The imperial palace is not the Phoenixfield Manor—you can't just come and go as you please. Serena Feng knew that Dorian Owen and Colin Si would be returning to the Capital over the next few days, but she had no way to go out and greet them herself; she could only wait inside the palace.
Dorian Owen arrived first. He was summoned to report his duties, so no matter how much he wanted to see Serena or Little Dumpling, he had to meet with Prince Nolan and finish his official business before he could go looking for Serena.
Dorian Owen, Dominic Zhai, and Colin Si returned to the Capital within a day of each other. Prince Nolan couldn't be bothered to see them one by one, so he had all three come to the palace on the same day.
Dorian Owen could never hide what was on his mind. Eager to see Serena and Little Dumpling, he rushed forward before Prince Nolan could even speak, poured out his entire report in one breath, and didn't care that Colin Si and Dominic Zhai still needed to report. He blinked his eyes, looking at Prince Nolan with a pleading face, his eyes full of longing...
His master and Left Shore had told him: if you want to see Serena and Little Dumpling as soon as possible, don't go against the emperor—just wait for his permission and everything will be fine.
Dorian Owen took this advice to heart. Like a puppy staring at a bone, wherever Prince Nolan's head turned, Dorian's gaze followed—he refused to move even a fraction, except to blink.
Dominic Zhai and Colin Si were deeply embarrassed by Doudou's behavior. After all, the three of them were known as the heroic 'Three Young Commanders' in the eyes of the people. If anyone saw Doudou acting like this, they'd think all of Eastlyn's young heroes were fools like him.
Colin Si wasn't all that close to Dorian Owen, so even though he felt mortified, he just covered his face and looked away. Dominic Zhai was different—he was more familiar with Dorian, so after answering Prince Nolan's questions, he tugged at Dorian's sleeve when the prince wasn't looking, trying to remind him to behave.
But Dorian Owen wasn't having any of it. He didn't care about the setting, and slapped Dominic Zhai's hand away: "Stop pulling at me—that's not proper! This is a new outfit, I bought it to show Serena. If you tear it, she'll think I'm too poor to buy new clothes!"
"Uh..." Dominic Zhai looked at the mark on the back of his hand and regretted meddling. Colin Si glanced at him sympathetically: Good luck, brother!
Dominic Zhai was at a loss. When Prince Nolan's gaze swept over, Dominic clasped his fists and knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"What happened?" Dorian Owen looked completely confused, glancing at Dominic Zhai and then at Prince Nolan...
Why does the atmosphere in the hall feel off?
Dorian Owen was hopeless—his cleverness only worked on the battlefield.
Prince Nolan had no intention of making things difficult for the three. He waved his hand, signaling Dominic Zhai to rise. As for Dorian Owen...
Just looking at Doudou scratching his head and fidgeting, it was clear he couldn't sit still. Prince Nolan generously said, "Go on."
"I can leave?" Doudou's eyes lit up as he pointed at himself, almost not believing it.
"Get out!" Prince Nolan snapped. Dorian Owen didn't mind at all—he happily dashed out, while Dominic Zhai and Colin Si both covered their faces, wishing they hadn't seen any of this.
How embarrassing!
Even worse, after running out, Dorian Owen suddenly ran back halfway, saying he'd forgotten to salute and needed to perform the proper farewell before leaving. What was that about?
Didn't you realize that if you hadn't run back, people could chalk it up to you not knowing the rules? But by running back like that, weren't you just telling Prince Nolan to his face that you don't care about protocol—or about him?
Luckily, Prince Nolan knew exactly what Dorian Owen was like, and since there were no outsiders present, he couldn't be bothered to scold him—he just shooed him out like a fly.
Of course, Dorian Owen didn't care at all. He completely ignored Prince Nolan's dark expression and cheerfully ran off toward Serena. The eunuch who was supposed to guide him had long since been left behind, but joy quickly turned to trouble—after circling the same spot ten times, Dorian finally realized something was wrong: "Where am I?"
Dorian Owen stood in front of a remote, deserted palace hall, staring blankly around. He felt like he'd been walking forever—how was he still here?
"Why is the palace so huge?" Dorian Owen pulled a long face and looked around, realizing he had no idea which way to go.
"Hey, is anyone there? Somebody get out here and show me the way!" Dorian shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one appeared. Annoyed, he kicked the pillar in front of him—only to find it was way too solid. Clutching his foot, he nearly cried from the pain: "That hurts like hell!"
Grinding his teeth, Dorian Owen watched as the sky grew darker and felt a wave of grievance. He'd only wanted to see Serena as soon as possible, and now look at him...
"Seriously, this is supposed to be the palace? There's not even a ghost around. Phoenixfield Manor was way better." Dorian grumbled, then glanced up at the not-so-high rooftop. Without another word, he leaped onto the roof and started running toward wherever he thought there might be people.
"If only I could run into Left Shore. He knows I was coming to the palace today, but he didn't come to get me—what a jerk!"
Inside Harmony Hall, Serena had waited a long time and still hadn't seen Dorian Owen. She grew more and more puzzled: "Didn't His Majesty say Dorian would be here early? Where is he?"
Dominic Zhai and Colin Si silently lowered their heads, completely at a loss for how to answer.
Doudou had arrived before them, yet they had already made it in, while he was nowhere to be found. Where on earth had that guy gone?
"Lost!" Left Shore, arms crossed, stood to the side watching Zhe Zhe, Feng Jin, and Snow Wolf play. Without even looking up, he answered Serena's question.
"Uh..." Serena was exasperated. "Didn't I arrange for someone to bring him here? How could he get lost?"
"Stupid!" Left Shore still didn't look up, making his disdain for Dorian Owen perfectly clear.
Colin Si and Dominic Zhai were speechless. They exchanged a glance: Should we just go home now?
More than once, Colin Si and Dominic Zhai had asked themselves: Why are we ranked alongside Dorian Owen? If people think we're as much of an idiot as he is, where's our dignity?
They'd greeted the Empress, greeted the Crown Prince, and it was getting late—they really should head back. Colin Si and Dominic Zhai both nodded, but just as they were about to speak, a commotion erupted outside the hall: "Assassin! There's an assassin—quick, fire the arrows! The assassin is headed for Harmony Hall!"
Outside, the Imperial Guards were on high alert, afraid the sudden 'assassin' would break into Harmony Hall. If the Empress or Crown Prince were harmed, it would be a disaster.
"Assassin?" Colin Si and Dominic Zhai tensed up, instinctively reaching for their swords—only to remember they'd surrendered them at the palace gate. Without hesitation, they planted themselves protectively in front of Serena...
"I'll go check it out." Left Shore, who hadn't moved until now, greeted Serena and darted outside. Feng Jin glanced up, then went back to stacking blocks with Zhe Zhe.
Big brother is brave—no fear!
Serena had already guessed what was happening and struggled to hold back her laughter...
Sure enough, not long after Left Shore went out, Doudou's screams echoed from outside—he sounded like someone getting murdered in a horror movie: "Help! Left Shore—help!"
"It's me, it's me! I'm Owen!"
"Doudou."
"Doudou, your head! I told you, call me Owen—if you keep calling me Doudou, I'll flip out! Damn, this palace is way too big. Good thing I'm a genius—I found you all with my eyes closed! Hahaha... I'm amazing!"