After Nicole left, attendants arrived.
Shen Qingqing carefully asked again, "Did you really hear the King and the Earl arguing at the time?"
The attendant thought for a moment and said, "It wouldn't be considered an argument. The King was scolding the Earl unilaterally, and then the Earl seemed to retort a few words. The King was so angry that he smashed something."
"What did he smash?"
"A decorative item on his desk."
Shen Qingqing nodded slightly and asked, "Tell me everything you heard, word for word."
The attendant honestly recounted.
From his words, Shen Qingqing finally understood why these two had quarreled yesterday.
It turned out that the Earl had proposed marriage to the King yesterday.
Pei Xi had been betrothed before, but Pei Xi had refused the marriage at the time. The Earl was not discouraged and set his sights on the other three princes.
The King had refused outright.
The attendant did not hear the reason for the refusal, but it was because of this reason that they started arguing. The main point was that the Earl had contradicted the King.
Shen Qingqing mused, "This reason is likely related to Nicole or the Earl himself."
Otherwise, if the marriage didn't work out, it wouldn't be a big deal. There would be no need to contradict the King.
The old fox, the Earl, didn't seem like someone who acted impulsively.
Pei Lie was not interested in this issue. "Tell me any other details you know."
The attendant thought carefully and shook his head, "There really is nothing else. I was just cleaning the corridor and happened to overhear it. Later, when the King got angry and smashed something, I got scared and didn't dare to listen any further."
Shen Qingqing asked, "When did the Earl leave?"
The attendant shook his head, "I don't know about that. I ran away in fear at the time."
Shen Qingqing nodded, "Alright, you can go back now. Don't go out for the next couple of days. I might call for you if anything comes up."
"Understood."
As soon as the attendant left, an attendant from upstairs rushed down. He ran too fast and tripped on the stairs, almost falling.
"Slow down, what happened?" Shen Qingqing asked with a frown.
The man ran down with a pale face, "The Queen has fainted."
Pei Lie stood up abruptly and without a word, strode upstairs.
Shen Qingqing followed closely.
Upon reaching the Queen's room, Shen Qingqing's wrist was grabbed by Pei Lie as soon as she stepped inside, and he pulled her in.
"Quickly examine my mother."
In his haste, he didn't control his strength well, and Shen Qingqing's wrist ached. However, she could understand his concern for his mother.
She remained silent and immediately checked on the Queen by the bedside.
During this process, the three brothers of Pei Lie were all watching her nervously.
After a moment, she let out a soft sigh of relief. "She's fine. She was just overly frightened and worried. Her body, which hadn't fully recovered, couldn't bear it. Now, let her rest well."
"Does she need to take any medicine?"
Pei Lie was still worried. She had fainted, so she must be feeling unwell.
Shen Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "Medicine has its side effects. Taking too much medicine is not good for the body. Her body is a bit weak now, but she only needs dietary therapy. I'll prescribe a dietary therapy recipe later."
"Thank you for your trouble."
The three brothers of Pei Lie were full of gratitude.
Shen Qingqing waved her hand, "I am also a doctor, and saving people is my duty. There's no need to say thank you. The best way to help her recover soon is to let her relax. If you are too tense and worried, I think it will be difficult for her to relax."
Pei Lie naturally understood this. He took a deep breath and nodded, "I understand. Don't worry, I know what to do."
"Also, you need to get some rest."
Shen Qingqing looked at Pei Lie's very prominent dark circles.
Even with dark circles, he was still handsome, but he looked like a panda.
Pei Lie gave a wry smile, "I want to sleep too."
"Are you having insomnia?"
"Yes."
Shen Qingqing pursed her lips, thinking of something. "I'll make you a prescription. Later, you can take it three times a day with the Queen. Of course, don't mix up your medicine with hers."
"Don't worry." Pei Lie couldn't help but laugh, "Do I look like someone that foolish?"
Shen Qingqing pouted, "That's not certain. What I'm prescribing for you is to calm your nerves, which will help you sleep well and regain your energy so that you can work with me to investigate the case properly."
"Understood!"
Shen Qingqing went downstairs to write the prescription, and Pei Lie followed her. He wanted to supervise the kitchen attendants in brewing the tonic. Pei Xing and Pei Ji stayed behind to accompany their mother.
After leaving the kitchen, Shen Qingqing looked at Pei Lie, "Lie down for a while after you drink the medicine."
"But there's no progress on the case yet..."
"I'm still here." Shen Qingqing had already figured out her next move. "Take the medicine upstairs now. After drinking it in your room, sleep. When you wake up, I should have some good news for you."
"What are you planning to do?"
Shen Qingqing smiled mysteriously, "If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise. Besides, if I told you, you probably wouldn't be able to sleep."
Pei Lie said helplessly, "Shen..."
After all they had been through, his address was no longer the distant and polite Miss Shen, but like a friend who had known her for many years.
Shen Qingqing remained unmoved, "Hurry up and go!"
Pei Lie obediently left.
Shen Qingqing then went to interrogate the Duke. However, this time, she did not use isolated interrogation. Instead, she opened the door that had been closed since the Duke entered.
She went in.
The Duke sat on a chair, looking very agitated. In such a dark and silent environment, anyone who stayed for too long would break down.
His cunning and intelligent mind was no longer working.
It was as if even though he knew he hadn't committed the act, all the evidence and suspicion pointed to him, and he couldn't find any evidence to prove his innocence.
If they ended up pinning a crime on him...
That was not impossible.
If Shen Qingqing knew what he was thinking, she would probably burst out laughing. This was a typical case of being too clever for one's own good.
Clever people tend to overthink.
What was a very simple matter, he insisted on adding his own conjectures and deliberately making it a conspiracy.
"Tell me, what did you and the King argue about yesterday?"
Shen Qingqing went straight to the point.
The Earl looked up, his eyes beginning to show bloodshot veins. "I didn't kill him."
"I know."
"You believe me?"
Shen Qingqing nodded, "I believe you for now, but I still need you to provide me with some evidence."
"I have no evidence." The Earl shook his head. If he had evidence, he would have started planning long ago. It was precisely because he had no evidence that he was so passive, like a trapped beast.
Shen Qingqing raised a finger and waggled it, "You do. Now you need to tell me the details of what happened yesterday, and most importantly, why did he scold you?"
The Earl was silent for a moment, then looked at her fixedly and slowly said, "I originally wanted to mention the marriage between my daughter and the three princes to the King, but I didn't expect the King to refuse outright. Although I was a bit annoyed, I accepted it."