In the cowshed.
Upon hearing Little Niu's greeting, William was first taken aback, then overjoyed:
"Hallelujah! Little Isaac? Why are you here so early today?"
As he spoke, he quickly set aside the fodder clamped under his arm, wiped his hands on his apron, and walked briskly to the fence.
He first skillfully took the firewood from Little Niu's hand, gently embraced Little Niu, and, after parting, turned his gaze to Xu Yun standing behind Little Niu.
He glanced over Xu Yun's attire, pausing for a moment on those gold-rimmed spectacles, and asked somewhat politely:
"Isaac, this is..."
Little Niu subtly exchanged glances with Xu Yun, then followed their pre-arranged script:
"This is my friend from the East whom I met at Trinity College. His parents are merchants from the Netherlands.
After losing contact with his family on the road while leaving London, he temporarily came to Woolsop to find me and is now planning to stay in the garden house for the time being.
Look, this pair of shoes I'm wearing is a gift from him."
As soon as Little Niu finished speaking, Xu Yun cupped his hands toward William:
"Hello, my name is Li Feiyu. My ancestors hail from the East's Wind Spirit Moon Shadow clan, currently residing in the Netherlands."
"Hello, I am William Asku, Isaac's uncle."
William stepped up and gave Xu Yun a simple hug, a somewhat subtle expression on his face:
"Mr. Feiyu, right... It's unexpected that little Isaac, after staying in London for a few years, has managed to make a friend from abroad. This is truly delightful news.
Mr. Feiyu, on behalf of the Asku family, I welcome you to Woolsop. Though this little village isn't as prosperous as London or as luxurious as Amsterdam, please trust me, you will fall in love with it."
Xu Yun chuckled awkwardly and nodded, though his eye twitched involuntarily:
Gosh, again with the Feiyu.
Do these British folks always prefer the second tone? Isn't the name Feiyu good enough?
While Xu Yun and William were conversing, a person suddenly opened the door of the house behind William, and out stepped a seventeen or eighteen-year-old blonde girl.
This girl had an ordinary appearance, with some freckles unique to Europeans on her face, but she exuded a youthful vigor from head to toe, appearing very lively:
"Dad, Mom is asking where you put the whetstone?"
William turned and looked at her, thought for a few seconds, then said:
"Check behind the cupboard, it should be next to that white flag model I brought back from France last time."
The girl gave an "oh", then jogged back inside the house.
William turned back around and smiled apologetically at Xu Yun, saying:
"Sorry, that's my daughter, Lisa. She's a bit loud and brash, I hope you don't mind."
Xu Yun was about to make a simple courteous remark, but upon hearing the name Lisa, his pupils shrank instantly.
Gradually, a tingling sense of witnessing history climbed back into his heart.
Those slightly familiar with Old Niu know that this Great Scientist remained a lifelong bachelor.
But bachelorhood aside, Little Niu's romantic life had become dramatically exaggerated by some people in later generations.
In the rumors.
Little Niu's first romance originated during his time at King's School, Grantham. He boarded at the local pharmacist William Clark's home and got engaged to the pharmacist's stepdaughter Annie Stoller before leaving for the University of Cambridge at 19.
Later, due to Newton's devotion to his studies, the love cooled, and Miss Stoller married someone else.
However, in reality, this was just an introduction made by Eric Temple Bell and Ives in "The Great Mathematicians."
There are two significant errors therein:
First, Little Niu never got engaged.
Second, the girl Little Niu actually liked was never named Annie Stoller.
William Stickley, a contemporary friend of Newton's, recorded in "Memoirs of the Life of Sir Isaac Newton" that Stickley visited Mrs. Vincent after Newton's death, who was then Miss Stoller, Newton's romantic interest.
Mrs. Vincent's name was Catherine, not Annie. Annie was actually her sister. (I found a scan of Stickley's original manuscript in the Bodleian Library, and later contacted Men Zhiwei, an expert on Newton from Ji Da, to confirm this. I've been busy with single updates for the past few days because of this matter.)
At that time, how old was Annie Stoller?
Three years old!
An age where not just secondary sexual characteristics but even clear speech can't be expected.
Little Niu's surname is Isaac, not Joseph "Love Pants," who would have a romantic interest in a three-year-old, no way.
Eric Temple Bell penned "The Great Mathematicians" in 1934, a full two hundred years after Little Niu. Hence, the credibility regarding Little Niu's emotions is indeed low.
However, all currently circulating versions refer to Annie Stoller, and only a very few mention the name Catherine Stoller, including a certain foolish author who was deceived for over a decade,
Even taking a step further, there's no telling how much unverified but long-since solidified information continues to spread without dialectical scrutiny.
Back to the original topic.
Besides Catherine, Little Niu had another very 'famous' romantic experience:
Allegedly, once, Little Niu fell in love with another girl but when proposing, his mind wandered, leaving only the endless series of the binomial theorem in his mind.
At that time, Little Niu was smoking a pipe. He grabbed the lady's fingers, mistook them for a pipe cleaner, and tried to stuff them into the pipe.
The girl screamed in pain, shouted dramatically "you don't care about me at all" and left him, leading Little Niu to remain unmarried for life.
This rumor lacks specifics like time, place, and people. Moreover, the storyteller claimed to read Newton's mind at that moment, which is simply too fantastical.
After later extensive research, not only were no ladies found, but even no pipe ashes were discovered.
Aside from this one true, one false rumor, Little Niu's most famous romantic affair left is...
A romance with his cousin.
It's suggested that Newton fell in love with his bright, studious, and thoughtful cousin while he was sheltering from the plague at his uncle's home in 1665.
The cousin was equally fond of this learned, insightful, and persuasive university student.
They often walked together, as Newton loved to impromptu give lengthy speeches, the content of which usually involved his current studies and research endeavors.
Although the cousin didn't understand, she patiently listened, seemingly finding it interesting, allowing feelings to develop between the two.
Being inherently shy, Newton never expressed his love for his cousin in time.
After returning to the University of Cambridge, he once again immersed himself intensely in scientific research.
He never paid much attention to personal life, whereas his cousin mistook his focus for disinterest, eventually marrying someone else out of disappointment.
The truth of this relationship remains unknown, but, in the words of many content creators, the name of Newton's cousin is sometimes mindlessly ascribed to the same name as the aforementioned proposed lady.
However, unlike that woman who wasn't found in any documents, Newton's cousin did indeed exist.
Her name was Lisa Asku (sourced from the Bodleian Library Newton—manuscript—1712 13th letter handwritten manuscript scan)
Newton did frequently visit his uncle's house during his time at Woolsop. Importantly, Old Niu bequeathed part of his handwritings and inheritance to Lisa Asku's children before his death — none of Hanna's children or his uncle William's other three children received such treatment.
Additionally, based on the personal account of Newton's friend, Edmond Halley, discoverer of Halley's Comet, Little Niu did mention to him the story of his cousin romance.
Therefore, from a documentation perspective, it's quite probable that Little Niu once had such an unresolved love affair.
It demonstrates that—
Long-distance relationships don't tend to have good outcomes...
What, you don't even have a girlfriend for a long-distance relationship?
Then never mind.
......