Tang Ci quickly found out the time, location, and list of invited guests for the charity gala.
This dinner was a charity event hosted by Xiao Rou in her personal capacity, and the guests were mostly well-known local businessmen. Few government officials attended, and her husband, Prince Herman, was also absent. However, as a princess now, security at the dinner was undoubtedly very tight. Azure Empire also has its own royal guard, so getting close to the princess wouldn't be easy.
Xiao Lou said worriedly, " Even if CEO Shao wants to give away the sapphire necklace, he'll need to find an intermediary to introduce him, right? Otherwise, the princess wouldn't rashly meet with a complete stranger."
This wasn't a problem for Shao Qingge. He thought about it carefully, remembered a name, and said, "My company has a long-term partnership with a pharmaceutical company here. Their boss is Kevin Roman."
Tang Ci glanced at the list of invitees to the charity gala and said, "It just so happens that Kevin Roman is also attending this gala. CEO Shao, you could try to ask him to make an introduction."
Shao Qingge said, "It should be fine. As far as I remember, I've been working with him for many years, so we're old friends. I'll contact him first thing tomorrow morning."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "We have two other ways to sneak into the banquet: one is to impersonate the security personnel of the charity banquet, and the other is to replace one of the wealthy businessmen attending the banquet."
Yu Hanjiang said seriously, " I was able to impersonate a guard at Xiao Lou's birthday banquet before because I was the captain of the guard team, knew the detailed arrangements of the guard team, and knew my subordinates well enough. But now, we are in the Azure Empire. We don't know any of the guards responsible for protecting the princess in this country, let alone their habits. If we just use a [ mask ] to impersonate her, she might be seen through at a glance."
The rules for guards differ from country to country. Yu Hanjiang knows nothing about this country, and if he rashly tries to impersonate the princess's guards, he is likely to make things worse.
Lu Jiuchuan stroked his chin: "So it seems that impersonating a wealthy businessman is actually easier?"
"Hmm." Yu Hanjiang stepped forward and looked at the list that Tang Ci had found, saying, "We need to find a wealthy man who doesn't have close family members with him and doesn't meet the princess often to impersonate her, so that it won't be easily exposed."
After screening the options, Tang Ci suddenly said, "What a coincidence, there happens to be one staying at the Ferris Wheel Hotel."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let's choose him. I'll impersonate him then."
After thinking it over carefully, Xiao Lou said, "We can't all six of us go to the banquet. It would be best if someone stayed behind."
If they all go, and the entire army is wiped out, they won't even be able to escape.
Tang Ci said, "I'll stay."
Lu Jiuchuan was worried about Tang Ci being alone, so he decisively said, "I'll stay with you. Before the banquet starts, we'll have Peach Blossom Spring at the hotel. If things get bad, we can teleport everyone together." He looked at his younger brother, " Hanjiang, you take Xiao Lou with you and protect His Highness."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "I understand."
Xiao Lou suggested, "How about this, we first take control of the tycoon at the Ferris Wheel Hotel, Hanjiang will impersonate him, and I will impersonate his assistant. We'll sneak into the banquet together, and CEO Shao and Ye Qi can probe the princess's attitude first, and then I'll meet with her."
No one objected to the decision.
The next morning, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi changed their clothes and set off to visit Mr. Kevin Roman.
Shao Qingge and Kevin had worked together for many years, and he remembered meeting Shao Qingge every year; they were very good business partners. Hearing that Shao Qingge and his son were traveling to Azure Planet, Kevin warmly hosted them at a private estate.
The man had blond hair, blue eyes like the deep ocean, and handsome features. He wore a white shirt and sat lazily on the sofa, saying jokingly, " CEO Shao, it's rare to see you out with your son."
Shao Qingge chuckled and said, "When children grow up, they should be taken out to see the world."
Ye Qi felt extremely awkward listening to Shao Qingge's "fatherly" tone. Meeting the blond man's probing gaze, he had no choice but to obediently ask, "Hello, Uncle."
Kevin nodded to him and looked at Shao Qingge: "Did you come here just to take your son on a trip?"
Shao Qingge said directly, "Actually, I would like to take this opportunity to visit the Princess. As you know, the Princess is a princess of our Luoke Empire. She has rarely returned to the country since marrying Prince Herman many years ago. My father has some connection with the Princess. It just so happens that I recently obtained a very precious sapphire necklace by chance. I heard that the Princess likes all kinds of jewelry, so I would like to give this necklace to her."
Kevin was slightly taken aback: "The princess is of noble status, what kind of jewelry hasn't she seen? Is the necklace you're talking about really that magical?"
Shao Qingge took out the necklace and showed it to him.
The heart-shaped natural sapphire, surrounded by a ring of small diamonds, sparkles brilliantly under the light.
Sapphires are rare gemstones in the world, let alone such a large, natural, heart-shaped sapphire with such pure color; it is truly a rare find.
Shao Qingge closed the jewelry box and said with a smile, "You should be quite familiar with the Princess. Could you introduce me? I would very much like to visit our empire's princess."
Kevin readily agreed: "Okay, I'll help you make the contact."
Shao Qingge said, "I heard there's a charity gala tomorrow night. Why don't you take me there to meet them?"
Kevin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tomorrow's dinner party..."
"It's a private event hosted by the Princess; those without invitations aren't allowed in. The palace isn't issuing invitations anymore... How about this, you just come in with me, and I'll find a way to introduce you to the Princess?"
Shao Qingge was naturally delighted and raised the wine glass on the table: "Thanks."
The two drank a glass of red wine, and Kevin called the chef to serve the dishes.
The business partnership between the Shao family and the Roman family started in his father's generation and has lasted for more than 30 years. Shao Qingge really wanted to ask if they knew about the " Noahs Ark Project ", but if Kevin knew about the lover, asking such a question might alert them. So he had to temporarily suppress his urge to find out information and chatted with Kevin about some recent collaborative projects.
After dinner, Shao Qingge took Ye Qi back to the hotel.
He took out the [ Rich and Willful ] card and copied a [ sapphire necklace ].
This necklace is priceless; you'd be happy whether you gave it away or auctioned it. Unfortunately, it's a consumable card; once it's given away, it's gone. Make a copy to keep as a backup; you might need it later.
Then, he copied Lu Jiuchuan's [ Mask ] card.
This card has a similar effect to Liu Qiao's [ Twin ], except that Liu Qiao's [ Twin ] can transform into any creature seen within the past hour and a half, including humans, plants, and animals; while [ Mask ] can only transform into any human appearance, which is similar to customizing your character's appearance in a game, allowing you to change your appearance at will.
Following that, Xiao Lou had Ye Qi take out the eavesdropping device and hand it to Tang Ci, saying, "Mr. Tang, can this eavesdropping device be attached to the sapphire necklace?"
Tang Ci took Shao Qingge's sapphire necklace, examined it carefully for a moment, and then inserted the eavesdropping device into the middle of a few small diamonds at the back of the necklace. The diamonds concealed the miniature eavesdropping device, making it impossible to tell from the surface that there was anything wrong with the necklace.
After completing these preparations, that night, Tang Ci hacked into the Ferris Wheel Hotel's system and sabotaged the rooftop surveillance, while Yu Hanjiang and Lu Jiuchuan impersonated hotel staff and knocked on the door of VIP-11 room at the Ferris Wheel Hotel.
Zhou Sheng, a wealthy man who had just finished showering, looked through the peephole and said, "Waiter? I didn't call for service, did I?"
Wearing a black vest and bow tie, dressed as a waiter, Yu Hanjiang said respectfully, "Sir, this is a gift from the hotel to guests of the VIP suite: a fruit platter and a bottle of red wine. We wish you a pleasant stay at the hotel."
The hotel often gave out gifts when he stayed there before, so Zhou Sheng opened the door without any suspicion.
Yu Hanjiang pushed the food into the house, and in the instant he turned around, he suddenly raised his left hand and delivered a clean and swift chop to the back of Zhou Sheng's neck!
Before the man could react, he was knocked unconscious by a chop to the ground.
Lu Jiuchuan gave his younger brother a thumbs up, quickly went into the house, tied Zhou Sheng up, and Yu Hanjiang used a mask card to impersonate Zhou Sheng. He used Zhou Sheng's fingerprint to unlock the communication device and optical computer, found the assistant's information, and sent the assistant a message: "You don't need to come in tomorrow. I'm giving you three days off."
The assistant asked in confusion, "Mr. Zhou? Aren't you supposed to accompany you to the banquet?"
Yu Hanjiang quickly typed: "No need, I have my own plans."
The assistant could only reply, "Understood."
Yu Hanjiang gave Lu Jiuchuan a wink, and Lu Jiuchuan picked up President Zhou, carried him back to his residence, threw him into a room, tied him up, and stroked his chin, jokingly saying, "We're getting better and better at doing bad things. Kidnapping someone only takes 5 minutes."
Tang Ci blocked the hotel's surveillance cameras, and Yu Hanjiang and Lu Jiuchuan teamed up to kidnap the person without anyone noticing, making them even more professional than kidnapping gangs.
Xiao Lou said helplessly, "This is out of necessity. Ninth Brother, you should keep an eye on this President Zhou."
Yu Hanjiang showed Xiao Lou a photo of his assistant: "Tomorrow you'll dress up as the assistant, and we'll go to the charity gala together."
Xiao Lou nodded and took the other [ Mask ] card copied by Shao Qingge.
Once midnight passes, the card skills will refresh.
Xiao Lou and Ye Qi connected via Telepathic Connection, while another Telepathic Connection allowed Shao Qingge and Lu Jiuchuan to establish a connection so that everyone could evacuate at any time in case of an accident.
After completing all the preparations, everyone took a nap to recharge.
The following evening, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi set off to meet Kevin, while Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou disguised themselves as a wealthy businessman and his assistant and headed to the Royal Double Sails Hotel, where Xiao Rou was hosting a charity gala.
This hotel is a seven-star hotel exclusively for royalty, and its design resembles a ship setting sail.
The Royal Guard completely surrounded the hotel, clearly demonstrating Prince Herman's strong concern for the Princess's safety.
At six o'clock in the evening, guests had already entered the hotel in twos and threes. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou walked to the door one after the other, and showed the invitation letter they had taken from President Zhou. After the other party verified the invitation letter and identity information, they were allowed to enter the venue.
The long red carpet stretched all the way to the entrance of the banquet hall.
The guests attending the banquet were all dressed up, especially the girls, who all wore exquisite makeup, carried beautiful evening bags, and wore evening gowns of various colors that were like a hundred flowers vying for attention.
There were an unusually large number of female guests today, many of whom were close friends of the princess, as well as some wealthy young ladies who had been invited to attend. After all, the theme of the charity gala was the auction of jewelry, and the girls were far more interested in jewelry than the men.
The boss, played by Yu Hanjiang, and the assistant, played by Xiao Lou, both wore suits and had unremarkable appearances.
After entering the hall, the two found a corner to minimize their presence.
Soon, they saw CEO Shao and Ye Qi follow Kevin in.
Ye Qi was wearing a white suit.
Shao Qingge bought him this as a last resort. He was rather short, with a baby face, and wearing a suit didn't make him look mature; instead, it gave him a youthful appearance. Especially compared to the group of bald, pot-bellied middle-aged tycoons, he was a breath of fresh air at the banquet.
Many girls cast curious glances at Ye Qi, whose ears turned red from the stares. Ye Qi followed behind Shao Qingge like a docile little follower. Shao Qingge, on the other hand, was used to such occasions. With Kevin's introduction, he quickly got to know several local wealthy businessmen and exchanged pleasantries with them with a smile.
The banquet officially began at 7 p.m.
Xiao Rou walked from the end of the red carpet.
She was accompanied by several maids and guards. The woman, in her thirties, had fair and delicate skin, exquisite features, and her hair was styled in an elegant updo. She wore a light gold fishtail dress that accentuated her graceful figure and was adorned with several pieces of jewelry. Her whole demeanor exuded elegance and nobility.
Xiao Lou stared at her blankly, a jumble of images flashing through her mind.
He suddenly remembered that his mother looked just like this?
My older sister looks a lot like our deceased mother.
Everyone around him bowed in greeting, and Xiao Lou quickly lowered his head, burying his face in the crowd.
He disguised himself with a mask, and besides, his sister had gotten married when he was five, so there was no way she would recognize him. The woman in front of him was so different from the girl he remembered getting married; if they met on the street, he might not even recognize her.
Strangely enough, the moment he saw this woman, he suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It was as if they had known each other for a long time and were once very close family members.
***