The Duke's throat was hoarse from shouting in the interrogation room, but no one responded.
He had lived for so many years, and this was the first time he had been locked up here!
He was furious and had even forgotten why he had been brought here.
He pounded on the door.
Shen Qingqing and Pei Lie sat on the sofa, watching the man on the screen. "Is this okay? If you need to question him..."
Pei Lie pointed to the remote on the coffee table.
"There's a call button on this. As long as you press it, he can hear us speak."
Pressing it again would turn it off.
Shen Qingqing picked it up curiously and looked at it. There were only three buttons.
"What are they for?"
"One is for the lights, and one is for opening the door," Pei Lie said expressionlessly.
Shen Qingqing looked at him and sighed. Ever since the King appeared, he had maintained this expression, seeming invincible, without any pain.
The pain in his heart was probably known only to himself.
"Then hurry up and question him."
Pei Lie hummed and asked her to press the top button on the remote.
There was no reaction after pressing it.
As Shen Qingqing was wondering, Pei Lie spoke, "Duke Chaplyn, what were you doing yesterday at 3 o'clock?"
Chaplyn was stunned, his frantic expression slightly frozen. "Who is it?"
The voice had been processed, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female, old or young.
"Answer the question."
The processed voice was devoid of emotion, like a machine's, even carrying a faint crackle of electricity if listened to closely.
It sounded even colder.
The Duke suddenly calmed down, slowly walked back to the single chair and sat down. "Before questioning me, shouldn't you state your identity and what I've done? And why must the questioning take place here?"
He was trying to gain control.
Pei Lie sneered, "As expected, an old fox."
Shen Qingqing crossed her legs, placed her hands on her knees, and tapped gently. "After all, he's lived this long. If he had no brains, he would have lived in vain."
Pei Lie continued, "Answer the question."
The voice wasn't just like a machine; the cold and indifferent tone was also similar. The Duke realized he couldn't extract useful information and answered cautiously.
"I went to see the King."
He thought carefully. Why wasn't the other party asking other questions, but instead asking where he was at 3 o'clock?
So, the question itself must be about what happened yesterday at 3 o'clock.
He lowered his head, covering his face with his hands.
His mind, however, was rapidly analyzing every possibility.
"The King is in trouble?" he suddenly asked.
Pei Lie paused.
Shen Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle, "You should have just asked directly. He's no ordinary person. After living for so many years and being at the center of power, even with just one question, it's enough for him to guess the rest."
Pei Lie was slightly annoyed. "I just thought that if he didn't know the truth, he might reveal some flaws."
"I understand."
Once such a cunning old fox was prepared, it would be difficult to question him.
Shen Qingqing patted his shoulder. Dealing with old foxes like this required a different approach.
Go straight for it.
"The King is dead."
The old fox inside showed a shocked expression.
"How is that possible? When I left yesterday, the King was fine!"
"But he is dead. The last person he saw before his death was you."
The Duke then understood what it meant to be locked up here. "It wasn't me! I could never have laid a hand on the King!"
"But someone said you had a dispute."
The Duke fell silent.
Memories dragged him back to yesterday's argument. If he had known, he would have endured it then. Why couldn't he resist and infuriate the King?
"It wasn't an argument. I said some unpleasant words that angered him, and he reprimanded me. I couldn't resist and retorted."
"And then you killed him."
The Duke nearly jumped up. "What kind of logic is that? I retorted, I didn't kill him! I wouldn't do that! What good would killing him do for me?"
"You had a conflict with the King, giving you a reason to act against him. And you were still resentful because of Pei Xi, which is understandable."
"I didn't!" The Duke stood up, leaning on the table with both hands, his voice filled with urgency. "I'm almost 50 years old! I'm not a child anymore!"
How could a crime of passion happen to him!
If he had really done it, he would have lived all these years in vain.
"But all the evidence points to you."
"What evidence is that? Being the last person to see him counts as evidence?" The Earl kept telling himself to stay calm, but he found that the interrogator always said things that angered him. "Anyone with a bit of sense would know that I was the last one to see him, so naturally, I'm suspicious. If I had acted, everyone would suspect me. Am I insane?!"
He was so angry he was about to curse.
Shen Qingqing chuckled lightly and looked at Pei Lie. "Dealing with such old foxes, any indirect questioning or beating around the bush is useless. Going straight for it is the best way to enrage him."
Only by making him angry could he reveal a flaw.
Because anger, like extreme joy, can cloud a person's mind.
Pei Lie gave her a thumbs-up.
Shen Qingqing continued to ask:
"Do you have any evidence to prove it wasn't you?"
"It wasn't me in the first place!" The Duke's mind was a mess. He felt an urge to find the interrogator and beat him up.
"You have no evidence to prove it wasn't you, so of course, we suspect you. Until our suspicion is cleared, you cannot leave."
"On what grounds?!" The Duke slammed the table, glaring fiercely at the camera in the upper corner of the wall, as if trying to see the people on the other side through it. "You have no evidence to prove I did it, yet you're detaining me based on suspicion alone? I'm a first-class Duke! No one but the King has the right to detain me directly!"
"Whether someone has the right is not for you to decide."
The Duke gritted his teeth in anger. How did he not know there was someone in the palace who could stir up trouble like this? "You can't detain me!"
No one answered this time.
Shen Qingqing placed the remote back on the coffee table. "It seems we can't get anything out of him now."
Pei Lie raised an eyebrow. "You're stopping the interrogation? We don't have the right to detain him. We can only hold him for 24 hours at most."
If they didn't get it out now, and couldn't find evidence after 24 hours, they would have to let him go.
Shen Qingqing glanced at the large screen, put her hands behind her back, and turned to walk towards the door. "We will question him, but it's clear we can't get anything out of him now. Continuing further will only give this old fox an advantage."
Pei Lie thought about it and agreed. After all, the Duke was intelligent, and questioning him was definitely a technical task.
"Then you have a plan?"
"Keep him locked up inside for now." There were still 24 hours, which was enough to put psychological pressure on him.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Shen Qingqing looked at Pei Lie. "I don't think you want to hear any words of comfort, so I won't say them. Your brother and your mother still need you to take care of them... Please accept my condolences, and take good care of yourself."