To Love You Again

If under usual conditions, given the long list of charges against him and the need for intensive investigation by the relevant departments, Xiong De's massive case could have been extended for several months before finally arriving at a court session.

However, due to the clear and strong evidences presented shortly after, and with the Xiong surname pressuring the relevant departments, the investigation and verification of the evidences only lasted for whole two weeks.

Again, due to the large-scale attention and public outcry, the hearing of Xiong De's case received permission to be broadcasted live once more. Even the commoners who did not know his name but only knew of the surname Xiong, gave their time to watch the court session.

Of course, there was a culprit behind this.

Xiong Zhi instructed Linfeng to let the matter be widely known to the world. Linfeng executed the order to the fullest and made sure that Xiong De's crimes were put on the headlines of every newspaper, national television, and social media.

Even his connections abroad were used to spread Xiong De's crime to the Chinese communities scattered around the whole world. From the initial peanut gallery of simply watching at the sidelines, the masses were subtly led by the nose to indignation and anger at the extent of Xiong De's crimes with the help of the water navy.

[E/N: 'water navy', it's the term used for a large group of hired accounts posting many comments, or add views, likes, or dislikes on a video, online to influence the direction of the public opinion. Please be reminded of YG Entertainment in South Korea]

That was why today, on the very day wherein Xiong De would hear the verdict, a lot of eyes were put on him.

The court trial was arranged in the largest hall of the judicial building. Since the man for this trial has the legendary surname Xiong, many influential powers used their connections to attend the trial personally.

With the news that the old man himself and his heiress would come, the officials knew that the most powerful families in the country would likely send their representatives as well.

Xiong De came into the big hall. He squinted his eyes as he was met by flashes of cameras and endless questioning. 

He felt extremely humiliated, yet he could not do anything but let the escorts drag him away towards the front.

The court was now in session.

The lawyers' and the prosecutors' exchanges were like buzzing of bees inside his head.

It was already explained to him by Lawyer Chang. He even called different lawyers aside from the famous Bivia Chang to confirm her conjecture. He could not just trust his fate to one person.

However, all of them shook his head and said that this was a hopeless case. He was caught red-handed. With many strong evidences out in the light, he would face capital punishment. The most optimistic resolution for him was life imprisonment. 

Those incapable quacks even dared to say that he should be thankful that his life was spared. No matter what he do, there was no way around.

Now, the only thing he hoped for was to at least have a chance to choose a better detention facility to spend the rest of his life in.

Because he already knew of the outcome today, he forced himself to be calm. He arranged everything already. He had used up everything he could use, including his deal with the Five Kings. 

To arrange him with the best detention facility, it was already put in place.

He had once heard of this kind of situation. 

During his dealings with the underworld, there was once an underworld king who ruled without showing his face. It was said that the king in the east was imprisoned in this country. However, he still lived in luxury and could use his authority outside. The only difference was that he just stayed inside the prison. Aside from that, it was said to be no different with living outside. 

There were places like that. A detention facility for the most powerful and the wealthiest.

Even if he was to be imprisoned, he would live well and still have control in the outside world. He still had secret funds in a few tax-haven countries... and his daughter.

This gave him hope and his last saving straw. 

Xiong De woke up from his daze when he was called by the head judge. For the sake of avoiding capital punishment and having a better correctional facility, he confessed to his crimes. 

Every word was shocking. 

The court was very loud and the murmurs of the journalists echoed in the hallway.

They already knew that the accusations against Xiong De were likely to be true, because no media company would dare put up such a self-destructive fake list of legally-sensitive evidences. SHM did not receive a warning from the police department, so it could only be true. 

But they could never guess that Xiong De would immediately plead guilty to his crimes with a straight face.

Among the front row seats in the court, Old Xiong tightened his grip on his cane. "This unfilial sc.u.m did not feel sorry at all. He is confessing with such an arrogant face. He obviously never regretted even one of his crimes! Despicable!"

Xiong Zhi's eyes were cold, too. She had expected to see a battered, worn-out, and helpless Xiong De. An evil grass was really a tough nut to crack. He had been pushed to this point yet still acted loftily in front of them. He was already humiliated in front of the whole world, but he still thought that he could crawl back up. 

Did this guy really think that the world would once again be under his feet?

The corner of her lips curled up. As if she would allow that. 

"Don't worry, Grandfather. Xiong De is bound to sink deeper. Soon, he will not have such a proud face ever again. "