Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 184 - 182: Slandering the Dead, Is Zhang Wei Very Despicable?

Chapter 184: Chapter 182: Slandering the Dead, Is Zhang Wei Very Despicable?

"Witness, please tell us, what is your occupation?"

"I am a member of the Martial Association Field Staff, responsible for patrolling the streets. The area I’ve been in charge of recently includes the street where the defendant, Ms. Fang Yunshu, lives!"

"So, you actually know the defendant. Have you seen the defendant during your tour of duty?"

The woman nodded and seriously replied, "I have, more than once, in fact."

"Oh, could you please elaborate on the interactions between you and her?"

Lan Zhengye clearly knew the answer already, but Zhang Wei was also curious.

What kind of interactions could a member of the Martial Association Field Staff have with his client?

"I was assigned to the defendant’s street jurisdiction about a month ago. It was during that time that the defendant reported several times that her ex-husband was stalking and surveilling her..."

The female staff started recounting the so-called interactions she had with the defendant.

Zhang Wei suddenly realized, "So that’s how it is, she handled the reports?"

Fang Yunshu had mentioned that she reported multiple times because she was afraid of Zeng Xiang’s stalking and that she found him hacking into her home security system.

But since even Zhao Qingyan couldn’t trace any signs of the system being hacked, it naturally meant that the Martial Association’s Field Staff and technical team couldn’t either.

Sure enough, the witness began to describe the handling of those several reports.

"Since I first took over the street, Ms. Fang had already filed a report. It was before I finished transitioning with my colleague, so I wasn’t the one who investigated, but my colleague found nothing at the scene."

"About less than a week later, Ms. Fang filed another report, and this time I handled it. I arrived at the scene, which was Ms. Fang’s home, as soon as possible; I conducted a very thorough investigation of the house but found no signs of forced entry..."

Lan Zhengye listened to the field staff’s answer, nodding his head from time to time.

"Since then, the witness reported multiple times, and we’ve dispatched staff repeatedly to investigate and gather information, but unfortunately found no clues."

"Ms. Fang said her ex-husband kept stalking and surveilling her, but we never found any trace of her husband nearby, and our technical staff found no signs of intrusions in the security system."

The witness finished speaking, looking at Fang Yunshu with an expression of slight displeasure.

During that time, she almost had to take a report call from Fang Yunshu every few days, whether it was about being stalked by her ex-husband or encountering him while out. Every time, they had to dispatch someone, and the results were always the same, finding nothing.

Hence, this female field staff was quite helpless and somewhat vexed regarding Fang Yunshu.

On one hand, they had to respond to reports, especially since the reporter was a resident in their jurisdiction.

On the other hand, they knew that dispatching staff would be fruitless, yet they had to waste manpower, materials, and energy investigating—it was simply a waste of time.

Frankly, it was no surprise if their feelings were hurt.

"Witness, from what you’re saying, all the reports filed by Ms. Fang turned out to be ineffective after your investigation, right?"

"You could say that. We didn’t find any criminal behavior, nor did we find the deceased near the defendant’s residence!"

"Then, can I put it this way, Zeng Xiang’s so-called stalking and monitoring of Ms. Fang are baseless and cannot be substantiated as false accusations?"

"In my opinion, as long as there isn’t any tangible evidence, those accusations are invalid!"

"Under your Field Staff’s days of investigation, can you confirm that Zeng Xiang never stalked the defendant?"

"We can confirm, Zeng Xiang definitely could not have stalked or surveilled the defendant; otherwise, we would have detected him early on!"

Lan Zhengye’s face showed a smile upon hearing this response.

"Quite ruthless, this is to undermine our use of self-defense as a defense argument!"

Zhang Wei discerned Lan Zhengye’s intent in just a moment.

Zhang Wei planned to use self-defense as a defense argument, then Lan Zhengye tells everyone that the previous stalking and monitoring were fake; otherwise, the Martial Association Field Staff would have detected Zeng Xiang long ago.

More than a month of investigation and tracking without discovering Zeng Xiang would imply his innocence; claiming Zeng Xiang threatened Fang Yunshu’s life safety would be nothing but slander.

Once it’s proven that the defense is slandering a dead person, the defense’s motives become quite obvious.

To shift the blame to a dead person is indeed inhumane, likely even disgusting to the jury.

Zhang Wei thought to himself, Lan Zhengye’s intent was too "malicious."

However, to the jury and those listening in the courtroom, that would be another story.

To slander an innocent deceased person, Zhang Wei’s defense motives are considered malicious!

Lan Zhengye noticed the changes among the jury and the audience; many were pointing and whispering about Zhang Wei and Fang Yunshu, with some jurors clearly shifting their attitudes.

"The first objective is met, now for the second one..."

Allowing the jury to speculate about the defense’s intentions was only the first objective for Lan Zhengye. He had summoned this witness with a second purpose in mind.

Lan Zhengye walked over to the prosecution bench and received a document from Zhao Jing.

"In my hands, this document contains a week’s worth of phone and cell phone call records from Ms. Fang Yunshu’s home leading up to and including the day of the incident. May I ask the witness, what do you see?"

The document was handed to the witness who, after glancing at it, said, "These are all outgoing calls with no incoming call records, and they’re all to the same number!"

"Correct, and that outgoing number belongs to the victim, Zeng Xiang!"

Having said this, Lan Zhengye held the phone records in hand, loudly declaring, "According to these records, there were a total of 33 calls; Ms. Fang Yunshu made 33 calls to the victim using her mobile phone and home landline within a week!"

At the defense bench, Zhang Wei turned to look at Fang Yunshu.

She too looked his way and through clenched teeth said, "I would never, ever, ever call that guy!"

Her angry demeanor, repeating "never" three times, clearly showed that she truly wouldn’t contact Zeng Xiang.

Zhang Wei nodded, indicating that he understood.

But inwardly, he pondered, "Could all these call records be fabricated?"

Zeng Xiang was a hacker, and a highly skilled one at that; if he could fool security systems, then forging phone records wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

However, without evidence, all such claims were merely unsubstantiated speculations.

Yet what the jury saw was concrete call records, clearly documented in black and white.

"May I ask the witness, what does it signify to have so many phone calls within a week and over ten on the day of the incident?"

"This..."

The female field staff from the Martial Association was confused; she didn’t understand the purpose of Lan Zhengye’s inquiries and didn’t know how to respond.

But Lan Zhengye smiled slightly, "Doesn’t this suggest that the defendant, Fang Yunshu, very likely lured the witness to her home to make it easier to commit murder?"

At this statement, the courtroom erupted into a buzz.

That’s right, so many calls over a week, with over ten on the day of the incident.

You must have had an urgent matter to contact Zeng Xiang, something pressing, even though you two were divorced?

And then Zeng Xiang goes to your home only to be killed by you—doesn’t this suggest that you lured him over with the intent to murder him?

Thinking it over, Lan Gaojian’s reasoning appeared to be the most plausible!

"Objection, leading the witness into speculation!"

Zhang Wei naturally raised an objection, adding, "We cannot verify the contents of the call records, and the prosecution’s accusations against my client are completely groundless slander!"

"Objection sustained!"

Judge Chen nodded and then turned to the jury, "Please disregard the prosecution’s last statement by the jury. Whether the defendant made calls to induce someone cannot be confirmed and should not be used as a basis for judgment in this case."

After finishing, the judge internally sighed.

Though he had said this, he was well aware that the jury might not truly heed his words, and they had likely already begun to doubt the defendant.

Zhang Wei felt helpless as well because the attitude of the jury had indeed shifted under Lan Zhengye’s groundless accusations.

Their looks towards Fang Yunshu were filled with suspicion.

They were almost directly asking: Did you indeed lure the victim to your home to prepare to kill him?

"Your Honor, we have no further questions for this witness."

Although the judge had interrupted him, Lan Zhengye’s objective had been achieved, and he walked back to the prosecution bench with a smile.

The courtroom’s atmosphere had almost entirely shifted in favor of the prosecution, leaving only a few with a sense of oppressive tension.

Yet, those aligned with the prosecution felt a satisfying grasp on victory.

"Lan Gaojian is indeed skilled, every summoning of a witness, every question asked, holds significant meaning!"

Zhao Chunming watched the composed Lan Zhengye and couldn’t help but nod repeatedly, internally praising him multiple times.

A senior prosecutor really was different; his own subordinates simply could not compare.

Zhao Chunming’s subordinates, the new prosecutors, were relentless, wishing they could grow an extra hand to quickly jot down every detail of the trial.

Next door, Tie Ruyun and Lin Yumeng appeared relatively passive, as they could see that Zhang Wei was under pressure.

Further down, Zhao Qingyan remained silent; however, his frown was even deeper than before.

"Zhang, the advantage is all with the other side, do you think you can turn the tide during this cross-examination?"

Zhao Qingyan was also losing confidence, although he didn’t show much on his face, his hands were unconsciously clasped tightly together.

In the courtroom.

When the prosecution finished questioning, it was time for the defense’s cross-examination.

Zhang Wei approached the bench, looking toward the witness stand.

"May I ask the witness what the community’s opinion of my client is like?"

"Reputation?"

The female staff member from the Martial Association was taken aback, but she still answered truthfully, "Ms. Fang’s reputation in the community isn’t bad. She lives alone but has never made enemies or offended anyone..."

"May I ask, does my client have any record of fraud or theft, any criminal records at all?"

"There aren’t any, Ms. Fang’s identity is very clean, her background clear with no criminal records, not even a traffic ticket!"

"Given such a clean background, do you think Ms. Fang is a trustworthy person?"

"I guess so; she probably has no reason to lie to me!"

Hearing the witness’s answer, Zhang Wei nodded.

"Then witness, I assume you’ve visited my client’s home more than once for investigation, haven’t you?"

"Yes, according to the report records, we had to further investigate the defendant’s home each time. We’ve been there five or six times altogether!"

"What did you see in my client’s home that was different from your expectations?"

"Well, I remember she had a very secure home security system. The pet door at her house was nailed shut with planks, and all kinds of safety measures were installed on her windows, doors, and hallways..."

Hearing the witness recount this, Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow, "So witness, in your opinion, why would my client install such elaborate safety measures at home?"

The witness hesitated, then after a moment of thought, speculated, "She might, perhaps feel very unsafe?"

"Objection, leading the witness into speculation!"

Lan Zhengye immediately stood up, objecting.

"Objection sustained!"

Judge Chen naturally agreed; it was clearly an attempt to make the witness speculate about the mental state of others.

Zhang Wei was not annoyed, but after being interrupted, he asked again, "May I ask the witness, isn’t it true that my client accused her ex-husband of tampering with the home’s security system multiple times?"

"Yes, but we also brought in technical staff to investigate, and found no traces or evidence to prove these accusations!"

"Then may I ask, are you aware of what the deceased Zeng Xiang did for a living?"

"Based on inquiries with his company’s employees, he was a cybersecurity expert who ran his own workshop, providing cybersecurity services to businesses."

"Are you aware that Zeng Xiang’s skills were considered top-notch in the industry?"

"I’m not sure about that; I’m not an IT professional."

"Could there be a possibility that Zeng Xiang hacked into the security system and altered the data in the backend, making it impossible for your technicians to find any trace?"

"Objection, leading the witness into speculation!"

Seeing Zhang Wei suggest an "unreasonable" possibility, Lan Zhengye naturally interrupted.

He was watching Zhang Wei closely the entire time, ready to counter the young man’s attempt to shift the blame onto the victim.

He didn’t deny that Zeng Xiang was a talented technician, but without evidence, everything Zhang Wei did was to slander the deceased.

"Objection sustained, Lawyer Zhang, your behavior is despicable!"

Judge Chen warned, the message was clear.

If you don’t have evidence, don’t throw dirt on a dead person!

Look at you, a young man, why would you resort to such dirty tactics?

"I apologize, Your Honor, my mistake!"

Zhang Wei sighed, realizing that his questioning had not produced the desired effect.

Nevertheless, he had to continue with his questions.

"May I ask the witness, in the original accusation of my client against the deceased Zeng Xiang, you all didn’t find any evidence to prove it, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then, did you find any evidence to refute these allegations?"

"This..."

The female field staff from the Martial Association was utterly confused. Did they actually need counter-evidence?

If there was no evidence to prove Zeng Xiang had committed those acts, wasn’t that enough?

Why did they need to find evidence to prove Zeng Xiang hadn’t done these things?

"So, you’re saying that it’s actually possible that Zeng Xiang might have indeed committed these acts?"

"Objection!"

Lan Zhengye stood up again, interrupting Zhang Wei’s pressing questions.

"I apologize, Your Honor, I withdraw my previous question!"

Zhang Wei swiftly interjected before Judge Chen could nod, not giving the judge a chance to agree.

Judge Chen sighed as he glanced at Li Qinghua, who was recording the court’s information.

If this young man weren’t my clerk’s son-in-law, I would not be so indulgent. It’s an exception, not a rule!

Since the judge did not continue, Zhang Wei planned to ask the last question.

"Witness, I have one final question for you. Please answer from a woman’s perspective. My client’s home is equipped with a dense surveillance and security system, with multiple safeguards and technological locks on doors and windows, and even the windows have additional position bolts. In your view, does this indicate she lives in extreme fear?"

"Objection, leading the witness!"

Lan Zhengye naturally wouldn’t give Zhang Wei a chance and raised an objection immediately.

But this time, Judge Chen unexpectedly looked at Li Qinghua and some of the female jurors, noting their thoughtful expressions, and could only shake his head.

"Objection overruled, the witness may answer the question!"

Surprise flickered in Lan Zhengye’s eyes.

He had not expected Judge Chen to side against him, allowing the witness to answer the defense’s question.

However, there was nothing he could do; the judge’s decision was final, and he could not change it.

"I think it’s possible. The defendant gave me the impression she was afraid of something... but that’s just my guess. I’m not certain..."

"I understand. Thank you, witness, for your answers. My cross-examination is finished!"

After thanking her, Zhang Wei quickly scanned the jury.

He wanted to see how much his last question might have turned the tide in his favor.

He noticed that a few female jurors were bowing their heads, seemingly in deep thought, while others appeared to be speculating something.

At the same time, Zhang Wei also caught a glimpse of Li Qinghua in the corner, who had also fallen into contemplation.

Zhang Wei could feel that, including his future mother-in-law, the looks these people gave Fang Yunshu had changed.

Their hostility had lessened, and their speculation had increased.

"Indeed, only a woman can understand another woman... Things that could scare one woman indeed have the power to draw concern from others..."

Zhang Wei sat back down at the defense bench as the witness also stepped down.

The courtroom fell into silence.

On the judge’s bench, Judge Chen unconsciously glanced at the time.

"It’s almost noon now, so we will take a break. After lunch, we will continue with the trial; let’s see, we shall reconvene promptly at 1:30 PM."

A trial was tiring and draining, so when the judge offered Zhang Wei and the others a chance to rest, they naturally wouldn’t object.

The morning session of the trial ended, and the court adjourned...