Card Room

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【Chapter 409, Banquet】

His Royal Highness's birthday banquet officially started at eight o'clock in the evening.

Yu Hanjiang led Xiao Lou into the banquet hall, and stood silently in the corner of the hall like the other guards, trying to minimize his presence.

He scanned the audience, and quickly locked on to "Xiao Lou" and His Majesty in the crowd.

The official media did not invite the birthday party to report this time. It is equivalent to a private birthday party. The atmosphere is not as serious as a government meeting. The expressions on the faces of the guests attending the dinner are relatively relaxed, but they are all dressed formally. They are all suits or military uniforms, except for the officials who wear suits for the female guests, the family members all wear evening dresses.

His Majesty spoke a few words, and immediately asked the prince to come forward.

The prince, who was exactly like Xiao Lou, walked to the front of the stage, smiled at all the guests, and his clear voice resounded throughout the banquet hall: "Thank you very much, everyone, for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend my 25th birthday party. It is a great honor for me to meet all of you on such an occasion. I hope to have more opportunities in the future to learn and communicate with you..."

He was wearing a white royal gown today, and he kept smiling when he spoke, looking personable and calm. The young prince didn't have the arrogance with his eyes above his head, but he was humble and polite, which made people feel kind and gentle.

The handsome prince stood on the stage, talking eloquently, his outstanding temperament almost instantly attracted the attention of all the guests, and many daughters even blushed uncontrollably when they met his gaze.

Yu Hanjiang stared at the guys on the stage and frowned slightly.

It has to be said that this person 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 a university professor in reality, and he often gives public lectures to hundreds of students.

However, objectively speaking, this replicant has performed very well.

At least most of the officials in the audience looked appreciative, and His Majesty seemed very satisfied with him.

After the prince's speech, there was warm applause.

The dinner was in the form of a buffet, the atmosphere was relaxed and free, and it was also convenient for His Majesty to introduce officials from various departments to the prince.

His Majesty led him through the banquet hall, and first greeted several generals in the military department.

The marshal of the empire is Ye Ming, who is 66 years old this year and has gray hair, but the old marshal still looks energetic in his military uniform. Three senior officers of the "admiral" rank, named Lin Zecheng, Farrell, and Ace, were wearing pure black, dark blue, and army green military uniforms.

The military department of the Luoke Empire does not have the distinction of sea, land, and air force, but is divided according to military regions, probably because this era is no longer sea and air combat, and most battles are in the interstellar, relying on highly intelligent combat mechs.

Marshal Ye Ming is the supreme ruler of the Imperial Army, and the remaining three generals are in charge of the southern, eastern, and northwestern military regions of the empire. The Sharp Arrow Corps led by Lu Jiuchuan belongs to the Southern Military Region, and its direct supervisor is General Lin Zecheng, who is also the biological father of the prince's fiancée, Miss Lin Yan.

Several military officers saluted the prince, and the prince also respectfully returned the salute.

Lu Jiuchuan followed General Lin, stretched out his hand towards "Xiao Lou", and said, "Happy birthday, Your Highness."

General Lin introduced: "This is Major General Lu Jiuchuan of the Arrow Corps."

The prince nodded, and when he shook hands with Lu Jiuchuan, there was a polite smile on his face: "So it's General Lu, who has known his name for a long time. I heard that General Lu is currently the youngest major general in the military department? He really is young and promising. "

Lu Jiuchuan withdrew his hand: "Your Highness, I am overwhelmed."

If Yu Hanjiang hadn't said hello in advance, saying that Xiao Lou had a clone in the palace, Lu Jiuchuan would have almost failed to recognize it—it was too similar.

The appearance and figure are 100% copied, and even the smile seems to be copied from Xiao Lou's face!

But after thinking about it carefully, he felt something was wrong. The "Xiao Lou" in front of him looked at Lu Jiuchuan without the slightest sense of intimacy. When the real Xiao Lou saw Lu Jiuchuan, even though it was inconvenient to call him "Brother Jiu" in public, his eyes should not be so strange.

It was obviously the first time he met Lu Jiuchuan, and his attitude was polite, polite, and also a little alienated.

After greeting Lu Jiuchuan, he continued to greet other generals of the army.

Lu Jiuchuan looked back at his back, and stroked 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. Today's Highness is really extraordinary and admirable." Mr. Shao's smiling appearance was obviously playing a joke on Xiao Lou.

Xiao Lou didn't extend his hand in a hurry, but just looked at Shao Qingge with a smile, until the person from the concierge next to him whispered in his ear: "This is Mr. Shao Qingge, the vice chairman of the Imperial Business Alliance."

Only then did Xiao Lou stretch out his hand, shook it lightly with Shao Qingge, and then took it back: "Mr. Shao, I have long admired you."

Shao Qingge: "??"

What, this is not recognized?

Ye Qi, who was following behind, also walked in front of Xiao Lou: "Hello, Your Royal Highness!"

Xiao Lou was puzzled: "This is?"

Ye Qi froze for a moment, looked at Xiao Lou seriously, and seemed to say: Professor Xiao, it's me! Don't you recognize me in military uniform? However, Xiao Lou met his gaze,

And nothing happened.

Shao Qingge felt that something was wrong, and lightly wrapped his arms around Ye Qi's shoulders, and introduced: "Your Highness is laughing, this is my son, Shao Yeqi, who has always admired His Royal Highness, so I will bring him to meet you in person."

Xiao Lou smiled slightly at Ye Qi with gentle eyes: "Mr. Shao's son is a student of the Ninth Military Academy?" He obviously saw the military uniform of the Ninth Military Academy on Ye Qi.

Shao Qingge said: "Well, I just graduated as a freshman this year."

Xiao Lou said appreciatively: "The Ninth Military Academy is notoriously difficult to pass the exam, and Mr. Shao really is like a father without a son."

Ye Qi: "???"

Listening to the conversation between Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou, Ye Qi also gradually realized something was wrong, he took a step back blankly, and then saw Xiao Lou walking past him and Shao Qingge, continuing to greet other guests.

Ye Qi leaned into Shao Qingge's ear: "He doesn't know me?"

Shao Qingge raised his eyebrows: "I don't even know me—there is something wrong with Xiao Lou."

Ye Qi was full of confusion: "Could it be that he has lost his memory? Why isn't Captain Yu with him?"

The two of them were full of question marks when they saw Lu Jiuchuan walking towards this side, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, and pretending to be polite, "Mr. Shao, hello, I am Lu Jiuchuan, the head of the Sharp Arrow Legion."

Shao Qingge looked around and found that most of the guests were looking at His Royal Highness, not many people paid attention to them, so he also took a glass of wine, picked some food by the way, and went to the rest area on the side of the hall with Lu Jiuchuan , sat down to eat and chat.

Lu Jiuchuan leaned into Shao Qingge's ear and asked, "The insect king is stuck in your hand?"

Shao Qingge also lowered his voice: "Well, if Mr. Tang's leg needs to be healed, Ye Qi can use the card at any time. However, the palace is a card-restricted area, and all cards cannot be activated after we enter."

Knowing about the Zongwang card and Tang Ci's need to heal his legs, it seems that this is the real Shao Qingge.

Lu Jiuchuan was also very helpless, now every time he saw a person, he had to confirm the authenticity first. He paused, and asked suspiciously: "Tang Ci left a message for your phone number, 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 my military uniform. .”

No wonder the two 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 close to the two of them and whispered, "This Xiao Lou is a replicant, not the Xiao Lou we know."

Ye Qi was stunned: "Re-duplicator?"

Shao Qingge frowned: "It means, according to Professor Xiao's appearance, the copied person?"

Lu Jiuchuan nodded: "Well, it's hard to tell from the outside."

Shao Qingge's eyes narrowed slightly: "No wonder, I always felt that something was wrong. When he looked at us, it was like meeting us for the first time. His eyes were very strange."

Ye Qi looked around vigilantly, and said, "Where is the real Xiao Lou? Isn't His Royal Highness called 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 squeezed the center of his brows with a headache and said, "It's true that Xiao Lou is with Hanjiang. To be precise, he should have shrunk and hid in Hanjiang now." In the pocket. Hanjiang was also at the banquet, but he borrowed my mask and pretended to be a soldier of the Royal Guard, and I don’t know which one it is.”

In order to ensure the safety of the dinner, the soldiers of the royal guard stood outside. They were all dressed in neat white military uniforms, and each one was tall and straight. It was really unclear which one Yu Hanjiang was pretending to be.

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 sent us a blank paper to answer the question, and didn't even give us the question. Fuck! I don't know what to solve the puzzle."

Shao Qingge: "..."

He reached out and pressed his temple, as if lost in thought.

After a while, Shao Qingge suddenly said: "By the way, when my father was in charge of Noah Medical Technology Company, it seems that he invested a large sum of money to start the 'Noah's Ark Project'. The core of this project is genetic experiments."

Lu Jiuchuan's eyes lit up: "Does your company participate in gene-related projects?"

Shao Qingge said: "That happened twenty years ago, I don't remember very clearly. Later, it was said that the experiment failed, and all relevant data and experimental items have been destroyed. I will go back and check to see if I missed anything clues."

Ye Qi guessed: "The genetic experiment 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 back then? Theoretically speaking, if animal experiments can be successful, so can humans. If this is the case, Professor Xiao's clone may be Not just one. Noah’s genetic experiment, named the Noah’s Ark project, always feels strange.”

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 that it was a large ship built according to God's instructions. Family members and all kinds of creatures in the world can avoid a disaster. This is for avoiding disasters!"

He looked at Shao Qingge, and said doubtfully: "Mr. Shao, your father...that is, my grandpa in name, why did you start the Noah's Ark project? I think this must be the key clue."

Shao Qingge lightly smiled and patted his shoulder

Bao: "My son is so smart."

Lu Jiuchuan: "..."

The three of them were chatting when they saw a young girl in a red evening gown walking in front of "Xiao Lou".

The girl has a very good figure, the red dress makes her skin white as snow, coupled with exquisite makeup, she is very bright and moving. Among the female guests, her appearance and temperament are undoubtedly the most outstanding.

After "Xiao Lou" saw her, he smiled and nodded towards her, and said politely, "Miss Lin."

Lu Jiuchuan crossed his arms and looked at the woman thoughtfully: "Is she Lin Yan?"

Ye Qi was puzzled: "Who is Lin Yan?"

Lu Jiuchuan explained in a low voice: "It is said that she is the fiancée of His Royal Highness. Xiao Lou himself probably doesn't know her, but this clone looks very familiar with her?"

The next moment, His Royal Highness suddenly leaned over, took her hand in a gentlemanly manner, and kissed lightly on the back of her hand.

Lin Yan's face was a little red, and when she looked up at him, her gaze was full of admiration.

The handsome man and the beautiful woman really matched each other very well. His Highness stretched out his hand, and Lin Yan gently took his arm.

Shao Qingge had a look on his face: "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 be officially married, right? The prince is already 24 years old, it's time to get married and participate in politics."

Shao Qingge had a half-smile but not a smile: "Then what will Xiao Lou do when he gets married? Could it be that he is also replaced by a replicant when he gets married? Can't we use a double on the wedding night?"

Lu Jiuchuan helped his forehead helplessly: "I don't know."

At this time, Yu Hanjiang looked at "Xiao Lou" expressionlessly.

He held the girl's hand, smiled and greeted the guests, as if the woman standing beside him should be his concubine. gentle.

Yu Hanjiang was very uncomfortable with this man holding Xiao Lou's face and looking at a girl with gentle eyes...

This picture of "beautiful men and beautiful women on their wrists" is particularly dazzling.

Yu Hanjiang was simply out of sight, and quickly looked away.

Xiao Lou, on the other hand, was lying on the edge of Yu Hanjiang's military uniform pocket, carefully observing the scene over there.

The moment he saw "Xiao Lou" stretching out his hand to help Lin Yan softly pin the hair on the side of the ear behind his ear, he suddenly said in his mind: "Han Jiang, do you think there is something wrong?"

Yu Hanjiang heard the familiar voice in his mind, and immediately responded: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Loudao: "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 she was officially engaged when the queen was still alive. Duplicates should have the consciousness of duplicating people, how could they contact the righteous master without authorization? fiancee? Still making such an intimate gesture in front of His Majesty?

*****

【Chapter 408, The Misfortune of Gemini】

At this time, outside the double uterus.

Qu Wanyue had already used the "Chameleon Card" to blend in with the surrounding environment before entering the palace. The duration of this card was longer than that of the "Invisibility Cloak", making it the most convenient for detection.

She asked Long Sen in advance to ask for a map of the Imperial Palace, so she immediately found Xiao Lou's residence, Gemini, after entering the palace, which was also Xiao Lou's arrangement.

Before today's dinner, Xiao Lou made three arrangements.

First, according to the plot setting of the Chamber of Secrets, Tang Ci's legs were injured in the previous battle in Hilt's No Man's Land. Tang Ci was inconvenient to attend the dinner party, so he could just 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 an examination. By the way, he could also test whether he and Lu Jiuchuan had received hypnosis.

Second, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang prepared a disguise and came to the dinner party. If someone came to assassinate the replicant, they would have to deal with it immediately.

Thirdly, Qu Wanyue used the disguise of the chameleon card to guard near the double uterus. In case the person who was about to assassinate was not the one at the banquet but Xiao Lou from the double womb, Qu Wanyue could also notify them immediately.

It was already nine o'clock, and Qu Wanyue hid near a stone pillar in front of the twin wombs.

There were not many soldiers patrolling around the twin wombs. Most of the guards went to the banquet to protect His Majesty and the prince. It seemed relatively deserted here, with only two soldiers standing straight at the door.

Qu Wanyue stared at the door for an hour, but there was no movement at the door. Just when she thought that Professor Xiao was worrying too much, suddenly, the two soldiers at the door fell straight on the ground!

She didn't see anything, the two soldiers seemed to be blown down by the wind.

Qu Wanyue was horrified—the other party had the same invisibility ability as her, so she must have hidden behind the guards and attacked them! This man shot quickly and accurately, and almost instantly, the two guards who were over 1.8 meters tall were directly brought down to the ground.

The door of the Gemini opened, like a gust of wind blowing in.

Qu Wanyue followed immediately.

The chameleon card can not only make her perfectly blend with the environment, but also increase her crawling speed to a certain extent.

Qu Wanyue nimbly crawled into the twin uterus, the entire wall of glass in the palace changed colors under the light, and the entire twin womb was as empty as a maze. There seemed to be a shadow flashing ahead, and Qu Wanyue followed the shadow all the way forward. After passing through several corridors, the shadow came to a door and opened it to enter 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 has no entity, Qu Wanyue doesn't know which direction he will flee to.

Qu Wanyue left the twin wombs and quickly came to the banquet scene.

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 a disguise. She knew who Yu Hanjiang was pretending to be a soldier.

Qu Wanyue walked along the wall and came behind Yu Hanjiang's posing as a soldier, and said softly, "Team Yu."

Yu Hanjiang nodded to confirm his identity.

Qu Wanyue said: "Something happened to the twin wombs."

Yu Hanjiang also felt that something was wrong...

Could it be that His Majesty was worried that the prince would be assassinated, so he found a substitute to attend the birthday banquet? Why is there no movement at the birthday party, but someone sneaked into Gemini to assassinate Xiao Lou?

At the banquet scene, His Royal Highness brought his fiancée around to toast, and the host and guests chatted happily. The prince seemed to have completely integrated into the environment of the scene, completely forgetting his identity as a replicant.

Yu Hanjiang saw him staring blankly that day, obediently like a pet in front of His Majesty...

Such obedient replicants have completely disappeared.

At this time, he only had calmness and confidence in his eyes. When he talked to politicians, he looked calm and kept a polite smile on his face. The similarity with Xiao Lou himself was getting closer and closer to 100%. It is the real His Royal Highness.

A trace of uneasiness gradually rose in Yu Hanjiang's heart.

This anxiety also affected Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou asked uncertainly: "Is he really a replicant?"

The scene of the banquet was very lively.

It wasn't until ten o'clock in the evening that His Royal Highness's birthday dinner officially ended, and the guests were sent out of the palace in batches.

Yu Hanjiang pretended to be a guard and went to see Shao Qingge off.

Shao Qingge looked at the unfamiliar faces beside him, and said with a smile, "Is that you?"

Yu Hanjiang nodded and didn't say much. After sending them all the way out of the palace, Xiao Lou, who was in Yu Hanjiang's pocket, poked his head out and called softly, "Xiaoye."

Ye Qi looked down and found Professor Xiao who was the size of a thumb.

It is impossible for others to have a Thumbelina card in their hands. This is the real Professor Xiao!

Ye Qi said excitedly: "Finally, I saw the original version! Professor Xiao, what exactly does that person want to do?"

Xiao Loudao: "Time is running out, let's go to Taohuayuan to chat."

Yu Hanjiang followed Shao Qingge into the suspension car, Xiao Lou opened the paradise 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.

At present, all 8 people in Capital Star are here.

Yu Hanjiang took Xiao Lou out of his pocket and held it in his palm.

Xiao Lou asked Qu Wanyue: "Teacher Qu, what did you see?"

Qu Wanyue said nervously: "Someone sneaked into the Gemini, and the guard at the door was knocked down instantly. He has the ability to be invisible, but when he is illuminated by strong light, a phantom will appear. Judging from the shadow, he should be 180 meters tall. left and right men."

Xiao Lou nodded: "Where is Lin Yan? When did she meet the prince for the first time?"

Qu Wanyue said: "I asked her about this matter pretending to be concerned, and she said that when she was sixteen years old, her mother discussed it with the queen, and with the consent of His Majesty and General Lin, the marriage was arranged. She 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 years old, I should have been studying in the military academy and had not formally joined the Royal Guard. Do you know the engagement banquet that year?"

Xiao Lou shook his head: "I haven't attended any engagement banquet at all."

The teammates looked at each other in blank dismay.

Shao Qingge came over and joked with a smile: "Is your father overly nervous? Even if you are afraid that you will be assassinated, you won't be able to invite clones to attend the engagement banquet, right? Is it necessary for weddings, weddings and children in the future? Someone instead of you?"

Xiao Lou was silent for a moment, then 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 replicant."

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