Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang certainly couldn't show their true faces. After all, Xiao Lou's face had already been publicly revealed at the birthday banquet, and there had been many related news reports. Almost everyone in the Luoke Empire could recognize this prince, and even now, in a foreign land, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't be recognized.
Fortunately, he and Yu Hanjiang each had a [ Mask ] card, which allowed them to freely disguise their characters, essentially allowing them to customize their appearance at will.
Xiao Lou transformed himself into a college student in his early twenties who had just graduated, and Yu Hanjiang transformed himself into an intern. Both of them looked very inexperienced, which fit the "intern doctor" persona that Edwin described.
The following day at noon, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, disguised, arrived at St. Paul's Hospital.
The two, dressed in white coats with intern name tags on their chests, quickly passed through the hospital's entrance check and entered the obstetrics and gynecology building, finding Dr. Edwin's on-call room.
Professor Edwin was organizing medical records. When he saw the two of them, he didn't ask any questions and said, "You two will learn from me."
Xiao Lou glanced at the medical records on his LCD screen— Xiao Rou was three months pregnant, and everything was stable; she was carrying twins. Her appointment for the checkup, originally scheduled for next month, was suddenly moved up, clearly to give Xiao Lou and his group a chance to sneak into the hospital and meet her.
At 2:40 p.m., Professor Edwin left his outpatient office and brought two "intern" to the treatment area, where he had them hide in a VIP examination room.
A moment later, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang heard familiar voices beside them— Xiao Rou and Prince Herman had arrived.
Xiao Rou said, "Professor, could you please give me another check-up? I've been feeling a tightness in my chest and stomach for the past few days. I'm also having trouble sleeping at night and I'm having insomnia."
Herman frowned and said, "You weren't feeling well, why didn't you tell me?"
Xiao Rou said softly, "I don't want you to worry."
Herman asked, "Professor, isn't her condition very serious?"
Professor Edwin reassured her, "Your Highness, you may be experiencing strong morning sickness in early pregnancy. Don't worry too much. The results of your last checkup were all normal. Let me give you a full checkup today. Please come with me, Your Highness."
Herman wanted to follow, but the professor stopped him, saying, "Please wait a moment in my office. It's not convenient for family members to enter the OB-GYN examination room. I'll call you when I'm doing the Princess's abdominal ultrasound. You can see the two little babies through the 4D ultrasound."
Herman didn't think much of it, smiled and walked over to kiss Xiao Rou on the forehead, saying, "I'll wait for you outside."
Xiao Rou was helped into the examination room by the gray-haired professor.
As soon as she entered the room, she was met with a pair of clear and bright eyes. The person was wearing a white coat and looked like a fresh-faced student who had just graduated, with unremarkable features.
Xiao Rou paused, then said, "You are..."
Professor Edwin said, "Your Highness, they came to see me last night."
Xiao Rou understood: "Professor, let me speak with them alone."
The old professor nodded and instructed, "You have ten minutes. I'll try my best to stall the prince."
After he left, Xiao Rou stepped forward, stared into Xiao Lou's eyes, and asked, "Xiao Lou, is that you?"
Xiao Lou took off her mask, smiled, and said, "Sister, it's been a long time."
The young man before him had handsome features and an otherworldly air; one could vaguely see a resemblance to his father in his youth.
Xiao Rou grabbed his hand excitedly, her voice trembling slightly: "How did you get here? What you did is dangerous! Don't you know there are still..." She paused, her eyes filled with struggle, as if she was hesitating whether to say it or not.
Xiao Lou asked, "And there's a prince who looks exactly like me?"
Xiao Rou's eyes widened: "How did you know?"
Xiao Lou calmly replied, "I've seen them before."
Xiao Rou's face was deathly pale, and her hands were clenched tightly at her sides.
Xiao Lou said gently, "Sister, what do you know? Can you tell me? I was also copied."
"Is that right?"
Xiao Rou looked up at the handsome young man in front of her. Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched Xiao Lou's forehead. Xiao Lou did not flinch until her fingertips stopped at the upper left corner of Xiao Lou's hairline.
She whispered, "You are my brother."
Xiao Lou asked in confusion, "How did your sister tell the difference?"
Xiao Rou's gaze was very gentle, and she choked up as she said, "My mother's health wasn't good, so I took care of you for the first few years after you were born. Once, due to my carelessness, I accidentally knocked over a cup and scalded you with hot water. You were not even three years old then, and you cried incessantly. I held you and tried to comfort you, but nothing worked. I was terrified..."
She gently touched a small black patch on Xiao Lou's forehead: "After your injury healed, it left a scar. I was worried that the scar would look bad, and that Father would scold you if I sent you to get plastic surgery, so I secretly found a skilled tattoo artist to tattoo the scar in black. It's completely hidden by your hair usually, but it's very clear if you lift your hair up. That nail-sized tattoo is only recognized by me."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance, then suddenly realized.
On the day of the birthday banquet, the prince's hairstyle was impeccably styled, revealing a smooth forehead and a high hairline, with no trace of tattoos. Therefore, Xiao Rou knew at a glance that he was not her biological brother.
She has been taking care of Xiao Lou since birth, and she is the person who understands Xiao Lou the most.
Besides, it was a tattoo she left herself.
Upon hearing that Xiao Lou was not a clone but a real prince, Yu Hanjiang's feelings were complicated.
Regardless of Xiao Lou's identity, he would certainly protect him. But if Xiao Lou was a real prince, why didn't His Majesty allow him to attend the engagement banquet, birthday banquet, and other important occasions?
Xiao Lou also thought of these questions and took a deep breath, asking, "When did my sister find out about the existence of clones?"
Xiao Rou said with a pale face, "When you were five years old, I accidentally saw some terrible things. You were too young at the time, so I didn't dare to tell you. My mother was recuperating for several years, so I didn't dare to tell her either, for fear of upsetting her... Over the years, I have been trying to find a way, but it seems that Herman and my father have some kind of agreement. Ever since I married him, he has been secretly sending people to monitor my movements. It is very difficult for me to contact you, let alone see you."
Hearing her choked voice, Xiao Lou's heart softened, and she said gently, "Sister, don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. I'm all grown up now. Tell me everything you know, and I'll find a way."
Xiao Rou nodded and said, "Not long after your fifth birthday, one day, your father suddenly summoned you. Out of curiosity, I secretly followed him, and then I saw a man in a white coat enter the palace and draw a lot of your blood. You were unconscious at the time, and I didn't know what he wanted to do with your blood."
Recalling the scene she witnessed back then, Xiao Rou couldn't help but tremble: "Some time later, I went to the Imperial Central Hospital to see my mother and saw the doctor who came to draw your blood that day again. I always felt that the doctor was a bit strange, so out of curiosity, I knocked out Nurse who was with him, put on a mask, pretended to look like Nurse, and sneaked into the laboratory."
Xiao Lou whispered, "And then? You saw clone?"
Xiao Rou nodded: "Many five-year-olds soaking in nutrient solution look exactly like you!"
Xiao Lou imagined the scene and couldn't help but get goosebumps all over.
Xiao Rou clutched her head, breaking down in tears. "I almost fainted from fright and ran away. I was afraid I'd been silenced for knowing something I shouldn't have, so I pretended nothing had happened. Not long after, my father suddenly proposed that I marry the crown prince of the Azure Empire. My mother was ill at the time, so I had no choice but to agree..."
Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Xiao Lou and choked out, "I'm sorry, Xiao Lou, I couldn't stay in the palace to protect you. I was a girl all alone, only 20 years old at the time. I didn't dare to say anything. I was so scared. I had nightmares every night during that period."
"It's alright. No one could have done better than your sister." Xiao Lou gently pressed her shoulder and said softly, "I lost many memories when I was five years old. What exactly happened that year?"
Xiao Rou's face was pale, and she clenched her fists tightly: "I...I don't know, but I guess those cloned children who are five years old like you must have an important purpose. Otherwise, why would they clone so many identical princes?"
Xiao Lou's expression changed slightly: "So many? How many did you actually see back then?"
Xiao Rou didn't want to recall that horrific scene, and gritted her teeth as she said, "There were hundreds, I guess. The lab was all neatly arranged, filled with nutrient solutions for raising babies. Those babies... some of them could even laugh, and their laughter looked exactly like yours."
Xiao Lou felt a chill run down his spine. He said in a deep voice, "So, you're saying I'm the real prince, raised by my sister herself, and the scar and tattoo on my forehead were left by her, something my father doesn't even know about. And when I was five, His Majesty used my blood to create hundreds of princes? What exactly is he trying to do?!"