It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

To be fair...

As a girl who secretly enjoys reading knight novels, Veronica also has a girlish side. Even if she were to be pursued, she would still hope for something romantic.

Even if it's not romantic, at least there should be some order of things, right?

The two of them are really... well, it's a very delicate situation.

Without any emotional foundation, they had sex one night, resulting in pregnancy. Then, just when the woman was about to pretend nothing had happened, the man turned back to express his feelings for her, saying he wanted to pursue her, and then began to accomplish several things that impressed her.

It's really strange.

I've never heard of any chivalric romance novel featuring this kind of pursuit.

Veronica pursed her lips, still ignoring Li Cheng's teasing remark, and simply lowered her head in silence, pretending not to hear.

Looking at the princess before him, whom he had tried so hard to win over, and who, though not repulsed by his roguish behavior, remained quite reserved, Li Cheng understood somewhat.

He smiled, then took out two items from his belongings and handed them to the princess amidst her puzzled and stunned gaze. He then turned and left through the door of the lounge without a trace of regret.

The two items were a letter and a book.

letter.

It was written by that perverted cross-dresser who asked Li Cheng to personally deliver it to Veronica. Li Cheng had no idea what was inside.

book.

It was a novel that Li Cheng had copied from a female-oriented online novel, which he had completed in his spare time during his time in Paris. It could be said to be his ultimate hidden killer move to perfectly dismantle the last bit of psychological defenses of the princess.

The book is titled "Marriage First, Love Later: The Domineering Lord Falls in Love with Me".

Chapter 361 Sexy Princess Online Sexual Death

Li Cheng understood the importance of knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

Having already displayed himself like a peacock and expressed his ulterior motives, we should give the princess time to adapt and accept it. Apart from the novel used as a catalyst, we should remain a gentleman and give her enough space—to be honest, she already has a child, so this advantage is really in her hands, and there's no need to panic.

Conversely, if someone takes advantage of their father's status to act recklessly and tries to achieve everything at once, even a significant advantage can be squandered.

Therefore, after leaving the letter and the novel, Li Cheng left without looking back, without a trace of regret.

As Li Cheng left, Veronica stared at the closed door for a full minute, somewhat surprised that Li Cheng, who had just been acting like a scoundrel, taking the opportunity to grope her and make verbal advances, was suddenly so gentlemanly, leaving without a word.

But immediately, her gaze was drawn to the alluring title of the novel Li Cheng had left behind, and she couldn't help but reach out her white-silk-clad hand and pick it up.

Just checking a little bit...

With this in mind, Veronica decided to open it up and check the contents.

As soon as I opened the book, the first chapter was a scene of an unfamiliar male and female protagonist having sex after getting drunk. Because there was no censorship, Li Cheng described it in great detail, drawing on his own personal experience.

Especially the part where the red-haired male lead holds the black-haired female lead's small hand and repeatedly rubs and plays with it, Veronica felt a lot of empathy for the female lead's inner thoughts. It was as if she herself was the one having her hand played with, not the female lead. The sense of identification made the princess, who was experiencing her first sexual experience, blush.

How could he write a book like this? It's too, too explicit...

With that thought in mind, Veronica's fingers quickly turned to the next page, her gaze focused and absorbed.

Time ticked by, second by second...

crunch--

"what happened?"

The door suddenly creaked open again, and Therese poked her head in through the doorway, asking what was going on.

Mistakenly believing that Li Cheng had launched a surprise attack, Veronica hurriedly put the novel back in its original place, resumed her upright and elegant sitting posture, and then stared at the secret letter with a gold-embossed cover and the French royal seal, pretending that she was just about to open it.

She pretended to have just noticed Therese, raised her white-stockinged right hand, tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes while she was looking down at her book behind her ear, and asked, "What? What's wrong?"

"It's you and that kid."

Therese asked, puzzled, "That kid sneaked out by himself, and you stayed in your room and didn't come out either—so what happened? You've been talking for so long and still haven't reached an agreement, or did you have a fight?"

"No, our communication..."

Veronica thought about the previous conversation and nodded sincerely: "It was very pleasant."

Finding someone with whom you share common topics and can have a heart-to-heart talk about something is no easy feat, let alone having two people analyze and share their perspectives on the same issue, which is even more rare—such people are usually called "soulmates."

"Then why did he just leave like that?"

Therese looked at her friend with suspicion, trying to find some clues.

Then she noticed... wait, why do her cheeks look so red, and her eyes look a little watery?

Therese's eyes suddenly sharpened. After a quick glance around the room, her gaze fell on the most suspicious item: "What's that book on the table? I don't remember it being in the lounge before."

"Nothing much, just a book... analyzing the current situation in France."

Veronique's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, but she quickly regained her composure. As she pretended to be calm and tried to put it away, she said insincerely, "If you want to see it, I can lend it to you later."

The male and female protagonists in this book, *Arranged Marriage, Love Later*, aren't exactly similar to Li Cheng and her, but they're practically identical. Plus, the first chapter contains such stimulating descriptions; if others saw it, it would be no different from Veronica performing a live sex act.

"Then lend it to me now." Therese remained unmoved.

Veronica froze: "Next time, I haven't finished watching it yet."

Therese's gaze sharpened again. She strode over to Veronica, who had quickly clutched the novel to her chest, and gave her a playful smile.

Let me see!

"No... Ah!"

After a brief struggle, Therese, who had been on the front lines for many years, used her physical advantage to snatch the novel from Veronica and opened it to examine it in front of her.

"Tsk tsk, 'Love After Marriage: The Domineering Lord Falls in Love with Me,' the title alone tells you it was written by that kid."

Therese looked at the book title, clicking her tongue in admiration as she flipped through several pages: "Tsk tsk tsk, the beginning of the first chapter... tsk tsk tsk, this beautiful female protagonist who likes to wear gloves, and this handsome red-haired male protagonist... wow, the details are so daring..."

"..."

After being publicly executed by her friend, Veronica felt an urge to jump into the Thames and end it all.

But as expected of a princess, even so, she maintained her composure and calmly said, "This novel is Li Cheng's latest work. He said he hopes I can read it first as a reader, and if there are no problems, he will consider publishing it and adapting it into a play."

"Really? Then I'll take it and turn it into a drama right now."

Theater owner Therese exclaimed: "Is this for real?"

"Please, please don't."

Veronica couldn't hold back any longer and pleaded with her best friend in a low voice.

If this novel is adapted into a drama, she will be infamous for at least a lifetime, and she will definitely become a household name. After all, the female lead's appearance is almost identical to hers, and even her name is a variation of Veronique. Anyone who is even slightly familiar with her can see her shadow in the character.

"Don't worry, the character will definitely be changed."

Therese closed the novel, a half-smile on her face, and said, "I just used it as a reference. No matter what, I would never turn my friend's [beep] experience into a play, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't act in it."

"And speaking of which, I didn't realize you two were having so much fun. Why were you all acting all sullen and grumpy before? When I asked you before, you acted like you were enduring hardship for the sake of reality. Were you just teasing me? You're being a bit too polite..."

Let's set off for France tomorrow.

Looking at her incessantly chattering friend, she felt that London could no longer accommodate her princess, and silently made this difficult decision.

Chapter 362 Collar

After leaving the theater, Li Cheng randomly chose a restaurant for lunch.

He wasn't in a hurry to return to Lincoln. Since he was already there, he figured he might as well wait until Anne finished her visit and they could go back together. It would be more pleasant than going back alone. Besides, it would be a waste to leave so soon after finally seeing the princess. He might as well take this opportunity to get to know her better and strengthen their relationship.

He had only spent two days at Annie's house, and before he could even visit her again, he received some news.

—Her Highness is about to depart for France.

"So eager?"

Li Cheng was stunned for two seconds, surprised by the news.

Although his analysis suggests that a marriage between the two countries should happen as soon as possible, isn't this a bit too fast...? Could there be some unforeseen circumstances, or some reason why they can't stay in London?

"What do you know?"

Holly, the green grasshopper maid who relayed the message, scoffed at Li Cheng's doubts, saying that whatever His Highness did was right.

"Okay, okay, I don't understand."

While Li Cheng was speechless, he tried to get information out of her: "Since you know it, why don't you tell me about it?"

The maid then began to analyze the situation for him, saying, "Look, the front lines are being repeatedly defeated by the Dutch, and the nobles are hoping to gain French support through this marriage alliance. Your Highness is under a lot of pressure, you know? Under these circumstances, it's definitely better for Your Highness to leave as soon as possible."

Being by the princess's side every day, even a seemingly useless maid could speak eloquently about important domestic affairs. The influence of environment on a person is undeniable, which shows that Mencius' mother's three moves were a remarkably forward-thinking insight that transcended thousands of years.

The problem is that Holly's account only scratches the surface.

In fact, before modern warfare, not everyone in the upper echelons cared about the outcome of battles on the front lines.

Firstly, the interests of the nation and the interests of the nobility are not aligned. In fact, defeat could be an opportunity for the nobility to profit from the national crisis, engaging in land annexation and the resale of goods. Secondly, Britain is an island nation, and the Netherlands could not possibly attack the British mainland. Even if Britain were defeated, it would not be like a land-based nation where enemy soldiers would invade its territory.

In other words, apart from the royal faction and other stakeholders, including Edward VII, almost no nobles would bother to put pressure on Veronica, which was the reason she initially planned to delay the marriage for a year—assuming nothing unexpected happened during that year.

"Eh, is that so?"

Holly understood the underlying logic after hearing this, felt indignant at the shameless nobles, and was also puzzled by the prince's behavior: "Then why is Your Highness in such a hurry to leave?"

You, a mere personal maid, actually have the nerve to ask me that...

Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he patiently said, "Think carefully again, has His Highness done anything unusual these past two days?"

He originally didn't want to bother explaining these things to a maid; it was too much of a waste of breath and pointless. But Holly had genuinely helped him this time, so Li Cheng patiently explained everything to her in detail, hoping to also extract some more information from her.

"Nothing special."

Holly thought about it seriously for half a minute, then shook her head to indicate that she didn't know.

Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of her, Li Cheng gave up on his plan to pry. After seeing the maid off, he started packing his luggage, thinking that he would first sneak back to Lincoln behind Annie's back and call his family. Then, those who wanted to go could go to France—giving the girls a vacation and relaxation. He, on the other hand, would need to work overtime, as time was of the essence.

As he was packing his luggage, he was sadly discovered by Annie, who walked in through the door, and was forced to explain why he hadn't waited for her to leave with him:

"Something urgent has come up, I need to go back to Lincoln, and then go to Paris."

"So, Li Cheng, you're going to France again?"

Annie's eyes widened with excitement, her face practically screaming "I want to go too!"

Li Cheng glanced at the primate: "First of all, I'm not going there for fun, you'll definitely be disappointed if you come with me; secondly, even if you want to come, do you speak French? Don't get lost because of the language barrier, I don't want to be searching for you all over the place."

"It's alright, it's alright. The main thing is that it's more fun to go with more people."