229. This is a frame-up.

Upon seeing this, the guards standing not far away immediately stepped forward. Seeing that Dou Shichen's face was pale and his emotions were agitated, they dared not be negligent in the slightest.

“Miss, His Highness is troubled. Please come with me to wait a while.” The guard’s tone was polite but firm, and he grabbed Tao Wanbi’s arms on either side.

Tao Wanbi panicked instantly; they were going to detain her!

Moreover, if Dou Shichen comes to his senses and reveals this, she will be completely finished!

She struggled violently, waving her hands wildly: "Let me go! I haven't finished! Dou Shichen, listen to me, you can't tell anyone about this! Otherwise... otherwise I won't let you off!"

"Take her away quickly!" Dou Shichen squatted on the ground, holding his head in his hands, his voice full of resistance.

Without further hesitation, the guards half-carried and half-dragged Tao Wanbi out of the mansion.

Tao Wanbi kicked her feet wildly on the ground, but couldn't break free at all. She could only watch helplessly as the small figure in the pavilion grew farther and farther away. She was both scared and anxious, and cold sweat streamed down her forehead.

-

The little dumpling returned to the capital and was on her way back to the Marquis of Beiding's residence when she suddenly thought of a little helper.

Shining Bean Prince seems to also be called Prince Zhennan, and his hometown seems to be in the south.

The plague also occurred in the south.

Perhaps, the Brilliant Bean Prince can help?

The little dumpling acted immediately and went to the residence of the Prince of Zhennan.

The butler stepped forward and identified himself.

The guard paused for a moment, then repeatedly checked the token before revealing a look of surprise: "This... Just now, a young lady claiming to be the county princess of the Marquis of Beiding came to see His Highness, but... something unexpected happened."

"She calls herself Yue'er?" The little dumpling was stunned. "What kind of little girl is she?"

"She was wearing a silk dress and had a very delicate appearance. She said she was a young lady from the Marquis of Beiding's mansion," the guard recalled. "I don't know exactly what she wanted with the young master, but later the young master suddenly said he felt unwell and his face looked very pale..."

The little dumpling was full of questions.

Could it be Sister Tao?

But why would she impersonate her to find Shining Bean Prince?

She stood at the doorway and thought for a while, but couldn't figure it out.

The little dumpling was about to leave, but the steward immediately turned to the guards, his tone filled with anger: "That woman who claimed to be the county princess must be Miss Tao from the manor! She's an outsider, yet she dares to impersonate a mistress and come to the Prince's manor to cause trouble. She's trying to frame our young lady! Hand her over immediately, we need to take her back and deal with her properly!"

The housekeeper disliked both Tao Wanbi and Dou Shichen.

Now, he is worried that Tao Wanbi will get involved with Dou Shichen and damage his young lady's reputation.

After all, Tao Wanbi went there under the guise of being the young lady of her family.

He must take the man back and hand him over to the Marquis for disposal.

The guard frowned and crossed his arms. "Steward Zhang, our young master isn't even fully recovered yet. How can we just hand over the culprit? What if you're going to protect her?"

"Protecting her?" The steward found them even more suspicious. "She impersonated my young lady first, and then said something to the young master that upset him. Why are you still keeping her in the manor? What if she tries something else, or even turns around and bites the Marquis of Beiding's manor? Who will take responsibility for that? You must let us take her away today, or I will go and invite the Marquis to come and reason with us!"

"You're making things difficult for me!" The guard also got angry. "The Prince's residence has its own rules. Detaining or releasing people should be done according to the Prince's wishes. Even if you invite the Marquis of Beiding, you have to wait until His Highness is sober before you can talk about it!"

The two argued back and forth, their voices growing louder and louder, attracting the attention of passing servants.

A voice rang out from the courtyard: "What's all the noise about? This is the Prince's residence, not a marketplace!"

Everyone turned around and saw Li Bo, the steward of the Prince's residence, come out.

He was originally a subject of the Prince of Zhennan. When the Crown Prince came to the capital, the Prince of Zhennan specially ordered him to follow and take care of the Crown Prince.

Li Bo first glanced at the angry steward and guards, then bowed to the little girl and said, "Princess, please don't be offended. The servants in the manor are ignorant and have disturbed you. Steward, you are just flustered. Miss Tao is indeed waiting in the side room, but His Highness is not in good condition right now. Let's go see him first and discuss things when he is sober. Let's not make a fool of ourselves at the door."

The steward wanted to argue, but the little dumpling tugged at his sleeve: "Let's go see the young master first. Yue'er also wants to know what Sister Tao said to the shining bright bean young master."

Seeing this, Uncle Li quickly stepped aside to lead the way: "Please follow me, you two."

-

Following Uncle Li through the courtyard, we could see several servants surrounding the pavilion in the distance, all with their heads down and not daring to speak.

Upon closer inspection, they found Dou Shichen sitting on a stone bench in the pavilion, his hands tightly wrapped around his knees, his head buried in his arms, muttering intermittently, "No... I didn't want to kill him... Don't come looking for me..."

His face was as pale as paper, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his eyes were unfocused, as if he were trapped in a nightmare. No matter how softly the servants called him, he did not respond, but his body trembled from time to time.

The little boy's heart tightened, and he quickly walked over and gently touched Dou Shichen's arm: "Shining Bean Prince? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Dou Shichen suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the little dumpling, as if he had mistaken her for someone else. His voice trembled with tears: "It wasn't me who wanted to kill... she made me do it... I don't want to kill... I don't want to go to hell..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his head, covered his ears with his hands, and his body trembled even more violently.

Li Bo sighed and lowered his voice to say to Xiao Tuanzi and the steward, "Just now, Miss Tao was alone with His Highness for a while. No one heard what they said clearly. All we know is that after they argued for a few words, Miss Tao was taken to a side room by the guards. His Highness also looks like this, as if he has been greatly frightened."

The steward's face darkened further. Clenching his fists, he whispered to the little girl, "Miss, look! This Tao Wanbi is indeed up to no good! Not only did she impersonate you, but she also instigated the young master to do bad things, causing him to end up like this. If this gets out, not only will the young master's residence investigate, but even the reputation of our Beiding Marquis's residence will be affected! We must bring her out of the side room as soon as possible and find out the truth!"

Seeing Dou Shichen's distraught appearance, the little boy's doubts and worries grew stronger.

What exactly did Sister Tao say to Prince Bright Bean?

Why would you impersonate me to find the Crown Prince?

The doctor rushed over with his medicine kit, placed his fingers on Dou Shichen's wrist for a moment, examined his eyelids, and finally shook his head gently. He said to the crowd gathered around, "His Highness's pulse is stable, and his internal organs are not damaged. It's just that his mind has been greatly frightened, which is why he's in this dazed state. I'll prescribe a calming soup. After it's brewed, I'll feed it to him. Whether he recovers or not depends on him."

Li Bo took the prescription and ordered someone to quickly fetch the medicine. He then turned to the little girl and the steward, bowing gently but with a hint of entreaty: "Princess, Steward, I am truly sorry to have caused you both worry. The young master has just taken his medicine and may wake up soon. Why don't you two rest in the guest courtyard of the manor for a while and have some tea? Once the young master wakes up, we can talk things out in person, saving you the trouble of making another trip and allowing us to find out about Miss Tao's matter sooner."

The butler frowned, still thinking about taking Tao Wanbi back. He was about to refuse when the little dumpling gently tugged at his sleeve: "Butler, Uncle is right. Let's wait. What if the young master wakes up and can explain Sister Tao's matter?"

Looking at Dou Shichen, who was still curled up in the pavilion, she felt a mix of doubt and worry, and she also wanted to know as soon as possible what Tao Wanbi had said.

Moreover, she also had something she wanted to ask Shining Bean Prince for help with.

Seeing that the little boy insisted, the butler had no choice but to nod and agree: "Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Li."

Uncle Li smiled and agreed, then had someone lead the little dumpling and the steward to the guest courtyard. As he turned around, his eyes darkened, and he gave the servant beside him a subtle wink.

The servant immediately understood, quietly retreated to a corner, and quickly walked towards the back courtyard room.