Chapter 767 - 765 Can’t Seek Justice?
In this era, there were no things like intellectual property or patents—it was all about the power and influence of wealth. Therefore, even as Prince Fu, he was unwilling to offer Ye Xinyan any corresponding compensation.
When it came to lawsuits, in the courtroom, as long as Wong Qiao could stand up and claim that these creations were the result of a collective effort, then Ye Xinyan’s complaint would become useless. It would only serve to let her taste defeat.
At the same time, if Wong Qiao did so, he would be placing himself on the opposite side of the Qi family and Ye Xinyan. Without the Qi family and Ye Xinyan, he would also sever ties with Jinrong, and might even be detested by Jinrong.
The Mechanical Workshop in Clear Water Village in Yuyuan Prefecture had a share belonging to Prince Yu. Although the tools manufactured there had not appeared in the Capital, they were already being sold in Yuyuan Prefecture and the surrounding areas, making a fair amount of silver. However, the scale of that mechanical workshop couldn’t compare to the abundant strength of Prince Fu, and naturally, the output of tools was much less.
After this lawsuit, Prince Fu could rightfully manufacture the tools that Ye Xinyan had devised. With the involvement of Prince Fu, who would benefit most from the efficient tools was an obvious matter.
It’s laughable that Ye Xinyan and Jinrong were not cautious about concealing their skills, contributing their hard work for others without realizing it. Now they think of filing a lawsuit, but isn’t it too late?
The financial loss that Ye Xinyan would suffer from this lawsuit would equate to the amount of enmity she would hold towards Wong Qiao, which Prince Fu was happy to see.
Of course, Prince Fu’s plans would best be resolved in the capital’s yamen, it wouldn’t be good to cause a disturbance that reached the Emperor. Otherwise, regardless of the outcome, him being a prince and getting into a dispute over earning money with a woman to the point of taking it to court would be disgraceful to His Majesty the Emperor.
Moreover, no matter how he argued his case, regardless of how much power he held, he was the party in the wrong, merely exploiting loopholes with cunning.
Prince Fu’s reasoning was sound; although merchants were wealthy and lived comfortably, they were of low status and did not garner respect from the court.