Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 279 - 277: Leading Questions, Step by Step!

Chapter 279: Chapter 277: Leading Questions, Step by Step!

It was only a matter of minutes, a few questions’ worth of time.

The status of the defense witness had changed, becoming a hostile witness.

This was something nobody had anticipated.

However, considering the conflict between Cheng Lisha and Yang Chuanfang, it made sense.

If Cheng Lisha, testifying for Yang Chuanfang, wasn’t considered a hostile witness, that would be truly suspicious.

Now, the character witness had become a hostile witness.

Everyone watching the confrontation in the courtroom felt an inexplicable significance.

Cheng Lisha was now facing off with Zhang Wei as a hostile witness, which suggested...

At this moment, if anyone were most panicked in the courtroom, it was definitely Hu Yaode.

He wanted to give Cheng Lisha frantic eye signals, but unfortunately, she couldn’t see them!

Zhang Wei stood like a barrier between them, preventing any exchange of glances.

In fact, Cheng Lisha hadn’t thought of this at all.

She was still looking at Zhang Wei with a ferocious glare, completely unaware of her own predicament.

"Lawyer Zhang, you may begin now!"

From the bench, Old Wang waved his hand, signaling Zhang Wei to continue his questioning.

After all, he had already changed Cheng Lisha to a hostile witness; the rest was up to him.

"Yes, Your Honor!"

Zhang Wei certainly understood.

He had already been standing in front of the witness stand, now looking at Cheng Lisha, who displayed an undisguised annoyance, with an unexpectedly calm expression.

"Ms. Cheng, I will ask you many questions next, and I hope that you can answer these questions truthfully and impartially, without any strong subjective bias. Can you do that?"

"Hmph, depends on my mood!"

Cheng Lisha snorted coldly, her face showing disdain.

"Ms. Cheng, let me remind you, if you are uncooperative, you will bear legal responsibility, especially if you are proven to be passive or lying in court, you will face criminal responsibility!"

Zhang Wei warned her seriously.

But Cheng Lisha just scoffed, showing a "who do you think you’re scaring" expression.

From the spectator seats at the back, Hu Yaode inwardly cursed the situation.

What Zhang Wei said was true!

Testifying at the witness stand, even if you don’t lie, or if the questioner can’t prove you’re lying, showing uncooperative or perfunctory behavior can still get you convicted for contempt of court.

Contempt of court is not a trifling matter. In serious cases, it can result in a prison sentence of up to three years.

This is not a joke!

If Cheng Lisha goes too far, she could end up in jail...

Putting aside Hu Yaode’s anxiety, Zhang Wei was already poised to proceed.

"Ahem, Ms. Cheng, let’s begin then!"

"I’ll start from 10 years ago, as you first came into contact with my client then..."

As Zhang Wei spoke, he muttered softly, "Even though you never actually met in public..."

"Ms. Cheng, is it true that ten years ago, when you were still an unknown junior journalist, you happened upon the disappearance case of Wen Xiaoyun, as if discovering a new world, and decided to use this case as an opportunity for your career breakthrough?"

Cheng Lisha rolled her eyes, thinking Zhang Wei was going to ask some tough questions.

Turns out it was just rehashing old issues.

"What about it? Back then, I had a professional journalist’s eye. Can’t you accept that?"

"So you’re admitting to this matter?"

"Take it as you will!"

Cheng Lisha scoffed coldly, her face arrogant.

She had answered what needed to be answered; how others interpreted it was not her concern.

On the bench, Old Wang observed Cheng Lisha’s uncooperative attitude, feeling somewhat annoyed.

Don’t think you can do whatever you like just because you’re a well-known host. This is a courtroom, my turf!

But since Zhang Wei had not raised any objections, Old Wang felt he shouldn’t overstep. Best to wait and see.

Zhang Wei then continued with his questioning.

"Did you, at that time, find the parents of the missing person, Wen Xiaoyun, and under the pretense of seeking justice for them, cheat them out of an authorization letter that allowed you to adapt their story into a work and develop it?"

"What do you mean by ’scam’?"

Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s words, Cheng Lisha immediately retorted indignantly, "The victim’s parents agreed to it, okay? I signed a copyright authorization with them!"

"After you tricked them into signing the authorization, you began to extensively report on the incident, and even adapted it into a TV series, published popular books, and even hit the bestseller lists, achieving high ratings and ranking charts. How much money have you made from this one case? And how much have you actually given to the victim’s parents in the end?"

"This..."

Zhang Wei’s question was something Cheng Lisha couldn’t answer.

How much money had she made?

She hadn’t really counted, and even if she wanted to, that figure was still being updated in real-time.

Because her website and publishing house, as well as her drama and books, were generating sales and clicks every day, and all of that was money.

In other words, unless the books and hit drama were taken off the shelves, she could keep making money indefinitely, and the amount could keep growing.

As for how much money was eventually given to Wen Xiaoyun’s parents?

The answer was zero.

Cheng Lisha always felt that whether it was speculation or filming, publishing books, and even the subsequent promotions and merchandise sales, it was all her own effort.

Of course, the book was commissioned; she couldn’t possibly write it herself, but she would be credited as the author once it was finished.

The drama also owed its success to the directors and actors, but at that time, Cheng Lisha couldn’t afford top-notch talent, only managing to hire some minor actors and unknown directors.

So she always believed that the popularity of the drama and the case was all due to her own efforts.

As for Wen Xiaoyun’s parents, their goal had been achieved, hadn’t it? The incident of their daughter’s disappearance spread throughout Dongfang Capital, didn’t it?

Cheng Lisha felt she had done everything that was expected of her.

As for sharing her earnings, dream on!

So when Zhang Wei brought up the issue, she really was at a loss for words.

"What’s the matter, can’t answer?"

Zhang Wei looked at the slight change in Cheng Lisha’s expression, and without needing to guess, he already knew the answer.

"Objection!"

It was at this moment that Prosecutor Xiao Baihe stood up.

Although she didn’t know the purpose of Zhang Wei’s questions,

she knew one thing better: disrupt the opponent’s rhythm and break the continuity of their questioning.

"Your Honor, the main trial is about the defendant, Yang Chuanfang. What is the purpose of the defense attorney’s questions, and are they related to this case?"

Xiao Baihe looked at Old Wang with a serious face.

Old Wang also unconsciously nodded, just about to say something to Zhang Wei, but he vaguely sensed the gaze of the jury.

He saw the 12 jurors, at this moment, displaying thoughtful and even curious expressions, staring at the witness stand.

They wanted to know how much money Cheng Lisha had made and how much she had actually given to the victim’s parents.

The jury was very pragmatic; they didn’t care about the trivial matters and wouldn’t delve too deep into the legal principles and statutes.

They were interested in realistic things, like... money!

Seeing the attitude of the jury, Old Wang hesitated for a moment before coughing and saying, "Prosecutor, this court believes this question is slightly related to the case, so the objection is overruled!"

Xiao Baihe was stunned. This was related?

What did Cheng Lisha’s earnings have to do with Yang Chuanfang’s murder and concealment of a corpse?

You might as well give me a reason, huh?

But Old Wang had already spoken, and the attention of the court was no longer on Xiao Baihe.

Now, both the jury and many people in the audience were all fixated on Cheng Lisha.

"What’s the matter, Ms. Cheng, aren’t you going to answer?"

Zhang Wei’s fingers rhythmically tapped the wooden railing in front of the witness stand, emitting a "thud thud thud" sound.

Cheng Lisha was so rattled by the tapping that she couldn’t help saying, "I don’t know how to answer you!"

"It’s okay, I know the answer because I asked Jincheng Group’s professional accountants and actuaries to calculate it, and I even hired five people to handle the accounting at once!"

Zhang Wei, having anticipated this, walked back to the defense bench and took out two sets of documents from his briefcase, handing them to the judge’s bench and the prosecutor’s bench.

"According to this document, the film and television work ’Hotel by the Seaside,’ from its premiere to becoming a mainstream hit series, has gained royalties and website revenue-sharing between 20 to 45 million annually, not including derived merchandise and earnings."

"At the same time, there are literary works, related shows, and the popularity revenue brought about by Cheng Lisha’s personal interview shows, which also amount to nearly 20 million a year. This doesn’t even account for the fame you gained from the hit series and the concurrent advertising endorsements and income!"

Summarizing his point, Zhang Wei stated, "According to Jincheng’s five professionals, the total revenue you’ve accrued over the past ten years from this series and its related spin-offs, including monetization of traffic and fame and all the rest, has even exceeded 1.5 billion in total income!"

Upon this statement, an uproar broke out in the jury.

Well done!

Truly well done!

Cheng Lisha’s life took off just because of one case?

That’s a whole 1.5 billion, earned just like that by you?

As mentioned earlier, the jury is very pragmatic.

This figure, 1.5 billion, was enough to challenge their limit.

When this figure was announced, the jury exclaimed in amazement.

"It was all earned by my own abilities, and I personally handled the marketing and promotion..."

"So, Ms. Cheng isn’t denying it?"

Cheng Lisha rolled her eyes, deny?

Why should I deny it, the money I earned with my own abilities, what’s there to deny?

"Then the second question, you made 1.5 billion from the case of Wen Xiaoyun, how much of that profit did you share with the victim’s family?"

"We had a contract!" Cheng Lisha answered irrelevantly.

"So I can say the number is zero, right?"

"Say whatever you like!"

"It seems so, apart from the ’aid’ you gave when you first met Wen Xiaoyun’s parents, you haven’t given the victim’s family a penny in these ten years. Truly calculating, Ms. Cheng!"

As soon as these words came out, the spectator’s gallery was also in turmoil.

They all looked at Cheng Lisha with various expressions.

But in their eyes, there was a hint of disgust, disdain, and contempt.

Of course, if it were them, if they really made 1.5 billion, and had to share several billion in revenue, they wouldn’t want to either.

But they also didn’t make 1.5 billion, so they couldn’t put themselves in her shoes.

The only thing they knew was, you’ve made so much money, all from a case where someone’s daughter went missing, and not a penny for the parents?

And you keep saying you want to help them seek justice?

Your so-called pursuit of justice is making money from traffic and attention out of their daughter’s disappearance?

Despicable!

Over seventy percent of the people in the courtroom were filled with contempt for Cheng Lisha’s actions.

This woman, she’s too unscrupulous!

Or rather, this woman is too greedy!

A major shift in the courtroom’s mood occurred.

Nearly everyone in the room had little to no fondness for Cheng Lisha.

That was Zhang Wei’s intention, as it meant that some of the jury’s hatred was redirected.

You know, hostility toward a witness means less hostility toward my client, right?

Indeed, with Cheng Lisha drawing the fire, the hostility that Yang Chuanfang faced had significantly diminished.

"Objection!"

Prosecutor Xiao Baihe had seen Zhang Wei’s "purpose" and immediately stood up.

"Your Honor, and members of the jury, my point remains the same, the focus of this case should be on Yang Chuanfang, not the witness, Ms. Cheng. Even if what she has done is highly immoral, as long as it isn’t illegal or criminal, we shouldn’t waste the court’s precious time on these meaningless matters!"

Her point was clear, asking everyone to refocus their attention back to the courtroom and the case itself.

"Indeed, Prosecutor Xiao Baihe is correct!"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Wei was the first to stand up and agree.

This puzzled many people; you were the one bringing up these issues, and now when the prosecution interrupts, you don’t object but even applaud it?

"I will be asking the witness about matters concerning my client next, so please rest assured, Prosecutor Xiao Baihe, I won’t make things difficult for you!"

Zhang Wei said, with a smile towards Xiao Baihe.

Unfortunately, she was not receptive and simply snorted coldly, returning to her seat.

Having made the gesture, Zhang Wei once again approached the witness stand, facing Cheng Lisha.

"Ms. Cheng, let’s start again, shall we?"

"Next question, did you concoct and fabricate a character profile of my client without his consent, depicting him as a murderer and a suspect in hiding a corpse?"

"Are you kidding me? Back then, everyone in Dongfang Capital knew that Young Master Yang was the killer."

Cheng Lisha rolled her eyes again, unconcerned.

"Did you, on more than one occasion in public, accuse my client of being the murderer, the killer of Wen Xiaoyun, and describe him as a bloodthirsty and cruel psychopath?"

"So what? It wasn’t just me who said that, countless media were reporting the same thing at that time!"

"But at that time, the only person hiring a cyber army to boost their own profile was you, right?"

"This... I don’t know!"

Although Cheng Lisha was currently very annoyed upon hearing Zhang Wei ask this, it didn’t mean she was foolish.

Hiring a cyber army was something you couldn’t talk about openly, after all, it was unethical.

Even in today’s internet, you could spend money to manipulate data, but you couldn’t admit to it.

Because such actions were essentially fraud, admitting to them was certainly not flattering.

At the time, the mainstream media were only reporting the news; they didn’t mention anything about manipulating data, which was a business opportunity she first discovered.

By spending some money to hire a cyber army to boost posts and comments, increase traffic, and push her own related posts to the top.

That way, her exposure increased, followed by a definite growth in page views, and she gained higher popularity.

In the beginning, after hiring the cyber army, the surge in views and attention was coming fast.

"You don’t know?"

Zhang Wei, as if he had expected this response, scoffed coldly, "But the leader of the cyber army comes from your own PR team, and IP addresses don’t lie!"

"Then if you say so, it must be true!" Cheng Lisha replied dismissively, no longer bothering to argue.

"Alright, please let the court recorder note that Ms. Cheng admits to hiring a cyber army to spread internet rumors and slander my client!"

Zhang Wei gestured to the court recorder, who meticulously recorded every word.

Upon hearing this statement, Hu Yaode in the spectator’s seat became restless.

Cheng Lisha, you’re being foolish.

To not even counter-argue in court, do you really think there will be no consequences to saying such a thing?

If the case is won and Yang Chuanfang is convicted, all is well.

But if Yang Chuanfang is not convicted, that statement you just made could serve as effective evidence in a subsequent civil lawsuit.

After all, you’ve admitted to it in court, what could be more compelling evidence?

However... that’s provided Yang Chuanfang is not convicted.

While Zhang Wei, by deflecting some of the animosity, had lightened the load a bit,

Most of the jury still believed Yang Chuan was the murderer who killed Wen Xiaoyun.

So the advantage was still on their side. As long as Yang Chuan is convicted, everything that Cheng Lisha initially promoted would be deemed true.

And telling the truth does not constitute a crime.

"Next, regarding my former character witness, Chief Editor Pei Linjia of Dongfang Capital tabloid!"

"Ms. Cheng, did you harbor resentment towards Chief Editor Pei Linjia for questioning you at a press conference ten years ago, conducted by Dongfang Capital tabloid?"

"There were many people asking questions that day at the press conference, how could I possibly remember each one?"

"Indeed, you might not remember an event from ten years ago, but if this person were to become a character witness for Young Master Yang, surely you would take an interest?"

"I don’t know, and why should I care about them?"

Cheng Lisha denied once more.

However, Zhang Wei just scoffed and asked directly, "Did you secretly contact the gang member Leopard Old Three a few days ago, who then commanded his subordinate Sang Biao to retaliate and threaten Chief Editor Pei, even taking numerous photos inside the newspaper office?"

"Also, did you hire a cyber army to smear Chief Editor Pei’s reputation, slander him as colluding with gang members, and reduce his social standing to the point where he was intimidated from appearing in court as a character witness?"

"Over the years, have you held a grudge about that past event, covertly oppressing Dongfang Capital tabloid and attacking the publication using various means?"

"Do you..."

As Zhang Wei posed one question after another, the tide of the courtroom began to shift again.

Hearing so many details from Zhang Wei, it was hard not to speculate that there might be truth to these allegations.

If these claims were false, how could the defense attorney list them so specifically?

But did Cheng Lisha really harbor such pettiness?

To hold a grudge for so long because of a slight from ten years ago?

It’s said women are unpredictable like the deep sea, and some people’s minds indeed seem to be very narrow.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, I never have..."

"Leopard Old Three has already confessed, and we have the recording. Would you like me to play it for you?"

Seeing Cheng Lisha about to deny it, Zhang Wei immediately scoffed, indicating he had evidence.

With that statement, the whole courtroom appeared enlightened.

Well, I’ll be—if it isn’t true!

This Cheng Lisha, she’s too petty.