CHAPTER 1078: 1155: MISFORTUNE LOOMS OVERHEAD, EVERYTHING GOES WRONG

The Seventh Princess seems to be plagued by misfortune recently, with everything going awry. She originally lived in the City Lord Mansion, but after yesterday’s fire, most of it was destroyed. She had to temporarily move elsewhere, waiting until the City Lord Mansion was rebuilt to move back.

Though she had ordered the Hidden Guard to search for the audacious assassin who targeted her, that person was extraordinarily skilled and managed to shake off all the Hidden Guards yesterday.

She was simmering with rage inside, so angry about this incident that she didn’t sleep all night. It wasn’t until near dawn that she finally closed her eyes. But she didn’t sleep for long before her confidant dug her out of bed.

"Your Highness, it’s not good!"

The Seventh Princess, still sleepy-eyed, looked at her confidant: "What is so urgent?"

A large bead of sweat dripped down the confidant’s forehead, "Someone, someone is causing a disturbance at the City Lord Mansion gates. We don’t know who leaked the information, but those causing the disturbance learned you moved out of the City Lord Mansion and are temporarily staying in this Bixue Garden, and now they’ve overwhelmingly come to Bixue Garden and have already blocked the gate."

The Seventh Princess’s eyebrows furrowed as she listened for a moment. Indeed, she hadn’t paid much attention earlier, but there were definitely people causing a disturbance. The place she lived was somewhat secluded, away from the gate, but it was peaceful.

Yet now, those chaotic and noisy sounds faintly transmitted over.

The confidant hurriedly said: "Knowing something was amiss, I disguised someone as a civilian to spy among those protestors. It turns out... it turns out the cause of Merchant Guo’s death was made public, and those causing the disturbance were beneficiaries of Merchant Guo’s kindness in the past. They are seeking justice for Merchant Guo!"

Merchant Guo, with three generations of ancestors all in business, was a well-known merchant in the Jiangnan region. But the people of Jiangnan preferred calling him Kindhearted Guo.

This benevolent person, during flood disasters, once opened his warehouses to provide relief, saving many people. Grateful for his great kindness, post-disaster, people built temples all across Jiangnan. Although Merchant Guo passed away several years ago, incense has been steadily burning, and one often sees those who received aid visiting the temples to offer incense and paper to this kindhearted man.

Since being dispatched to Jiangnan, the Seventh Princess knew she had no hope in the succession struggle, given her half-crippled and frail body. That year coincided with the fierce battle between the Eighth and Ninth Princesses. She faced a choice and had to pick a side. At that time, with Marshal Baowei retiring and departing from the capital, she favored the Eighth Princess over the Ninth Princess.

She allied with Lao Ba, learning that Kindhearted Guo had been secretly supporting Lao Jiu’s forces. Thus, she covertly eliminated Kindhearted Guo and quietly absorbed the Guo family’s assets into her own wealth.

She executed this affair very cleanly, acting meticulously and cautiously, yet never expected that this old debt would be dug up today.

Over the years, due to the Seventh Princess’s benevolent governance and warm treatment of others, she enjoyed high acclaim among the populace. She seemed to have been placed upon a pedestal, excessively idealized by the people. But when this matter emerged, it was like a lump of dung splattered on her, leaving a significant stain on the Seventh Princess.

Not only those who had benefited from Kindhearted Guo, but also those who hadn’t, those internally inclined towards the Seventh Princess, found it hard to accept that the noble Seventh Highness in their minds could commit such vile acts.

In an instant, the Seventh Princess’s reputation had plummeted. Not only that, but from this day forward, various public and private enterprises she had were also caught in considerable trouble.