It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

This was the first time I had seen Queen Catherine up close. Although she was nearly 40 and wrinkles were already visible around her eyes and mouth, one could still see the beauty of her youth. If you really couldn't tell, you could look at Veronica next to her; the two had very similar face shapes and features.

Since it wasn't a formal tea party, the mother and daughter started chatting quite casually after exchanging greetings. They seemed to be talking about whatever came to mind, from the recent weather to the latest fashion trends, from yesterday's snacks to today's breakfast. It seemed like this endless rambling would keep Li Cheng on tenterhooks.

However, under Veronique's deliberate guidance, the conversation eventually veered towards the topic she desired.

“When you were very young, Edward often brought you here to play. It’s amazing how big you have grown up.”

Queen Catherine sighed with emotion; as she gazed at the lawn, she seemed to see a boy and a little girl running and playing on it.

Veronica exclaimed in surprise, "There are times like that? My brother and I are very close?"

Queen Catherine turned her head and looked at Veronique with affection: "You were very attached to your brother back then, but you were too young to remember."

Veronica pressed further, "So how did we drift apart? When?"

Older people often like to reminisce about the past, especially when their children were young—it's a topic they never tire of talking about. Therefore, Catherine answered Veronica's question without much hesitation.

“Hmm, let me think,” Queen Catherine recalled. “I can’t remember the reason either. As for when, it seems, probably, it was when Edward was about 12 years old.”

"Oh right, it seems like it was around that time that Edward started to dislike staying at home and began to run around outside more often... I guess he's grown up, haha."

12 is old.

Li Cheng remembered this crucial time point. Perhaps something happened that year that caused Edward to begin distancing himself from Veronica and for his personality to begin to change.

Just as he was thinking that the trip had already been worthwhile and he was about to ask how much he would earn, Queen Catherine suddenly said, "Hey you over there, young man."

Young man? Are you calling me?

Why would they suddenly call someone like me, who's just passing by?

It should be someone else... Li Cheng thought to himself, and then glanced slightly to the left and right.

Then he realized that there were four people at the small tea party, excluding the queen and princess, and he was the only man there. But considering that one was the queen and the other was a princess, it wasn't that strange.

"Yes, stop looking, it's you."

Queen Catherine pointed at Li Cheng, her target clear: "I have a question for you."

? !

Li Cheng was startled.

Holy crap, calling out names so directly, won't I get caught? But my disguise was perfect, and I was completely quiet from beginning to end!

Not only Li Cheng, but even Veronica felt a chill run down her spine and began preparing her pre-arranged explanation, such as that Li Cheng was recently introduced by a friend, blah blah blah...

Just as the two of them were getting nervous, Queen Catherine's expression suddenly softened, and she asked with a smile, "Do you have a younger sister at home?"

Li Cheng immediately stopped being nervous... It turned out that the queen couldn't remember the specific reason herself, so she simply came here to seek outside help.

Li Cheng, disguised as a male servant, thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, I have only one child at home."

This is the terrifying power of the one-child policy. In Li Cheng's school days, let alone his own sister, he had hardly ever seen any of his classmates' sisters. Basically, the entire class was an only child.

Chapter 157 Even if it's my brother

"It's okay if you don't have a younger sister. Tell me your thoughts."

Queen Catherine, however, seemed intrigued and pressed Li Cheng for his thoughts.

Even just wanting to leave the game running in peace isn't enough; trouble seems to arise everywhere… Li Cheng clicked his tongue: “Yes, ma’am. Actually, I know a friend who discovered that many mythological stories feature sibling marriages, like Hephaestus and Aphrodite in Greek mythology, and Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology. Egypt…”

"So he then consciously collected a lot of folk stories about brother and sister, such as 'The Sky of the Sky', 'My Sister Can't Be That ***', and 'Even if He's a Brother, As Long As There's Love, He'll Be ***'."

Veronique: What's this guy up to?

Holly perked up: "Here it comes again, it's another one of my friends. I'd love to hear what he has to say."

Queen Catherine, somewhat bewildered but impressed, said, "He sounds like a very accomplished scholar."

"Yes, he was a very knowledgeable scholar."

Li Cheng continued seriously, "Among the stories he collected, there are many similar beginnings, where a younger sister actually likes her older brother very much, but is too embarrassed to admit it, feeling that it is a very shameful thing, which leads to the further deterioration and coldness of their relationship."

Veronique: ? ? ?

Holly was shocked: Wow, this guy even dares to talk about His Highness now, right in front of the Queen! How brave!

Queen Catherine thought it made a lot of sense, so she pressed on, "So, according to your friend's point of view, Edward actually still likes Veronica very much, but he just feels embarrassed to play with his sister now that he's grown up?"

Li Cheng nodded seriously: "That's exactly what I mean. After all, there's no deep-seated hatred between siblings, and they had such a good relationship when they were young. The sudden estrangement is mostly because they feel embarrassed."

Upon hearing this, Queen Catherine's eyes flickered, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

Li Cheng suddenly noticed that Veronique was looking at him with a calm gaze, so he quickly changed his words and said, "I was just suggesting a possibility. As Your Majesty knows, most folk tales have exaggerated and sensational elements."

Queen Catherine snapped out of her reverie and smiled. "It's alright, it sounds quite interesting—Veronica, you know quite a lot, don't you, manservant."

Veronica suppressed the veins throbbing on her forehead: "It's alright, it's alright."

Holly: His Highness seems very angry; there's going to be a good show coming.

Catherine then looked at Li Cheng with great interest: "What's your name?"

Indeed, talent cannot be hidden anywhere... Li Cheng sighed and said, "Your Majesty, my name is Sherlock Holmes."

"Sherlock Holmes".

Queen Catherine repeated herself, and then she continued, "Although you don't have a sister, you seem to have a pretty good understanding of sibling relationships. I hadn't thought about that at first."

Li Cheng humbly replied, "It's all thanks to Your Highness's excellent guidance."

Veronica: ...I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

Holly: His Highness is probably thinking, "I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

Catherine seemed quite pleased with Li Cheng's modest response. She nodded and casually asked, "So, in the folk tales your friend collected, what was the ending for the brother and sister?"

Li Cheng: "......."

Holy crap, the worst they ever dated was two years before graduating and breaking up. If I say that out loud, Veronica will definitely target me! She'll definitely make my life difficult and haunt me!

No, we can't say it like that; we have to drastically change it.

Li Cheng remained silent for a moment, as if recalling something. After a while, he said, "Your Majesty, in most of the stories, the siblings end up receiving help from each other when they encounter danger, thus realizing the importance of family ties, and their relationship becomes even more harmonious than before..."

Well, from a certain perspective, the relationship couldn't be more harmonious; it's practically in a negative distance.

The answer was neither good nor bad. After that, Queen Catherine seemed to lose interest in asking Li Cheng any further questions and changed the subject to fashion. Although Veronica seemed not to be very good at this topic, she still tried her best to agree.

......

The tea party at Hampton Court Palace has ended.

On the carriage ride back, Veronica calmly gazed at Li Cheng, in an exceptionally calm manner, as if waiting for him to say something.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Cheng spoke with utmost sincerity: "Queen Catherine must have been a beautiful and interesting woman in her youth, so that she could have given birth to such an outstanding person as Your Highness."

Holly: "Pfft—"

As a professional waitress, Holly had been holding back her laughter since the tea party, but this time she couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

Veronica glanced at Holly, who couldn't hold back anymore, before saying leisurely, "It's no use praising me."

Li Cheng, with a holy glow on his face, said: "I am merely stating a fact. Both Your Majesty the Queen and Your Highness the Princess are women of unparalleled beauty."

Holly was utterly shocked, thinking to herself that this guy was shameless. She was embarrassed to say such things herself, let alone act so sincerely.

"..."

Veronica's lips twitched; she couldn't be bothered to argue with Li Cheng: "Our chat before..."

Li Cheng explained, "Actually, I wanted to make the conversation more relaxed and help Queen Catherine unwind."

Veronique shook her head: "That's not what I meant. I meant, did you get any useful information?"

Li Cheng steered the conversation back on track: "Um, I heard that. I think we could investigate when he was 13; we might find something."

Veronica nodded: "That's what I thought too, but I was too young when my brother was 13 and I can't remember what happened that year. I'll try to find out more. You should go back for now."

Li Cheng hesitated for a moment: "Actually, there's one more thing I'm not quite sure about."

Veronique: "Speak."

Li Cheng recalled the scene when Queen Catherine spoke: "Do you think it's possible that Edward isn't your brother?"

?

Veronica frowned deeply: "What do you mean?"

Li Cheng waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand, this is just the literal meaning. When I said the sentence 'the two siblings have no deep hatred,' the Queen was clearly lost in thought. I was wondering if there was some hidden story behind it—of course, it's also possible that I'm overthinking it. Perhaps the reaction was triggered by the other parts of the complete sentence, or maybe the Queen was just tired and lost in thought."

"But I think I should still tell you, just in case we miss any clues."

It was impossible to determine whether Li Cheng's news was true or false. Judging such things based on expressions and reactions was a bit subjective, so the possibility was not high. However, he remembered the lesson he learned from not speaking out his guesses in time at Whitehall last time, so he spoke out directly.

Veronica frowned. If this was true, it was truly outrageous and quite shocking.

But in the end, she relaxed her brow and nodded: "I'll remember that."

Li Cheng comforted him, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just pretend I'm talking nonsense."

Veronica shook her head: "We can't let any possibility go unnoticed. Besides, ever since I learned from you that my father was likely killed by my brother, there's nothing left to doubt."

------

Cambridge.

In the laboratory, Lavoisier silently mixed bottles of reagents according to the proportions, shook them, stirred them... There was no particular purpose to it, he just wanted to do it.

Li Cheng disappeared for more than a month. Although he had disappeared for two weeks before, this time was obviously different. This time he really disappeared, and even if you tried to find him, you couldn't.

As time went on, Lavoisier's mindset gradually became somewhat anxious, but she was powerless to change it.

What should I do?

The silver strands of hair swayed in the air, seemingly reflecting the owner's bewildered mood.

Just then, Qiong walked in from outside the laboratory, carrying a lunchbox: "Teacher, I brought my own homemade lunch, would you like to try some?"

"Don't eat in the lab."

Lavoisier refused outright. Although she had occasionally done it in the lab before, as long as no one saw it, it didn't happen.

Qiong shook her head and laughed, "It's okay to do it once in a while. Cheer up today, don't always look so gloomy."

Lavoisier gave a wry smile: "How can I be happy about this?"