Meanwhile, outside the Twin Palaces…

Qu Wanyue had used the Chameleon card to blend into the surrounding environment before entering the palace. The duration of this card was longer than the invisibility cloak and it was more convenient for investigation. She asked Long Sen for a map of the imperial palace in advance. The first thing she did upon entering the palace was to find the Twin Palaces where Xiao Lou lived. This was also Xiao Lou’s arrangement.

Before today’s banquet, Xiao Lou had made three arrangements.

First, according to the plot of the secret room, Tang Ci’s legs were injured in battle in the Hilt No Man’s Land. It was inconvenient for Tang Ci to attend the dinner party so he would go to the hospital for a detailed physical examination. His legs were injured and his brain lost some of his memories. It was reasonable to go to the hospital for an examination. At the same time, he could also test whether he and Lu Jiuchuan had received hypnosis.

Secondly, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang would disguise themselves and go to the banquet. If someone came to assassinate the clone then they would be able to respond in time.

Third, Qu Wanyue would use the Chameleon card to guard near the Twin Palaces. In case the other party tried to assassinate the Xiao Lou in the Twin Palaces instead of the one at the banquet, Qu Wanyue would be able to inform them immediately.

It was 9 o’clock and Qu Wanyue hid near a stone pillar in front of the Twin Palaces. There weren’t many soldiers patrolling around the Twin Palaces. Most of the guards had gone to the banquet to protect the crown prince and the emperor. This side was relatively vulnerable, with only two soldiers remaining standing upright at the entrance.

Qu Wanyue stared for an hour but there was no movement at the door. Just as she thought that Professor Xiao was being overly worried, the two soldiers at the door fell straight to the ground! However, she couldn’t see anyone. It was like the wind had knocked them over.

Qu Wanyue was shocked in her heart. The other party had the same stealth ability as her and must’ve stealthily attacked the two guards. This person struck quickly and accurately. Almost instantly, the two guards who were over 1.8 meters tall dropped directly to the ground.

The door of the Twin Palaces opened like a gust of wind had blown in.

Qu Wanyue immediately followed. The Chameleon card not only allowed her to blend perfectly with the environment, but it also increased her crawling speed to a certain extent.

Qu Wanyue flexibly climbed into the Twin Palaces. The glass wall of the palace changed colors under the light, giving the illusion one stood in a maze. There seemed to be a shadow in front of her. Qu Wanyue followed the shadow the entire time. After passing several corridors, the shadow came to a door and opened it.

This should be Xiao Lou’s place of residence. Was the shadow here to kill Xiao Lou?

Moments later, the other party seemed to notice that no one was in the room and quickly opened the window to escape. Since this person had no form, Qu Wanyue didn’t know in what direction they escaped.

Qu Wanyue left the Twin Palaces and quickly came to the banquet scene. She had used her card at the entrance of the palace and had seen Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou go outside the palace and use the card to disguise themselves. She knew who Yu Hanjiang had disguised himself as.

Qu Wanyue came down the wall behind Yu Hanjiang who was pretending to be a normal guard and whispered, “Group Leader Yu.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded to confirm his identity.

Qu Wanyue told him, “There is something wrong in the Twin Palaces.”

Yu Hanjiang also felt that this matter wasn’t quite right…

Wasn’t the emperor worried about the crown prince being assassinated so he found a double to attend the birthday banquet? Then why was there no movement on this side while someone sneaked into the Twin Palaces to assassinate Xiao Lou?

At the banquet, the crown prince and his fiancée toasted everyone. The host and guests talked to each other and the crown prince seemed to have completely blended into the scene, forgetting his identity as a clone. The day that Yu Hanjiang saw the clone for the first time, he had been as docile as a pet in front of the emperor with a dull gaze…

Such a submissive clone had completely disappeared.

Currently, there was only calmness and confidence in his eyes. He always kept a polite smile on his face when talking with politicians. His similarity to Xiao Lou was getting closer and closer to 100%, like he was the real crown prince.

Uneasiness rose in Yu Hanjiang’s heart. Such unease also affected Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou asked uncertainly, “Is he really a clone?”

The scene of the banquet was lively. It wasn’t until 10 o’clock that the crown prince’s birthday banquet officially ended and the guests were sent out in batches. Yu Hanjiang, who pretended to be a guard, took the initiative to send Shao Qingge out. Shao Qingge saw the strange face in front of him and smiled. “Is that you?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded and didn’t say anything. It was only when they were out of the palace that Xiao Lou poked his head out of Yu Hanjiang’s pocket and whispered, “Xiao Ye.”

Ye Qi looked down and saw the thumb-sized Professor Xiao. No one else could have the Thumbelina card. This was the real Professor Xiao!

Ye Qi was excited. “I finally see the real one! Professor Xiao, what does that person want to do?”

Xiao Lou said, “Time is tight. Go to the peach blossom spring to talk.”

Yu Hanjiang followed Shao Qingge to their suspension car. Xiao Lou opened the peach blossom spring in the suspension car and summoned all his teammates directly.

Soon, eight people gathered under the peach blossom trees. There was still no Liu Qiao, Old Mo, Senior Gui or Chu Huaying. All the eight people currently on the Capital Star had arrived.

Yu Hanjiang took Xiao Lou out of his pocket and held him in the palm of his hand. Xiao Lou asked Qu Wanyue, “Teacher Qu, what did you see?”

Qu Wanyue was nervous. “Someone snuck into the Twin Palaces. The guards at the door were knocked out instantly. The person was invisible except that a shadow appeared when they were illuminated by strong light. Judging by the shadow, they should be a man around 180 centimeters tall.”

Xiao Lou nodded. “What about Lin Yan’s side? When did she first meet with the crown prince?”

Qu Wanyue said, “I pretended to care and asked her about it before. She said that when she was 16 years old, her mother negotiated with the empress. Then with the consent of the emperor and General Lin, the marriage was set. She met with His Highness once during the engagement dinner and fell in love at first sight.”

Xiao Lou’s expression became uglier.

Yu Hanjiang spoke softly, “At 16 years old, I should’ve still been in the military academy and hadn’t joined the royal guards yet. Do you know about the engagement dinner that year?”

Xiao Lou shook his head. “I didn’t attend the engagement dinner at all.”

The team members stared at each other.

Shao Qingge came over and joked, “Isn’t your father overly nervous? Even if he is afraid of you being assassinated, surely he shouldn’t let the clone attend the engagement dinner? Will the clone replace you in the bridal chamber and when you have children as well?”

Xiao Lou was silent for a moment before saying, “There is only one explanation.”

The team members looked at Xiao Lou on Yu Hanjiang’s palm.

The next moment, they heard him calmly stating, “I am the clone.”

Proofreader: Fictional Reality & Paranoid Kitten