It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Susie, however, felt that this was too hasty: "I will be able to see Her Highness the Princess in person later, so I must prepare in advance. I know that such an important person must pay great attention to etiquette."

No, actually...

Li Cheng was interrupted by Susie halfway through his sentence: "Wizard, could you continue with that maid training for me?"

?

Li Cheng wondered if he had misheard: "What?"

"Continue the special training for my maid."

Susie lifted the hem of her maid outfit, which she hadn't changed out of yet, and said very seriously, "Although I'm not a real personal maid, this is the only way I can look more dignified."

Chapter 153 Things Before

For Li Cheng, deceiving Susie, a simple girl from the countryside, would be something that would make his conscience very uneasy... Just kidding, he had absolutely no psychological burden.

Since you're just idling around anyway, why not have some fun...

So Li Cheng granted Susie's wish and gave her another (pseudo) maid training.

Listen carefully.

Li Cheng crossed his arms and put on the sullen face typical of military training instructors: "The so-called personal maid is not just about cleaning. You need to master various skills, including but not limited to grappling, fighting, and firearms... and the most basic is physical training."

In front of him, Susie was kneeling with her arms outstretched to shoulder width, in a horse stance.

Her brow furrowed deeply. "My lord wizard," she said, "something feels off. The maid skills you taught me before were useful for conversation, but is this really going to work?"

Li Cheng had already sat back down in his chair, crossed his legs, and leisurely started munching on a pear: "Of course, have you forgotten how much energy you've expended these past two days? Practicing horse stance is a great way to train your lower body strength and endurance."

Susie recalled her running around outside these past few days, and it seems that being a personal maid is really hard work.

That seems to make sense?

“But I still feel like something’s not quite right…” Susie murmured.

Li Cheng smacked his lips as he said, "Don't think too much about it. Besides, wasn't it you who volunteered for special training? There aren't many wizards as easy to talk to as me... Pshaw, you've led me astray. Don't call me wizard anymore."

Knock knock knock—

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Li Cheng stood up to open the door.

"Hello, this is your... um, lunch. I'll be back to collect the dishes in half an hour."

The hotel staff member was shocked by the scene in the room. He couldn't understand why the girl inside was posing in such a strange position, with her buttocks sticking out so high.

Thank you.

Li Cheng thanked her and accepted the two lunches. At the same time, he noticed the waiter's gaze shifting downwards. Looking back, he saw that Susie's upper body was almost parallel to the ground, and her buttocks were sticking up almost to the sky.

He quickly closed the door and then shouted, "Don't stick your butt out! Keep your back straight!"

Susie said with a pained expression, "But I really can't do it anymore, this is so tiring."

Li Cheng glanced at his pocket watch and realized that half an hour had passed. He looked tired: "Alright then, let's rest for a bit and have lunch."

However, the half-hour horse stance had exhausted Susie's strength. She collapsed into the chair with a thud, unable to move a single finger, and lay on the table, watching Li Cheng eat with longing eyes.

Seeing this, Li Cheng put down the spoon: "What, do you want me to feed you?"

"No, no, hehe."

Susie gave an awkward laugh.

Although for a fleeting moment she did have the thought that 'I don't want to move, I wish someone would feed me,' no matter how you look at it, from the perspective of a servant or maid, it is an absurd thing to be fed by one's master.

"Open your mouth."

Just then, Susie heard these words, and at the same time, a soup spoon full of food was handed to her.

? !

Susie's eyes widened in shock, her face filled with disbelief.

"Hey, don't be so shocked. I already told you I'm very easy to talk to, right?"

Li Cheng shoved the spoon into Susie's face: "You've had a tough time these past few days, running around everywhere. This is a small way of fulfilling your wish... Anyway, open your mouth, I'm only feeding you this one bite."

Susie opened her mouth wide, took the food, chewed it, swallowed it, and then said with a grateful expression, "Waaah, you're the second person besides my mom to have ever fed me."

Li Cheng casually said, "Then why don't you hurry up and call me 'Dad'?"

?

Susie paused for two seconds, then hesitated before asking, "...Should we really call out?"

"Ahem, just kidding."

Li Cheng quickly waved his hand: "So have you rested enough? Hurry up and eat. The hotel staff will be coming to collect the dishes in half an hour, and then we'll continue the special training."

So far, this girl is quite useful for running errands, and there shouldn't be any problem if she gets more exercise and improves her physical strength.

------

Friday.

Shakespeare Theatre.

The play, "The Domineering Lady Falls in Love with Me," is about to start at 10 a.m. This down-to-earth play has been well received by the public since its release, and the seats are always full. However, recently, due to the original male lead taking sick leave, the other actor who took his place is not as good as the original actor, so fewer people are coming to see it.

Veronica, dressed simply, sat in the last row of the audience, with Holly still by her side; there was no one else around.

People rarely choose the last row, not for any other reason than that it's too far from the stage and they can't hear what the actors are saying... But she wasn't there to see a play, so she didn't care about the noise.

Strangely, the red-haired man who had invited her had vanished without a trace. Veronica searched the entire place for red-haired people but couldn't find him.

However, about halfway through the performance, a man in front of her stood up and walked towards her along the aisle.

Veronica looked at the uninvited guest and saw that he had long, curly black hair, a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez glasses on his nose, and was dressed in a black robe, looking very scholarly.

"Hello, beautiful lady, would you mind if I sat next to you?"

The man asked politely.

After her initial surprise, Veronica quickly recognized that it was Li Cheng in disguise and sensed something was amiss.

She shook her head slightly and said, "I don't mind."

So Li Cheng sat down next to her, but did not make any further moves. Instead, he focused intently on the male lead on the stage, seemingly truly immersed in the wonderful performance.

After a few minutes, Li Cheng suddenly exclaimed, "Those actors on top aren't very good. They almost fell just now. You know, Annie can even do a front flip and jump onto the stage..."

Veronica ignored his comments about the actors and instead asked directly, "What happened? What made you choose to hide for so long? And what made you come looking for me again?"

"No rush, take your time. Since I've come to you, I'm already prepared to tell you everything."

Li Cheng touched his chest: "As for why I hid, it's because I didn't want to experience the feeling of being on the verge of death."

"Experience it again?" Veronica asked, puzzled.

Want to know?

Li Cheng smiled, leaned closer to the princess, and aimed at her somewhat translucent ears.

Veronie wasn't used to such overly intimate gestures, but soon, what she was hearing made her lose interest in paying attention to these details.

Li Cheng said softly, "The former emperor was killed by Edward, and he will kill me too."

"how is this possible?"

Veronica couldn't help but gasp in surprise. Although she had expected Li Cheng to bring explosive news, this was still too much for her to bear: "This doesn't make sense. Why would he do this?"

"Why not?"

Li Cheng shook his head, then stood up from his seat: "Anyway, this isn't the place to chat. I've booked a private room. You two come with me."

......

Outside the reserved private room.

Because the matter to be discussed was highly confidential, Holly and Susie were both arranged to wait outside the door. The two of them stood there on the left and right like door gods, although no door god would have a picture of a pretty girl on it—well, maybe in modern times there would be pictures of otaku.

After the initial novelty wore off, Susie got bored standing there and tried to strike up a conversation with Holly: "Are you a maid too?"

Holly corrected her earnestly: "I'm not a maid, I'm a handmaid."

Susie asked, "What's the difference between a maid and a handmaid?"

“There’s a big difference.” Holly thought for a moment. “Well, for example, the relationship between a maid and her master is very close. Many private and personal matters are handled by the maid, such as running errands and calling out messages.”

Susie asked in confusion, "Aren't maids like that too?"

Holly thought for a moment, but couldn't really find a way to refute it. A little annoyed, she said, "Anyway, it's different. Don't ask anymore. But you, are you that guy's maid?"

Susie thought about it. Although her original intention was to be a servant, she was now wearing a maid outfit, so it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with calling her a maid.

So she nodded and said, "Yes, I am his personal maid."

"Personal maid?"

Upon hearing the prefix "personal maid" which is two words longer than "maid," Holly's gaze towards Susie immediately changed.

Personal maids are usually hired by women. It's not that men can't, but because of the close contact over a long period of time, personal maids are often involved in scandals involving relationships with their employers. So, for the sake of their reputation, men generally don't hire personal maids.

Susie suspected she hadn't done something right, causing her to be exposed, so she asked nervously, "Yes, yes, is there a problem?"

Holly, seeing that her attitude seemed unreliable, asked, "Do you know what a personal maid means?"

Susie recalled Li Cheng's words: "Well, a personal maid isn't just about cleaning; she needs to be proficient in various skills, including but not limited to grappling, combat, firearms, multiple languages, mathematics, philosophy..."

Holly: ? ? ?

Susie continued counting on her fingers: "Unfortunately, I haven't mastered it very well yet. I've only just started practicing the horse stance... Hey, what's with that expression?"

.......

at the same time.

Inside the private room, Veronica was carefully reviewing the documents provided by Li Cheng. The more she read, the more alarmed she became, because the implications behind them were far too great.

She never imagined that her father, who had been ruled to have died from an ether overdose, might actually have been poisoned, and that the murderer might even be her brother, her father's son. It was utterly unbelievable; she felt her heart pounding.

"As you can see, I've done a lot of research."

Li Cheng added from the side, "The former emperor's condition at the time of his death has many similarities to the condition described in this case. His fingers were black and rotten, his face was pale, and so on."