Chapter 440: Strange Invitation, Strange Business
When Walter told Xiao Peng who was looking for him, his first reaction was: No.
Because he felt that trouble would come to him again.
The man who came was from the German military, Walter's former superior. Just listen to that name: Wolfgang von Friedrich. He even mentioned that he was from the Hohenzollern family.
Is he afraid that Xiao Peng doesn't know that he is of noble birth?
The Hohenzollerns were once Germany's dominant ruling family. Originally known as the House of Zollern, the name was later added with the word "Hohen," meaning "noble." Overall, this family boasts a history spanning over a thousand years, including the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, who was a Hohenzollern.
They also have collateral branches, including the former rulers of Romania who were also members of their family.
Although Germany is now ruled by the people, the nobility and royal family still exist, including the Hohenzollern family.
The current head of the Hohenzollern royal family is Georg von Friedrich, son of Louis Ferdinand, heir to the Prussian throne.
That’s right, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered World War I, was also a member of the Hohenzollern family.
Although Prussia no longer exists and Germany is a democratic country, Georg Friedrich is still nominally the heir to the throne of the German Empire. Society still recognizes their royal status and aristocratic identity.
Georg Friedrich had the title of 'Prince of Prussia'.
Theoretically, Georg Friedrich is still heir to the British throne, though he's a bit behind in the order of succession, at 212. Given the intermarriages among European royal families, it's not surprising that one royal family has a claim to the throne. The eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, the "Grandmother of Europe," married Crown Prince Frederick III of Prussia. Their son, Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, also holds a claim to the British throne due to the various indirect kinship connections created by this intermarriage.
However, unless the previous 211 heirs are all dead, the throne will not be his.
Of course, life wasn't always easy for these royal families.
For example, Georg Friedrich, as the patriarch of the Hohenzollern family, had a relatively easy life. He owned the most famous Hohenzollern Castle in Germany and had tens of millions in assets.
What? You don't know Hohenzollern Castle?
Actors Yuan Hong and Zhang Xinyi held their wedding there.
Now it's a museum, and you can walk around it for 6 euros. Going inside to see the interior? 10 euros! It's a great value for the money. If you pay a little more, you can even host a limited-edition party here, not just a wedding.
It’s all about money now, isn’t it?
Of course, the Hohenzollern family is large, but some have fallen on hard times. For example, Georg Friedrich's cousin, Carlos Patrick, is a prime example. He held the title of "Prince of Hohenzollern" but was arrested by German police in 2014 for €800,000 fraud. In 2018, having just been released from prison, he fell to his death from the 21st floor of the InterContinental Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.
So if it weren't for Walter, Xiao Peng wouldn't even bother to meet Wolfgang von Friedrich.
What made Xiao Peng even more frantic was that the person he met was not Wolfgang, but a woman in her thirties who claimed to be Heidi Allman, Wolfgang's housekeeper and assistant, and who had come to give Xiao Peng an invitation to a dinner party at her home.
The so-called "upper class" in Europe has very particular etiquette when inviting others to banquets.
Unlike many people today who send invitations via email, they would make so-called invitation cards that specify the theme, time, location, and list of invitees for the banquet, and then send them to Xiao Peng to wait for a reply.
Moreover, the invitation letter was only for Xiao Peng, which made Xiao Peng even more confused. He didn't know anyone else in Germany except Walter and others?
Looking at the list of invitees on the invitation letter...
I don’t know any of them!
Xiao Peng frowned and said, "Ms. Olman, are you sure this invitation is for me?"
Orman is not very beautiful, at least not according to the oriental aesthetic standards. This is not surprising, as oriental people still prefer the rounder faces of Eastern European women, while German women tend to have angular faces.
In such a cold day, she is wearing a suit, a small dress and stockings, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on her face - is she trying to be sexy in uniform?
Ugh! What are you thinking! Isn’t she cold?
"Just call me Heidi." Heidi-Ollman nodded after hearing what Xiao Peng said, "Of course, Mr. Xiao, Mr. Friedrich is looking forward to your visit."
Xiao Peng frowned and said, "But I don't even know Mr. Friedrich."
Heidi smiled and said, "All friendships begin with strangers, don't they?"
Xiao Peng was even more confused. He thought for a moment and slapped his forehead, "Could it be that Mr. Friedrich is in the entertainment industry? If he has any problems, he should go to Fabian instead of me, right?"
"Entertainment industry?" Heidi frowned slightly. "Although Mr. Friedrich has some businesses under his name, most of them are financial investments. He has no involvement in the entertainment industry. He's an old-fashioned person, you know."
Xiao Peng was completely baffled. He wasn't from the entertainment industry? If he wasn't looking for that little internet celebrity, then what was he after?
They say, "If someone shows kindness without any reason, he's either a traitor or a thief." Even though this person was introduced by Walter, he didn't want to have anything to do with him. So he said, "Heidi, I just saw that the reception is in Berlin. We're so far away that we can't make it. As you know, the traffic conditions are not good right now."
"Of course!" Heidi nodded. "Mr. Friedrich has already considered this, so he arranged a private plane to pick you up."
Xiao Peng's brows were twisted into knots. Who was this person and why was he looking for him?
"You know, I'm here on vacation with some friends. I can't just leave them behind and go there alone!" Xiao Peng refused.
Heidi smiled and said, "Mr. Friedrich took this into consideration, so he also invited Mr. Fabian."
Xiao Peng's eyes lit up: "Only Fabian was invited? But I also have the Walter family with me. Although they are nominally my bodyguards, they are actually my good friends!"
At this moment, Walter spoke: "Boss, you should meet Mr. Friedrich. He called me and said he wants to discuss business with you, which is related to underwater salvage. But he didn't tell me the details, just said this. You still need to discuss the specific matters."
"Um?"
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