Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 110 - 109 Li Yueqin Becomes a Negative Example, Zhang Wei’s “Encouragement”

Chapter 110: Chapter 109 Li Yueqin Becomes a Negative Example, Zhang Wei’s “Encouragement”

Tuesday, court day.

At 7 a.m., Li Yueqin rushed to the entrance of the city courthouse.

She had been here many times before, each time with a relaxed state of mind.

That was because her job was as a court clerk, requiring only to record all the information during the trial.

But this time, she paced back and forth outside the door, wanting to enter yet afraid to go in.

The expression on her face could only be described as changing every minute.

After more than ten minutes, Tie Ruyun arrived.

Seeing the team leader arrive, Li Yueqin finally felt as if she had found her backbone and hurried over.

"Team leader, I’m quite nervous!"

"It’s normal for you to be nervous, which only means that our preparation isn’t thorough enough. If you were confident, you wouldn’t be so nervous," he replied.

Tie Ruyun didn’t know how to comfort a woman, so he could only say what a leader should say.

With that, he felt somewhat helpless.

"We made a mistake yesterday. We should have let Zhang Wei simulate the questioning for you. He seems to have been practicing mock trials with Lin Yumeng all along."

As for Zhang Wei, Tie Ruyun had to admit he was somewhat impressed by the young man.

Of course, not by his attitude but by Zhang Wei’s trial skills.

He thought this young man’s litigation tactics were sharp—having Zhang Wei simulate it would definitely help Li Yueqin a great deal.

At the very least, if Zhang Wei simulated the prosecution’s questioning, his questions would be trickier than those of any prosecutor in the Procuratorate’s Office.

If Li Yueqin could handle Zhang Wei, then today’s trial would undoubtedly be problem-free.

"Having Zhang Wei..."

Li Yueqin was still somewhat resistant. After all, she always wanted to be the best at everything, and the idea of a newcomer from the same induction period coaching her triggered an instinctive resistance in her.

"Alright, your client has arrived!"

Tie Ruyun glanced out of the corner of his eye and spotted the Martial Association’s escort vehicle.

Given the early hour, it had to be Li Yueqin’s client.

The two had no choice but to hastily finish chatting and enter the city courthouse with the client.

An hour and a half later, Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng arrived.

They timed it perfectly, walked into the city courthouse, and headed straight to the courtroom where Li Yueqin was.

Inside the courtroom, Li Yueqin was already standing at the defense bench with her client.

Zhang Wei glanced around the courtroom and spotted Tie Ruyun sitting in the audience.

Although it was a small courtroom, there were still less than a third of the seats occupied in the audience.

"This is what happens with a minor case, and it’s a fast-track trial too!"

Zhang Wei muttered to himself and, with Lin Yumeng at his side, also walked over to where Tie Ruyun was sitting.

"Old Tie, why didn’t you go up and serve as co-counsel? Can Li Yueqin handle it on her own?"

"It was Li Yueqin’s own insistence. I offered to be her co-counsel, but she refused!"

Tie Ruyun sighed, supporting Li Yueqin’s choice regardless.

"Such a strong-willed woman!"

Zhang Wei naturally understood that Li Yueqin’s character was competitive and eager to excel.

Seeing Zhang Wei win his first case on his own, she too wanted to prove herself, to show that the Criminal Division wasn’t just about one new guy winning cases.

But was Zhang Wei really a newcomer?

Obviously not!

"By the way, why isn’t Jin Mingming here?"

Zhang Wei then looked around again, noticing that another person from the Criminal Division hadn’t arrived.

"Hmm, that kid, he probably doesn’t have his heart in our group anymore!"

Tie Ruyun shook his head, making a comment with a sense of resignation.

That was inevitable; there were always a few newcomers recruited every year who joined the Criminal Division with the intention of transferring to a different group. Jin Mingming was one such person.

"Alright," Zhang Wei said, seeing the situation clearly, and asked no more.

As Zhang Wei and Tie Ruyun talked, the time for the court session arrived.

"All rise!"

With the announcement from the Court Guard, the trial officially began.

Li Yueqin’s opponent was also a prosecutor from the Central District Procuratorate’s Office, who looked to be no small chap—a man in his forties.

The prosecution began by stating the case, and from the prosecutor’s presentation, Zhang Wei could tell that, although the man lacked talent, his demeanor was very steady.

"The Central District Procuratorate’s Office is after all neighbors with the Procuratorate Headquarters, so the prosecutors here must be strong!"

Although in his eyes, the level of that prosecutor was limited, that was only by comparison to himself.

A prosecutor with over ten years of experience, in the eyes of a rookie lawyer, is like an insurmountable mountain!

Sure enough, Li Yueqin quickly fell on the defensive after the trial began.

In the spectator’s bench, whether it was Tie Ruyun or Zhang Wei, both could see something was amiss.

The only one who probably had no thoughts about it was Lin Yumeng, who was following by Zhang Wei’s side.

"You should object now, why let the prosecutor keep talking? Interrupt him!"

"Hearsay evidence, Li Yueqin, you need to firmly object!"

"Oh my gosh, the prosecutor is playing that card too? Even though the judge will eventually agree to admit the evidence, you at least have to object to it, to show your position, right?"

"Xiao Meng, when you go to court, don’t make these kinds of mistakes, do you understand?"

Watching Zhang Wei gesture grandly from the spectator’s bench, Lin Yumeng beside him nodded stoically.

On the other side, Tie Ruyun’s heart was also in a twist.

Seeing a newcomer struggling to reply under the weight of the prosecutor’s seasoned experience, he felt more discomfort than if he had lost the case himself.

"I see what’s happening now. The prosecution must have realized that Li Yueqin is a novice. First-time attorneys can easily be stumped by off-topic questions, so the prosecutor is deliberately picking obscure and complex issues to challenge her with, and sure enough, Li Yueqin is struggling to cope!"

After his analysis, Zhang Wei had already started to predict the outcome.

At this rate, it’s not looking good, Li Yueqin is bound to lose.

"Old Tie, maybe you should remind her later, tell her not to..."

"No, Li Yueqin specifically asked me not to help her and said the same for you, not to teach her what to do."

Zhang Wei was just about to offer some advice to Li Yueqin, but Tie Ruyun rejected the idea.

"Li Yueqin said she wants to handle this first case on her own. She told us to stay out of it, saying that even if she loses, she wants to lose by herself."

"But wouldn’t that be bad for the client’s interests?"

"There’s nothing bad about it. I’ve looked at the case. It’s just a simple burglary. Her client hasn’t been wronged; he’s a repeat offender with over thirty prior convictions. When he was caught this time, his bag contained a crowbar and the stolen goods—he was caught red-handed. Sending someone like him to prison is a contribution to society!"

"Oh, then I have no burden on my conscience, let Li Yueqin perform however she wishes!"

Having heard Tie Ruyun say this, Zhang Wei naturally had no objections.

A habitual offender with over thirty previous convictions, caught red-handed, it wouldn’t matter if Li Yueqin lost the case!

The entire morning of the trial consisted of the prosecution’s case statement.

Li Yueqin didn’t make a single objection, allowing the prosecution to complete their statement smoothly.

"Court is adjourned for now, the defense will speak in the afternoon!"

With the judge’s gavel, the trial broke for the midday recess.

Li Yueqin walked towards the spectator’s bench with a very grim look on her face, the morning’s proceedings having put a lot of pressure on her.

"Li Yueqin, you’ve done very well. It’s your turn to speak in the afternoon. Any problems?"

"I will... do my best."

Old Tie quickly comforted her, but Li Yueqin had already lost much of her confidence.

"Ah, I’m so hungry, let’s go eat together!"

Zhang Wei rubbed his stomach, lightening the atmosphere a bit.

He could see that Li Yueqin was under a lot of stress, and bringing up the case now would only backfire.

Zhang Wei didn’t bring lunch because he was coming to watch the trial; the four of them quickly ate at a fast-food restaurant and made do.

The afternoon came, and it was time for the defense to present evidence.

However, Li Yueqin faced frequent interruptions from the prosecution.

"Objection, the attorney is testifying!"

"Objection, hearsay evidence!"

"Objection..."

"Objection..."

Li Yueqin was interrupted with objections almost every time she questioned or attempted to summarize.

The judge initially declared the objections valid, but after several instances, came to recognize the prosecution’s intention.

The subsequent objections were overruled by the judge.

Unfortunately, Li Yueqin’s rhythm had already been disrupted.

Even towards the end, before speaking, Li Yueqin would subconsciously glance at the prosecution’s bench, ensuring they had no objections before continuing.

"Her rhythm is all over the place, how can the jury trust someone who speaks with no conviction!"

Zhang Wei shook his head secretly upon seeing this.

"Xiao Meng, when it’s your turn in court, don’t make these mistakes!"

"But Master, what should I do?"

"It’s simple, when the prosecution objects, just treat it as if they’re farting. No matter what, continue to speak until you finish. In the end, just sell a cute sorry and a word of apology will do. Remember, however, to apologize to the judge, not the prosecutors, and after you apologize, smile at the jury?"

"Why should I do that?"

"Because the courtroom is a battlefield, the prosecutors are your enemies, never apologize to the enemy! You apologize to the judge because he is the highest authority in the court, you make faces at the jury because they are the ones you need to rally to your side. A smile to them shows that you care about what they think, and you want them to know that!"

"Oh..."

Although the young apprentice did not quite understand, she took the advice seriously and jotted everything down that Zhang Wei said.

"This Zhang Wei, what he says makes a lot of sense," Tie Ruyun, who was standing by, nodded unconsciously after hearing Zhang Wei’s words.

Even though these were just small courtroom tactics, they were things that law school textbooks would never teach. These were insights gained from trial experience.

Li Yueqin had no idea that she had been made into a negative example by Zhang Wei to educate the young apprentice Lin Yumeng.

The trial continued, but Li Yueqin’s evidence presentation ended abruptly due to poor performance.

"We’ll recess for 30 minutes. Following that, both the prosecution and defense will present their closing arguments!"

With the judge’s announcement, the court recessed again.

Li Yueqin hurriedly grabbed her documents and headed to the preparation room, not even greeting Zhang Wei and the other two in the visitor’s bench.

"She’s in such a hurry; she seems flustered," Zhang Wei shook his head quietly as he observed Li Yueqin’s expression.

The outcome of this trial was already determined.

minutes later.

The trial resumed, and the prosecution started with their closing arguments.

"Do you know, there’s a saying among defense attorneys that a jury is made up of twelve fools..." The prosecutor’s opening statement was a direct provocation, causing all twelve jurors to look straight at Li Yueqin.

"Look, the defense hasn’t objected, some even seem to take it for granted!" The prosecutor immediately seized the opportunity to add that remark.

"Well played, using this tactic!" Zhang Wei watched the scene with a cold smile in his heart.

"Master, do we defense attorneys really see the jury that way?" Lin Yumeng tugged at Zhang Wei’s sleeve, her big eyes filled with curiosity and confusion.

Zhang Wei leaned over to Lin Yumeng’s ear and whispered, "Xiao Meng, let me tell you the truth, what he said is not wrong, many defense attorneys do think of the jury as twelve fools."

"Eh, this..."

"But hey, you just need to know this deep down, and you must never express it, not even show the slightest sign of it in court."

"But if they say that, what can we do, should I apologize?"

"Of course not, once you apologize it means you admit to having such thoughts, which is absolutely not okay!"

Zhang Wei eyes rolled as he came up with a counter strategy.

"Xiao Meng, you need to use your innate advantage, if the prosecution says that during the trial, you praise the jury with all your might. Just don’t apologize, say good things about the jury, and I’ll teach you all about it when we get back!"

"Oh, okay, thank you, Master!" Upon hearing what Zhang Wei said, Lin Yumeng nodded vigorously.

She felt she had learned a lot from this trial.

In the court, the prosecution finished their statement, and it was Li Yueqin’s turn.

However, when she took the stand, she faced the scrutinizing gaze of the jury.

The twelve jurors were probably wondering if this young lady regarded them as fools in her heart.

And Li Yueqin could only bear the pressure and complete her prepared closing arguments.

However, Zhang Wei could tell that the impact of the closing argument was not good.

The jury didn’t take long to deliberate, using less than 15 minutes.

"Foreman of the jury!"

"Yes, Your Honor, we the jury have reached a unanimous decision!"

The foreman of the jury began to announce:

"After deliberation by the jury, we find that with regard to the defendant’s burglary and multiple thefts involving a significant amount of money..."

"...the illegal actions, to pronounce the charges established, and sentence the defendant to five years of imprisonment with a fine of 50,000!"

In the end, with the foreman of the jury’s announcement, there were mixed reactions.

The prosecution smiled, while the defense’s bench was clouded with gloom.

"Thank you to the jury for their participation, court is now adjourned!"

The judge banged the gavel and announced the end of the trial.

"Fuck, I never should have trusted a public defender, what a rubbish level they all are, and they assigned me a student who just graduated, what the hell use is that, go eat shit!"

As the defendant was being led away, he jeered at Li Yueqin, his attitude incredibly vile.

"Court Guard Brother, please record the defendant’s statements in the record, this is abusive and insulting behavior, and when the time comes we can tack on a few more years for multiple charges!"

The defendant hadn’t finished cursing when Zhang Wei coldly walked out and interrupted.

Feeling the chill in Zhang Wei’s gaze, the habitual offender inexplicably felt a cold shiver and was too frightened to make a sound.

"Coward, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Zhang Wei scoffed in his heart and no longer paid any attention to the person.

"Team Leader, I’ve disappointed you!"

Li Yueqin hung her head, her demeanor negative, seemingly still not recovered from the lost case.

"Li Yueqin, losing a case is a common occurrence, don’t be discouraged!" Tie Ruyun hurriedly went over to comfort her.

He also looked back at Zhang Wei and the other, signaling them to quickly come over and help.

"Oh, I’m coming!"

Lin Yumeng immediately understood and stepped forward, saying, "Cheer up, don’t lose heart, you can do it!"

Watching his apprentice’s utterly dispassionate encouragement, Zhang Wei was utterly speechless.

Such cheering, what the hell use is that.

In crucial times, you have to rely on me!

"Xiao Li, don’t be disheartened, you need to perk up quickly..."

As for Zhang Wei’s encouragement, naturally, Li Yueqin had no reaction whatsoever.

"...you need to understand, there will be plenty more days in the future when you’ll lose cases, today you lost, and you might lose again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and then you’ll have no one left you can win against..."

"Huh?"

Tie Ruyun and Lin Yumeng hadn’t noticed anything wrong at first, but after hearing the second half of Zhang Wei’s sentence, they completely lost their composure.

Good heavens, are you comforting her?

I’ve never seen such sarcasm!

"What are you saying!"

But Zhang Wei’s words somehow made Li Yueqin somewhat angry.

"Hehe, but I’m not wrong, are you? Can you guarantee you’ll win next time?"

"I..."

Facing Zhang Wei’s retort, Li Yueqin was at a loss for words.

"See, that’s why I say, losing cases is normal, you’ll get used to it, and you, Li Yueqin, will have lots of opportunities to lose cases in the future!"

"Bullshit, I, Li Yueqin, will definitely win next time!"

Faced with Zhang Wei’s mockery, a fighting spirit seemed to ignite within Li Yueqin.

She felt an impulse deep in her heart, and that was to slap Zhang Wei in the face, to trample him underfoot.

"Today I was careless, I didn’t expect the prosecution to do such a thing, I must find a way to break it, next time if the prosecution uses the same trick, I definitely won’t make the same mistake!"

Against all odds, a fighting spirit had somehow sprung up in Li Yueqin, and she once again looked energetic and lively.

However, in her eyes flickered a flame of anger, her target was Zhang Wei.

"Hehe, that’s the effect I wanted!"

Seeing that his "encouragement" had had an effect, Zhang Wei was quite satisfied inside.

For some people, comfort is useless, and might even have the opposite effect, making them feel pitied.

With these types of individuals, you need a different approach, provoking their competitive spirit through mockery.

Li Yueqin was clearly this kind of person, Old Tie’s consolation to her was like mockery, but ironically, Zhang Wei’s reverse psychology was what truly encouraged her.

"Team leader, I’ll go back and review now!"

Li Yueqin bid farewell and quickly left the courtroom.

"She’s, she’s recovered just like that?"

Tie Ruyun watched as Li Yueqin regained her spirit, completely dumbfounded.

Good lord, his own consolation had been of no use, yet Zhang Wei’s sarcasm turned out to be so effective, how could this be?

"Let’s go, let’s head back too, we’ve finished our work for today!"

Zhang Wei chuckled and left the courtroom, feeling a bit guilty for slacking off all day.

But this wasn’t really slacking off!

They were supporting a colleague’s work, how could that be considered slacking off?