His Royal Highness the Prince's birthday banquet officially started at eight o'clock in the evening.
Yu Hanjiang led Xiao Lou into the banquet hall, and like other guards, stood silently in the corner of the hall, trying to minimize his presence.
His gaze swept across the entire crowd and quickly locked onto "Xiao Lou" and His Majesty who were among the crowd.
This birthday party did not invite official media to report. It was equivalent to a private birthday party. The atmosphere was not as serious as a government meeting. The expressions on the faces of the guests attending the dinner were relatively relaxed, but they were all dressed formally. The male guests
All the guests were in suits or military uniforms. Except for the officials, the female guests wore suits, and the family members all wore evening gowns.
His Majesty said a few words, and then asked the prince to come forward.
The prince who looked exactly like Xiao Lou walked to the stage and smiled at the guests. His clear voice sounded throughout the banquet hall, "Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend my 25th birthday party. I
It is a great honor to meet all of you distinguished guests on such an occasion. I hope there will be more opportunities to learn and communicate with you in the future..."
He was wearing a white royal dress today, and he always smiled when he spoke, looking graceful and calm. There was no arrogance about this young prince, but instead he was humble and polite, making people feel kind and gentle.
The handsome prince stood on the stage and talked eloquently. His outstanding temperament attracted the attention of all the guests almost instantly. Many rich ladies even couldn't help but blush when they met his eyes.
Yu Hanjiang stared at the people on the stage and frowned slightly.
I have to say that this man is indeed very similar to Xiao Lou.
Of course, Yu Hanjiang believed that if Xiao Lou attended today's banquet in person and gave a speech on stage, he would definitely be more attractive than the person in front of him. After all, Xiao Lou is actually a university professor and often gives public lectures to hundreds of students.
However, objectively speaking, this replicator has performed very well.
At least most of the officials in the audience looked appreciative, and His Majesty seemed very satisfied with him.
When the prince finished his speech, there was warm applause.
The dinner was held in a buffet style, and the atmosphere was relaxed and free, which also made it convenient for His Majesty to introduce officials from various departments to the prince.
His Majesty led him through the banquet hall, first greeting several generals from the military headquarters.
The marshal of the empire is called Ye Ming. He is 66 years old this year and has gray hair, but the old marshal is dressed in military uniform and still looks energetic. The three senior officers at the "admiral" level are named Lin Zecheng, Farrell and Ace.
, wearing pure black, dark blue, and military green military uniforms.
The military headquarters of the Luoke Empire has no distinction between navy, land and air force, but is divided according to military regions. This is probably because in this era, there are no longer sea and air operations. Most of the battles take place in the interstellar world, which requires the reliance of highly intelligent combat mechas.
Marshal Ye Ming is the supreme leader of the Imperial Army. The remaining three generals are in charge of the southern, eastern, and northwest military regions of the empire respectively. The Sharp Arrow Army led by Lu Jiuchuan is affiliated to the southern military region, and its immediate boss is General Lin Zecheng.
, that is, the biological father of the prince’s fiancée, Miss Lin Yan.
Several officers saluted the prince, and the prince returned the salute respectfully.
Lu Jiuchuan followed General Lin, stretched out his hand towards "Xiao Lou" and said, "Happy birthday, Your Highness."
General Lin introduced from the side, "This is Major General Lu Jiuchuan of the Sharp Arrow Corps."
The prince nodded, and when shaking hands with Lu Jiuchuan, a polite smile appeared on his face. "It turns out to be General Lu, whose name I have admired for a long time. I heard that General Lu is the youngest major general in the military department at present? He is really young and promising."
Lu Jiuchuan took back his hand and said, "Your Highness, you have given me the compliment."
If Yu Hanjiang hadn't said hello in advance, saying that Xiao Lou had a clone in the palace, Lu Jiuchuan would have almost not been able to tell the difference - it was so similar.
The appearance and figure are exactly 100 copies, and even the smile seems to have been copied from Xiao Lou’s face!
But when I thought about it carefully, I felt something was wrong. The "Xiao Lou" in front of me looked at Lu Jiuchuan without the slightest sense of intimacy. When the real Xiao Lou saw Lu Jiuchuan, even if it was inconvenient to call him "Brother Jiu" in public, his look should not be...
Such strangeness.
It was obviously the first time that he and Lu Jiuchuan met, and his attitude was polite and polite, but also revealed a trace of alienation.
After greeting Lu Jiuchuan, he continued to greet other military generals.
Lu Jiuchuan looked back at his back and touched his chin thoughtfully. Just as he was about to turn around to inform Shao Qingge, he saw Shao Qingge and Ye Qi walking towards this side on their own initiative.
Shao Qingge stretched out his hand and said with a smile, "Happy birthday, Your Highness. Your Highness today is really extraordinary and admirable." Mr. Shao's smiling look was obviously making fun of Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou did not reach out his hand in a hurry, he just looked at Shao Qingge with a smile until the concierge next to him whispered in his ear, "This is Mr. Shao Qingge, the vice chairman of the Imperial Business Alliance."
Xiao Lou then stretched out his hand, shook it lightly with Shao Qingge and then took it back, "Mr. Shao, I have long admired you."
Shao Qingge "??"
What, you don’t recognize me?
Ye Qi, who was following behind him, also walked up to Xiao Lou and said, "Hello, Your Highness!"
Xiao Lou wondered, "Who is this?"
Ye Qi was stunned and looked at Xiao Lou seriously, as if he was saying, Professor Xiao, it's me! Don't you recognize me because I'm wearing a military uniform? However, Xiao Lou didn't react at all when he looked at him.
Shao Qingge sensed something was wrong, gently put his arm around Ye Qi's shoulders, and introduced, "Your Highness is laughing. This is my son, Shao Yeqi. He has always admired His Highness the Prince, so I brought him to meet you in person."
Xiao Lou smiled at Ye Qi with a gentle look, "Mr. Shao's son, is he a student of the Ninth Military Academy?" He obviously saw that Ye Qi's uniform belonged to the Ninth Military Academy.
Shao Qingge said, "Well, I am just a freshman this year."
Xiao Lou said appreciatively, "The Ninth Military Academy is notoriously difficult to take exams. Mr. Shao really is a tiger with no dog son."
Ye Qi "???"
Listening to the conversation between Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou, Ye Qi gradually realized that something was wrong. He took a step back in confusion, and then saw Xiao Lou walking past him and Shao Qingge and continuing to greet other guests.
Ye Qi leaned into Shao Qingge's ear and said, "Don't he recognize me?"
Shao Qingge raised his eyebrows and said, "You don't know me either - there's something wrong with this Xiao Lou."
Ye Qi's face was full of confusion, "Did he lose his memory? Why isn't Captain Yu with him?"
The two of them were full of questions when they saw Lu Jiuchuan walking towards them, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, pretending to be polite and saying, "Hello, Mr. Shao, I am Lu Jiuchuan, the leader of the Sharp Arrow Corps."
Shao Qingge looked around and found that most of the guests' eyes were on His Royal Highness, and not many people paid attention to them, so he also took a glass of wine, picked some food, and went to the rest area on the side of the hall with Lu Jiuchuan
, sit down and chat while eating.
Lu Jiuchuan leaned into Shao Qingge's ear and asked, "Is the Insect King stuck in your hands?"
Shao Qingge also lowered his voice, "Well, if Mr. Tang's leg needs treatment, you can let Ye Qi use cards at any time. However, the palace is a card-restricted area, and all cards cannot be activated after we enter."
Knowing the Insect King Card and knowing that Tang Ci needs treatment for his legs, it seems that this is the real Shao Qingge.
Lu Jiuchuan felt helpless. Every time he met someone now, he had to confirm the authenticity first. He paused and asked doubtfully, "Tang Ci left a message on the phone where you live. Didn't you hear it?"
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi looked at each other, and Ye Qi said, "After we came back from the Southern Cross, we rushed directly to the Imperial Palace to attend the birthday party. The time was too tight and we didn't have time to go home. I didn't even change into my military uniform.
"
No wonder these two people took the initiative to say hello to "Xiao Lou". It turned out that they didn't go home at all and didn't hear Tang Ci's message.
Lu Jiuchuan leaned into their ears and whispered, "This Xiao Lou is a clone, not the Xiao Lou we know."
Ye Qi was stunned and said, "Fu, clone?"
Shao Qingge frowned, "You mean, someone who is copied according to Professor Xiao's appearance?"
Lu Jiuchuan nodded, "Well, it's hard to tell from the appearance."
Shao Qingge's eyes narrowed slightly. "No wonder, I always feel something is wrong. When he looked at us, it was like we were meeting for the first time. His eyes were very strange."
Ye Qi looked around alertly and said, "Where is the real Xiao Lou? Isn't His Highness the Prince's name Xiao Lou? He didn't come to today's banquet?"
Lu Jiuchuan didn't know how to answer Ye Qi's three consecutive questions. He pinched his eyebrows with a headache and said, "It's true that Xiao Lou is with Han Jiang. To be precise, he should be smaller now and hide it in Han Jiang's pocket."
Li Hanjiang was also at the banquet, but he borrowed my mask and disguised himself as a Royal Guard soldier, and I don’t know which one he was."
In order to ensure the safety of the dinner, the soldiers of the Royal Guard stood outside. They were neatly dressed in white military uniforms. Each one of them was tall and straight. It was really unclear which one was Yu Hanjiang's disguise.
Shao Qingge said, "So, the theme of this secret room is... clones?"
Lu Jiuchuan cursed in a low voice, "It's not clear yet. The gatekeeper handed us a blank paper for us to answer questions, and didn't even give us questions. Damn it! I don't even know what to solve the puzzle."
Shao Qingge "..."
He stretched out his hand and pressed his temples, seemingly lost in thought.
After a moment, Shao Qingge suddenly said, "By the way, when my father was in charge of Noah Medical Technology Company, he seemed to have invested a large sum of money to launch the 'Noah's Ark Project'. The core of this plan was genetic experiments."
Lu Jiuchuan's eyes suddenly lit up, "Does your company participate in gene-related projects?"
Shao Qingge said, "That happened twenty years ago. I don't remember it clearly. Later, it was said that the experiment failed and all relevant data and experimental products had been destroyed. I will go back and check again to see if there is anything missing.
clue."
Ye Qi guessed, "Gene experiments must be related to human cloning, right?"
Lu Jiuchuan looked at him, "What do you think?"
Ye Qi said softly, "Didn't someone use a cell from a sheep to create a cloned sheep? Theoretically speaking, if animal experiments can be successful, so can humans. If this is the case, Professor Xiao's clones might not only be
1. The genetic experiment of Noah Company is named Noah’s Ark Project, which I always find weird.”
Shao Qingge squinted his eyes and listened to Ye Qi's analysis. The little guy analyzed it quite seriously. "Noah's Ark comes from the Bible. It is said to be a large ship built according to God's instructions. The purpose was to save Noah and his family."
And all kinds of creatures in the world can avoid a disaster. This is used to avoid disasters!"
He looked at Shao Qingge and said doubtfully, "Mr. Shao, why did your father... who is also my nominal grandfather, start the Noah's Ark project? I think this must be the key clue."
Shao Qingge chuckled and patted his shoulder, "My son is so smart."
Lu Jiuchuan "......"
The three of them were chatting when they saw a young girl in a red evening dress walking up to "Xiao Lou".
The girl had an excellent figure. The red dress made her skin as white as snow, and with the exquisite makeup, she was very bright and charming. Among the female guests, her appearance and temperament were undoubtedly the most outstanding.
After "Xiao Lou" saw her, he nodded towards her with a smile and said politely, "Ms. Lin."
Lu Jiuchuan crossed his arms and looked at the woman thoughtfully, "Is she Lin Yan?"
Ye Qi wondered, "Who is Lin Yan?"
Lu Jiuchuan explained in a low voice, "It is said that she is the fiancée of His Highness the Prince. Xiao Lou should not know her personally, but this clone seems to be very familiar with her?"
The next moment, His Royal Highness suddenly leaned over, took her hand in a very gentlemanly manner, and kissed the back of her hand gently.
Lin Yan's face turned a little red, and she looked up at him with eyes full of admiration.
The handsome man and beautiful woman really matched each other perfectly. His Highness stretched out his hand, and Lin Yan gently took his arm.
Shao Qingge looked like he was watching a good show, "Are they already engaged?"
Lu Jiuchuan said helplessly, "The marriage was decided when the queen was still alive. I guess after this birthday, they should officially get married, right? The prince is already 24 years old, it's time to get married and participate in politics."
Shao Qingge half-smiled but said, "What will happen when Xiao Lou gets married? Do you want a clone to replace him when you get married? You can't use a double on the wedding night, right?"
Lu Jiuchuan helplessly raised his forehead and said, "I don't know."
At this time, Yu Hanjiang looked at that "Xiao Lou" expressionlessly.
He held the girl's hand, smiled and chatted with the guests, as if the woman standing next to him should be his princess. He was very considerate and tolerant of this girl, and his eyes were full of joy when he looked at her.
gentle.
Yu Hanjiang was very uncomfortable with this person standing in Xiao Lou's face and looking at a girl with gentle eyes...
This picture of "on the wrists of handsome men and beautiful women" is particularly dazzling.
Yu Hanjiang simply turned his head away and quickly looked away.
Xiao Lou, on the other hand, was currently lying on the edge of Yu Hanjiang's military uniform pocket, carefully observing the scene over there.
The moment he saw "Xiao Lou" stretch out his hand and gently help Lin Yan tuck the hair behind her ears, he suddenly said in his mind, "Hanjiang, do you feel something is wrong?"
Yu Hanjiang heard the familiar voice in his mind and immediately responded, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Lou said, "If he is just a clone, why would he contact my fiancée?"
Although Xiao Lou and Lin Yan have no relationship at all, in name, Lin Yan is his fiancée after all, and they were officially engaged when the queen was still alive. The clone should have the consciousness of the clone, so how can he contact the real owner without permission?
His fiancée? And she made such an intimate gesture in front of His Majesty?
Chapter 408, Incidents in the Twin Wombs
At this time, the twins are outside the uterus.
Qu Wanyue had already used the "Chameleon Card" to blend into the surrounding environment before entering the palace. This card lasts longer than the "Invisibility Cloak" and is the most convenient for detection.
She asked Long Sen in advance for a map of the Imperial Palace, so she immediately found Xiao Lou's residence, the Twin Palaces, after entering the palace. This was also Xiao Lou's arrangement.
Before the dinner started today, Xiao Lou made three arrangements.
First, according to the plot setting of this secret room, Tang Ci's legs were injured in the previous battle in Shilt's no-man's land. It was inconvenient for Tang Ci to attend the dinner, so he could go to the hospital for a detailed physical examination.
His leg was injured and his brain lost part of his memory. It was reasonable to go to the hospital for a check-up. By the way, he could also test whether he and Lu Jiuchuan had received hypnosis.
Second, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang came to the dinner party in disguise so that if someone came to assassinate the replicator, they could respond immediately.
Third, Qu Wanyue used the disguise of a chameleon card to guard near the Twin Wombs. If the other party wanted to assassinate Xiao Lou from the Twin Wombs instead of the one at the banquet, Qu Wanyue could notify them immediately.
It was already nine o'clock, and Qu Wanyue was hiding near a stone pillar in front of the Twin Palaces.
There were not many soldiers patrolling around the Twin Palaces. Most of the guards went to the dinner venue to protect His Majesty and the Prince. The place seemed relatively deserted, with only two soldiers standing straight at the door.
Qu Wanyue stared for an hour, but there was no movement at the door. Just when she thought Professor Xiao was worrying too much, suddenly, the two soldiers at the door fell straight to the ground!
She didn't see anything. The two soldiers seemed to have been blown down by the wind.
Qu Wanyue was horrified - the other party had the same invisibility ability as she did. He must have hidden behind the guards and attacked them! This man's attack was fast and accurate. Almost instantly, two guards who were over 1.8 meters tall were directly
Put it down to the ground.
The door to the Twin Womb opened, as if a gust of wind blew in.
Qu Wanyue followed immediately.
The Chameleon card not only allows her to blend perfectly with the environment, but also increases her crawling speed to a certain extent.
Qu Wanyue climbed into the Twin Wombs flexibly. The entire wall of glass in the palace changed colors under the light. The entire Twin Wombs were as empty as a maze. There seemed to be a shadow flashing in front of her, and Qu Wanyue followed the shadow all the way forward.
, after passing several corridors, the shadow came to a door, opened the door and entered the house.
——This should be Xiao Lou’s residence.
Is the shadow here to kill Xiao Lou?
After a while, the other party seemed to realize that there was no one in the house, and quickly opened the window and escaped. Since this person had no body, Qu Wanyue didn't know which direction he would escape.
Qu Wanyue left the twin palace and quickly arrived at the banquet.
She used the cards at the entrance of the palace, and she also saw Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou going outside the palace to use the cards as disguises. She knew who the soldiers Yu Hanjiang was pretending to be.
Qu Wanyue followed the wall and came to the back of Yu Hanjiang's disguise as a soldier, and whispered, "Team Yu."
Yu Hanjiang nodded to confirm his identity.
Qu Wanyue said, "Something happened to the twin uteruses."
Yu Hanjiang also felt that something was not right about this matter...
Wasn't it because His Majesty was worried that the prince would be assassinated, so he found a substitute to attend the birthday party? Why was there no movement at the birthday party, but someone sneaked into the Twin Palaces to assassinate Xiao Lou?
At the banquet, His Royal Highness and his fiancée were toasting around, and the host and the guests were chatting happily. The prince seemed to have completely integrated into the environment, completely forgetting his identity as a clone.
Yu Hanjiang saw him with dull eyes that day, and he was as obedient as a pet in front of His Majesty...
Such obedient replicants have completely disappeared.
At this time, he only has calmness and confidence in his eyes. He looks calm when talking to politicians, and always maintains a polite smile on his face. The similarity with Xiao Lou himself is getting closer and closer to 100, as if he is the real one.
His true highness the prince.
Yu Hanjiang gradually felt uneasy in his heart.
This uneasiness also affected Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou asked uncertainly, "Is he really a clone?"
The banquet scene was very lively.
It was not until ten o'clock in the evening that His Royal Highness the Prince's birthday dinner officially ended, and the guests were sent out of the palace in batches.
Yu Hanjiang pretended to be a guard and took the initiative to see Shao Qingge off.
Shao Qingge looked at the unfamiliar face beside him and said with a smile, "Is that you?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded and didn't say much. After sending them out of the palace, Xiao Lou poked his head out of Yu Hanjiang's pocket and called out softly, "Xiaoye."
Ye Qi looked down and found a thumb-sized Professor Xiao.
No one else has a Thumbelina card in their hands, this is the real Professor Xiao!
Ye Qi said excitedly, "Finally I saw the genuine article! Professor Xiao, what on earth does that person want to do?"
Xiao Lou said, "Time is tight, let's go and chat in the Peach Blossom Spring."
Yu Hanjiang followed Shao Qingge into the suspension car. Xiao Lou opened the Peach Blossom Garden in the suspension car and directly summoned all his teammates.
Soon, eight people gathered under the peach blossom tree - still no Liu Qiao, Lao Mo, Senior Gui and Chu Huaying.
All eight people currently in Capital Star have arrived.
Yu Hanjiang took Xiao Lou out of his pocket and held it in his hand.
Xiao Lou asked Qu Wanyue, "Teacher Qu, what did you see?"
Qu Wanyue said nervously, "Someone sneaked into the Twin Wombs, and the guard at the door was knocked down instantly. He has the ability to be invisible, but a shadow will appear when he is illuminated by strong light. Judging from the shadow, he should be about 180cm tall.
of men.”
Xiao Lou nodded, "Where's Lin Yan? When did she first meet the prince?"
Qu Wanyue said, "I asked her about this matter before, pretending to be concerned. She said that when she was sixteen, her mother had a good discussion with the queen, and then with the consent of Your Majesty, General Lin, they made this marriage. She said
I met His Highness once during the engagement and fell in love with His Highness at first sight."
Xiao Lou's face became increasingly ugly.
Yu Hanjiang asked softly, "When you were sixteen, I was still studying in the military academy and had not officially joined the Royal Guard. Do you know about the engagement party that year?"
Xiao Lou shook his head, "I have never attended any engagement party."
The teammates looked at each other.
Shao Qingge came over and joked with a smile, "Is your father too nervous? Even if he is afraid that you will be assassinated, you can't let the clone attend the engagement party, right? Is it possible that in the future, it will be that person who will be the bridal chamber, marriage and children?"
Instead of you?"
Xiao Lou was silent for a moment and said softly, "There is only one explanation."
The teammates all looked at Xiao Xiaolou in Yu Hanjiang's palm.
The next moment, I heard him say calmly, "I am the replicator."