Among the court officials, many vehemently condemned Guo Neng, saying that a mere merchant dared to stir up trouble and requested a thorough investigation. They also said that His Majesty, perceptive as ever, had preemptively confiscated this man's property, stopping him and his family from further wrongdoing, which was indeed wise.
There were also some officials who, having not yet spoken, glanced at Xue Ping intentionally or unintentionally without either supporting or criticizing him.
Beyond this, a few officials who usually agreed with Xue Ping, backed by noble families, acted very abnormally.
Their words were fierce, wishing they could trample him underfoot. They said that this merchant was audacious, daring to wreak havoc everywhere, and that surely there was a powerful backer behind him; otherwise, he would not have been so brazen. They called for an investigation into Guo's relatives to unearth this supporter and restore justice to the victims.
