Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 112 - 111: Little Apprentice vs Little Sidekick (Subscribe for - s 83 and Beyond, Aim for Excellence)

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Little Apprentice vs Little Sidekick (Subscribe for Chapters 83 and Beyond, Aim for Excellence)

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(PS: For an author who has been knocked down, the dream of producing a quality work seems almost unattainable~ Once it becomes a quality piece, Author Germ will update more, there will be extra updates for a quality piece, extra updates...)

...

After the trial of Ying Qingli began.

Old Street in Chengnan District.

Second floor of an old building, a side office of a financial company.

Wang Tianmeng puffed on a cigar, with wisps of smoke rising at the corner of his mouth.

On the tea table intended for guests, Ge Qingxiong lay slouched, his legs draped over the edge of the table.

"Today’s the day of Ah Li’s case hearing. I asked around at the court, and it’s a fast-track trial; with some luck, it might even wrap up today!"

"You mean, Ying Qingli could be behind bars today?"

"Bro, you’ve been abroad for years and forgotten Dragon Country’s criminal law? There’s a ten-day appeal period after sentencing. At least half a month’s wait, right?"

Ge Qingxiong raised his eyelids slightly when he heard Wang Tianmeng mock him.

"So, once he’s locked up, you’ll need to find a new driver?"

"Yeah, even though Ah Li has washed his hands of the old business and doesn’t want to work for me anymore, after all, I was the one who brought him up. Now that he’s going in, I do feel somewhat reluctant to let him go..."

"Reluctant?"

Ge Qingxiong laughed. You’re reluctant, yet you’d do that to him.

Wang Tianmeng caught the hint of mockery from his subordinate and his gaze turned icy all at once.

"However, Ah Li is an unstable factor. Although I need to maintain the brotherhood on the streets and keep him around, now that he’s putting himself in jail, it does save me a lot of trouble!"

"So what’s your plan?"

"Of course it’s to clean it up. Once Ah Li enters Iron Island Prison, natural forces will take their course, and at the right time, I’ll prepare a confession and letter of remorse, and everything will be perfect!"

"You have people inside Iron Island Prison?"

"Of course not, but there are those who are willing to do things for money. I paid them a hefty commission, and they’ll do the job for me."

As he said this, Wang Tianmeng looked at Ge Qingxiong, his expression somewhat helpless.

If it weren’t for the fact that Ge Qingxiong had a record, why would he need to pay outsiders? He could have just sent this guy over in his place.

"By the way, those two lawyers who came last time saw me. Could they become a problem?"

When Ge Qingxiong mentioned the two people, Wang Tianmeng immediately pictured Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng in his mind.

He shook his head: "Of course not. Those two are clearly greenhorns straight out of law school. What can public interest lawyers do at most? They might at best help Ah Li get a reduced sentence."

"My plan is flawless. No matter how many years Ah Li gets sentenced, once he’s in Iron Island Prison, there’s no coming back!"

"That’s reassuring!"

Ge Qingxiong felt there was nothing to worry about after hearing this.

Two public interest lawyers, what could they possibly do?

"But just in case, I’ve sent someone to monitor the trial. Any developments will be reported to me directly, so don’t worry!"

As Wang Tianmeng said this, his brow furrowed again.

"Right now, our main problem seems to be the people from the Martial Association Investigation Department. Lately, lots of my underlings have been tailed while ’out on business.’ It seems they’ve caught a whiff and are looking to trip us up!"

"Do you need me to deal with it?"

"Unless absolutely necessary, don’t take action. It risks exposure. The Martial Association usually needs a warrant to make an arrest, which is why I’m not worried, as I haven’t done anything illegal in the open. But if they spot you, it’s a different story. Chasing a fugitive, the Martial Association can easily apply for a search warrant. Once they start sniffing around here, who knows if they’ll uncover any clues!"

"Got it!"

Ge Qingxiong nodded and closed his eyes again.

Wang Tianmeng put down the cigar in his hand and then glanced at the phone beside him.

"Ah Li, don’t blame me. It’s your choice not to follow me. How does the saying go? ’When you’re out in the world, sooner or later you have to pay the piper...’"

...

The city court, a small courtroom.

Lin Yumeng held documents in both hands, cross-examining a witness.

"Are you sure you saw my client rob you with a knife?"

"Yes, it was him!"

"Are you certain? It was almost ten o’clock at night, and it was very dark, wasn’t it?"

"I’m sure because the lighting in the basement was fine, and there were several white cars parked around, which made the area even better lit with their reflections."

"So, you clearly saw my client rob you, and you saw his face as well?"

"I didn’t see his face directly because I was too scared at the time to look at him. But I did see his tattoo, and his build matched my description."

"When did you find out that my client had been arrested by the field staff?"

"It was less than 20 minutes later; right after ten o’clock, I went to confirm it and I knew it was him!"

"When you saw my client, what state was he in? Was he standing there alone, or had he been caught by two field staff members?"

"He was caught by two field staff, one on each side. They called me over to identify him. One glance and I knew it was him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

Lin Yumeng stopped asking at this point, taking notes on the document in her hand before continuing to flip through the pages.

Seeing that there were still several pages to go, the witness hurriedly took another sip of water.

He felt bitterness in his heart; how endless these questions were,

At the witness stand.

Xiao Baihe seemed to catch on to something. She crossed her arms and questioned the person next to her,

"Did you prepare these questions?"

"Not at all, my apprentice wrote them out one by one!"

Zhang Wei hastily denied.

He was telling the truth; Lin Yumeng wrote each one, but indeed it was he who had provided them.

In preparation for today’s trial, Zhang Wei had prepared as many as ten pages of questions, covering almost every scenario imaginable.

The witness’s response to the first question would determine whether to jump to the second or third question.

The questions would continue, the witness would keep answering, and depending on the responses, they would jump all the way to the last page.

So although today’s trial would be boring, Zhang Wei was also enjoying it.

"By the way, I have something else to do, so I won’t disturb your trial watching!"

Zhang Wei glanced back at the redhead young man in the corner of the audience bench, then bid farewell to Xiao Baihe and left the courtroom.

"What’s the deal with that guy?"

Xiao Baihe was puzzled but quickly refocused her attention on the trial.

After leaving the courtroom, Zhang Wei immediately found a familiar court guard.

"Old Lu, I’ve noticed someone’s not playing by the rules in today’s trial!"

"Lawyer Zhang, who are you talking about?"

Court Guard Old Lu and Zhang Wei were acquaintances, as he had been present during the cases of Lin Xiao and Wang Yuqing.

"A redhead youngster, constantly on his phone, I suspect he’s recording something. You know, live streaming is all the rage these days. If he’s planning to live stream the trial, that’s without permission!"

"Good heavens, live streaming in court!"

Upon hearing this, Old Lu’s temper flared up instantly.

The nerve of these youngsters to live stream anything they please.

They truly don’t fear death. Just watch how I’ll deal with him.

"Old Lu, I’ll come with you. These young people can be difficult to handle, and who knows, the moment you touch him, he might just play dead. I’m a criminal defense lawyer, I’ll help you keep an eye on things!"

"All right, let’s take care of him together!"

Zhang Wei returned to the trial, but this time he came directly to the back row with Old Lu in tow.

"Kid, put the phone down, then come with me, do you know it’s forbidden to take photos or record in the courtroom!"

"I, I wasn’t recording anything..."

"Humph, then what do you need the phone for if you’re not watching the trial attentively? Did you come to court to play?"

Old Lu grabbed the youth and, with Zhang Wei’s help, took him out of the courtroom, one on either side.

The commotion they caused at the back of the room suddenly silenced the trial.

However, before they left, Zhang Wei exchanged a look with Lin Yumeng.

"Um... My master just gave everyone a demonstration... Now, witness, was my client brought before you in the same manner?"

Lin Yumeng quickly caught on, pointing in the direction where Zhang Wei and Old Lu were heading, and asked the witness.

"Yes, just like that!" the witness pointed at Ying Qingli and nodded in confirmation.

The effect of Zhang Wei and Old Lu taking out the youngster was thus diverted by Lin Yumeng with this line of questioning.

As everyone’s attention turned to her, she breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt immense pressure.

"Well then, witness, please continue listening to the questions... Ah, no, please continue answering my questions..."

The witness saw Lin Yumeng turn another page and his face fell.

Outside the courtroom.

Zhang Wei looked at the red-haired youth nabbed by Court Guard Old Lu, snatched the youngster’s phone away, and then removed its SIM card.

"Done!"

After quietly placing the phone back, he sneaked back into the courtroom.

Once he sat next to Xiao Baihe again, Zhang Wei’s gaze returned to the inside of the courtroom.

"Witness, do you know that the confirmation that night was actually an invalid identification!"

"Huh?"

The witness looked confused and did not understand.

Lin Yumeng did not refer to the document provided by Zhang Wei this time, but instead explained to the jury: "The legal stipulations for identification procedures have certain restrictions. One of them is to not allow the suspect to be faced alone by the victim, as it could lead to misjudgment!"

"When the victim sees a suspect controlled by the Martial Association Field Staff, they may impulsively identify that person, telling the Field Staff that this is the suspect."

"Especially in this case, we also know that when the witness was being robbed, they did not see the perpetrator’s face, only a distinguishing tattoo feature. Therefore, when someone with a similar build and a similar tattoo appears, the witness is likely to subconsciously believe that this is the perpetrator,"

"So the Martial Association, after capturing the suspect, surely had the witness come back the next day to confirm!"

Lin Yumeng said this, looking toward the witness stand, "May I ask the witness, is that what happened?"

"Yes!"

The witness nodded and recalled, "It was around 9 in the morning, I think, when the Martial Association called me to confirm it again!"

"That’s correct!"

Lin Yumeng nodded and continued, "In the second confirmation, the Martial Association personnel had the suspect line up with several others and asked the witness to select and identify."

"But because of the day before yesterday’s identification, the witness identified my client again during the confirmation the next day. However, such identification is actually invalid. Because the person they picked out wasn’t the one who robbed him with a knife yesterday, but the person whom the Field Staff held from both sides and whom he decided was the suspect!"

"Objection!"

Tan Yingying finally couldn’t sit still and stood up from her seat.

"Your Honor, we are currently in the statement and examination phase, and defense counsel is making summary remarks, which is inappropriate."

Tan Yingying’s voice may have been weak, but she still stated her reasons for the objection.

"Correct, objection sustained!"

The judge glanced at Lin Yumeng as a warning.

However, he marveled inwardly at the newcomer who, although looking inexperienced, made a lot of sense in her speech.

"I apologize, Your Honor. This is my first time in court; I will be more careful next time!"

Lin Yumeng hurriedly bowed and apologized, her attitude sincere.

"Newcomer, be careful next time!"

The judge, seeing the young girl apologize, couldn’t help but soften, and a smile emerged on his usually stern face.

In the hearing section.

"Nice tactic, having your apprentice play cute in the courtroom, huh?"

Xiao Baihe narrowed her eyes and looked at Zhang Wei beside her.

"It’s called making rational use of innate advantages. If I were a cute girl, I’d be playing dumb in court every day!"

Zhang Wei chuckled, his thick-skinned nature once again ignoring the mockery from those around him.

"But you really have a way. Those questions were all thought up by you, weren’t they? Are you that afraid of losing to me?"

"My little apprentice is a seedling. Although her questioning still needs practice, her ability to adapt on the spot is quite good!"

"You must have dragged her through a lot of simulations these past few days, right?"

"Isn’t it natural for a master to train their apprentice?"

Xiao Baihe and Zhang Wei began a "duel" in the hearing section, their words laced with hidden implications and barbs.

In the courtroom, it was the same.

The witness was "tormented" by Lin Yumeng with a series of questions before he finally heard the words he had been longing for.

"As for this witness, I no longer have..."

"Cough cough!"

Unfortunately, Lin Yumeng’s speech was interrupted by a cough from the hearing section.

There Zhang Wei could be seen supporting his chin with his hand, then mouthing three words in a hoarse whisper.

Though it was silent, Lin Yumeng saw the lip movements.

"Wang Tianmeng!"

The name immediately clicked in her mind, prompting her to look quickly at the witness.

"Witness, one last question."

"Please hurry up, I’m about to pee myself here!"

Too much water indeed, he really couldn’t hold it any longer.

"What is your relationship with Wang Tianmeng?"

"What, Wang Tianmeng!"

The witness’s pupil constricted slightly upon hearing the question.

"Objection, the question is unrelated to the case, and this name is also new to the prosecution!"

Tan Yingying immediately stood up, interrupting Lin Yumeng’s questioning.

Relieved, the witness finally exhaled, but then his expression changed again.

That moment earlier, he had almost wet himself.

"But..."

Seeing her question go unanswered, Lin Yumeng hesitated.

She looked toward the hearing section but saw Zhang Wei nodding.

"Your Honor, I retract my previous question. As for this witness, I have no further questions!"

"Phew—"

The witness let out a sigh of relief, and without waiting for the judge to announce, he "whooshed" out of the courtroom, rushing out in a matter of seconds.

Watching the witness disappear, the judge inwardly remarked, indeed people are driven by necessity.

The speed of that sprint just now could have qualified him for a track and field meet.

"Prosecution, do you have any more witnesses?"

The judge looked towards Tan Yingying.

Tan Yingying also looked at Xiao Baihe in the witness stand, and after seeing the latter shake her head, she then said,

"Your Honor, the prosecution has no more witnesses!"

"And what about the defense?" The judge then turned to Lin Yumeng in the defense’s seat.

Lin Yumeng also looked towards Zhang Wei in the witness stand, who also shook his head.

"Your Honor, the defense also has no witnesses to call."

"You’re not having the defendant testify on his own behalf?"

"Uh, my master said that’s a trap set by the prosecution, and told me not to fall for it!"

"Your master?" Upon hearing Lin Yumeng’s reply, the judge could hardly contain his amusement.

Tan Yingying immediately looked towards the witness stand, where Xiao Baihe was accompanied by none other than Zhang Wei.

Not allowing the defendant to testify might lack the chance for self-proof, but it also wouldn’t become a target for the prosecution’s attack.

Since the defense had spoken thus, the judge nodded.

"In that case, we’ll start the closing arguments in 30 minutes. Please go and prepare."

The courtroom was temporarily adjourned for 30 minutes.

"I will also take my leave for a moment!"

Zhang Wei said to Xiao Baihe, and left the courtroom, heading straight for where Old Lu and the redhead youth were.

A few minutes later, he learned the latest news.

The youth was taken away for education and criticism by the Martial Association for using foul language and insulting the court guard.

"Really, this little redneck guy, before he left, he even accused me of ruining his phone card. Am I that kind of person, huh? It was clearly his own fault for not securing his phone properly, the card failed, and he still blamed me!"

Old Lu complained to Zhang Wei, looking quite upset.

"Yeah, the young people nowadays, they don’t learn. When something breaks, they blame others, not looking for the real cause, clearly lacking education!"

After confirming there were no issues with Old Lu, Zhang Wei chatted for a while, and as soon as the time was right, he immediately returned to the courtroom.

After 30 minutes, both parties took their places, ready for their closing statements.

Tan Yingying was the first to speak.

"Do you know what is said among defense lawyers, that a jury is comprised of a dozen idiots?"

Hearing this familiar beginning, the corner of Zhang Wei’s mouth involuntarily twitched.

"No way, Xiao Baihe, to use that move against a rookie?"

"What are you talking about? Those words were all Ying Ying’s own creation, what’s it got to do with me, Xiao Baihe?"

Xiao Baihe mimicked Zhang Wei’s tone, holding her nose high in denial.

Yet the curve of her mouth was something she couldn’t hide at all.

She’s snickering!

You’re fooling nobody; I’ve already heard that line this week!

Zhang Wei stared at Xiao Baihe, his expression shifting, but his brows soon smoothed out.

"Had it not been for our group’s Li Yueqin who fell for that trick already, and after I gave my apprentice a little training, you really would have had us this time!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ever heard of ’Saint Fighter’? Our criminal group is like Saint Fighters; the same trick won’t work on us twice!"

In the courtroom...

Tan Yingying had already finished her closing statement.

And now, it was Lin Yumeng’s turn.

She picked up a document and then walked in a daze to the jury box.

"Oh dear, I forgot how to deliver a closing argument, even though I had just figured it out..."

She rubbed her head, acting befuddled.

"My master always scolds me for being a little dummy, and at first, I got really mad, but now I think that I might actually be a little dummy..."

This candid confession made several people in the jury box laugh.

Lin Yumeng’s silly demeanor easily won everyone’s favor.

At the witness stand, when Lin Yumeng spoke, Xiao Baihe’s face changed.

"No way, Zhang Wei, for a trivial case like this, are you really resorting to such a low tactic?"

"What are you talking about? All these thoughts came from Xiao Meng herself, what does it have to do with me, Zhang Wei?"

Zhang Wei let out a sly laugh, repeating a line that sounded somewhat familiar to Xiao Baihe.