Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 278 - 276: Cheng Lisha Goes to Court, Zhang Wei’s Purpose?

Chapter 278: Chapter 276: Cheng Lisha Goes to Court, Zhang Wei’s Purpose?

(I will include non-essential notifications at the bottom in the section titled "Author’s Words" to avoid affecting the reading experience for our distinguished readers.)

...

"Your Honor, the defense requests the summons of Miss Cheng Lisha as a character witness for our client, Mr. Yang Chuanfang!"

When Zhang Wei blurted out this sentence, nobody in the courtroom was not bewildered.

After all, everyone in Dongfang Capital knew one thing—Cheng Lisha had always believed Yang Chuanfang was the murderer.

Not to mention the "interactions" between you two on any regular day.

Many in the courtroom had seen or even heard Cheng Lisha publicly criticizing Yang Chuanfang.

Especially recently, the two of you had caused quite a stir on the internet over a lawsuit.

And now, you want Cheng Lisha to testify in court, and as a character witness for your client?

This is truly seeking one’s own doom, as if one had first bathed in gasoline before playing with fire.

Even many people in the courtroom were speculating whether the two of you were in conflict?

Are you, as the defense attorney, eager to see your client dead?

Yet, as everyone was doubting Zhang Wei’s intention, he remained calm and composed, not at all appearing to be a "crazed" person.

At the judge’s bench, Old Wang was frustrated.

Are you sure you’re not joking?

"Ahem, Lawyer Zhang, I need to ask you again to be crystal clear, do you really want to summon Miss Cheng Lisha to testify?"

"Yes, Your Honor, the witness I just mentioned to be summoned is indeed Cheng Lisha; there was no mistake in what you heard!"

At these words, the courtroom was once again stunned.

Good grief!

You are really going to summon her!

Well now, let’s see what others have to say—if they’re not mistaken, someone will surely object...

"Objection!"

From the prosecution’s bench, Xiao Baihe stood up.

"Objection!"

At the witness stand, Hu Yaode also stood up.

"Your Honor, the witness list does not include Miss Cheng’s name!"

Xiao Baihe’s reason for objection was something Zhang Wei had anticipated.

He looked toward the judge’s bench and said with a smile, "Judge Wang, I wonder if you recall that originally, we intended to add Miss Cheng to the defense witness list, but she had refused due to a certain reason."

"Objection, Judge Wang, you and Zhang Wei both know that my client has psychological issues and is unfit to testify in court!"

Hu Yaode also stated his reason for objection, and this time his interjection was allowed.

His client was directly implicated and the situation was urgent; naturally, he had to stand up as her attorney.

"Yes, Lawyer Zhang, you’re also aware that Miss Cheng has a psychological diagnosis, she..."

"Judge Wang, it is precisely because I am aware of these facts that I must have Miss Cheng testify in court, because her psychological diagnosis is a fake!"

"What do you mean, fake?" This time Old Wang’s question was purely rhetorical.

Having been a judge for so many years, how could he not see the truth?

How could it all be just a coincidence that just as the defense is about to summon you, you come down with "mild depression"?

And it’s only been one night, and there’s already a psychologist who offers a diagnosis to evade the subpoena, clearly telling everyone that you just don’t want to testify.

But knowing this and proving it are different things; the stratagems of the other side actually had no flaws.

"Yes, fake!"

Zhang Wei nodded and then looked in the direction of Cheng Lisha and Hu Yaode, his gaze briefly passing over Dr. Jessica sitting at their side of the bench.

"In fact, I have already consulted a professional psychologist. She told me that although mild depression might have almost no clinical symptoms, if Miss Cheng Lisha can still make it to the courtroom, it means she is completely capable of testifying."

"Moreover, she also informed me of something else—that the doctor who issued Miss Cheng Lisha’s psychological diagnosis has a very bad reputation within their profession. More than ten of his colleagues have complained about him, saying he would do anything for money!"

"Therefore, we respectfully request Your Honor to agree to the defense’s request and list Miss Cheng Lisha as a courtroom witness!"

Hearing Zhang Wei’s plea, Old Wang became vexed and then looked toward Xiao Baihe.

You’re from the prosecution, and you objected too—give me a hand here, will you?

But after being refuted by Zhang Wei, Xiao Baihe had no intention of speaking.

Because she knew that Cheng Lisha, Yang Chuanfang, and even Zhang Wei were not on good terms with each other.

So why should the prosecution bother to object?

Moreover, Xiao Baihe had not yet found a suitable reason to object, and she did not want to waste her brain cells on it.

Seeing Xiao Baihe indifferent, Hu Yaode in the audience could no longer sit still.

"Objection, our side objects!"

He immediately walked into the courtroom and expressed his dissatisfaction, "Your Honor, my client is unwell and absolutely cannot appear in court!"

"Unwell, yet able to go to the gym on the weekend and even able to attend the court today as a spectator?"

Zhang Wei was well prepared for this counter-attack, and he immediately blew the whistle.

"My client’s issue is not physical, but psychological..."

"What a coincidence, we have an outstanding psychologist right here in the courtroom! If your client truly has psychological issues, why not let her diagnose it?"

When he saw Hu Yaode trying to struggle further, Zhang Wei immediately pointed towards the defendant’s family seats.

"Zhang Wei, who doesn’t know that woman is one of your people? Her diagnostic advice absolutely cannot be accepted!"

"Lawyer Hu, what are you talking about? Dr. Jessica is a very outstanding psychology expert. She has been practicing for over 5 years with not a single bad review. Compared to the psychologist you selected, she should be more excellent, more outstanding, and more professional, right?"

"You..."

"Order!"

Seeing Hu Yaode trying to retort, Old Wang could not sit still and immediately banged his gavel to interrupt.

He then gave Zhang Wei and Xiao Baihe a meaningful look and gestured to Hu Yaode by curling his finger.

All three approached the bench.

Old Wang looked at the three before him, Zhang Wei, Xiao Baihe, and Hu Yaode, and felt a headache coming on.

"Does the prosecution have no objections to the summoning of this witness?"

"The prosecution has no objections!" Xiao Baihe’s answer was quick and decisive.

Hu Yaode opened his mouth to speak, but Old Wang raised his hand to stop him before he could get a word out.

"Lawyer Hu, I know your client has a psychological assessment, but as Lawyer Zhang said, we both understand how much credibility that diagnosis has. More coincidentally, there’s an even more professional psychologist present, and if she wanted to expose your lies, it would be a matter of minutes!"

As Old Wang said this, he took a deep breath, his expression serious, "So I won’t say much more. Have your client get ready. Unless you have other reasons, the court is going to approve the defense’s request!"

"This..."

Hu Yaode’s face looked like he had just found a roach in his meal, and what’s more, the roach had been bitten in half.

However, he quickly had another thought.

"Your Honor, my client and the defendant are still involved in a civil lawsuit, which Judge Ni Qiuping has also accepted. This means my client and the defendant have an indirect conflict of interest!"

"Judge Wang, when considering the conflict of interest, we need to clarify Miss Cheng’s profession. She is a professional media person and should also know about journalistic ethics. I believe that as one of the authorities in the media industry, she would not commit perjury in court!"

Zhang Wei had his rebuttal ready the moment Hu Yaode brought up the civil lawsuit, questioning Cheng Lisha’s professional ethics.

"Your Honor, our side only wishes to have Miss Cheng come to the stand to tell us a few facts. Lawyer Hu, are you suggesting your client lacks even that much integrity?"

"Ah, this..."

Seeing Zhang Wei put it like that, Hu Yaode was at a loss for words.

After all, he couldn’t say that he had no confidence in his client’s integrity, could he?

That would clearly be a violation of professional ethics.

"I understand!"

Old Wang also had a clear idea and waved his hand, signaling the three to return to their places.

"Ahem, after friendly consultation with all three parties just now, the court believes that Miss Cheng Lisha may testify. Miss Cheng, please take the witness stand!"

Following Old Wang’s announcement, all eyes in the courtroom turned to Cheng Lisha.

She looked stunned and then glanced at Hu Yaode for guidance, but he could only shake his head helplessly.

The judge has made the decision, what could he do?

"Miss Cheng, what are you waiting for? Come on up!"

Zhang Wei also gestured, signaling Cheng Lisha to hurry up.

Feeling irritated inside, she cursed silently about Hu Yaode’s incompetence at not finding a way to postpone her testimony.

She had no choice but to walk to the witness stand with a grim face.

"Ms. Cheng, I know that you have a litigious relationship with the defendant Yang Chuanfang, but this court also knows that you’re a seasoned media professional. Please remember your professional ethics while in court, and fulfill your duties and obligations as a witness. Please be aware of this!"

Old Wang also performed his duties as a judge, giving Cheng Lisha a warning.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Wei and Cheng Lisha came face to face in court.

"Ms. Cheng, hello. Although I know your real name, I do not like to expose others’ shortcomings, so let’s just stick to calling you Ms. Cheng!"

Zhang Wei smiled and greeted her, but unfortunately, he was met with Cheng Lisha’s rolling eyes.

Don’t think I don’t know that it was definitely you guys who leaked that nasty story. You expect me to cooperate? In your dreams!

"Ahem, for the first question, Ms. Cheng, you should be quite familiar with my client, right?"

"Hmm, quite!"

Cheng Lisha crossed her arms and snorted coldly.

"Quite?"

Zhang Wei appeared "surprised" and then teased, "If you say it’s ’quite’, then how come you managed to shoot a hit drama revolving around my client’s affairs, along with several spin-offs and web movies, as well as published a series of best-selling books?"

"Hmm, that’s because I have an eye for good stories!"

"Oh, you have an eye for good stories?"

Zhang Wei chuckled slightly, "Having a good eye is great, but if your so-called good eye is based on fabricating facts and slandering my client, then that’s a different story, isn’t it?"

"You’re the one slandering, you..."

In Cheng Lisha’s eyes, a glint of fierceness emerged, and she almost lost her cool in court.

"Objection, the question is irrelevant to the case!"

But Xiao Baihe interrupted Zhang Wei first, also interrupting Cheng Lisha’s anger.

"The objection is sustained. Lawyer Zhang, the witness has already been called up for you. Could you at least ask questions related to the case?"

Old Wang warned as well.

I know you don’t get along with Cheng Lisha, but this case isn’t about trying her, it’s about your client. Get your act together!

"Sorry, Your Honor, I know I was wrong!" Zhang Wei quickly apologized.

But while he admitted his fault verbally, he was thinking that he would dare to do it again next time!

"All right, I’ll ask questions related to the case then!"

Zhang Wei said, raising a finger, "Firstly, I’d like to ask Ms. Cheng, do you know the prosecution’s last witness, Mr. Lin?"

"I don’t know him!" Cheng Lisha scoffed, accurately guessing that Zhang Wei would ask this.

"Is that so?"

Zhang Wei also smiled faintly and said, "Speaking of which, Mr. Lin is also a pitiful person. Despite his old age, he had to work hard to support his family because he has an adult son who leeches off him, staying at home all day eating and using his possessions, sometimes even asking him for money."

"In his forties or fifties, he even had to apply for a menial job at the Changqing Hotel, all because his son, despite being grown, wouldn’t leave the house, constantly using his things, occasionally asking him for money."

"I think, when my client’s father Yang Changqing gave him 200,000 yuan to keep quiet, it must have solved his pressing needs!"

"So, I’m quite puzzled. Ten years later, did Old Lin really decide to testify in court because his conscience wouldn’t allow otherwise?"

He paused briefly, then continued, "Later I found out that someone had given his family a sum of money to get him to testify in court!"

As these words came out, many in the courtroom were slightly surprised.

So this old witness was also paid off!

"Objection!"

Seeing Zhang Wei start attacking the prosecution’s witness, Xiao Baihe stood up again.

"Your Honor, the witness currently on the stand is Ms. Cheng, not Old Lin. The defense is off-topic!"

"Correct, Lawyer Zhang. Even if you can prove that there are problems with the witness’s testimony, you’ve currently summoned a character witness, right?"

"Sorry, both of you, I haven’t yet reached the key point," Zhang Wei apologized again, but then immediately asked, "May I ask the witness, did you bribe Mr. Lin to have him accuse my client in court?"

"That’s not true!" Cheng Lisha scoffed confidently, flatly denying it.

Her confidence came from the fact that the affair had been handled extremely secretly.

She knew that Mr. Lin indeed took the money, which was also provided by her.

However, as to the source of the funds or the person who offered the bribe, neither had any direct link to her.

No matter how much they investigated, it was absolutely impossible to trace it back to her.

Cheng Lisha put on a face as if to say, "Even if I did pay money, you won’t be able to catch me," and looked at Zhang Wei with a defiant expression.

"Good, please have the court recorder note that Ms. Cheng denies the accusation of bribing a witness in court!"

But Zhang Wei had already achieved his objective and reminded the court recorder of this.

Although everyone would deny it, it seemed like this was Zhang Wei’s goal all along.

"Second question, Ms. Cheng, please tell us, have you published books, made TV dramas, and even conducted numerous interviews with related parties? Have you ever had a one-on-one conversation with my client?"

"Why ask this... do I need to confront a murderer? That would just be asking for trouble!"

Cheng Lisha was taken aback for a moment but still defiantly denied it.

Joking aside, she was still hoping to make money by slandering Yang Chuanfang; how could she possibly face him directly and seek abuse?

"Good, please have the court recorder note that although Ms. Cheng has repeatedly made public statements that my client is a murderer, she has never once confirmed the details of this case with my client!"

This time, everyone in the courtroom was confused. What exactly was this?

You summon a character witness and don’t let her talk about matters related to your client, only asking her all these other questions?

"Ms. Cheng, do you believe my client is the killer?"

"Of course, who else could it be, if not her?"

"Then, do you have evidence?"

"Hasn’t the witness already admitted to seeing the defendant take away Wen Xiaoyun that night?"

"I mean, ten years ago, when you repeatedly claimed my client was the killer, did you have any evidence then?"

"This..."

Of course, there was no evidence at that time.

If Cheng Lisha had evidence, she would have presented it long ago, and her show might have been even more sensational.

If she had exclusive inside information back then, she wouldn’t have needed to spend money hiring so many internet trolls to hype things up.

"Looking at you, that means you had no evidence, right?"

Zhang Wei smiled again, "Court recorder, please note that ten years ago the witness repeatedly labeled my client as the murderer without any evidence and without having formally met with my client, while at that time investigation department only listed my client as a suspect!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s actions, Hu Yaode in the viewing gallery finally realized what was happening.

"Court records must be preserved, and if Cheng Lisha continues like this, all her statements will be preserved as evidence, which may be unfavorable for the civil lawsuit later on!"

Thinking this, he quickly wanted to remind Cheng Lisha.

But Zhang Wei was one step ahead and stood between him and Cheng Lisha, blocking any potential exchange of looks between them with his body.

"Ms. Cheng, I want to ask, in your heart, don’t you just wish my client was the murderer, even if Wen Xiaoyun’s body has not been found and the case cannot be classified as murder?"

"Hmph, isn’t he the killer? It’s like this now, why are you still struggling?"

"So you’re saying, you don’t deny this point, you have always believed my client is the killer?"

"Nonsense, if he’s not the killer, who is?"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Wei finally let a smile show on his face.

"Court recorder, please note, from start to finish, the witness has always regarded my client as a murderer; she’s never changed her stance!"

At this moment, Hu Yaode had already guessed what Zhang Wei was going to do next.

He frantically signaled to Cheng Lisha with his eyes, but it was a pity she couldn’t see them.

The court recorder dutifully recorded everything, noting both Cheng Lisha’s replies and Zhang Wei’s statements.

And seeing that his goal had been reached, Zhang Wei finally revealed his ultimate aim, "Your Honor, based on the witness’s responses, the defense requests that she be designated as a hostile witness!"

"As for the reasons, the witness has already informed the court that from start to finish, she has considered my client to be the murderer, the assailant, even in the absence of evidence, revealing a significant misunderstanding of my client!"

"Objection, this request is unreasonable!" Xiao Baihe immediately stood up, expressing her discontent.

"No, this request is quite reasonable!" But Old Wang waved his hand.

"Given the character witness’s statements bear strong subjective intent, this court grants the change of the witness to a hostile witness!"

"Thank you, Your Honor!"

Old Wang agreed, and Zhang Wei finally showed a smile.

Cheng Lisha, now that you’re a hostile witness, I can lead you with suggestive questions.

As for Cheng Lisha herself, she had not yet realized the severity of the situation.