Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 417 - 413 Refuting the Witness Xia Qianjun, That Connection?

Chapter 417: Chapter 413 Refuting the Witness Xia Qianjun, That Connection?

"Defense, it’s your turn to cross-examine the tainted witness!"

In the courtroom, Old Li nodded at Zhang Wei.

"Go for it, Zhang Wei, don’t let that traitor get away!"

Zhao Xiaoxiao, also wishing for chaos, cheered for Zhang Wei from her seat.

"I’ll do my best!"

Zhang Wei responded with a perfunctory comment and then got up and walked toward the witness stand.

Seeing him approach, Liu Dashun, seated in the witness box, bashfully lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

Witnessing this, Zhang Wei intensified his tone, "Witness, please lift up your head and look into my eyes!"

Startled by his demand, Liu Dashun instinctively looked up, only to attempt to lower his gaze again upon meeting Zhang Wei’s eyes.

"What are you afraid of, if you can’t even look me in the eye, how do you expect the jury to believe your words?" Zhang Wei barked sharply.

Liu Dashun’s heart was already tormented; now, with Zhang Wei bellowing at him, his eyes reddened, and he was on the verge of tears.

"Liu Dashun, I never would have imagined, you with your thick brows and big eyes, would betray the ’organization’. I thought it would be Zhu Erdan who had been turned."

From the defense bench, Zhu Erdan barely contained himself.

What do you mean, Lawyer Zhang, by thinking it would be me?

I have always trusted you!

Alas, there’s no trust in this world, life is so tiring...

"I..."

On the witness stand, Liu Dashun, too, was rendered speechless by Zhang Wei’s questioning.

"Objection, the defense attorney is intimidating the witness!"

Qin Yang didn’t care about Liu Dashun’s fate, but still stood up to interrupt.

"Lawyer Zhang Wei, please mind your tone when speaking!" Old Li chimed in with a warning.

His implication was: That’s enough from you, this is a courtroom, keep it down. Your loud voice could soon enter you into an opera competition for tenors.

"My apologies, Judge Li, I will be mindful," Zhang Wei said, feigning contrition without a hint of sincerity in his eyes.

"Witness Liu Dashun, I would like to ask you, why are you accusing my client Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others?"

"I’m just telling the truth..."

"Oh, telling the truth?"

Zhang Wei smirked slightly and then glanced over at the prosecutor’s bench at Zhang Lang.

You tell us, are you really speaking the truth or have you been threatened? It’s obvious to anyone with eyes.

Of course, what you’re saying is indeed the truth, something everyone is already well aware of.

"All right, I’ll ask you another question, a critical one!"

Zhang Wei raised a finger, emphasizing, "Witness Liu Dashun, why did you suddenly decide to switch sides and join the prosecution over the weekend, what made you want to turn to the other side?"

Liu Dashun hesitated for a moment, his mouth agape, "It’s because..."

"Don’t tell us it’s due to some so-called sense of justice; do you think we’ll believe that?"

But before he could even start, Zhang Wei cut him off with a scoff.

"This..." Liu Dashun felt cornered; how did you know what I was going to say?

After you’ve said all that, how can I continue?

He could only look helplessly towards Zhang Lang, who did not acknowledge him.

"Objection, harassing the witness. Why does the defense interrupt the witness’s statement after asking the question? Does Lawyer Zhang intend to let the witness answer at all?"

Fortunately, Qin Yang hadn’t given up on Liu Dashun and spoke up for him.

"My apologies, I failed to ask properly; let me rephrase my question,"

Zhang Wei hastily agreed and rephrased, "Liu Dashun, you have always been my client, what exactly made you change your mind and choose to testify in court, were you subjected to external threats?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Zhang Lang on the prosecution’s bench shifted his gaze.

"Objection!" Qin Yang also immediately stood up, interrupting Zhang Wei.

"Objection overruled!" But this time, Old Li didn’t stand with the prosecution.

"Witness, please answer the question, whether you changed sides because you faced threats is incredibly important to the court!"

Liu Dashun felt the pressure from the judge and the gazes from all around the courtroom bearing down on him.

"Cough cough!"

But a cough came from the prosecution’s bench, originating from Zhang Lang.

"Mr. Zhang, is your throat feeling uncomfortable?"

Normally, this would be an insignificant detail, but Zhang Wei exaggeratedly approached Zhang Lang with a face of "false concern."

"I’ve been working too hard these past few days, feeling a bit tired..."

"Oh, so it’s like that, monitoring us around the clock, the workload must indeed be high, huh~"

Zhang Wei chuckled, and then walked back in front of the witness stand, "Liu Dashun, please answer my question: did you face any threats?"

"Don’t worry though, if you’ve really been threatened, you can speak up in court, Old Li and I will back you up."

Old Li rolled his eyes, with you Lawyer Zhang taking charge alone is quite enough, no need for me to join the excitement.

"I..." Liu Dashun hesitated.

"Cough cough!" Another cough came from the prosecutor’s bench.

"Mr. Zhang, what’s wrong, is your throat uncomfortable again?"

Zhang Lang was too lazy to reply, I already told you it’s due to the high workload, kid, are you pretending you didn’t hear it?

"Witness, is it that difficult for you to answer?"

Looking at the indecisive Liu Dashun, Zhang Wei smiled and said, "Is this question hard, yes or no?"

"I...I..."

Liu Dashun hesitated for a moment, and finally made a decision: "I wasn’t threatened!"

As soon as he said this, Zhang Lang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait, that kid isn’t lying!" However, Qin Yang, sitting next to him, sensed something amiss.

Zhang Lang hastily looked over, only to find Zhang Wei’s expression calm, even with a smile hanging on his lips.

This guy didn’t seem surprised by Liu Dashun’s answer, in fact, had he anticipated it?

Gao Yang and Zhang Lang’s hearts both skipped a beat.

Does this Zhang Wei have some kind of ace up his sleeve?

In truth, they guessed right.

"Judge Li, regarding the witness’s answer to this question, we would like to summon a rebuttal witness!"

Zhang Wei said, looking towards the judge’s bench.

"Hmm, if you can prove that the witness is lying, then summoning a rebuttal witness is indeed necessary. The court grants permission!"

Old Li agreed, so Zhang Wei could now make his move.

"The defense summons the rebuttal witness to testify!"

The courtroom doors were pushed open, and then four figures walked out.

Three of them headed towards the defense witness bench, while one walked straight to the witness stand.

"It’s actually them!"

Many in the courtroom were stunned to see the four who appeared.

Especially on the prosecutor’s bench, where Gao Yang and Luo Qi frowned slightly.

They couldn’t quite believe that these people would be witnesses for Zhang Wei.

"How did Zhang Wei manage to call them over?"

In the front row of the spectator seats, Xiao Baihe looked puzzled, then glanced at her neighbor.

"Xia Hanhan, how come your brother is summoned by Zhang Wei?"

"I don’t know?"

Xia Qianyue’s answer was as simple as her intellect.

Xiao Baihe rolled her eyes, she should have known better than to ask.

The witness took the stand.

"Hello, witness Xia Qianjun!"

The person who approached the stand was none other than Xia Qianjun, Zhang Wei’s uncle, and Xia Qianyue’s own brother.

The other three naturally were his two buddies, Gao Yang and Luo Qi, and their instructor, Zhou Xiaoli.

"Hello."

Xia Qianjun’s attitude towards Zhang Wei was naturally very cold.

In fact, had it not been for Zhang Wei convincing Zhou Xiaoli, he wouldn’t have come to testify.

"Witness, please state your identity and the mission you were on during the weekend."

"I am War Department Special Combat Team member Xia Qianjun. I was tasked with a tailing mission over the weekend, the target being a suspected international fugitive hacker known as Ghost!"

"So, are you saying that you were monitoring our client, who is suspected~possibly~to be the Ghost, throughout the weekend?"

"Yes," Xia Qianjun nodded.

Hearing this, Zhang Lang on the prosecutor’s side frowned.

The War Department also had people monitoring Zhao Xiaoxiao, why didn’t they in the CSB know?

His gaze turned towards Zhou Xiaoli, only to find that she was looking at him with a gaze that was three parts mocking, three parts scornful, and four parts nonchalant.

"Hmph, you CSB people always flaunt your higher authority from above and never take other departments seriously. We dispatched four people for surveillance, while you had forty. Tell me, which side is more likely to notice the other?" Zhou Xiaoli thought furiously to herself, messing with Zhang Wei, today will be a day to find trouble for you all.

In the court, Zhang Wei proceeded to ask questions.

"May I ask the witness, during the surveillance process, what did you see?"

"We saw two people leave the surveilled location; they were secondary targets suspected to be top hackers."

As Xia Qianjun spoke, he glanced at Zhu Erdan and Liu Dashun before continuing, "To ensure that the surveillance mission was comprehensive, our team split up, with two people following them."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lang from the prosecution’s side could hardly maintain his composure.

He knew Xia Qianjun was from the War Department, undoubtedly nimble and skilled, possibly having witnessed the operations of the CSB Department firsthand.

"Oh, did you follow them the whole time?"

"Yes, I followed them for an entire day. I even witnessed them going out to make a phone call and then getting abducted!"

"Abducted?"

Putting on an "astonished" facade, Lawyer Zhang Wei pressed on, "Witness, did you see who abducted them?"

"They were all in black, wearing sunglasses, and well-trained. However, judging by their pattern of actions, they should be personnel from a special department."

As soon as these words were spoken, countless gazes shifted toward Zhang Lang.

A special department, those who had full-time surveillance on Zhu Erdan and Liu Dashun, weren’t only you guys, were they?

Who else could have abducted them if not you?

Feeling the eyes around him, Zhang Lang clenched his fist, his face growing darker.

"Objection, hearsay evidence!" On the other side, Qin Yang immediately stood up.

"Judge Li, my witness is a member of the War Department Special Combat Team, with a good character and no record of misconduct. He merely narrated the events he witnessed during the mission yesterday, and there will be corresponding written records in the mission report. I don’t think this can be considered hearsay evidence, can it?"

But Lawyer Zhang Wei had anticipated this and promptly presented his prepared argument.

"Hmm..."

Old Li thought for a moment and then glanced at Xia Qianjun.

Although you say this, everyone knows this witness is your cousin; you two pretending not to know each other in court must be quite difficult for you.

"The court agrees with the defense attorney’s statement; unless the prosecution can provide strong evidence to prove the witness has conducted dishonest behavior, the court does not agree with your objection!"

Qin Yang sat down, unwillingly.

Lawyer Zhang Wei gave Old Li a smile, nodding his thanks.

"Witness, please continue to describe what happened yesterday."

"I followed them all the way to an abandoned factory in the suburbs. Unfortunately, there were too many of them, and I couldn’t enter the factory to confirm the situation; I could only wait outside. About one day later, they were brought back."

"How long were my two clients taken away, in total?"

"From the time they were abducted to when they were brought back, it was at least over 25 hours."

"Oh, such a long time. If anything happened to them in there, it wouldn’t surprise me at all~"

Lawyer Zhang Wei looked meaningfully at the jury, his intention obvious.

The jury cooperated with him, many casting suspicious looks toward the prosecution’s bench.

In those 25 hours, what exactly happened is probably only clear to them.

But one thing is certain, to say you did not threaten the witness during those 25 hours, that’s just a joke.

"Thank you for your testimony, we conclude our questioning!"

Lawyer Zhang Wei and Xia Qianjun thanked each other and returned to their seats.

Meanwhile, Qin Yang flipped through his notebook, slowly rising to his feet.

He walked step by step to the witness stand, taking a careful look at Xia Qianjun.

"Young man, you look very familiar, don’t you?"

Xia Qianjun was stunned for a moment, displaying a completely bewildered expression.

Is this considered a question?

"I’d like to ask, what’s your relationship with the young lady in the front row of the spectator bench?"

Qin Yang asked again, gesturing toward the position of the spectator bench.

"She’s my sister, Xia Qianyue."

"Oh, she’s your sister."

Qin Yang nodded, then couldn’t help but inquire further, "Then, could you tell me what is the relation between your sister and the defense attorney?"

"This..."

Xia Qianjun didn’t want to answer this question.

Because that would mean admitting the fact that Lawyer Zhang Wei was his brother-in-law.

"Witness, please answer the question truthfully!" Judge Li warned sternly with a grave expression.

"The defense attorney... currently has... that kind of relationship with my sister!"

Xia Qianyue gritted her teeth, squeezing these few words out through clenched teeth.

"That kind of relationship!" Qin Yang appeared to have an epiphany, then asked, "So with that relationship between your sister and the defense attorney, wouldn’t your testimony be biased toward the defense?"

"What I said is all true!"

"Could you track those kidnappers... oh, I mean, the kidnappers that only you saw, when you tracked this potential group of kidnappers, you were alone, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then isn’t it possible that you could have imagined anything, since you could completely make it up out of thin air?"

"Objection!"

The words of Qin Yang were directly interrupted as Lawyer Zhang Wei stood up.

"Objection overruled!" But Old Li didn’t give Lawyer Zhang face and dismissed the objection.

Qin Yang smiled, this time the judge did not support Lawyer Zhang which indicated the judge was also taking into account the curiosity of everyone else in the courtroom.

Yet everyone present was rolling their eyes at this moment.

What relationship are you talking about? Can’t you stop speaking in riddles?

"Witness, then let me ask again, you said that over the weekend, you saw the prosecution’s tainted witness, Liu Dashun, being kidnapped, it was only you who saw it, right?"

"Yes."

"Then he returned on Monday, right?"

"Yes."

"So isn’t there a possibility that he was never kidnapped at all, or that the kidnappers might have been arranged by the defense attorneys, with the intent to frame the CSB Department and invalidate the trial?"

"Objection, the prosecution is framing!"

Qin Yang was about to sling mud at himself again, and Lawyer Zhang Wei promptly interrupted.

"I am merely entertaining a reasonable suspicion, and what the defense loves doing the most is having the trial invalidated!"

Qin Yang was prepared with a retort, "Isn’t this your typical strategy, Lawyer Zhang, raising reasonable doubts?"

"I, Zhang Someone, would not stoop to such actions. There are other ways to win this trial without resorting to such despicable means!"

"Then do Cheng Lisha and Xu Zhifeng, these two individuals, know about your statement?"

Lawyer Zhang Wei was at a loss for words. Can you stop involving the deceased in this matter?

"Judge Li, I believe everyone knows that these two individuals’ deaths are unrelated to me, right?"

"Indeed, your objection is sustained!"

Old Li warned Qin Yang, "The prosecution is allowed to raise reasonable doubts, but Senior Procuratorate Qin, can you please not digress and bring up irrelevant matters?"

"Sorry, Judge Li, I just spoke what crossed my mind," Qin Yang apologized overtly, but he smirked inwardly.

Because by mentioning the defense’s usual strategies, he indeed made the jury doubtful.

Could the weekend’s kidnapping incident have been fabricated by the defense to frame the CSB Department and invalidate the trial?

The possibility... must not be small.

"As for this witness, we no longer have any questions for cross-examination from our side!"

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Qin Yang naturally ended the cross-examination.

He walked back to the prosecution’s bench, where Zhang Lang couldn’t help but nod in approval.

Coming all the way from Longdu, he dismissed the rebuttal witness’ testimony in just a few words.

Now the jury began to question the defense’s motives, which was definitely beneficial for the prosecution.

Zhang Lang felt that using his connections to invite this Senior Procuratorate Qin from Longdu was undoubtedly the smartest move he had made.

"Defense attorney, do you wish to summon the witness Liu Dashun for cross-examination?"

"Judge Li, not for now; our side concludes cross-examination and also hopes to start our own evidence presentation shortly."

"Very well..."

Old Li understood that Lawyer Zhang Wei’s side was currently at a disadvantage, so to regain the upper hand, they must begin to present their own evidence.

"Prosecution?"

"Judge Li, the prosecution has decided to end our statement and yield the opportunity to present evidence to the defense!"

Qin Yang was very cooperative, concluding the opening statement and yielding the floor.

Following this, it was the defense’s turn to present evidence.

"Lawyer Zhang, your defense team may begin!"

As Old Li announced, Lawyer Zhang Wei stood up.

However, his gaze lingered on Zhao Xiaoxiao and Zhu Erdan for a moment.

Whom to call?

He glanced again at the back row of the spectator seats, the entrance of the courtroom.

Seeing no movement from Zhao Qingyan, he needed to buy time by calling an inconsequential witness to the stand.

"The defense calls Defendant Zhu Erdan to the witness stand!"

With that, he directly summoned Zhu Erdan.

Zhu Erdan walked step by step to the courtroom and then seated himself in the witness stand.

The presentation of evidence began.