Lady Eugene was no pushover. With double degrees in literature and arts, this highly educated lady was far from the obedient type. Art had endowed her with a free and wild spirit while literature fueled her whimsical actions. During her ti in Europe, she was a granddaughter who often gave Queen Elizabeth headaches, repeatedly making surprising moves that embarrassed the royal family yet left them powerless, becoming a regular feature in European tabloid gossip.
At one party, the lady brought along a female friend to attend, and after drinks had flowed, this friend cleverly bypassed the security system and nearly succeeded in stealing the Heart of Africa diamond displayed in Buckingham Palace.
It later ca to light that this 'friend' she had t in a nightclub was in fact an international thief who had purposely approached Lady Eugene with the intent of stealing the diamond, quickly becoming her 'close girlfriend.'
The reason she got so close was that the lady's character was simple and straightforward, and she was a charr with both n and won alike.
By contrast, Princess Anne was much more reassuring. England is a country of horse racing, a favored pasti for its traditional aristocracy. Princess Anne had been passionate about equestrian sports since childhood, devoting all her energy to it. She had represented England in the Olympics and other global equestrian competitions multiple tis, winning gold on more than one occasion, and was much more composed in character.
The Xiangjiang Longines Equestrian events often attracted celebrities and horse lovers from around the world to participate and observe. Princess Haya, the forr president of the International Equestrian Federation, was the first to arrive in Xiangjiang to assist with organizing the events, and she was specifically tasked with hosting the two visiting British princesses due to their equivalent status.
For Lady Eugene, it was her first eting, while Princess Haya and Princess Anne had been friends for so ti.
Upon hearing from her bodyguard that Eugene's car had been vandalized, Princess Haya was initially startled and wondered, "Annie, didn't the organizing committee provide you with a car? Did you bring your own?"
"We are attending as guests, and I'm not participating in the competitions this ti. Eugene had a sports car air-shipped here for us to use as transportation," explained Princess Anne.
"I apologize for the oversight," Princess Haya said with a nod, then smilingly reassured Eugene, "Don't worry, the Xiangjiang Police and the hotel managent will take care of this matter."
Both won exhibited proper royal decorum upon hearing of the damaged car, showing no signs of agitation. There was no shock, anger, indignant screams, or orders for their security to confront the perpetrator at the entrance. Instead, they politely discussed transportation arrangents.
Besides their comndable personal composure, this was certainly also an economic consideration.
The aggrieved Lady Eugene, however, couldn't sit still any longer and murmured under her breath, "I must go see for myself." She then stood up anxiously, ready to dash out of the private room.
The bodyguard subtly stepped to the side, blocking her path halfway with his body, "Lady Eugene, the establishnt has already sent your car for repairs, and the responsible party has left. You won't see anything if you go out now... Besides..." he trailed off, glancing at Princess Anne.
These bodyguards assigned to the royal family were not ordinary security company employees; they ca from special service agencies in England, possessing sharp political instincts. Princess Anne gave him a grateful smile and advised, "Eugene, we have not disclosed our identities for this trip. It's best you don't appear recklessly, and you definitely shouldn't get into conflicts. We are in Xiangjiang, a sensitive area. As British aristocrats, we should be even more restrained, to avoid affecting the relations between our two countries."
"I didn't say I wanted to do anything to anyone; I just want to see the state of my car!" Lady Eugene pouted in response.
The bodyguard interjected, "As far as I know, the engine isn't damaged, but the roof is split open and all the glass is shattered."
"What!" Eugene's eyes widened in disbelief. Based on the bodyguard's words, only the engine was intact? "How could it be this bad?! Wasn't my car parked in place? Could a truck have hit it?"
Annie and Haya were also taken aback; they had thought it would be minor scratches at worst, but the way the bodyguard described it made the damage seem severe.
"Lady Eugene, as I said before, your car was smashed," the bodyguard emphasized.
"What exactly happened, and who did this?" asked Princess Haya, frowning. Xiangjiang was a society governed by law, a civilized city; how could there be an incident of car smashing on the streets?
Luxury cars were common in Xiangjiang; a Maserati wasn't anything special—it couldn't just be envy of the wealthy.
"Can we check the surveillance footage?" Princess Anne and Princess Haya exchanged glances, both seeing the speculation in each other's eyes. Could soone have noticed their whereabouts and deliberately caused trouble to make news?
Soon enough, the cooperative hotel provided the surveillance footage, but it was blurry. Previously, Ji Xiang brought a large crowd that interfered with the visibility around the car—nothing could be seen happening next to it. A crowd surrounded the car, dispersed after a while, and by then, the vehicle was reduced to sothing resembling scrap tal.
Watching the pitiable footage of the Maserati emitting black smoke while being driven away, Lady Eugene felt her heart bleed. She was a mber of the British Royal Family and certainly richer than the average person, but with such an extensive household to maintain and with powers and functions reduced to re ceremonial after reforms, the royal family had branched out over a century with too many mbers. Governnt support only sustained the core mbers, and as the seventh in line to the throne, her financial situation was not as comfortable as one might imagine.
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