It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

"Yeah, yeah, it's disgusting. How could anyone lay a hand on a man?"

"Wait, but I remember you..."

"Shut up, don't you want the ten shillings I owe you?"

"..."

Whispers... no, this goes beyond whispers; in short, almost the entire audience was discussing what was happening on the stage.

They dug up all of Hope's past scandals, his academic fraud, and the suspicious points that were covered up during his speeches. Whether true or false, whether it was something that could be seen in public or something that couldn't be made public, everything was exposed to the public.

Thus, amidst heated discussions, the fact that Hope plagiarized the paper seemed to be definitively established.

Listening to the discussions of the audience below the stage, Li Cheng silently breathed a sigh of relief.

If he were to directly accuse Hope of plagiarizing Newton's paper, the audience's first reaction would be to question the credibility of this person who appeared out of nowhere.

But if we first present a controversial and topical bad deed, and then accuse him of plagiarizing a paper, then in the audience's discussion, they will consider more whether that bad deed could actually have happened.

Thinking is a habit, and so are human emotions.

In short, the goal is to make the audience temporarily ignore Li Cheng's credibility and focus the discussion on Hope, actively digging up her dark history to reduce her credibility.

As for whether or not this younger brother actually existed... who cares afterward, as long as it can be proven that Hope embezzled the paper.

Hope, now recovering from his dizziness, heard the audience's discussion and realized the situation was serious. He quickly shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? I don't know your brother at all!"

"You shameless bastard, still pretending to be stupid?"

Li Cheng wasn't about to let the matter off so easily. He roared in a powerful voice, "Fine, my brother was foolish and misjudged you. But I'm asking you, do you dare to swear in front of all these people that you wrote this paper yourself?"

"I...of course I wrote it myself!"

Hope's skin was truly thick. He hesitated for only a moment before loudly refuting Li Cheng and accusing him of something: "So who exactly are you? Which family sent you to cause trouble and ruin my reputation?"

It has to be said that having a loud voice is really useful. His booming voice even briefly drowned out the discussion among the audience in the conference hall, guiding public opinion to a different direction, and some self-proclaimed sober people also jumped out to speak.

"Speaking of which, where did this guy come from? I've been in Cambridge for almost ten years and I've never seen him."

"It's possible that he was hired from outside. Professor Hope has offended quite a few people over the years."

"Yes, he was carrying flowers up there just now. Who would bring flowers on purpose? It's obvious he came prepared."

Some of the discussions that were initially unfavorable to Hope have begun to shift in direction.

"Hehe, maybe it was consensual between Hope and his brother? I have a friend like that..."

"Ten shillings!"

"..."

Li Cheng naturally heard all of this. Although Huo Pu had already steered the situation in a timely manner, he was not flustered at all.

Because he knew that was enough.

Aside from the seeds of doubt already sown in the minds of the audience, there was another heavyweight, intelligent person in the Great Hall of the People. That intelligent person sat at the very front of the audience, taking in everything clearly from the stage.

The Third Princess: Veronica Stuart.

As for what the other party will do, whether to protect Hope or support him, Li Cheng has no idea.

--------

The Great Hall of the People, the front row of the audience.

"Interesting, very interesting."

Having witnessed a good show, Veronica's lips curled up. She raised her slender hands, clad in silk gloves, silently crossed them, and then separated them, seemingly suppressing her intention to applaud.

At the same time, she instructed the guards beside her: "You go and maintain order, then take that red-haired young man 'there'."

The tall, burly guards immediately straightened their backs, clenched their right fists and patted their hearts, and then did as the Third Princess instructed.

Some of the guards dispersed to maintain order in the four corners of the venue; others stepped onto the marble podium, intending to make arrests.

"Quiet! Her Highness the Third Princess has ordered everyone to be quiet."

The guards, standing two meters tall, clad in light armor, and with long swords at their waists, were incredibly intimidating. In no time, the hall fell silent again, and no one dared to whisper.

Hope and Li Cheng on the podium also stopped arguing, both understanding that it was time for the Three Princesses to make their judgment.

Tension, anticipation, fear, and fearlessness.

Those who are unknown have no fear, while those in high positions are filled with anxiety.

Two completely opposite emotions are present in the two individuals, corresponding to their identities and attitudes toward the matter.

One step, two steps...

Finally, the guards in light armor stopped in front of Li Cheng. The two leading guards stepped out from the ranks and stretched out their strong arms to him, firmly controlling Li Cheng's arms.

"Ugh."

Li Cheng sighed, offering no resistance, his expression showing no resentment but only a hint of disappointment and regret.

So, in full view of everyone, he was taken away and disappeared with two guards at the entrance of the Great Hall, never to be seen again.

Hope remained on stage and witnessed it all.

He looked pleased, but the large swelling on his left cheek made him look like a ridiculous pig's head.

He thought this was a sign that Veronica supported him and that he was about to rise to prominence.

But before Hope could express her loyalty, Veronica in the audience spoke up again.

"And this too."

Veronica slightly raised her right hand, which was covered by a silk glove, pointed her index finger at Hope, and spoke in a voice as cold as winter, "Take this man to court and let the judge decide his guilt."

Left on the stage, Hope turned ashen-faced and cried out, "No, Your Highness, please listen to me! Don't believe that madman! I don't know him at all, and I've never slept with his brother! Really! I never sleep with little boys; that's something only bishops do..."

Shouting, he tried to break through the guards' blockade and rush to Veronica's side.

Seeing the ugly, pig-like face that Hope made while she was desperately defending herself, Veronica looked at her with disgust, as if she had seen something filthy.

She coldly told the guards, "Drag him away."

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Sun Also Rises

Even while being held by guards, Hope continued to struggle and shout.

"Your Highness, I'm innocent! I really didn't sleep with little boys!"

The muscle guards were getting annoyed. After exchanging glances, one of them slapped Hope twice without hesitation.

"Behave yourself and stop yelling."

After those two slaps, Hope's head was buzzing, but he finally calmed down a bit.

But it was too late. His poor performance had left a very bad impression on Veronica. She didn't intend to give the old man another chance. Instead, she would take him directly to court and use reasoning to make him obediently explain the matter.

------

The farce is over.

Li Cheng and Hope were both arrested, and the Third Princess Veronica also left with the guards.

Only the audience remained in the Great Hall.

Some audience members had only come to see the Third Princess, and now that she was gone, they were naturally disappointed and got up to leave.

Inman should have been one of them, but unlike the others, he had not only been in contact with Li Cheng multiple times, but he even provided and sold the flowers that Li Cheng used to smash Hope.

Moreover, he knew that this man named Li Cheng was not short of money, so he couldn't possibly be a stranger hired by someone to slander Hope.

In other words... this person may have just decided to reveal the truth on a whim after hearing the content of the speech.

"He should be able to come back, right?"

Inman stood up with mixed feelings. While aimlessly straightening his clothes, he muttered, "Hmph, I'm not going to that Baker Street thing. You'd better give me back the ten silver coins, or I'll cause trouble at your shop."

He then left with the crowd.

But many more people were still intensely discussing what had just happened, given how sensational the events had been. And since this was the Great Hall of the People, there wasn't a more suitable place.

Their argument mainly focused on two points.

1. Did Hope actually sleep with someone else's brother?

2. Who actually wrote that paper?

Those who pursue the former point are mostly students who are just watching the show, while those who pursue the latter point are mostly professors and some Hope students.

Among these people, some knew about or even participated in the inside story.

Unlike Li Cheng, who was taken away first, they, seeing the attitude of the Third Princess, took advantage of Hope's downfall to frantically fuel the flames, desperately spreading both true and false truths. They also conveniently shifted all the blame onto Hope.

Soon, it was revealed that the original author of the paper was a student named Newton.

In addition, female students who had been harassed by Hope in the past but dared not speak out also joined in to angrily denounce Hope, which inadvertently cleared up the rumors that Hope had slept with other people's younger brothers.

But this also brings another rumor: could Hope be a two-pronged approach?

Various rumors began to spread within the Cambridge campus, but ultimately, they had no impact on the world outside of Cambridge.

It was just a small matter.

------

The next day, this little incident happened to reach Stoller's ears.

Because he had been keeping an eye on Veronica's movements during this period.

He began following Veronique's movements after George Richman's death from the plague.

Dying from the plague is not uncommon, but the problem is that George died too suddenly, so suddenly that he didn't even have time to write a will, leading to a fierce internal struggle within the Richman family over the inheritance.

As a result, Stoller, the biggest beneficiary of this matter and formerly the second-in-command (now the head) of Richmond Bank, has been subjected to various criticisms from the outside world.

But he himself was well aware that this had nothing to do with him not having a quarter penny.

Coincidentally, before his death, George had received treatment from a doctor sent by the government, as was customary.

......

Stoller's House.

Inside the study, a man with a mosaic-like face was reporting to Stoller what had happened at Cambridge Assembly Hall the previous day.