Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 377 - 375: Zhang Wei Respects the Old and Cares for the Young? Exposing the Lie

Chapter 377: Chapter 375: Zhang Wei Respects the Old and Cares for the Young? Exposing the Lie

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five: Does Zhang Wei Respect the Elderly and Love the Young? Exposing Lies

Ni Qiuping was "coerced."

Since cross-examination hadn’t started yet, Zhang Wei couldn’t speak in court.

In the courtroom, it was still Qin Shaocong’s time to perform freely.

"Mr. Zhou, please tell us, after your brother came to Dongfang Capital, what exactly did he encounter?"

"After we arrived at Dongfang Capital, we asked the people from the Criminal Investigation Department. They said my brother was stabbed in a bar in an old district of Dongfang Capital and then died after being taken to the hospital, without the killer being found. The case is still under investigation."

"Do you accept this outcome?"

"Of course, we don’t accept it. My brother was fine before he came to Dongfang Capital, but then he was gone. Who can accept that, who would accept that?"

"Anyway, as his younger brother, I definitely can’t accept it!"

Zhou Sanliang spoke with an indignant face, and after he finished, he deliberately glanced at the defense’s bench, his eyes brimming with hatred.

"Ah—my poor child, how could he just be gone—"

"You left, leaving behind a whole family, what are we supposed to do—"

"Pity my poor grandson, so young and without a father, how is he going to survive—"

On the prosecution’s witness bench, Zhou Mother started again.

The wailing was even more intense than before, oh what a tragic sight.

The whole courtroom was watching her "performance," and many couldn’t help but look away.

However, compared to before, many people’s gazes had changed this time, revealing speechlessness and irritation.

Really!

You can cry once, and we can understand crying twice.

But why is it that every time Qin Shaocong finishes asking questions, and Zhou Sanliang has answered his questions, you "timely" start crying?

Once or twice can be considered coincidental; if it happens every time, it’s hard not to suspect that this is a purposeful performance.

Trying to attract the attention of the jury or even the audience in the hearing seats with your cries, to garner sympathy for the victim and your family members?

We do feel sympathy for you, but this is a courtroom, can you please not cause a disturbance?

Enough is enough!

In the courtroom, more than half of the people showed various degrees of impatience.

They were clearly somewhat put off by Zhou Mother’s abrupt crying, and many people even showed undisguised disgust on their faces upon hearing the wailing.

"Thank you for your answers, Mr. Zhou. My questioning is temporarily over!"

Noticing the looks around him, Qin Shaocong hurriedly concluded the questioning.

However, as he stepped down from the courtroom, he deliberately glanced at Zhang Wei in a provocative manner, clearly feeling advantaged.

"Defense, you may begin now!" Judge Ni hastily urged, with a somewhat helpless look in her eyes.

Zhang Wei stood up, straightening his collar as he made his way to the witness stand.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Sanliang looked at Zhang Wei with distaste, his attitude not very friendly.

Sensing the attitude of the man on the witness stand, Zhang Wei asked again, "Mr. Zhou, do you harbor hostility towards me?"

"Cough, cough!"

Zhou Sanliang didn’t want to answer the question, but Qin Shaocong from the prosecution suddenly coughed and gave Zhou Sanliang a meaningful look.

That look seemed to say: Don’t you dare mess around on me, otherwise you’ll become a hostile witness. Just answer the questions honestly, got it?

"No, I don’t have any hostility towards you!" Zhou Sanliang replied reluctantly, having no choice but to do so.

"Oh, no hostility towards me, huh? So, does that mean you will answer all of my questions?"

Zhou Sanliang glanced at Qin Shaocong again, who nodded.

"Yes, I will answer all of them!"

"Even if I ask some questions you don’t want to answer, will you still answer them rather than selectively refuse?"

Zhou Sanliang looked at Qin Shaocong again, who nodded once more.

"Yes, I will answer everything!"

"Truly?"

Zhou Sanliang felt a surge of anger rising within him upon hearing Zhang Wei’s question.

He couldn’t help but slap the table and shouted, "What do you mean by that? I said I would answer, didn’t you f***ing understand?"

"Witness, please watch your attitude; this is a courtroom, not a place for shouting!" Ni Qiuping reminded him coldly, her tone also somewhat unfriendly.

Scolded by the judge like that, Zhou Sanliang then sat back down, but the look of hatred he directed at Zhang Wei was impossible to hide.

"Oh, I get it now!"

Zhang Wei, however, seemed not to notice and nodded.

But he knew that this Zhou character was a very impatient person.

"Alright, my questions begin now, about your brother, he..."

"Oh, my poor son, how could you have just left us like this—"

Before Zhang Wei could even ask his question, from the plaintiff’s witness seat, Zhou Mother had started up again.

This time, over half the people in the courtroom either covered their faces with one hand or showed expressions of disgust.

Enough already!

You’ve done enough now, haven’t you!

Isn’t it obviously intentional?

Before, it was after the questions that you cooperated with the answers.

Now it’s the defense’s turn, and you won’t even give the other side a chance to ask questions. How can you say you’re not doing it on purpose?

Zhou Mother’s wailing was too obvious, and many people in the courtroom could see it.

Zhang Wei of course saw it too.

"This Qin Shao has got quite a few tricks up his sleeve, huh!"

He sneered inwardly, abandoning Zhou Sanliang and steadily walking towards the plaintiff’s witness seat.

If you’re going to play your trick on the first, don’t blame me for returning the favor on the fifteenth.

Zhang Someone here certainly won’t indulge the other side’s shady maneuvers and sneaky tactics.

"Defense counsel, what are you doing?" Qin Shaocong immediately stood up, watching Zhang Wei closely.

"Nothing, I just feel this mother is truly pitiable!"

"What did you say? Your phony sympathy is a bit too much, don’t you wish their whole family would just not show up?"

Hearing Zhang Wei express sympathy, Qin Shaocong immediately started sarcastically mocking him.

You think I’d believe your bullshit?

If you, Zhang Wei, really felt sympathy for the plaintiff’s family, why don’t you have your client plead guilty already?

"Qin Shao, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person; how can you lack even a shred of compassion?"

Just then, Zhang Wei suddenly shifted his fire and directly attacked Qin Shaocong.

"Huh?"

The latter was utterly confused.

What’s happening?

What’s going on?

Why am I being targeted by you, Zhang Wei?

"Qin Shao, look, this elderly mother is crying so heartbrokenly, so gut-wrenchingly, yet you just leave her hanging here?"

As Zhang Wei said these words, his face showed a hint of reproach, "Forget your ’witness’ routine. Look at this elderly mother, see how heartbroken she is, enduring the pressure of appearing in court, suffering mentally and physically. What you’re doing is practically a sin!"

"Huh?"

Before Qin Shaocong could react to why he had suddenly become the target of Zhang Wei’s rebuke.

After chastising Qin Shaocong, Zhang Wei immediately looked at the bench, "Judge Ni, we request that Zhou Mother be sent to the adjoining rest room to recuperate, and for a court guard to accompany her to prevent her from being unable to control her emotions over missing her son and risking an incident!"

Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s request, Qin Shaocong immediately objected, "I object, she’s a witness!"

"What’s the matter, Qin Shao? Are you planning to summon this grieving mother to testify and subject her to cross-examination by the defense? Have you no humanity, have you no compassion at all?"

"Ah, this..."

Seeing that Zhang Wei was looking at him, and all eyes around the courtroom were also casting doubtful glances, Qin Shaocong finally caught on.

Using the opponent’s tactics against them was a common strategy of Zhang Wei.

"But Zhou Mother herself wants to testify..."

"It’s because she can’t bear to leave her son behind, but staying here, wailing continuously, is bad for the old lady’s health!"

Zhang Wei said this and walked up to Zhou Mother, "Old lady, are you very upset about your son’s death?"

"Yes... yes I am."

Zhou Mother, although reluctant to answer the question, feared that not doing so would make her appear heartless.

"Does it pain your heart every time you think of your son?"

"Yes... yes, it does."

"So when I mentioned your son just now, you couldn’t help but cry, right? Then, if I continue to mention your eldest son during my questions, will you continue to cry?"

"Yes... yes, I will."

"Oh, I see!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but nod, but the corner of his mouth suddenly curled into a sneer.

Old lady, I can finally send you away.

"Judge Ni, and the respected jury, and everyone at the witness stand, the defense once again requests to allow this sorrowful mother to rest in the adjacent room for the sake of her health. Please, Court, grant this request!"

"Judge Ni, I..."

"Qin Shao, I didn’t think you were this kind of person, so heartless as to ignore an old lady’s health just to win a lawsuit; you are truly despicable... no, you are worse than a beast!"

Seeing Qin Shaocong about to object, Zhang Wei immediately opened fire, reprimanding him in a compassionate tone.

"Ah, this..."

Qin Shaocong never expected Zhang Wei to dare use such a tactic, to disgust him with his own strategy.

Zhang Wei had a smile on his lips, but promptly put on a look of profound distress, waving his arm as he chided, "Qin Shao, you wouldn’t be thinking, regardless of this elderly lady’s health, to forcibly summon her to testify in court, would you?"

"This old lady has made the strenuous trip to Dongfang Capital; she is probably already exhausted, yet you want her to endure her physical discomfort and testify in court."

"Of course, if you are so heartless and insist on objecting, determined to argue with me, then pretend I never made this request!"

Qin Shaocong’s face stiffened, the corners of his mouth beginning to twitch slightly.

I’ll be damned, he’s blocked all my arguments.

If I insist, I’ll end up with the reputation of a "bully to the elderly."

Qin Shaocong knew he couldn’t speak.

But just because I can’t, doesn’t mean others can’t.

He immediately gave Zhou Sanliang a look: Hurry up, don’t let your mom leave!

"I object too, my mother has always been in good health, she..."

"Mr. Zhou, what are you saying? You say your mother’s health has always been fine, how can you be so unfilial?"

Zhou Sanliang was interrupted by Zhang Wei before he could finish.

"Look at your mother!"

Zhang Wei pointed at Zhou Mother, then turned to Zhou Sanliang, "Look at her, how distressed she was crying just now?"

"I know that’s how the elderly are; even if they have a health issue, they don’t want to worry their children with it, wanting them to be free of concern. So, you just believe it when your mother says she’s fine?"

This rhetorical question led many in the courtroom to nod in agreement.

The elderly do think this way; even if they feel unwell, they tend to endure it without telling the younger generation.

Zhang Wei was right, and many agreed with this point.

"Mr. Zhou, is it that in your heart, you only think of yourself and never consider your own mother?"

"Furthermore, your brother has passed away, and now it’s solely your responsibility to care for your mother, yet you care not a whit for her. Can your brother’s spirit rest in peace knowing this?"

"Ah, this..." Upon hearing Zhang Wei drag his deceased brother into it, Zhou Sanliang couldn’t hold back anymore.

After scolding Zhou Sanliang, Zhang Wei looked back at the judge’s bench: "Therefore, Judge Ni, even if it means opposing the prosecutor’s lawyer and the witness Mr. Zhou, I must consider this old mother’s well-being. Please grant my request and let Zhou Mother rest in the adjacent room."

"Of course, I trust that Long Teng’s Qin Shao wouldn’t bear to trouble an old lady, right? I also believe Mr. Zhou wouldn’t utterly disregard his own mother’s physical and emotional wellbeing by insisting on objecting, right?"

Qin Shaocong opened his mouth but truly couldn’t find words to respond.

Zhou Sanliang wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words to refute.

Zhang Wei had effectively shut them up.

"Hmm, Lawyer Zhang is correct; after careful consideration, the Court approves Lawyer Zhang’s request!"

On the judge’s bench, Ni Qiuping was elated, but her face still maintained its authority.

She barely contained her laughter and gave a courtyard guard a look.

The guard got the message immediately and approached Zhou Mother, "Old lady, please follow me."

Zhou Mother honestly didn’t want to move, but Zhang Wei had already walked up to her side.

"Old lady, please, I’ll help you up, come on, let’s go!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s "enthusiasm," Zhou Mother struggled for a while, but she couldn’t withstand the combined force of Zhang Wei and the Court Guard and was forcibly "invited" out of the courtroom.

As Zhou Mother left, Ni Qiuping was naturally the happiest, her looks of approval towards Zhang Wei brimming with esteem.

This kid can handle things; when it comes to action, he really steps up!

Moreover, Zhang Wei’s conduct in "considering" the elderly has also caused many jurors and those in the hearing seats to glance sideways.

This kid can handle things; he even preaches respect for the elderly and love for the young in court, thumbs up!

Similarly, when Zhou Mother left the courtroom, everyone felt as if it had become much quieter.

"Ahem, folks, let’s continue, shall we!"

Zhang Wei returned to the witness stand once again.

"Mr. Zhou, now that your mother has gone to rest next door, the Court Guard and I have instructed that she should not be allowed into the courtroom until the case is over to avoid any danger if she loses control. Of course, I am doing this for her physical and mental health, so don’t worry!"

Zhou Sanliang cursed in his heart, I’ll be damned!

Is she your mother or my mother? Who needs you to be so hypocritically considerate here?

But even if he wanted to curse someone inside, he couldn’t curse out loud.

Because Qin Shaocong had already warned him that swearing was absolutely forbidden in court!

"So, Mr. Zhou, let’s get back to the previous cross-examination. First, I want to ask, your brother has been portrayed by you as a righteous and courageous youth who helps the weak and opposes the strong, right?"

"Of course!"

"Your brother fought off a few bullies who harassed men and women in the neighboring village?"

"Yes."

"Your brother led people to teach a lesson to the unscrupulous real estate developer who forcibly acquired land?"

"Yes."

"Your brother also..."

"Yes, yes, yes, these are all things I’ve said. If you go to our hometown to inquire, these are all true!"

As Zhou Sanliang spoke, he even gave a thumbs up, his face full of pride.

"Oh, then how come the story I heard is different from what you’ve said? Are you sure what you’re saying is all true?"

"Of course, what I’m saying is all true!"

This time, Zhou Sanliang’s expression turned somewhat unconfident, and his gaze slightly averted.

"All right, we’ll take it one by one!"

Zhang Wei walked over to the counsel’s bench and took a folder handed to him by Jessica, flipping open the first page.

"First of all, about the small-time thugs, according to what the injured thug said, he and a few friends came to meet a girl they’d contacted online. The girl from your neighboring village had an online romance with a guy, and her parents, fearing their daughter would be taken advantage of, called on your brother to back her up."

"According to the young man’s recollection, they were meeting the girl just fine, and his friends were all standing about ten meters away as wingmen, supporting him. But suddenly your brother burst out and started punching and kicking the guy."

"When the friends saw the guy being bullied, they couldn’t help but come up to break it up, only to be beaten by your brother as well. While beating them up, he also cursed, and reportedly, his language was extremely foul."

Zhang Wei looked at the last of this page and said to the jury, "In the end, the young man’s head needed several stitches, and his fingers were fractured. Several of his friends also suffered various degrees of abrasions and bleeding, and even some had several teeth knocked out."

"As the perpetrator, Zhou Er was later exempted from the assault charges because he claimed he was mentally unstable. Following assessments by a psychiatrist, it turned out he did indeed have a mental illness, and it was even intermittent."

"So, your brother, Zhou Er, was not really a righteous person acting courageously nor did he drive away the thugs. Instead, he aggressively attacked others, leading to several young men getting injured and hospitalized, and ultimately, he evaded the charges by claiming an intermittent mental illness."

As these words were spoken, the whole room was astounded.

So the so-called courageous acts and driving away the bullies turned out to be this.

"You’re lying; my brother isn’t like that!"

"How am I lying? I have the accident reports from that time right here, the personal testimony of the young man, and even the psychiatric evaluation documents. I think it’s you who has been lying all along, isn’t it?"

Zhang Wei didn’t give Zhou Er a chance to respond and continued, "And about that so-called black-hearted property developer, he was actually a legitimate businessman who had properly negotiated the land acquisition with your village. But you thought his offer was too low, not satisfied with the price, you even wanted him to increase it, tripling it at that, quite a lion’s mouth."

"When the businessman disagreed, you surrounded his construction team and eventually attacked people. Your brother was the one who hit them hardest, and in the end, you did indeed drive him away!"

"How, then, has this incident turned into a story of your brother opposing unscrupulous businessman in your narration? It was simply your greed, asking for an exorbitant price!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei slammed the folder down in front of Zhou Sanliang.

"Mr. Zhou, your testimony contains major inaccuracies, and I suspect you are committing perjury in this court!"

As these words were spoken, the whole room was astounded once again.

Goodness gracious!

So this was the kind of person the deceased was.

And you, his brother, your ability to spout lies is top-notch. How have your brother’s many misdeeds turned into good deeds in your story?

Do you really think we don’t know anything? Just look at the defense lawyer, who has investigated everything thoroughly.

You’re asking for it, aren’t you!

The direction of the court shifted completely after Zhang Wei brought out the facts.