Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 244 - 242: Lin Xiangwan and Jia Shiqing, Hell Level Difficulty!

Chapter 244: Chapter 242: Lin Xiangwan and Jia Shiqing, Hell Level Difficulty!

With the judge’s gavel strike, Lin Xiangwan was granted bail.

Inside the courthouse corridor, Zhang Wei and Lu Wenwen walked side by side.

Lin Xiangwan followed Zhang Wei, while Wei Min followed Lu Wenwen, the two of them seemingly became followers instead.

Although the latter was indeed a follower and assistant, the former was the client in the case.

"Lawyer Zhang, you did quite well!"

"Prosecutor Lu Gao, this is only the first round of the contest. Surely you’re not thinking of flattering me to death, but your ploy is getting a bit cheap, isn’t it!"

"I, Lu Wenwen, don’t need to resort to such tactics, you guys cannot win anyway!"

Lu Wenwen said and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Lin Xiangwan, who was following them.

"I believe my client is innocent!"

Zhang Wei admitted that when he said this, his confidence was somewhat lacking.

"Innocent?"

Lu Wenwen and Wei Min also laughed, unable to hold back.

Although they were professional prosecutors with good training and usually didn’t laugh easily,

they simply couldn’t restrain themselves upon hearing Zhang Wei’s words.

A murder case where the weapon bore fingerprints and at the crime scene there were only the murderer and the victim present, if you tell me the murderer is innocent, that’s seriously hilarious.

"Well then, I wish Lawyer Zhang can maintain such an optimistic attitude during the trial!"

Lu Wenwen dropped a perfunctory remark and left with her temporary assistant Wei Min.

Lin Xiangwan and Zhang Wei also prepared to leave the city courthouse.

"Lawyer Zhang, where are you staying?"

"The firm asked me to come as quickly as possible. I’ve been looking at case summaries and related documents on the plane, and I don’t know if they’ve arranged accommodation for me."

"Otherwise, you could stay at my place. The investigation department hasn’t sealed my house since it isn’t the crime scene."

Lin Xiangwan said, and glanced at Zhang Wei again: "If you don’t mind staying with a murderer, I can let you stay for free until the case is over, and I won’t charge you a penny of rent!"

"Of course, I don’t mind!"

Zhang Wei readily agreed.

It wasn’t because of the rent money; Zhang Wei wasn’t so petty.

His agreement was because Lin Xiangwan’s villa was said to be the famous Moonwatch Bay in Bright Moon District, which was a well-known bay villa across Nandao.

A house like that wasn’t easy to come by on a regular basis, and since the offer was there to stay for free, there was no reason not to take it.

As for Lin Xiangwan’s status as a "murderer", Zhang Wei considered it a minor issue.

He had been working on criminal cases for nearly forty years and had come across far too many suspects, many of whom were a thousand times more brutal than Lin Xiangwan.

"My assistant has arrived!"

At the entrance of the city courthouse, a stretched business van slowly drove up and stopped in front of them.

"President Lin!"

From the car, a female secretary with golden curly hair stepped out.

This woman’s looks were also above average, but the most outrageous was her voluptuous figure, with curves in all the right places.

"This is my personal assistant, Xiao Li. Later when we get back, you can tell her whatever you need for daily life, and she will help you buy them!"

After giving her instructions, Lin Xiangwan directly entered the car, while the female assistant opened the car door for her.

As Lin Xiangwan entered the car, a strange gleam flashed in Xiao Li’s eyes, but it was quickly concealed.

"Hello, my name is Wang Li, but you can call me Xiao Li. And who are you?"

"I’m your boss’s defense lawyer from Jincheng Law Firm’s Criminal Division, Zhang Wei!"

"Lawyer Zhang, then. You can save my number. If you need anything, just text me and I’ll be on call 24 hours a day!"

Xiao Li, as a dedicated female assistant, demonstrated her professionalism.

"On call 24 hours a day, that’s quite something!"

Zhang Wei gave a surprised look at the golden-curled female secretary in front of him, who had large eyes that seemed to be smiling at him.

But his heart instantly became alert, and he shook his head.

He had a feeling that there was something indescribable about this female secretary.

Though it was just his intuition.

Zhang Wei and Xiao Li then got into the car together, and the driver immediately set off towards their destination at Moonwatch Bay.

...

Nandao.

Bright Moon District, Moonwatch Bay Villa District.

As a famous bay villa in Bright Moon District, Moonwatch Bay had a great location.

The entire neighborhood, adjacent to the ocean, was lush and brimming with the essence of spring.

Especially the large garden at the entrance of the community, when spring arrived, it was truly a sea of green intermingled with thousands of purples and reds.

Unfortunately, green is not always a good color.

Especially for... the stock market.

"Madam Lin, you started out as a stockbroker, then became an investment risk controller at Jincheng Group, and finally became the CEO?"

In the car, Zhang Wei struck up a conversation with Lin Xiangwan.

It was then that he learned Lin Xiangwan originally came from a stockbroker background and was quite capable in her performance and abilities.

"Of course, if I didn’t start from the ground up, how could I understand the market!" Lin Xiangwan said with pride and satisfaction when talking about her career, "If that weren’t the case, Elder Master Lin wouldn’t have taken notice of me."

"After my stepmother passed away, actually both of my stepbrothers didn’t think much of me. In the end, it was my stepfather who held his ground against all arguments and allowed me to stay with the Lin Family!"

"Elder Old Lin has a very accurate eye indeed!"

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement.

If this old man didn’t have such a keen eye for people, Zhang Wei probably wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity.

Just on the merit of recognizing and utilizing talent alone, this old man was far more capable than his two foolish sons.

Soon, they arrived at the villa.

Lin Xiangwan’s villa was beautiful; although it was only two stories high, its most dazzling aspect as a bayfront villa was naturally the ocean view.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Wei followed Lin Xiangwan inside the villa.

The villa had a maid named Mother Zhang.

Zhang Wei took one look and realized Mother Zhang was an honest person, a bit timid and cautious in character, yet she managed her work thoroughly.

During the days Lin Xiangwan was in detention, the villa was kept in immaculate order.

Since the victim Jia Shiqing also lived on the second floor of the villa, Lin Xiangwan arranged for Zhang Wei to stay in a guest room on the first floor.

Although the villa occupied a large area, upstairs there were only two large bedrooms and downstairs just two guest rooms, plus a maid’s room, making a total of only five rooms suitable for living.

After arranging his luggage, Zhang Wei immediately went to the dock behind the villa, where the yacht, the scene of the crime, was also located.

Although the crime scene was specifically on a yacht at sea, unfortunately, this detail could not be replicated, and there were no eyewitnesses to the case.

Visiting the yacht was merely for Zhang Wei’s peace of mind.

He knew that the yacht had probably been turned upside down by the criminal investigation and forensic units, and it was unlikely he would find any hidden clues at this point.

Lin Xiangwan’s yacht was not large, with only a cabin able to accommodate six or seven people apart from the cockpit.

Zhang Wei stood on the deck, meticulously examining the floor beneath him.

"There are slight signs of a fight, which align with the case summary description. At the time at sea, Lin Xiangwan and her husband Jia Shiqing had a conflict that escalated into a physical altercation!"

"There are no signs of struggle in the cockpit, indicating that friction started only on the deck. They must have been anchored somewhere at sea, but for some unknown reason, a conflict erupted?"

"This also makes sense; the two must have had their fair share of disputes over the days, and then when they were out at sea with no one else around, they suddenly started arguing!"

"If that’s the case..."

Images began to form in Zhang Wei’s mind.

A man and a woman, a newly married couple, suddenly started bickering over a trivial matter, which turned into a brawl.

Neither of them professional fighters, lacking any real technique or style, they could only engage in a clumsy tussle.

In the midst of the fight, Lin Xiangwan grabbed a portable, handheld fire extinguisher nearby and struck Jia Shiqing on the head.

Imagining Jia Shiqing sustaining a heavy blow, he immediately lost consciousness, stumbled over the side of the deck, fell into the sea and drowned.

The next day, which was the 10th morning, his body was washed up on the shore of Bright Moon Port, where it was discovered and reported. The investigation unit immediately located Lin Xiangwan.

Subsequently, the investigation unit found bloodstains on the yacht and noted the dent on the fire extinguisher, identifying it as the murder weapon.

At the same time, the forensics team found fingerprints on the fire extinguisher, which belonged to Lin Xiangwan.

The entire chain of events was now very clear.

"Looking at it this way, the fact that Lin Xiangwan killed Jia Shiqing is indisputable!"

Zhang Wei understood that even with his own prowess, he could not deny this point in court.

"So, here comes the problem!"

But he soon found a blind spot.

The first issue was Lin Xiangwan’s memory loss.

An executive responsible for the expansion of Jincheng Group’s business, coming to Nandao City to develop the market—if she were someone afflicted with intermittent memory loss, the board of directors of Jincheng Group and Elder Lin Jincheng would surely not trust her.

This indicated that before coming to Nandao, Lin Xiangwan had no issues!

"How long has she been in Nandao? I remember it seems to be about a year..."

Zhang Wei recalled the documents he had seen on the plane, confirming that Lin Xiangwan had only been in Nandao for a little over a year.

The appearance of memory deterioration in just over a year seemed too coincidental.

The second issue concerned the conflict between the victim Jia Shiqing and Lin Xiangwan, or rather...

"Who gave Jia Shiqing the guts to lay a hand on Lin Xiangwan?"

Zhang Wei could hardly believe that Jia Shiqing, that hack of a novelist, actually had the audacity to attack his own strong-willed wife.

Could it be that the couple had a long-standing grudge?

Even so, Jia Shiqing had no reason to strike her.

After all, Lin Xiangwan was the adopted daughter of Lin Jincheng, the executive president of Jincheng Group.

She had two brothers, named Lin Xiangrong and Lin Xiangtian.

Adding up these people, one would think even Jia Shiqing should understand their significance.

Yet why did he dare to make a move?

Even if Jia Shiqing had gone mad from writing, he still shouldn’t lack such common sense.

"Could it be that he acted out of desperation?"

What vile words must Lin Xiangwan have said to provoke such a man to strike without a second thought?

Or perhaps...he had harbored the intent to kill all along, and even a minor verbal altercation was enough to unleash the murderous desire within him?

Regardless, Jia Shiqing hitting Lin Xiangwan was merely a conjecture from Zhang Wei. He had to find evidence to prove it in order to possibly aid his own side.

"If we use the other party striking first as our defense strategy, then it’s self-defense!"

Self-defense!

Again, self-defense!

In Fang Yunshu’s case, Zhang Wei used self-defense as the reason for his defense.

In Zhu Tianying’s case, this woman attempted to fabricate the illusion of self-defense to deceive the public.

Now it’s Lin Xiangwan’s turn, and Zhang Wei must use self-defense to clear her of murder suspicion.

"To prove self-defense, we have to show that Jia Shiqing had the intent to kill Lin Xiangwan, but now there’s a problem..."

Zhang Wei looked distressed because his client had amnesia and couldn’t even remember the details of the incident.

If she could remember clearly, she could take the stand to attest to it.

Though she could likely face the prosecution’s attacks, at least she could tell the jury that it was Jia Shiqing who struck first.

With amnesia, she can’t prove anything.

"So far, I’ve only come up with these two issues!"

Zhang Wei said as he walked out of the yacht.

It’s certain no clues could be found on the yacht; otherwise, the investigators and forensics teams would have already found them.

They even took apart the yacht’s components, so Zhang Wei by himself might as well not bother.

"Next, let’s take a look at Jia Shiqing’s upstairs room!"

Zhang Wei glanced at the villa and confirmed his second search location.

Inside the villa, the upstairs room.

"This is his room, and next door is his meditation room, where he ponders the plots of his novels when he encounters writer’s block!"

Lin Xiangwan was quite polite, leading Zhang Wei to the door of Jia Shiqing’s room.

Although the house belonged to Lin Xiangwan, she treated Jia Shiqing quite well, not only leaving him a large bedroom on the second floor but even providing an adjoining rest room.

Of course, for Jia Shiqing, the downtrodden novelist, it was a meditation room to reflect on his writing.

In Jia Shiqing’s room, Zhang Wei searched around but unfortunately found no useful clues. Instead, he found a heap of discarded drafts.

""Adventures of the Wild Big Cousin", "Steampunk 1077", "The Sorcerer 3", "The Elden Beast"—what are these ridiculous titles? Clearly, the work of a flop!"

Looking at the pile of discarded drafts, Zhang Wei thought Jia Shiqing had quite abstract imagination, writing all sorts of genres.

He casually flipped open a page to see if Jia Shiqing had any talent.

For novelists, to see a person is to read a book; looking at his works is also a way of understanding him.

""The Elden Beast",it’s about a dead warrior who suddenly comes back to life, hunts monsters alone in the vast land, and eventually defeats the rules of the world..."

"What is this? The protagonist doesn’t have any companions?"

"All the way through, he is either used by others or beaten by them, dying hundreds or thousands of times, repeatedly resurrecting, then being killed again—so boring to read!"

Zhang Wei tossed aside this pile of drafts and moved on to the next one.

""Adventures of the Wild Big Cousin", goodness, it’s a historical novel about the protagonist enjoying feuds and freely roaming the wildlands with his family in the rugged Northwest, but sadly it ends in tragedy!"

"Modern readers are sensitive, and you write a tragedy? Seriously, they would hardly accept it!"

Zhang Wei only looked at two drafts and lost interest in them.

It just goes to show why this guy is a flop—what a bunch of nonsense!

"They say now that writing novels is all about developing intellectual property rights, but with this content, I doubt anyone would want it!"

Zhang Wei muttered to himself as he moved from the room into the neighboring meditation room.

The room wasn’t large, containing just a cushion, a soft carpet on the floor, and nothing else.

"I just asked Mother Zhang, and she said that the investigation department focused mainly on the master bedroom. Although they also checked the Meditation Room, it seems that it wasn’t given much attention."

"That makes sense, though. The crime scene was on a yacht, so it’s unlikely they would waste manpower and resources on those places."

"Especially this Meditation Room, it’s too simple. It really is about emptying everything..."

Zhang Wei glanced around the Meditation Room, but since he hadn’t discovered anything problematic, he could only conclude his search and evidence collection.

He planned to go to Bright Moon Port the next morning, hoping he might find other clues near the site where the body was found.

Of course, the likelihood was not high.

After all, the investigation department had assistance from dogs. Surely, a human’s nose couldn’t be better than a dog’s.

Zhang Wei silently sighed with regret. If he had known earlier, he would have brought Simple-minded person with him.

...

Simultaneously.

In Nandao City, at the General Procuratorate.

Lu Wenwen was staring at her computer screen, which displayed a search bar prominently featuring "Dongfang Capital Zhang Wei."

"This Zhang Wei is quite capable. Every case he gets involved in is significant, and he always finds exculpatory evidence for the parties involved!"

It’s said that knowing both your enemy and yourself ensures victory in every battle. Understanding one’s opponent before going into combat is indeed essential.

Particularly since her fellow alumnus had specially called to remind her, Lu Wenwen felt it was necessary to study Zhang Wei’s strategies.

Knock, knock, knock!

However, a knocking sound interrupted her concentration.

"Prosecutor Lu Gao, the court has officially accepted the case, and the hearing will be Wednesday this week!"

Wei Min had completely become Prosecutor Lu Gao’s assistant. After knocking, she relayed the message from the court.

"Got it, I know!"

Lu Wenwen waved her hand, preparing to continue her research on Zhang Wei.

Seeing this, Wei Min decided not to disturb her further.

"Wait a second, who is the presiding judge?"

"Ah, I didn’t look closely. Please wait, I’ll call and ask again..."

Wei Min quickly picked up her phone and stepped into a corner, promptly communicating with the court.

"Prosecutor Lu Gao, the presiding judge at the municipal court is actually related to you. His name seems to be Lu Zhengting. Isn’t that a coincidence?"

Upon hearing this name, Lu Wenwen immediately froze for a moment.

"Yes, it really is too coincidental, because he is my father!"

When Wei Min heard this explosive news, she was equally stunned.

Dammit, could this be any more coincidental?

The daughter is supervising the case, and the father is the presiding judge?

It seems likely that the defense lawyer will request a postponement and also ask for the judge to be replaced!

"Looks like, this case won’t be resolved quickly!"

Lu Wenwen shook her head, only able to sigh.

Could it be that the defense lawyers would agree to this absurd personnel arrangement?

That would guarantee a loss. The opposition couldn’t possibly be that foolish, right?

...

In the evening.

Moonwatch Bay Villa.

It wasn’t just Lu Wenwen who received a call from the court; as the defense, Zhang Wei also got notified by the court.

"So, the trial is on Wednesday?"

"The presiding judge is named Lu Zhengting? How coincidental that he shares the same surname as the case’s chief prosecutor, Lu Wenwen. They wouldn’t be related, would they?"

"What, what did you say? Say it again... Lu Wenwen is the daughter of Judge Lu Zhengting?"

"Good gracious! This... wouldn’t that make the trial... hellishly difficult..."

After hanging up the phone, he stood there perplexed.

But then, he gritted his teeth as a thought came to him.

"No, I can’t afford to waste time!"

"If this were Dongfang Capital, I would definitely oppose it, but here in unfamiliar Nandao, the longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it actually is for me!"

"Even if the judge and the prosecutor are father and daughter, that blood relationship could also become my advantage, at least ensuring they can’t show favoritism!"

"Well then, if that’s the case, I won’t oppose the personnel arrangement and choose to go to trial as soon as possible!"

Soon, Zhang Wei made a decision that would leave all other lawyers baffled.