Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 121 - 120: Relentless Questioning, Interrogating Chief Liu

Chapter 121: Chapter 120: Relentless Questioning, Interrogating Chief Liu

Friday, court date.

This time, Tie Ruyun learned his lesson and didn’t drive, instead choosing to take the subway with Zhang Wei and others.

Here they were, arriving at the city courthouse early in the morning.

But it wasn’t just them who had got there early; the media had also rushed over for interviews.

"That’s the defense attorney from Jincheng Law Firm!"

"Quick, gather around, the first-hand interview is ours!"

"Lawyer, lawyer, please tell us, what is your defense strategy for this trial..."

Seeing the media swarm over, Zhang Wei immediately led Lin Yumeng and Li Yueqin to charge toward the courthouse entrance.

"Old Tie, you’re the team leader, stay behind to deal with the media!"

Halfway to the door, Zhang Wei suddenly shouted, then, regardless of whatever expression Tie Ruyun was making, he dashed off.

A few seconds later, Tie Ruyun was surrounded by the media, while Zhang Wei and his two colleagues had already rushed through the courthouse doors.

"Damn, this kid actually dared to leave me to deal with the media, and I’m the leader..."

Tie Ruyun’s face showed his resentment, his frustration almost palpable as he dealt with the media frenzy.

He was the head of the criminal division, Zhang Wei’s superior, after all...

However, his complaints were soon drowned out by the media’s barrage of continuous questions.

The entrance of the courthouse.

Xiao Baihe and Tan Yingying also arrived just in time.

"Ying Ying, why is there such a big media crowd over there?"

"I don’t know either, Sister Baihe."

"But it’s perfect, someone is drawing their attention away; let’s hurry inside!"

Although Xiao Baihe didn’t know who that unlucky person being surrounded was, since they were attracting the media for her side, it was a good thing.

As long as it wasn’t her dealing with the media, it didn’t matter who it was.

Honestly, she hoped that the person was Zhang Wei. Being blocked by the media so early in the morning would probably give him a mental shadow for the whole morning.

"Weird, why am I hoping that guy gets affected? Can’t I, Xiao Baihe, just defeat him fairly and squarely?"

Xiao Baihe felt disdain for the thought that had just flashed in her mind.

Who was she? An ace of Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters. To have even a hint of fear showing in her heart was simply intolerable.

It was all Zhang Wei’s fault!

The case was already hard enough, and facing Zhang Wei as the opponent only made it more difficult for her!

Why did Zhang Wei take this case, and why did she have to sue that girl?

Anyway, it was all Zhang Wei’s fault!

Xiao Baihe channeled all the annoyance in her heart into fury at Zhang Wei, which somewhat improved her mood.

After all, having a single target to focus on was enough.

Zhang Wei was that target!

Tan Yingying observed Xiao Baihe and noticed her complex expression, with a hint of dejection, initially wanting to offer some words of encouragement.

But in just a moment, she saw Xiao Baihe already full of fighting spirit, with high morale.

So, Tan Yingying kept her words to herself, unspoken.

"Let’s go, straight to the courtroom!"

"Ah, oh, okay, Sister Baihe."

The two headed directly for the courtroom.

When they arrived at the scene, they found that Zhang Wei was already there, but the defendant had not arrived yet.

"Thank you, Xiao Baihe, you saved my apprentice an extra trip!"

Since the court had not yet begun, Zhang Wei, after setting down his documents, went over to greet the prosecution bench.

Seeing Zhang Wei approaching, Tan Yingying immediately shrank back, making room for him.

"Hmph, I just don’t want you to overlook anything. I want to defeat you fair and square. Besides, providing evidence for public inspection is standard practice; I just happened to send Ying Ying on an errand for it!"

Xiao Baihe’s response was quite "official."

"Well then, I hope it turns out as you wish."

Zhang Wei teased, then looked towards the courtroom entrance as the defendant arrived with Bai Ruoyun leading the way.

Tie Ruyun, having dealt with the media, came in as well, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Although it wasn’t even March yet, dealing with the media was an energy-draining task, and Tie Ruyun had just felt immense pressure.

Because a single slip of the tongue could lead to endless interpretations by the media.

He feared making a misstep, and every word needed careful consideration—this wasn’t something just anyone could do.

"Old Tie, why are you so nervous?"

Zhang Wei approached the witness stand and cracked a joke with Tie Ruyun.

"You brat, to think you’d leave me alone here, you..."

"I need to take the defendant to the court, Old Tie, you just sit tight in the witness stand!"

Zhang Wei ignored Tie Ruyun’s "grievances," nodded to Grandma Wang who was by his side, and then hurried to the defense bench with Zhuo Xiaoting.

Soon after, the courtroom became bustling.

The media also swarmed in, cramming into the already small Commonwealth courtroom.

The scene became somewhat congested.

"The Procuratorate Headquarters is here!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd at the door parted ways, allowing Zhao Chunming and the others to pass through.

The Procuratorate Headquarters still had a formidable presence, and each prosecutor exuded a chill demeanor.

The somewhat noisy courtroom also fell into dead silence.

"One by one, just like a professional team, ready to take someone down?"

Seeing Zhao Chunming and the others arrive, Zhang Wei made a witty remark, which made Zhuo Xiaoting and others nearby crack a slight smile.

The previously solemn atmosphere was dispelled by Zhang Wei’s comment.

Luckily, Zhao Chunming couldn’t hear it; he simply sat down quietly and then glanced at Xiao Baihe.

But even that glance placed tremendous pressure on her.

This case was under Zhao Chunming’s watchful eye throughout.

Another ten minutes or so passed before the judge finally arrived.

"All rise!"

As Judge Wang took his seat at the bench, his gaze swept across the room.

The jury stand had arrived, the defense stand had arrived, and the prosecution stand had arrived.

In the witness stand, supporting the prosecution were Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng, and supporting the defense were Tie Ruyun, Bai Ruoyun, and Grandma Wang—they too had all arrived.

"Since everyone is here, let’s begin!"

He waved his hand, declaring the start of the trial.

"Prosecution case statement, please call your first witness."

"Yes, Judge Wang!"

Xiao Baihe nodded and indicated, "The prosecution calls Chief Liu from the Investigation Department’s Major Case Squad Three to testify!"

"Straight to this witness, getting serious, huh!"

Zhang Wei sat in his seat, not a bit surprised upon hearing this witness’s name.

After all, the prosecution didn’t have many witnesses, but this one was of significant weight.

In a short while, Chief Liu took his place on the witness stand.

Despite the many white hairs at his forehead, he looked energized and maintained a smile on the witness stand, appearing quite at ease.

After all, as an old hand with over thirty years of criminal investigation experience, appearing in court wasn’t a new experience—this was probably a small affair in his eyes.

"Chief Liu, hello."

"Prosecutor, hello to you too."

"Chief Liu, as one of the main investigators on this case, I’d like you to tell everyone about the investigation into this case."

Xiao Baihe paused after saying this, waited until everyone looked towards her, and then continued, "Because to many people, this case doesn’t seem like a big deal—it’s just selling some discs, some books, or comics for profit. Moreover, the defendant is a girl, and they feel it’s unnecessary to make such a fuss or even to employ a criminal court."

"Actually, this case is not a minor one; it hides behind it a vast trading network, and this network has brought extremely negative influences to Dongfang Capital, especially among the youth."

"As for the case itself, we’ve informed the media of all the information we can disclose, but since you asked, I might as well recount it in court."

"Please do inform the jurors about the detailed circumstances of this case!"

Xiao Baihe’s expression was grave, and Chief Liu understood the prosecution’s intent.

"Alright then, this case must start from the time of the New Year. During that time, we received numerous reports from parents claiming their children..."

Chief Liu spoke for over ten minutes, finally outlining the case’s situation.

"Based on our current investigation, the main suspects of this case have already been identified, but such a large-scale arrest operation couldn’t possibly occur without any prior leaks. At this stage, we have captured close to seventy percent of the suspects; however, most of the major culprits are still at large. Although the Martial Association has issued a warrant and we are tracking the fugitives, our yield so far... is still in the feedback awaiting phase..."

"Thank you, Chief Liu, for your explanation,"

Xiao Baihe said her thanks and then gestured toward the defendant’s bench.

"You all may be wondering why we would prosecute the defendant; what connection does she have with the criminal syndicate in this case, and whether she also participated in the crime. You must be curious about that, right?"

"Next, I will question Chief Liu about the situation of the defendant."

Xiao Baihe nodded at Chief Liu and began to ask, "Chief Liu, when you obtained the search warrant and conducted a ’legal search’ of the defendant’s apartment, what did you see and what did you find?"

"After presenting the search warrant, we entered the apartment to search. I went into the defendant’s room and saw her there. And I saw her hiding certain obscene items with lewd covers into drawers and the wardrobe, and stuffing some illicit money into a pillowcase."

"It looks like it was a case of being caught red-handed, right?"

"Yes, the prosecution can say that. I won’t deny it because it’s true!"

On the witness stand, Xiao Baihe and Chief Liu engaged in a back-and-forth.

On the defense bench, someone was getting restless.

"Master, why aren’t you speaking up, or objecting?"

Lin Yumeng was somewhat puzzled—previously, Zhang Wei was quite fond of interrupting the prosecution’s statements, so why was he silent now?

"My apprentice, interrupting also requires the right moment. Didn’t you see that the jury is listening with rapt attention? If we interrupted now, wouldn’t that irritate the jurors?"

Lin Yumeng followed Zhang Wei’s reasoning and looked toward the jury bench; indeed, she saw a group of people engrossed in the story.

"You must understand that the purpose of the trial is to win over the jurors. You can offend the judge, but you absolutely cannot offend the jurors. You must go along with them, you must cajole them, you must treat them as you would a first love. Do you understand?"

"I don’t get it, I’ve never been in a relationship..."

The apprentice was confused; this was a challenge, and she considered whether to jot it down.

Zhang Wei was surprised to look at his young apprentice—could it be that this cute girl had never been in a relationship?

He shook his head, dispersing that thought; what needed attention was the ongoing trial.

"Chief Liu, when you entered the room, where was the pillowcase located?"

"The pillowcase was in the defendant’s hands."

"And the illicit money?"

"Some of it was inside the pillowcase, the rest was in her hands!"

"So at that time, was there anyone else in the room?"

"No, there was only her in the room. When we entered the apartment, inside it was the defendant and her grandmother—that one sitting on the hearing bench—but in the room was only the defendant. Her grandmother was sitting on the sofa in the living room."

Chief Liu said this and pointed toward the hearing bench.

The jurors also had their gaze drawn and saw the stern Grandma Wang sitting alongside Bai Ruoyun.

"Thank you for your responses, Chief Liu. My questioning is finished!"

Xiao Baihe expressed her gratitude once more and walked back to the prosecutor’s bench.

Zhang Wei stood up and approached the witness stand.

"Chief Liu, when you were about to arrest my defendant, did she say anything to you?"

"Objection, hearsay evidence!" Xiao Baihe had not even sat down before she directly opposed.

"Objection overruled because during the course of the arrest, Chief Liu was acting along with his team members, and it is impossible to verify whether the officers outside also heard the defendant’s statement."

Judge Wang was slightly taken aback, because the rebuttal of the objection didn’t come from him, but rather from Zhang Wei’s mouth.

"Thank you, Lawyer Zhang!"

Judge Wang gave Zhang Wei a sharp look but said to Xiao Baihe, "Objection overruled!"

Zhang Wei approached the witness stand and spoke up again, "Chief Liu, please answer my question, what did my client say?"

Chief Liu gave Zhang Wei a surprised look, not expecting this young man to score one over Xiao Baihe with his first question.

Nevertheless, he had no problem answering as he recalled, "She said that the items were her brother’s, and when she heard us coming to arrest her brother, she tried to hide them."

"Did she tell you why she was hiding these things?"

"I remember she said it was for her brother, for her grandmother."

Zhang Wei narrowed his eyes and pointed to the defendant, "Chief Liu, do you believe her?"

"To be honest, I wanted to trust her, but in our Major Crimes Unit, we operate on evidence, and what I saw was a person hiding contraband!"

"So that means you didn’t believe my client?"

"Correct, I didn’t!"

Seeing Chief Liu nod, Zhang Wei didn’t pause but continued his questioning.

"May I ask, who was the intended target of your search warrant?"

"The criminal syndicate involved in this case!"

"So, this crime syndicate, I assume it did not include the name of my client, right?"

"That is true, but it did include the name of her brother, Zhuo Dawu!"

"I am aware of that, and I believe the jurors are too, but Zhuo Dawu is not my client Zhuo Xiaoting, and they are clear about that!"

Zhang Wei, not giving Chief Liu a chance to reply, quickened his pace:

"May I ask if you have met my client Zhuo Xiaoting before?"

"I don’t think I have."

"Then do you know anything about her?"

"No, I do not know her."

"Understood!"

Zhang Wei nodded, then continued to press: "Then I assume you have no reason to think of her as a dishonest person, right?"

"What do you mean by that question?"

Chief Liu was bewildered by Zhang Wei’s question. Was there any significance to it?

"It’s a simple question, Chief Liu, please answer. Would you default to thinking an unfamiliar person is dishonest?"

"I don’t think I would."

"So just as I said, on the day of the search, it was your first time seeing my client Zhuo Xiaoting, yet you thought she was lying?"

"This..."

Chief Liu fell into a brief silence; he hadn’t expected Zhang Wei’s successive questions to serve such a purpose.

"Chief Liu, this question should not be difficult for you to answer. My client informed you that none of the stolen goods were hers, the illicit money was all her brother’s, and she did this solely to protect her family, yet you still arrested her!"

"I guess so," replied Chief Liu, hesitantly under Zhang Wei’s aggressive questioning.

"Chief Liu, I believe you have over 30 years of investigative experience and must have arrested a fair number of criminals, right?"

"Of course!"

"And these criminals, when you catch them, they all have their stories, claiming they are innocent, even with the stolen goods right in front of them. They would offer what you consider evasions, right?"

"Yes, they always have excuses, and there is nothing they can’t come up with!"

"Objection!" After the two had questioned each other for a long time, Xiao Baihe finally couldn’t help it.

"Judge Wang, do these questions have any relation to the case at hand?"

"Judge Wang, I think these questions are essential, because, judging by the actual arrest, the witness was determining my client’s honesty based on his past experience. As the defense attorney for the accused, I have the right to challenge this behavior with questioning!"

Judge Wang glanced at Xiao Baihe and finally nodded, "Lawyer Zhang makes a good point, objection overruled!"

With the judge saying so, Xiao Baihe could only sit down helplessly.

"Chief Liu, do you have any objections to the reason for my objection?"

"No," said Chief Liu, shaking his head.

"So that means that regarding the explanations from my client, you chose not to believe them, right?"

"You’re right."

"Then let’s proceed with a hypothetical situation. I understand you have two sons?"

"Everyone who knows me is aware of that. My eldest son is 26, and my younger son is about to graduate from college and start job hunting."

"Alright, imagine that one day, you walk into your eldest son’s room and see him hiding pornographic material, or a bloody knife, or a gun under his bed..."

"Objection!"

Xiao Baihe once again raised an objection.

"Objection overruled!" Judge Wang responded mechanically, then signaled with his eyes for Zhang Wei to continue the questioning.

Zhang Wei continued, "At that moment, your son is hiding something very dangerous, and you can tell that he is panicked. He explains to you that the pornographic material belongs to a friend, that the knife got blood on it from slaughtering a pig, and that the gun is just a toy model. With no evidence to prove that your son is lying, would you doubt him?"

"Supposing the possible outcomes, would you think your son bought the pornographic material himself, or that he injured or even killed someone, and he is hiding dangerous weapons in the house?"

"This..." Chief Liu was stumped by Zhang Wei’s questions.

After some thought, he finally answered:

"Perhaps, I would believe him..."

"Thank you for your honest answer, Chief Liu!"

Hearing this answer, Zhang Wei smiled.

But his questioning was not over yet!