Upon arriving near Gemini Palace, Yu Hanjiang took advantage of the absence of others to tear off his disguise mask, reverting to his true appearance as the captain of the Royal Guard, and calmly walked towards Gemini Palace.
According to Qu Wanyue, the guards at the gate had just been swiftly taken down, but when Yu Hanjiang arrived at Gemini Palace, he found the two guards on duty that day standing there perfectly fine.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Where is His Highness?"
The two men bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness is resting in your bedchamber."
Yu Hanjiang stared into their eyes and said in a deep voice, "During the time I was gone, did anyone go in?"
The two exchanged a glance and answered with absolute certainty: "No!"
Judging from their reactions, they seem completely unaware of what just happened?
Yu Hanjiang frowned, pushed open the door, and walked quickly to Xiao Lou's residence.
After entering the palace, he released Xiao Lou, dressed in military uniform, from his pocket. Xiao Lou returned to its normal size, let out a soft breath, and looked at Yu Hanjiang: "What do we do now? Continue to pretend we don't know anything, or go to His Majesty to ask why?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Just pretend you know nothing and continue to cooperate with His Majesty's script. Otherwise, once you realize you are a clone and develop a rebellious spirit, His Majesty and that prince might just get rid of you."
Cards cannot be used in the royal palace. With just him and Yu Hanjiang, dealing with the cunning and shrewd His Majesty will not be so easy.
The best approach is to pretend you know nothing.
Yu Hanjiang said, "His Majesty asked you to prepare to attend tonight's birthday banquet, but when the banquet actually came, he didn't let you participate. He will definitely give you a reasonable explanation so that you can continue to believe that you are the real prince."
Xiao Lou nodded: "Okay, then I'll wait for his explanation."
As they were talking, a guard suddenly came to the passage: "Your Highness, General Yu, His Majesty requests that you come to Bailu Palace to see him."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance. Xiao Lou quickly took off his guard uniform, changed into a dress uniform, and went out with Yu Hanjiang to Bailu Palace.
His Majesty left Yu Hanjiang to guard the entrance of Bailu Palace and summoned Xiao Lou alone.
Bailu Palace is where the prince's birthday banquet will be held tonight. All the guests have left, and the venue has been cleaned very thoroughly. His Majesty is sitting alone in the reception room, wearily resting his hand on his forehead, seemingly lost in thought.
Xiao Lou stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Father."
His Majesty raised his head and looked at him with his deep gaze.
Xiao Lou remained calm, with a hint of concern in her eyes: "Are you feeling unwell?"
His Majesty rubbed his temples and said, "I'm just a little tired. Come and sit down."
Xiao Lou walked over and sat down in the chair to his right. His Majesty Xiao Qin took a sip of tea and said calmly, " General Yu should have told you about the clone, right?"
Two days ago, when Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou went to see His Majesty, His Majesty kept Yu Hanjiang behind for a private talk and mentioned the matter of clone. Given their relationship, it's quite normal for Yu Hanjiang to tell Xiao Lou about it later.
Xiao Lou readily agreed.
"Nothing you want to ask?" Xiao Qin put down his teacup and stared intently at Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou was silent for a few seconds before asking softly, "Did Father send him to the birthday banquet in my place because he was afraid someone would harm me?"
Xiao Qin smiled and nodded: "You are indeed smart."
Is this for a three-year-old? Ignoring his displeasure, Xiao Lou went along with him and said, "Father is indeed very thoughtful. Can you tell me who has been trying to kill me?"
Xiao Qin said, "If the Crown Prince dies one day, according to the rules, the next successor must be elected by the parliament. Currently, the speaker, the marshal, and the three generals all have high prestige and may all benefit from it. There is more than one person who wants to get rid of you. Before you officially ascend the throne, Father must be extremely cautious."
Xiao Lou understood: "In other words, if I die and my father has no other children, the succession to the imperial throne will inevitably end with me. Although I rarely appear in public, the idea that the imperial princes should inherit the throne has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. They must kill me so that they can implement their next plan?"
His Majesty remained silent for a moment before lowering his head.
He said, "Actually, you once had an older brother."
Xiao Lou was taken aback: "Brother Wang? I don't remember him."
Xiao Qin said, "He was a year older than you, and he was assassinated before you were born."
Xiao Lou: "..."
A pang of pain rose in His Majesty's eyes, and his voice was hoarse with grief. He said in a low voice, "He was so young, babbling and unable to speak, yet he was secretly poisoned in the palace. I could only watch helplessly as he died in front of me... His body slowly grew cold and stiff. He didn't even call me 'Father' before he died."
Xiao Lou didn't know what to say.
When His Majesty spoke of this past event, the grief he felt was truly genuine...
Can we really trust this "father"?
His Majesty paused, then continued, "Your mother was in poor health and was pregnant at the time. The death of your brother was a huge blow to her, and she was so shocked that she went into premature labor and gave birth to you. The doctor said that her body was damaged and she would not be able to have children in the future. You became our only prince, and I named the place where you live Gemini Palace, actually in memory of your brother."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Is this what Gemini Palace means?
His Majesty paused here, then gently grasped Xiao Lou's hand, his eyes filled with paternal love: "Your father has experienced the pain of losing a son, which is why I want to protect you well. Over the years, it's not that your father didn't want you to go out, but the outside world is too dangerous. Even in this palace, assassins could infiltrate. Today is your birthday banquet, your first public appearance, and your father is worried that someone might sneak into the palace to harm you, so I sent Clone to attend the banquet in your place."
Xiao Lou said, "You mean, you want to use clone to lure the snake out of its hole?"
His Majesty sighed softly: "Yes."
Xiao Lou: "And the result?"
His Majesty shook his head with a wry smile: "They were very cautious; they didn't come to the banquet, but instead went to the Gemini Palace. Fortunately, you and General Yu weren't there at the time, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable..."
Looking at the white-haired emperor before him with a solemn expression, Xiao Lou felt a mix of emotions.
You might not believe it, but when His Majesty spoke to him today, his sincere attitude and sorrowful expression truly resembled that of a father worried about his son's safety. Yet, reason tells Xiao Lou that things can't be as simple as His Majesty makes them out to be.
Xiao Lou lowered her eyelashes and said, "Father, don't worry, I will protect myself and follow your arrangements."
His Majesty patted Xiao Lou's hand with satisfaction: "Go ahead. With General Yu by your side, I can rest assured. He is indeed the most loyal guard."
Xiao Lou turned and left Bailu Palace, meeting Yu Hanjiang's gaze at the entrance.
The two were connected via Telepathic Connection, and Xiao Lou simultaneously relayed what His Majesty had just said to Yu Hanjiang.
Yu Hanjiang didn't say much, then turned and led Xiao Lou back to Gemini Palace.
Once they were all alone, Yu Hanjiang asked, "Do you believe me?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "I don't believe it." After a pause, he added, "But what he said does make sense. I wonder if there are any records about my deceased elder brother?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let Mr. Tang check it out."
He messaged Tang Ci, who quickly replied with the results of his inquiry: "His Majesty and the Queen did indeed have a prince, but he died at the age of one, reportedly from illness. Because His Majesty and the Queen were very saddened, the media dared not report it recklessly, and the only related report was a brief obituary issued by the official media."
Looking at the black and white image in the obituary, Xiao Lou realized that the young prince didn't even have a portrait. This was probably an unspeakable pain for the royal family, which is why no one mentioned his name after his death.
Today, both the government and the public believe that Xiao Lou is the only prince and heir.
Xiao Lou thought carefully about His Majesty's words and said, "What His Majesty told me, I don't know if other things are true or false, but at least the fact that the young prince was poisoned should be true. Perhaps, this is why he used the real prince's cells to participate in the genetic experiment? He has already lost one son and doesn't want to lose a second one."
Yu Hanjiang: "So, he cloned countless princes? Anyway, all the clones have the same genes, so they're all considered his sons. As long as one survives, he won't lose out?"
Xiao Lou: "..."
Ye Qi's guess might be correct.
There are more than two Xiao Lous in this world.