CHAPTER 16 – REWARD OR PUNISHMENT?(PART 1)“Boom!”
The Gu Song Silver House collapsed.
“Ah!”
“My leg!”
“My silver!”
……..
……
….
A series of screams resounded throughout the ruins. Outside the Gu Song Silver House, a lot of people who stole the gold and silver fled in panic.
In the restaurant next door.
Gu Han was also astounded by the scene.
“G.o.dfather, why did the Gu Song Silver House collapse?” Gu Han said with a surprise.
Gu Hai coldly laughed and said, “There isn’t just gold and silver in the Gu Song Silver House, the entire building is laced with high-end furnis.h.i.+ng. Phoebe Zhennan is used within the roof beams and pillars.”
“Ah? So, all our roof beams and pillars were stolen?” Gu Han had completely accepted defeat by the acts of robbery committed by the public.
“Who wouldn’t want free stuff?” A sliver of cold smile appeared on Gu Hai’s face as he said.
“Thump! Thump! Thump!”
Suddenly, countless city guards came running from afar.
“Puff!”
There were still a few who were rummaging through the wreckage, but soon, the crowd broke into tumult and dispersed, they didn’t even turn back to look.
“City guards are coming, it seems the Song Capital, this pot of water is about to boil. You should take a trip to the Crown Prince’s Palace and add fuel to the flames, the proceedings of the Royal Court tomorrow will be very crucial!” Gu Hai said in a solemn tone.
“Yes, G.o.dfather, please rest a.s.sured, over the years, in order to make Crown Prince the Crown Prince, I have spent a fortune on him. Although I can’t control the Crown Prince as I wish, if it is just to have a hearing with him, it won’t be difficult!” Gu Han confidently smiled and said.
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The news of robbery of Gu Song Silver House spread throughout the Song Capital in the blink of an eye.
It was but the largest silver shop in the Song Capital, the wealth stored inside was unimaginable, the countless citizens that had swarmed it, had become wealthy overnight.
Many people who weren’t able to partic.i.p.ate beat their chest and stomped their feet in anguish, while waiting for the news from the officials.
While those that did partic.i.p.ate, hid their stolen goods while also awaiting the news from the officials.
In the blink of an eye, the Song Capital calmed down; the capital was calmer as compared to before. Everyone was on their tiptoes of expectation and were patiently waiting.
Therefore, only this one Gu Song Silver House was robbed, while the other Gu Mansion industries still hadn’t been robbed by the citizens. Everyone was waiting for the news, waiting for next day of the Royal Court hearing to determine the verdict regarding this matter.
The news had already reached the hands of various officials of the Royal Court. Such big news had indeed made the mood of countless officials complex. They didn’t know what stand to take during tomorrow’s Royal Court session.
Many officials were running everywhere, seeking their colleagues to discuss the matter of tomorrow morning’s Royal Court hearing.
Similarly, the news had also reached the Royal Palace.
Many in the Royal Harem applauded.
“Good job, the properties of Devil Gu must be robbed!”
“If it was me, I would also rob. Furthermore, even I have visited the Gu Song Silver House a few times, it was even more luxurious than the Royal Palace itself!”
“This is just great! Gu Hai’s store had been robbed, His Royal Majesty must be happy, the popular support can be used!”
……..
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Many people applauded, while the Old King, who was sitting in the library and listening to his subordinate as he carefully reported everything, frowned and a.n.a.lyzed everything piece by piece.
“Summon Royal Tutor Pan, Liu Chengxiang for a discussion!” The Old King ordered.
“Yes, Your Royal Majesty!”
—-
Within the Crown Prince Palace.
Crown Prince Song listened to his subordinate reporting today’s news regarding the Gu Song Silver House.
“Very good, hahaha, Gu Hai’s store had been robbed, I am really happy!” A savage look appeared on Crown Prince Song’s face as he said.
His son, Song Zhengxi’s death had already made Crown Prince Song’s hatred for Gu Hair reach the apex. At this moment, Crown Prince Song found every bit of bad news on Gu Hai appeasing.
“Your Royal Highness, it’s not the time to be happy!” An aide, who was standing in front bitterly smiled and said.
“En?” Crown Prince Song gazed at the few aides in front with a frown.
“Your Royal Highness, the collapsing and robbery of Gu Hai’s store is indeed something to be happy about, however, this matter is hiding a nerve-wracking problem behind itself,” an aide said as a bitter smile crept on his face.
“What’s the problem?” Crown Prince Song said in a solemn tone.
“How to determine the nature of this case?! Gu Song Silver House is Gu Hai’s store and had been robbed by the citizens, the problem is whether to punish or reward the citizens for the robberies!? What the citizens did, is it right or wrong?”
“If we say the citizens are wrong, they will say they have been loyal to the country, uh, at least they stand on a moral high ground on the surface. What they did was for serving the country, and we can’t blame those who had done something to serve the country, no matter what means they have used! But, if we say, the citizens are right, then it would mean the citizens have violated the laws, and the laws of our Song Kingdom are extremely strict. No matter who it is, they cannot be robbed. Robbery is punishable by law, and the laws of our Great Song cannot be disregarded. The laws are an important part of our nation and cannot be messed with. The laws are the foundation to govern the people, the trampling of laws is equivalent to trampling the Royal Power,” an aide said.
“That’s right, Your Royal Highness, if we say the citizens are wrong, the citizens will say they were serving the country! If we say the citizens are right, then the citizens were trampling the laws! Depending on whether the citizens are right or wrong, should they be rewarded or punished? I think, the officials are having a headache right now, and the citizens of Song Capital are waiting for the tomorrow morning Royal Court session for the verdict!” Another aide also said with a bitter smile.
Crown Prince Song mouth was agape; he was momentarily surprised. Are the citizens right or wrong? This needs the officials to determine, but what stand are they going to take on this case?
The chamber sunk into silence; it was an extremely troublesome problem.
“If our Song Officials had confiscated the Gu Song Silver House at the very beginning, there wouldn’t be so many problems!” Crown Prince Song bitterly smiled.
“No, Your Royal Highness, when the two countries are at war, the delegates must not be killed. And the Gu Hai’s stores are just like those delegates, we don’t have sufficient evidence to support that they will bring harm to our Great Song, and we cannot randomly confiscate, otherwise, it would cause a chain reaction, the businessmen wouldn’t dare to traverse to another country, or conduct trans-regional business. Moreover, there are many, many Gu Hai’s stores, once all of them are confiscated, the trading system of our Song Kingdom would likely be in chaos, the citizens wouldn’t be able to buy many things suddenly, which would lead to a ma.s.s uprising. Secondly, the promotion of Gu Hai’s sinisterness was just to prevent Gu Hai’s machinations. The citizens would only hate Gu Hai, but wouldn’t be afraid. But if we do a thorough cleansing, it will very likely give off an impression of our Song Kingdom being in dire peril, which would cause the citizens to be afraid!”
Crown Prince Song’s face revealed a sliver of weird look.
“Maybe His Royal Majesty also wanted to confiscate Gu Song Silver House, and maybe even was preparing to do something to eliminate the hidden dangers, although it would bring loss, it would still be within our control. However, in the end, we were a step too late, with the citizens causing this outbreak. Due to this, the situation had turned even more complex! The citizens that had robbed Gu Song Silver House today, will they be found guilty or innocent? Will they be rewarded or punished?” An aide wryly smiled.
Crown Prince Song: “…!”
The chamber once again sunk into silence. Originally, it was something to be happy about, but at this moment, it had become so strange.
“Your Royal Highness!”
A chamberlain walked in.
“What is it?” Crown Prince Song asked in a solemn tone.
“Mister Tian is here to see you!” The chamberlain respectfully said.
“Mister Tian? Tian Han? The businessman?”
“This Tian Han is indeed a bit intelligent, unfortunately, he is too focused on wealth. Although he had offered a great fortune to the Crown Prince Palace, he had never intervened in the matters of Crown Prince Palace!”
“It’s better that he didn’t intervene, how could we allow a businessman to willfully intervene in the matters of His Royal Highness?”
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….
The congregation of aides occasionally whispered to each other, meanwhile, Crown Prince Song had already ordered the chamberlain to invite Tian Han.
Soon, Gu Han was guided into the chamber.
“This worthless commoner greets Your Royal Highness, this worthless commoner greets everyone!” Gu Han said with a smile.
“Mister Tian no need to be over-courteous!” Crown Prince Song smiled and said.
The congregation of aides also slightly smiled, after all, Gu Han had never intervened in the matters of Crown Prince Palace, therefore, he didn’t have any conflict of interest with everyone.
“Mister Tian, is there anything I can do for you?”
Gu Han burst into a wry smile as he said, “Perhaps Your Royal Highness is already aware of the situation with the Gu Song Silver House!”
“Oh?” Everyone’s expression was astir.
“Mister Tian, did you arrive in regards to this?” Crown Prince Song frowned.
“This Tian dares not make wild guesses regarding this matter, This Tian is talentless and is just a businessman, This Tian is unable to share the burden of Your Royal Highness. This time, This Tian have just arrived to bring what This Tian had noticed to Your Royal Highness’ attention, perhaps what This Tian noticed as an ordinary citizen is different from what Your Royal Highness and the gentlemen noticed, it is for reference purposes only!” Gu Han politely said.
“Oh?” Everyone curiously gazed at Gu Han.