Page 284

However, he had no intention of relying on his superior navy to hold the place. After a brief two-day reorganization, he boarded a ship and fled to Russia. France hated his betrayal to the core, and the Netherlands had no goodwill towards the King of England. After much thought, he could only temporarily hide in the freezing cold of Russia, where the British could not catch him for the time being.

Queen Catherine, however, did not leave. She quietly studied four ways to make new milk tea in the palace while waiting for her daughter to arrive.

From the other party, Li Cheng finally learned the truth about what happened back then.

Why did Edward VII poison Charles II, and why was his subsequent actions so hasty?

The reason is incredibly complex, yet shockingly simple—because Edward VII was not Charles II's biological son at all.

Although the idea of ​​becoming a father unexpectedly was not uncommon in Europe at that time, and France was almost numb to it, having completely abandoned the practice of tracing back three generations or more, Charles II clearly did not think so—even though he himself had as many as double-digit mistresses.

Charles II began to suspect that his son might not be his own around 1664.

The reason for the doubt is quite obvious—Elwar VII looks slightly different from Charles II.

Charles II had a strong and dignified appearance, a robust physique, and was warm and humorous. He could easily have been dressed as a dockworker without looking out of place. Edward, on the other hand, was a typical pretty boy aristocrat with a gloomy look and a delicate face. He often spoke in two halves of a sentence.

When these two stand together, it would be difficult for anyone to immediately associate them with father and son.

Although in theory a son doesn't necessarily resemble his father, and completely opposite personalities are common, if a son is completely unlike his father, most fathers will have some doubts and will compare his son with the neighbors.

Therefore, Charles II did not pay much attention, but kept it in mind.

That moment of carelessness led to disaster.

At a banquet, after a casual glance at the First Lord of the Navy who was toasting him, Charles II's eyes widened and his head suddenly turned green—this First Lord of the Navy didn't look exactly like Edward, but the resemblance was as high as 60%, and it was only because of his attire and temperament that he didn't attract attention.

From that day on, Charles II began to secretly gather evidence to prove that he had indeed been cuckolded.

As evidence gathered and more and more credible clues pointed to his infidelity, Charles II began to ponder something...

What do you think, should we change the crown prince?

Charles II did not intend to make this public, after all, it would be embarrassing for him to do so if it were revealed, but it was impossible for him to continue to make Edward the crown prince.

Just then, in 1665, the Great Plague of London broke out.

During the great plague that year, when Veronica volunteered to stay in London to maintain order, Edward had also expressed his desire to stay. However, Charles II insisted on taking him with him, deliberately giving Veronica an opportunity to build prestige and accumulate governing experience.

This sowed the seeds of conflict between the two.

It can be said that Charles II made a very bold and correct decision. With the help of the plague, Veronica successfully established her own confidence and prestige.

However, Edward also sensed the distance between his father and him, began to investigate the truth of the matter, and eventually, things escalated to an irreversible point.

So who is wrong?

Was Edward VII wrong?

He was certainly wrong, without a doubt. The crime of patricide is a grave offense anywhere, not to mention that it implicates many innocent people.

Was Queen Catherine wrong?

She was certainly wrong too. Although political marriages are mostly a pure alliance contract where both parties tacitly agree that the other can have an affair, tacitly agreeing to an affair does not mean being willing to raise someone else's child for more than 20 years, and who is about to inherit the throne.

Was Charles II wrong?

On the surface, he seemed to be doing nothing wrong, after all, he only wanted his own son to inherit the throne. But in reality, having never cared for Edward, this innocent child, and spending his days indulging in pleasure, which led to a distant relationship between father and son, he had already sown the seeds of this tragedy, only the price he paid was a bit too high.

It can only be said that among the three, Charles II made the fewest mistakes and met the most tragic end.

But in any case, this ridiculous and absurd thing is now in the past.

Like an absurd and comical stage play, this day finally came to an end—the great and righteous protagonist, Princess Veronica, with the help of a strange stranger named Li Cheng whom she met by chance, married the prince of the neighboring country. The two worked together to thwart and expose the true face of her brother, and finally returned to the palace safely.

Congratulations! Congratulations!

Meanwhile, the originally neutral nobles in the country did not show any resistance to Veronica, who was also a blood relative of Charles II, of pure blood, and had a credible history of ruling.

They were more concerned with their own interests, and Veronica had no intention of harming them in the short term. The new decrees agreed upon with the bourgeoisie were temporarily implemented only in the territory directly under the king's control and in the territory of the nobles who were willing to submit to her, and had no impact on the rest.

Therefore, Veronica (who may now be called Veronica I), who had the support of many parties, successfully completed the transfer of power and became the fourth queen in British history, replacing Mary II.

The princess's story has finally come to an end.

My peaceful daily life, Brother Gai 391.

The princess's story has come to an end.

But Li Cheng's story has only just begun.

For him, these past few years have been nothing short of a disaster—he was inexplicably drawn into one adventure after another, even losing his life once. In the end, he hid in the small town of Lincoln and worked as a fashion designer in Paris for several years.

It was truly an undeserved disaster.

Fortunately, with the Queen of England having an affair with him and a certain French prince revealing his true nature after the war, spending his days attending banquets of various nobles and engaging in cross-dressing, Li Cheng can now pursue his ambitions according to his own will and advance step by step as he envisioned.

First, let's look at some of the most basic things.

To revive the domestic economy, state-owned mercantilism was established as the foundation.

Establish a reasonable civil service system, including screening, examination, and appointment, to gradually reduce the influence of local minor nobles and strengthen the central government's management of local areas.

Increase investment in education, such as improving the university system and universalizing basic compulsory education... It would be great if we didn't have to study, but at least we should be able to read, right?

Each of these tasks required completion on a yearly basis, and each was of great importance, leaving Li Cheng extremely busy.

Later, Li Cheng realized something was wrong and quickly understood—if he continued operating on multiple fronts like this, he might die from overwork before the First Industrial Revolution was even complete. So he immediately focused on establishing a civil service system, selecting some intelligent and reliable people to share the workload, which finally gave him some breathing room.

It must be said that Britain, as an island nation, does indeed have its unique advantages.

Because it was isolated overseas, as long as no large empire was unified in Europe, it hardly had to be on guard against neighboring countries all day long, and its homeland hardly had to worry about invasion. It could concentrate its energy on domestic development to the greatest extent.

The work is proceeding smoothly and is not expected to change much in the next few years.

In terms of lifestyle.

After moving back to London, Li Cheng's life changed somewhat.

Needless to say, Li Cheng moved to another place to work for another girlfriend, and the territory he had to worry about expanded from Lincoln's small territory to the whole of Britain, with the level of trouble increasing exponentially.

Newton returned to Cambridge University, which she had always longed for, and successfully became a professor, spending her days directing students to conduct research that interested her.

The story goes that a blonde loli professor stands on a bench, gesturing to a group of male college students to do their work, creating a rather comical scene.

Lavoisier remained ruthless towards his workers, spending entire days holed up in the factory.

This time it wasn't that Li Cheng was exploiting her; after all, a country as large as England wouldn't be short of Lavoisier. Rather, she genuinely found it quite interesting. Furthermore, as time passed and Li Cheng stopped pursuing other women, Newton not only fully accepted Louise, but also Lavoisier no longer had to be a member of the underground party and could openly have sex with Li Cheng.

Louise's height unsurprisingly surpassed Newton's, a fact that Miss Newton was already numb to.

Witnessing the red-haired girl grow up little by little over the years, gradually developing soft and beautiful lines and two long, jade-like legs, Li Cheng, with a joy similar to that of a farmer at a bountiful harvest, carefully completed some things that cannot be described in detail one night.

Louise's experience was completely different from everyone else's. The girl had the most docile and obedient nature among them, and she would cooperate 100% with whatever Li Cheng asked of her, no matter how absurd or outrageous it sounded.

This cooperation wasn't purely passive; rather, it involved actively learning to cooperate while following instructions. Even without directives, Louise would proactively learn and try behaviors that pleased Li Cheng, leading Li Cheng to somewhat regret not having done it two years earlier... cough cough cough, stop there.

In short, from then on, Louise had an extra job: to put on a secretary's skirt and work part-time as Li Cheng's secretary—what man wouldn't want a cute and obedient secretary?

There are so many ways to play.

Returning to the others, for example, after Anne begged Li Cheng to write several new screenplays, she and her group of buddies went on a tour, visiting all the famous cities in England. It's said their next stop is France. But before that, they might need to brush up on their French.

Is this idiot really going to stay single and hang out with his buddies for the rest of his life...? Speaking of which, it seems Mr. Stoller has really remarried. Is he planning to create a new account?

As for Susie, after securing a stable job in the office, she sneaked back to her village outside the city for a quick look. She discovered that her parents had practically forgotten about their 'sold' daughter and were now busy caring for their sixth child. After some thought, she secretly brought her second uncle, whom she constantly mentioned, to the city, planning to care for him in his old age and see him to his end.

Uncle Tom visits the Grand View Garden.jpg

As for Her Highness the Princess... Should I call her Her Majesty the Queen now? But that sounds a bit strange, like I've wandered into some shady place. I'll stick with calling her Her Highness the Princess.

There's not much to say about the princess; her story is over. The main thing left is the bet—nine months later, when the truth is revealed and the princess welcomes twins, neither of them loses, and they each owe each other a promise.

As for Philip, that cross-dresser has really let loose in Britain.

In the beginning, relying on the prestige he had accumulated during his time commanding troops in the war, Comrade Crossdresser was still highly respected. At one point, some people worried that he might covet Her Majesty the Queen's power.

But as time went on, the whole of Britain (including France) knew that this guy was a cross-dresser who never took off his clothes.

After all, when Phillips had nothing to do, he would change into women's clothing, dress himself up beautifully, and then randomly wander into banquets held by London's nobles—he could enjoy the pursuit of men and the envious glances of women, and he no longer had to worry about being disciplined by Louis XIV, who disliked cross-dressers. He was completely carefree.

It's fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, it's really hard not to notice.

Gradually, as more and more aristocratic youths became infatuated with Phillips, they secretly began to investigate information about this mysterious guest.

When they investigated, they were heartbroken.

Holy crap, it's a man! And he's Her Majesty the Queen's husband!

rnm, refund the money!

As the group of men broke down, a question arose in their minds—

No, Your Majesty, aren't you going to do anything about this? Your husband is dressing up as a woman at banquets to deceive men! And it's not just once or twice, he's been seen at various banquets all the time!!!

Veronica, of course, wouldn't care.

She spent her days helping with government affairs, while her nominal husband, Phillips, was merely a woman who deceived the feelings of several young noblemen. She couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters.

The truly noble families wouldn't bother with such trivial matters. Only a few deceived men suffered emotional trauma, becoming suspicious of all women for nearly half a month, wondering if they were men, and even having terrifying nightmares at night, leaving them with psychological scars.

And so.

Time slips away peacefully in the midst of everyday life...

The 392 drops of camphor wood that hit Newton weren't from an Apple 9.

[1679]

London.

Ten years is enough time for everything to change drastically.

The London that was once filled with filthy slums, narrow streets, and dilapidated multi-story wooden houses has now been completely transformed—the slums have all been converted into factories, absorbing a large amount of labor; the streets have been widened, and streetlights have been installed on both sides that never go out; the dilapidated wooden houses have been demolished and rebuilt, and the new buildings must be constructed with stone as the primary building material.

This is just London; the changes across the rest of Britain are even more dramatic.

Minerals buried underground for tens of thousands of years were unearthed, roads left over from the Roman era were renovated and rebuilt, and shipyards produced large cargo ships day and night... Goods flowed, gold and silver flowed, and factories, schools, and government buildings sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

During periods of rapid expansion, capitalism is indeed the fastest means of increasing productivity. It can stimulate people's greed to the greatest extent and drive everything forward and multiply without stopping.

With the state as the main force and Li Cheng, a genius, driving it forward, the power of capitalism is terrifying. The changes in the past ten years have far exceeded those of the previous hundreds of years, and are even approaching the changes of each decade in the 21st century. It is truly earth-shattering.

With the promotion of compulsory education, a large number of talents (relatively speaking) have been cultivated over the past decade. In addition to working as engineers in various positions in society, some of them have also entered the government.

With all this, the era of the landed aristocracy undoubtedly came to an end. The annual rent they received from their manors was less than what merchants could earn in a single large-scale buying and selling. The local aristocracy's authority in their respective regions was gradually replaced by the now-well-established civil service system. The only reason they weren't removed was that they were simply too busy.

"Almost there."