Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 163 - 161: Everyone Suspects Me? The Case in Tonghu Town

Chapter 163: Chapter 161: Everyone Suspects Me? The Case in Tonghu Town

(Test for anti-theft)

a.m., the city courthouse.

Media swarmed to the courthouse early in the morning, blocking the entrance.

Almost all local media made an appearance, vying for the latest news, even causing nearby streets to become nearly paralyzed.

What could stir them into such a frenzy, like hungry wolves?

It was naturally today’s court hearing within the city courthouse.

"Good morning, viewers. We are here outside the city courthouse, awaiting the announcement of today’s verdict."

"Regarding this case, you may have all heard about it—it’s the recent headline-grabbing news of the wealthy businessman who killed his wife."

"The defendant Li Silong started from scratch and struggled for thirty years to amass a fortune, ranking third on the list of the wealthiest. Yet at the pinnacle of his life, he abandoned his homely wife to marry a model 30 years his junior, which drew much scorn. And a month ago, his wife’s body was discovered in a forested area on the outskirts, with multiple fatal stab wounds, suspected to be a crime of passion. Consequently, the Procuratorate’s Office promptly listed Li Fuwen as a suspect, even deploying all internal investigators to delve into this high-profile murder."

"However, the Procuratorate’s Office faced difficulties with this case, firstly because Li Fuwen had an alibi, and secondly because the defense lawyer for the accused is none other than the famous Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng!"

"Our audience may not know, but Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng has practiced law for 30 years, winning over 2000 lawsuits in his career and is a true titan in our city’s and even the national legal community, with even the Procuratorate’s Office’s ace prosecutor having been bested by him. ..."

The reporters began to introduce the case information to the screen and the live broadcast.

It was at this moment that the courthouse doors opened, and two middle-aged men in suits emerged.

"Look, they’re coming out!"

"Li Silong and Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng are coming out. Judging by their pleased expressions, the outcome of this lawsuit seems apparent!"

"It’s unexpected indeed, Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng has defeated the Procuratorate’s Office once more, clearing Li Fuwen of the murder charges. With this, could Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng achieve a career 3000th win?"

Facing the swarming media, Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng stood beside Li Fuwen and addressed the reporters:

"I know you may not like this outcome, but the fact is my client did not kill his wife. He has been actively cooperating with the Procuratorate’s Office in the investigation of this case, providing an alibi multiple times. Yet the Procuratorate’s Office has ignored this evidence, still deciding to prosecute my client and list him as the prime suspect."

"This murder charge has led to a decline in my client’s reputation, a drop in his company’s stock price, with an estimated market value evaporation of over 3 billion. I will now fully represent Mr. Li to legally pursue the Procuratorate’s Office and the investigative department for economic loss liability. It is their dereliction of duty and misconduct that has resulted in these financial losses and subjected my client to unwarranted injustice!"

"Now the real perpetrator is still at large. I humbly ask our media friends to help by inquiring of the Procuratorate’s Office: if a murderer is still free, have they truly been seriously investigating, or are they simply looking for a scapegoat to cover their own incompetence in the investigation!"

With that statement, the media erupted.

This was tantamount to declaring war on the Procuratorate’s Office.

Moreover, he intended to sue the Procuratorate’s Office and the investigative team, something rarely seen in the city or even the nation.

But considering his track record and the confident demeanor of Lawyer Zhang, the media believed he had a sure chance of winning.

After the interview, Lawyer Zhang Qiansheng and Li Fuwen left together in a luxury sedan.

In front of Li Fuwen’s Corporation building.

"Lawyer Zhang, I really can’t thank you enough. You’ve helped me out once again. I’ll transfer the remaining 5 million to your account later!"

"No problem, helping an old friend is what I ought to do, isn’t it?"

"Hahaha, Lawyer Zhang really is something..."

The two embraced tightly, then Li Silong waved goodbye.

In the luxury sedan, watching Li Silong being escorted by a crowd of subordinates into the company, Zhang Qiansheng’s eyes betrayed not a hint of joy—only cold indifference and detachment.

"You indeed didn’t do it yourself, but you have a man named Ah Biao under you, used to be a ’Cleaner’ abroad, probably has taken hundreds of lives up to this point, and adding one more this time was nothing new, I guess."

"But I must say, the guy is truly professional, impressively failing to leave any decisive evidence for the prosecution to find. The Procuratorate’s Office, having seen the news, probably knows I’m going to sue them and must be panicking by now!"

"Of course, these are just my speculations, with no factual basis. I also don’t care whether he killed that woman or not. What’s that got to do with me?"

Zhang Qiansheng drove to a luxury apartment in the city center and picked up a woman heavily made-up.

"Honey, I love you~" As soon as she got into the car, the woman’s voice was coquettish.

"Didn’t I tell you to wear less makeup? I don’t like so much makeup," he said.

"Honey~ it’s all for you~" But the woman seemed not to notice the distaste in his voice, continuing in a whiny tone, "If I don’t use the makeup I bought, wouldn’t it all go to waste?"

"You even knew to buy so many cosmetics, but the money you used is all mine, isn’t it."

"Doesn’t this just show how much you dote on me~ I’m really so happy to be with you~"

Zhang Qiansheng looked at the woman in the passenger seat, a "school beauty" from a famous art academy, 20 years younger than himself, but the usual joy was no longer on her face.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, then took out three envelope bags from the briefcase beside him and handed them over.

"Honey, why are we stopping? Didn’t we agree, if you won the case, you’d take me to buy a handbag? I’ve had my eye on that bag for a while, and today that luxury store has a sale, a bag for only 300,000~"

"Open them and see, these are all for you!"

"For me, thank you honey~"

Upon hearing that they were for her, the woman’s eyebrows lifted in delight.

Because according to her belief, within those three envelope bags were either checks or gold and silver jewelry, anyway, they were gifts from the man beside her.

But this time, she miscalculated.

The first bag contained a thick stack of documents, or rather, a contract.

"Husband, what is this, this is... a divorce contract!"

The woman’s voice suddenly turned shrill, her eyes widened in disbelief.

Because on the first page of the contract, four striking characters shone brightly.

Divorce Contract!

"Zhang Qiansheng, what do you mean by this, you actually want to divorce me!"

The woman finally stopped cooing, her expression changed, turning into an angry interrogation.

"Open the second bag, and you’ll know why..."

Although the woman was still angry in her heart, she instinctively opened the second bag.

The second bag contained over a dozen photos, all intimate shots of the woman with different men.

Seeing the content of the photos, the woman’s face changed, her gaze evasive, her expression panicked.

Zhang Qiansheng watched her, his expression unchanging, and said flatly, "The first man is your fitness instructor; you hooked up with him during a fitness class. You sure do go to hotels with him often;"

"The second man, he’s the ’little pup’ you’ve been keeping on the side, but you have poor judgement. He tricked you, claiming to be a graduate student at a prestigious university, but according to my investigation, his admission certificate is a fake. Actually, he’s an unemployed drifter, specializing in deceiving women for a living. Apart from you, he’s also reeling in two wealthy women, a female executive of a tech company, and he’s involved with Councilor Chen’s wife. Recently, he’s even plotting to seduce Councilor Zhang’s daughter;"

"As for the third man, he’s your ex-boyfriend from university. Didn’t you lie to me saying you’d never contact him again? But you two had 17 phone calls last month, not exactly consistent with your promise, is it..."

With this information revealed, the woman’s complexion turned exceedingly unsightly.

"There’s also the third bag, open it and take a look as well!" Zhang Qiansheng insisted, regardless of her reaction.

The woman mechanically opened the third bag, taking out another thick pile of documents from inside.

"What are these... again..."

"Won’t you know if you look?"

The woman read the first page of the documents, which were densely filled with lists, all records of cosmetics and luxury goods purchases.

"This was calculated by the actuary. I’ve spent over 30 million on you in the five years we’ve been married. Now you’ve cheated during our marriage, breaking the prenuptial agreement, and I intend to settle every single account with you!"

When the woman saw the dense bills, she couldn’t hold back anymore: "Zhang Qiansheng, what do you really mean? I’ve been with you for a full five years... That’s five years, a woman’s five years!"

"Is that your reason for cheating?"

But Zhang Qiansheng’s casual remark deflated the woman completely.

"Listen carefully, I’ll generously write off the odd amounts for you, but the remaining 30 million, you will repay me to the last cent. As for how you’ll repay it, where you’ll get the money, that’s your problem."

"You can ask your little pup to repay the money, or go cry to your fitness instructor, to your ex-boyfriend. I won’t interfere with the method. You can also find a lawyer to fight the divorce with me, but you’ll have to look outside of town, because I guarantee that no local lawyers will dare to arm wrestle with me. As for the reason, you are well aware of how I, Zhang Qiansheng, got my name, right?"

Zhang Qiansheng delivered his final ultimatum, and the passenger side car door slowly opened.

"Now disappear from my sight. In 24 hours I need a signed contract from you. If I don’t receive it, I’ll make sure you and those men go bankrupt and never get back on your feet in your lifetime!"

Bang!

"Zhang Qiansheng, you bastard, scum, jerk, I was truly blind..."

The car door slammed shut as the woman began to scream hysterically by the roadside.

"Blind? I feel like it was I who had poor vision..."

Zhang Qiansheng shook his head as he looked towards the roadside.

He did not follow the original route home but instead drove towards the suburbs, parking the car near an old street.

His gaze passed over the people and settled on a small street stall.

The stall was tended by only the proprietress, and occasionally her daughter, who had just started high school, would come home to help, living a very impoverished life.

Zhang Qiansheng watched the proprietress, suppressed the impulse to get out of the car, and just let out a long sigh.

She was his first wife. They had been divorced for over a decade, and she had left the marriage with nothing.

Even though it was she who had wronged him originally, over the years, Zhang Qiansheng’s anger towards her had faded, replaced increasingly by a feeling of guilt.

He had chosen his career, neglecting his wife, which had led her to infidelity. Over the years, he had come to understand this.

If he had not chosen to be a big-time lawyer and had instead been a legal worker, even though earning less money, perhaps his family life would have been happy and fulfilled, coming home to his wife’s delicious cooking every day, his daughter happily calling him dad, enjoying the joy of a family.

Zhang Qiansheng watched for a long time but lacked the courage to approach her and, finally, he left.

He drove back to the city center. His residence was a luxurious villa in the city center, valued close to one hundred million, covering thousands of square meters, with just the garden at the entrance being 400 square meters—truly an ostentatious display of wealth.

Zhang Qiansheng walked into the luxuriously decorated villa and looked at the crystal chandelier, worth tens of thousands, hanging from the living room ceiling, but he felt empty inside.

Such a large house, and only he lived in it.

Zhang Qiansheng moved towards the kitchen, intending to grab a bottle of wine for a small drink.

This was his habit; a drink helped him sleep better.

But suddenly, he sensed a draft behind him, and before he could turn around, the dark muzzle of a gun was pressed against the back of his head.

Zhang Qiansheng was not panicked. Through his many years as a lawyer, he had offended countless people.

This was not the first time someone had pointed a gun at his head, so he raised his hands and calmly said,

"Friend, if you’re just after money, behind the painting in the middle of the living room there is a safe; the code is 4396. Inside, there are two million in cash and some jewelry. You can take it all, I won’t hold you responsible for anything."

"Take me to the basement, where you hide your treasures!"

The intruder did not respond to the offer, just coldly stated that one line, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"Treasures?"

Zhang Qiansheng was surprised.

His collection of "treasures" were merely some art pieces, which perhaps from an artistic standpoint might be worth a few tens of thousands each, nowhere near two million.

And these art pieces were not convenient to carry; if the person truly was after money, it would be better to take the two million in cash and run.

"Not after money, not after my life, but my collectibles; why is that?"

Zhang Qiansheng did not understand, but since the intruder had said so, he did not argue and led the way to the basement.

The vault in the basement had been specially designed, reportedly even more secure than those in large banks, impenetrable without the code, not even by missiles.

However, this vault was not Zhang Qiansheng’s work but the design of the villa’s previous owner, meant for storing the owner’s previous treasures.

Zhang Qiansheng was the second owner of this villa. After buying the villa, he appreciated the well-designed safe and turned it into a storage room for his collectibles.

But the safe was completely emptied by the time the first owner left. Zhang Qiansheng had checked, and there was nothing inside.

He entered the code, opened the vault, and saw art pieces piled up on the floor, seemingly of little value.

The newcomer pushed Zhang Qiansheng aside and headed straight for a corner of the wall in the safe.

Then he pressed against the wall, and that section entirely sank in.

"A secret mechanism!"

Witnessing this scene, Zhang Qiansheng was completely astonished.

As the current owner of the villa, he actually didn’t know about such a mechanism in the safe room.

It seemed that the intruder’s objective was unrelated to him, but rather connected to the previous owner.

With the mechanism activated, a hidden door opened.

Behind the Anmen was a display stand, on which rested a golden eyeball.

The intruder had a portable earpiece in his ear, and at that moment a voice came through it.

"Yes, my lord, the object has been retrieved, um, right, the villa’s owner is beside me, just an ordinary person, understood, I will handle it cleanly..."

The intruder finished the call, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

But as he turned around, Zhang Qiansheng lifted a flowerpot and smashed it into his face.

Bang!

The man’s head and the flowerpot made violent contact, and he fainted on the spot.

"Dammit, what the hell is this thing, they even brought out weaponry for it, and who are the people behind them?"

Zhang Qiansheng looked at the fallen mystery person, then back at the golden eyeball in his hand, utterly clueless.

His knowledge of the villa’s previous owner was limited; he only knew the man seemed to be an archaeologist without much fame, having lived most of his life without unearthing any treasure, eventually selling the villa and disappearing without a trace.

If he had known buying the house would lead to such trouble, he certainly wouldn’t have bought the villa just for the sake of saving face.

Zhang Qiansheng, holding the golden eyeball, rushed out of the safe room, ready to trigger the villa’s alarm system, only to see several dark gun barrels already aimed at him.

He didn’t expect that there were more than one person who had come.

"Gentlemen, let’s talk this over, I can hand this thing over to you, let’s pretend nothing happened today..."

Pop pop pop!

Zhang Qiansheng wanted to say something, but the silenced pistols had already fired.

After a dozen shots, Zhang Qiansheng slowly fell to the ground, his eyelids growing increasingly heavy.

Flashes of his life passed through his mind.

It was the life he had lived as Zhang Qiansheng.

Although he appeared glorious in public, he was extraordinarily lonely in private, always alone.

"I had already made a will; if I were to go missing or die, my wealth worth hundreds of millions would go to them through a foundation, as compensation for the sins I committed earlier in life."

"There’s a backup of the divorce agreement at my law firm; even if I don’t go back, someone there will help me sue that woman, and she won’t get a penny of mine. The accountant will help me reclaim the 30 million expense bill, so I’m not worried about her at all."

"Right now, the only thing I care about is this thing in my hand. What on earth is it? It’s really hot to the touch. These damn bastards, to bring weapons into my home, what are they, bored?!"

Zhang Qiansheng’s strength was fading, his vision blurring.

The only thing he could still see was the golden eyeball in his hand, now stained red with blood.

"Damn it, this thing is glowing!"

"What’s happening, how can it fly?!"

"The devil, this man is flying too, fire, keep firing!"

"Quick, grab him, don’t let him fly into it!"

A series of shocked exclamations filled his ears.

What the hell are these bastards talking about, why can’t I understand a word?

Zhang Qiansheng’s body was gradually becoming weightless; he knew this was the sensation of death, but why did it feel so light and floaty?