished artistic interpretation, in his memory, Hope appeared as a gloomy, hook-nosed old man who brought unhappiness and disaster to everyone—roughly the older version of Professor Snape in Harry Potter.

Preconceived notions are unacceptable... Li Cheng shook his head secretly, then focused on listening to the speech.

Hope continued his opening remarks: "Before today's speech, I wrote to Her Highness the Third Princess hoping she could attend and offer her guidance. I never expected that Her Highness would actually take time out of her busy schedule to come. I am truly honored!"