"Not very smooth."
Mentioning this matter, Shen Qingqing was filled with anger, and her gaze towards the doll on the ground was cold.
Pei Lie followed her gaze and felt a wave of discomfort upon seeing the doll. "What is this thing? How could you like it?"
"I don't like it!" Shen Qingqing blurted out, with even a hint of disgust. "If I didn't know there might be clues inside, I absolutely wouldn't have brought it back!"
"Clues?"
Upon hearing the word "clues," Pei Lie, suppressing his displeasure, picked up the doll.
From a distance, it looked strange, like a miniature version of a girl. But upon picking it up, he found the doll lifelike, and somewhat terrifying no matter how he looked at it.
He turned it over and over for a long time, but couldn't find any clues.
Unable to bear the discomfort, he placed the doll on the table, as far away as possible, not even wanting to look at it.
Shen Qingqing said faintly, "There's a voice recording inside."
But Pei Lie couldn't figure out how to trigger it. Instead, Fu Jingshu's eyes flashed with a dark light. He walked over, picked up the doll, and threw it on the ground.
A strange melody began to play.
Then came that familiar line—you can't catch me.
Pei Lie laughed, out of anger. "No matter who knows this, they're quite malicious!"
Knowing they had been discovered, they still recorded such a message. Wasn't this deliberately provoking them, just to let them know that the other party was cunning and extremely intelligent?
They simply couldn't catch them.
Shen Qingqing snorted, "Not only that, but the other party even set up the punishment mechanism."
As if knowing they would be angry at being toyed with and smash the doll, triggering the sound inside.
Pei Lie picked up the doll, not looking at it. "Leave it to me. I'll have someone investigate it and see what this is all about. Also, see if we can use this doll to track down the mastermind."
"Okay."
Pei Lie took out a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to pick up the doll. It was much more comfortable when he couldn't see it. He then looked at Shen Qingqing, "What are your plans next?"
"I suspect there's an inside agent."
Pei Lie's mind began to race. "But I had everyone seal off the news as soon as I returned."
Shen Qingqing immediately looked up. "That narrows down the number of people who know."
They could reduce the scope.
Pei Lie nodded. "Indeed, not many. The two elders left then, so it's just me, Pei Xing, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, and possibly those who accessed your medical records..."
"That's unlikely," Shen Qingqing shook her head. "Accessing my medical records would be too conspicuous and easily discovered by me."
"Then there are very few people left."
Pei Lie's expression was grave, and his heart sank.
Based on the current calculations, only the three brothers had the greatest suspicion.
His head started to ache. He really didn't want to suspect his brothers, nor did he want any more discord among them.
But this matter had to be investigated.
"It seems my identity is also a bit sensitive," he said, spreading his hands helplessly, as if suddenly constrained.
Shen Qingqing, however, said, "That's not how it is. I actually haven't suspected you at all."
They had spent enough time together recently; there was a basic level of trust.
And Pei Ji, who had lost a finger, was also not her suspect.
Pei Lie didn't ask who she suspected, as it was meaningless. "Alright, tell me how to investigate, and I'll cooperate. In the end, no matter who is found, I won't show any mercy."
Shen Qingqing beckoned him over.
Pei Lie stepped closer, and the three of them huddled together. Shen Qingqing lowered her voice, about to speak, when the door was knocked. King arrived.
"You're here just in time!" Shen Qingqing called him over as well.
King was initially confused, but after Shen Qingqing whispered a few words to him, all three looked at her, and upon closer inspection, their eyes showed a uniform hint of admiration.
Pei Lie gave a thumbs-up. "Amazing!"
Shen Qingqing smiled slightly, with a hint of pride. "This is nothing. Let's all proceed according to the plan. I believe we can definitely find the mastermind!"
"No problem."
King and Pei Lie answered in unison.
Not hearing Fu Jingshu's voice, they immediately looked at him.
He paused. Although he was very reluctant to get involved in their strangely passionate atmosphere, he had no choice when facing his little wife's gaze.
"Leave it to me, don't worry."
Shen Qingqing smiled enchantingly. "I'm certainly at ease leaving it to you."
As they looked at each other, the air around them seemed sweet.
The other two, having inadvertently been fed dog food, cried out in protest and quickly went about their own business.
According to Shen Qingqing's task distribution, Pei Lie was excluded because he was too obvious, constantly following and running errands, so he couldn't be the one hiding in the shadows.
Therefore, he was tasked with investigating his two subordinates.
And King was responsible for investigating the doctors.
Pei Ji was assigned to Fu Jingshu.
The only one left was Pei Xing, whom Shen Qingqing deliberately assigned to herself. She always had a strange feeling about him. She couldn't say she liked him.
But she didn't hate him either.
And since she met him, this person seemed to have no distinct personality. He always stood silently beside others, content to be a foil.
Yet, before he appeared, everyone said he was very capable.
Shen Qingqing first observed Pei Xing and quickly discovered that he didn't go out much, nor did he have any bad habits. His daily life was very regular.
He ate breakfast, visited the Queen, went for a walk, handled official business, then painted, ate a meal, and went for another walk.
So regular it was almost boring.
She decided to set a trap to test him.
In the morning, she was dressed and ready to go out when she happened to meet Pei Xing, who was also heading downstairs. He smiled warmly. "Morning."
"Morning."
She replied.
Pei Xing sized up her attire. "Dressed so beautifully, where are you going?"
Shen Qingqing looked at herself. "Beautiful? It's alright, just daily attire."
She deflected the question lightly.
Pei Xing didn't press further and went downstairs with her. They sat down in the dining room, and Shen Qingqing also sat down. Neither of them spoke during the meal.
After eating, Shen Qingqing prepared to leave.
Pei Xing said, "Do you need someone to escort you?"
"Do I look like I'm in danger?" Shen Qingqing retorted.
"I just said it casually," Pei Xing chuckled. "There seem to be incidents happening frequently lately. I'm worried about you, after all, Big Brother instructed me to protect you well."
"Thank you."
Shen Qingqing turned and walked towards the door, then suddenly stopped at the main entrance.
"By the way, Second Highness, do you know how to get to the Red Maple Police Station?"
"What are you going to the police station for?" Pei Xing was startled.
"Of course, to ask some questions," Shen Qingqing said, touching her chin thoughtfully. "There were some matters left unresolved that day, and I need to clarify them."
"Alright, go ahead."
Pei Xing turned and went upstairs after speaking.
Shen Qingqing knew that he was likely going to see the Queen.
She left the palace, got into a car, and headed straight for a coffee shop not far from the palace. She took out her laptop and opened the screen.