Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 411 - 407 Dirty Tricks, Zhao Qingyan Shows Up, Zhang Lang Goes to Court

Chapter 411: Chapter 407 Dirty Tricks, Zhao Qingyan Shows Up, Zhang Lang Goes to Court

Tricks!

And dirty tricks at that!

Zhang Wei never imagined that Qin Yang, with his thick brows and big eyes, would play such a dirty game!

What’s the matter?

Trying to use the reputation of the major case squad to smear my name, Zhang Wei?

Also hinting that there are unspeakable secrets between me and the defendant?

Psychological warfare!

And it’s aimed at the hearts of the jury.

Leading the jury to believe that there are little secrets, even a transactional relationship, between the defense lawyer and the defendant?

And faced with slander and threats, what is the normal response for most people?

Most would try to explain, but the more they explain, the more it seems like they’re trying to cover something up!

So Zhang Wei won’t be such a person; faced with slander and threats, he will use other methods to counter.

"Ahem, Senior Procuratorate Qin spoke very well!"

Zhang Wei stood up and applauded in court!

Clap clap clap!

The applause was rhythmic and clear for everyone to hear.

"Lawyer Zhang, don’t you plan to explain?"

"Explain what? It’s not my turn to speak, what can I explain?"

"Besides, my reputation, Zhang Wei, is already bad, what difference would a few slanderous words from you make, I don’t care!"

Zhang Wei waved his hand, showing an attitude of complete indifference.

"You, this..."

Qin Yang was also startled by Zhang Wei’s attitude.

Normally, faced with such accusations, wouldn’t most people try to weakly explain a little?

Even if they didn’t explain, they would at least show an expression of denial, an expression of innocence, at least to let the jury see their attitude.

And this was when Qin Yang had his chance to shine.

He could directly interrupt those remarks, disrupting the opponent’s rhythm, in order to gain the upper hand.

But he never imagined that some people could be completely unfazed, even shameless.

What do you call this move?

"As long as I’m rotten enough, I don’t even need to put on a façade, what can you do to me?

You want to humiliate me, but if I don’t care about my face, what humiliation can there be?

Playing it bad, laying it flat, a hopeless case...

At this moment, that’s exactly how Zhang Wei appeared to everyone.

"Senior Procuratorate Qin, have you misunderstood something? I have always had the reputation of the ’Homicide Lawyer’ in Dongfang Capital, and although I have always strongly denied it, the media seems to love linking me with the deaths of Cheng Lisha and Xu Zhifeng."

"So, I learned to be smart a long time ago and grew indifferent to so-called reputation. No matter if the sky falls or the earth collapses, I stand unshaken; no matter how you slander me, I take it as a compliment, isn’t that good enough?"

"Explaining is a waste of saliva; explaining is equivalent to covering up; I can’t be bothered to waste that effort~"

It must be said, with Zhang Wei’s flauntingly indifferent attitude, even Qin Yang struggled to find a ’spot to stab’.

The words he had prepared to interrupt Zhang Wei got stuck in his throat.

Some people, when they become rotten enough, are also invulnerable and without any weaknesses.

When someone shows an attitude of indifference towards your attempts to tarnish them, what can you do?

If you can’t break through their thick skin, then what can be done?

Of course, there’s nothing you can do.

Of course, Zhang Wei sat down, paying no mind to the gaze of the jury.

However, his straightforward attitude ironically won him a bit of favor.

At least in the eyes of the jury sizing him up, only a small portion held doubts, while more were simply speechless.

The jurors had participated in more than one trial, but seeing a defense lawyer directly ’play it bad’ in court was a first for them.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s defenses as solid as a wall of copper and iron, Qin Yang could only snort coldly.

"Although Lawyer Zhang has such an attitude, we can’t deny the fact that you met in secret with the defendant and others at the time of the crime!"

"Oh, is that so? I meet people if I wish, I go wherever I want. What, is Senior Procuratorate Qin my guardian, planning to control my actions?"

Zhang Wei spread his hands again, resigning to the situation.

Qin Yang frowned slightly, somewhat at a loss over Zhang Wei’s response.

"Lawyer Zhang, then may I assume that you have had an improper relationship with one of the defendants, Zhao Xiaoxiao, who has been involved in illegal cyber activities for many years? Are you telling me you knew nothing about it?"

"Oh, is that so? Say whatever you want~"

Seeing that Zhang Wei was indifferent to his smear tactics, Qin Yang knew that picking on this youngster was useless.

"Captain Wu, do you know Zhang Wei?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then, do you know Lawyer Zhang’s client Zhao Xiaoxiao?"

"I’ve heard Xia Xia mention her. They seem to be roommates."

"Roommates? That means living under the same roof, right?"

"I guess so."

Qin Yang’s eyes shifted as he spoke in a meaningful tone, "A man and a woman living under the same roof, and the woman is a hacker while the man is a defense lawyer, in charge of the woman’s defense case. There seems to be..."

"I object!"

As Qin Yang was still attempting to influence the jury with his words, someone suddenly stood up from the back of the hearing room.

At the sound of this voice, Zhang Wei was slightly stunned, then internally cursed his luck.

He quickly looked to his side and saw Zhao Xiaoxiao’s face instinctively show a look of disgust upon hearing the voice.

She was about to rise and flee the courtroom, but Zhang Wei pressed on her shoulder a step ahead.

"Xiaoxiao, don’t be rash; this is a courtroom, and you can’t just do as you please!"

"But that guy!"

"That guy, no matter what, is your father. He’s speaking up now surely to help you!"

The person who had spoken up was none other than Zhao Qingyan.

After standing up from the hearing seat, he walked straight to the center of the courtroom.

"Who are you?"

Qin Yang looked at the approaching person, who was wearing a mask and sunglasses, and truly couldn’t recognize who it was.

"I am Zhao Qingyan, the father of the defendant Zhao Xiaoxiao!"

Zhao Qingyan took off his mask and sunglasses, revealing his true face.

"So Mr. Zhao, what brings you to the courtroom?"

"I heard someone besmirching my daughter and our neighbor, and in a moment of anger, I stood up to object!"

Zhao Qingyan faced Qin Yang with an unfriendly tone, "I want to make one thing clear here: my daughter and Zhang Wei are very good friends, and also roommates. During the time when I was too busy with work to take care of my daughter, it was Zhang Wei who looked after her."

"Lawyer Zhang is a very warm-hearted and kind person. He goes to work at the law firm during the day and comes back home in the evening to cook and do laundry for my daughter, even cleaning up. His care for my daughter is something even I, as her father, feel ashamed of not matching."

Upon hearing Zhao Qingyan’s words, Qin Yang immediately countered, "Then with your daughter engaged in illegal cyber activities, as her roommate and someone who has been attentively caring for her during this period, how could Lawyer Zhang possibly not know about these affairs?"

"Although I’m not a lawyer, I do know one thing, and that is, when making an accusation, one must also produce corresponding evidence, right?"

But Zhao Qingyan just sneered, similarly questioning, "You keep insisting my daughter is involved in illegal cyber activities, and as her roommate, Lawyer Zhang couldn’t possibly be unaware. Then please, present the evidence to support these allegations?"

"Do you have any evidence that you’ve seen, heard, or anything that directly proves that Lawyer Zhang was explicitly aware of the illegal cyber activities you mentioned concerning my daughter?"

"This..."

Of course, Qin Yang had no such evidence; his maneuver was merely aimed at tarnishing Zhang Wei’s reputation.

Unfortunately, what he had stirred up was the defendant’s own father.

Now, with her father confronting him directly, this was a bad situation for Qin Yang.

"Mr. Zhao, I’m really sorry; my previous remarks have caused some misunderstandings, and here I retract those words," Qin Yang hastily apologized in court, seeing that his tactics were ineffective.

He glanced at the jury again and realized that these twelve individuals were indifferent to his schemes.

On the contrary, because of Zhao Qingyan’s appearance in the court, there were even some among the twelve who felt a hint of contempt for him.

Indeed, dirty tricks sometimes do not win hearts.

Naturally, Qin Yang acted quickly to cut his losses and called a halt to all of it.

"Mr. Zhao, please return to the hearing seat for now. The court will also keep an eye on Senior Procuratorate Qin for you, and if he speaks inappropriately again, the court will allow you to remind him!"

Old Li also made his stance known, voicing a hint of dissatisfaction with Qin Yang’s actions.

Dirty tricks, unappealing to the public!

"That’s good, thank you for the support, Judge Li!"

Zhao Qingyan gave Qin Yang a cold look and then glanced at Zhang Wei and Zhao Xiaoxiao on the defense bench.

Unfortunately, her own daughter kept her head down, adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.

"Ah—"

Feeling helpless, Zhao Qingyan could only walk back to the witnesses’ seats, to her own spot.

"Judge Li, I have finished my questioning of this witness!"

Qin Yang also exhaled a deep breath and hurriedly ended his questioning.

"Zhang Wei?" Old Li directly called out someone’s name.

Zhang Wei stood up and walked to the witness stand.

"Captain Wu, we’re all so familiar with each other, no need for formalities, right?"

"The prosecution just questioned my relationship with the defendant, so I would like to ask Captain Wu, it’s not illegal to go out with my roommate over the weekend, is it?"

Wu Yong naturally shook his head, "Of course not, you’re an adult, where you go and whom you meet on weekends is your own prerogative!"

"Similarly, as an adult who is busy with work every day, being a lawyer is hard, and when I go home I even cook for my roommate, I don’t have the energy to mind what my roommate is up to. That’s understandable, right?"

"Understandable." Wu Yong nodded.

Whether Zhang Wei was busy or not he was unclear, but shifting blame onto Zhang Wei for the roommate’s illegal actions was indeed a bit unfair.

"Likewise, I think the prosecution has misunderstood a concept, that as the defense lawyer in this case, there’s no unspeakable secret between Zhao Xiaoxiao and me."

"On the contrary, looking after Zhao Xiaoxiao was entrusted to me, making me her temporary guardian, although there’s no formal trust agreement, so nominally we are just friends."

As Zhang Wei spoke, he looked towards Zhao Qingyan at the witnesses’ seats, who nodded in apparent agreement with this statement.

"Another point, as Mr. Zhao clarified earlier, is that if the prosecution wants to attack my character, you first need to present evidence. Just a few words intended to tarnish someone’s reputation, making them run around to dispel rumors, that’s surely a profitable business!"

Zhang Wei said with a cold smile, "So, can I say this, that Senior Procuratorate Qin and my former subordinate, Qin Shaocong from Longteng Law Firm, are related by blood, and there might be some improper dealings between you?"

"I suspect you have unspeakable secrets between you, did you accept favors from your nephew and come to Dongfang Capital for revenge?"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people looked toward Qin Yang.

What do you call this move, shooting yourself in the foot?

Qin Yang never expected that he’d use Zhang Wei and Zhao Xiaoxiao’s cohabitation to make a case, and now this fellow turns around to use my relationship with my nephew against me?

And judging by the looks on the faces of the jury and the observation gallery, they seemed to be harboring doubts, even guessing whether there really was something to it?

Good grief!

Qin Yang frowned but did not object, nor did he stand up to explain.

Just like Zhang Wei said, to explain is to cover up.

Staying calm and composed in the face of slander is the best strategy.

"Of course, I have no evidence to prove this, but since I’ve said it in court, I hope you, Senior Procuratorate Qin, can provide evidence to clear your name, can you do that?"

"Of course, you can’t. In court, the burden of proof lies with the accuser, not with the accused to provide evidence to the contrary. This is Dragon Country’s court, not some countries on Blue Star!"

Zhang Wei asked and answered himself in court, indirectly assisting Qin Yang.

"So, let’s not dwell on these groundless rumors, shall we? Otherwise, with trials being so tiring and rampant rumors, it would be too draining, wouldn’t it?"

Having said this, Zhang Wei directly thanked Wu Yong, "Thank you for your participation, Captain Wu, I have no more questions for you!"

The cross-examination of Wu Yong concluded.

Zhang Wei returned to the defense bench, and Wu Yong also left the witness stand and directly exited the courtroom.

The atmosphere in the court calmed, but the recent uproar still had some impact on the jury.

The look that many people gave toward the prosecution was rather displeased, because who made you accuse the defense without evidence? Do you think we’re fools?

"Hmph, I didn’t expect Zhao Qingyan to come and cause trouble!" Zhang Lang on the prosecution bench glared at the witnesses’ seats, his face showing displeasure.

This was his case; he, Zhang Lang, was now representing the Zhang Family.

How dare someone from the Zhao Family come and meddle? Isn’t this troublemaking?

"Senior Procuratorate Qin, let me take the stand!"

Zhang Lang said to Qin Yang and then stood up, heading toward the court.

Qin Yang wore a displeased expression.

His tactics had been countered by Zhang Wei and Zhao Qingyan, which was annoying enough. Now, here came Zhang Lang with that attitude—did he think I was his subordinate?

However, since Zhang Lang wanted to testify, Qin Yang had to cooperate.

"Judge Li, the prosecution calls Mr. Zhang, a key witness in this case, to testify!"

"You’re here, then take a seat!"

Seeing Zhang Lang approach the witness stand, Old Li was actually pleased.

Because he knew Zhang Lang’s identity was not simple, the prosecution summoning him naturally meant that the prosecution had no other tricks up its sleeve.

Using their trump card early on meant the case could end sooner, which he was more than happy to see.

Zhang Lang took his seat in the witness box.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang!"

"Hmm!"

Qin Yang frowned, because Zhang Lang’s response was not exactly cooperative.

Instead, he felt as though Zhang Lang was treating him like a subordinate of the opposition, a commanding attitude that irked him somewhat.

"Mr. Zhang, could you please introduce your identity to the court?"

"My last name is Zhang. I am the Head of Operations at the Cybersecurity Bureau and also the one who arrested the three defendants in this case!"

Zhang Lang was arrogant in demeanor, especially when he began with "My last name is Zhang," his nostrils flaring, full of bluster.

Unfortunately, not many in the courtroom could grasp the significance of a top official from one of the Five Great Families, many did not understand what sort of person the head of this strange agency really was.

"Cybersecurity Bureau?" Qin Yang asked, feigning ignorance, "Could Mr. Zhang please explain the responsibilities and other details of your department?"

"Of course, our department is called the Cybersecurity Bureau, CSB for short. It is a special operations department responsible for the cybersecurity of Dongfang Capital and the surrounding cities in the South."

"Our mission is to arrest individuals and groups committing crimes on the internet, to protect the citizens’ online information from leaking, and to safeguard Dragon Country’s cybersecurity from threats."

Qin Yang immediately chimed in, "Mr. Zhang’s work is indeed important!"

Zhang Lang, however, ignored Qin Yang, directing his speech towards the defense’s bench, "Exactly because of this, our department is extremely vigilant against network hackers active within the borders of Dragon Country. The moment we get a hold of them, we absolutely will not let go!"

"Objection, inflammatory remarks!"

Zhang Wei was not going to indulge Zhang Lang; this old timer dared to ignore the prosecutor’s question and "talk to himself," which was essentially showing disrespect to the court.

"The objection is sustained!"

Old Li also issued a warning, "Witness, please cooperate with the prosecutor’s questions when speaking, and do not speak out of turn!"

Zhang Lang sniffed in derision, showing disdain even for Judge Li.

Being from the Zhang Family, he did not regard an ordinary judge highly at all.

Old Li was helpless, but there was nothing he could do.

Similarly, Qin Yang was dissatisfied with Zhang Lang’s "precocious" response, showing a hint of displeasure.

"Mr. Zhang, I also would like to make a point here, please respond to my questions when answering, is that okay?"

"Senior Procuratorate Qin, just ask your questions!"

"I’m asking if you can cooperate. Can you simply answer ’yes’ or ’no’?"

"You..."

Seeing Qin Yang suddenly change his tone and show him no respect, Zhang Lang nearly lost his composure.

But noticing the court guards looking on eagerly and the judge watching him, he chose to endure.

"Yes!"

With a face full of dissatisfaction and a hostile look in his eyes, Zhang Lang agreed verbally, but he was very displeased inside.

He had come to court to deliver a heavy blow to the defense, but he had not expected that Qin Yang, ostensibly his teammate, would also give him a hard time.

Zhang Lang gave Qin Yang a warning look.

You’d better ask your questions properly next, or don’t blame me for not being polite.

But Qin Yang ignored Zhang Lang’s gaze as if he hadn’t seen it at all.

Kidding me, I’m the Senior Prosecutor from Longdu.

Do you think because I played a dirty trick earlier, I’ve lost my dignity and you can manipulate me at will?

I was just testing the waters earlier. It’s common for the prosecution to play little tricks in court to achieve a big victory.

If the dirty trick doesn’t work, then there’s no need to continue with it.

But you try to walk all over me in court, how could I, Qin Yang, ever tolerate that!

Qin Yang left Zhang Lang hanging for around ten seconds, and when the waiting seemed to become slightly impolite, he continued with his questioning.

"Mr. Zhang, did you have sufficient basis for the arrest of the three defendants?"

"Of course we did. We have ample evidence to prove that the defendants have been involved in illegal network attacks for many years, and even sold Dragon Country’s secret data to foreign powers!"

This time, as soon as Zhang Lang started speaking, he dropped a bombshell!