Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 431 - 427: Is Uncle Zhao Very Angry? Zhang Wei Has an Idea

Chapter 431: Chapter 427: Is Uncle Zhao Very Angry? Zhang Wei Has an Idea

In the evening, at Lin Mansion.

Zhang Wei sat in his room, contemplating his strategy for the hearing tomorrow.

The current situation could be described as quite grim.

During today’s hearing, Zhang Wei brought up the possibility of malicious arson.

Unexpectedly, the prosecution used it against him, making Old Tan the person most likely to have started the fire.

Now Old Tan is suspected of arson, and even murder.

Although the night-shift janitor might be an incidental casualty of the arson, a life was still lost; if the victim’s family appears in court, the situation will become even more dire.

Overall, the atmosphere in the court is highly unfavorable for the defense; everyone suspects Old Tan is the arsonist.

Old Tan actually has an alibi, but his proof is so weak.

Accompanying his wife and child!

This would be a good excuse, but Chen Xiaoyu’s testimony in court doesn’t carry much weight.

Because she is Old Tan’s wife, a spouse’s testimony has virtually no credibility.

"Such a pity, Tan Xiaozhi is only 5 years old, too young. If he really were to stand in court, facing the prosecution’s cross-examination, a child couldn’t bear such pressure."

Zhang Wei had thought about letting Old Tan’s son testify in court, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

To have a five-year-old child testify, let alone whether he could answer the questions properly, it’s unrealistic to expect him to withstand the pressure from the prosecution.

Though cross-examining a child may cause the jury to view the action with hostility.

But if the defense lawyer summons the child to testify, the jury would feel equally that you are making a fuss over nothing.

He’s just a kid, yet you want him to go to court; what are you really trying to achieve?

Probably, that’s the sort of idea the jury would have...

"Chen Xiaoyu’s testimony isn’t very effective and Tan Xiaozhi testifying could backfire; it seems my situation is quite difficult..."

Analyzing the current situation, Zhang Wei felt immense pressure.

"If that’s the case, then I have to find a turning point!"

Thinking so, Zhang Wei left his room and went upstairs.

Knock knock knock!

He gently knocked on the door of the upstairs room.

Creak~

The door opened a crack, revealing the young face of his second daughter.

"What’s up?"

Imitating his second daughter’s tone, Zhang Wei spread his hands and said, "Didn’t you say if the case needed to be reviewed, I should pull you in?"

"Oh~~"

The door opened, and Zhao Xiaoxiao let Zhang Wei come in.

Zhao Xiaoxiao indeed suddenly took a little interest in Zhang Wei’s work, thinking of helping him with the case.

Zhang Wei naturally was also happy for his second daughter to have something to do, so he agreed.

Now that Zhang Wei was planning to review the case, it made sense to analyze it together with his second daughter.

After all, who doesn’t like having a lively and adorable daughter by their side?

"I still think, why don’t we go to the Procuratorate Headquarters and block the door? We’ll prepare a sack, an oil barrel, and cement, and sink that Hou Liangliang under the pier. What do you think?"

Okay, sometimes the second daughter’s ideas are indeed a little abnormal.

"Second daughter, we are law-abiding people, not gang members."

But Zhang Wei was very indulgent towards his second daughter.

The second daughter argued, "Isn’t this the simplest way to get rid of someone?"

Young lady, your ideas are dangerous!

"What nonsense are you talking about? We can win without having to resort to such methods."

Zhang Wei quickly rejected the idea and began to analyze, "Actually, I think there’s still a chance with this case!"

"Really?" the second daughter asked with a curious face.

"Really, it’s just a matter of finding the real arsonist!"

"Isn’t your client the arsonist?"

Zhang Wei was speechless for a moment; you too don’t believe my client?

"Second daughter, Old Tan is innocent; he was with his wife and child all day, how could he possibly commit the crime, huh."

"Besides, he looks like such an honest man, how could he possibly do such a thing? He’s been honest and upright all his life; asking him to commit insurance fraud is just asking too much of him."

Zhang Wei directly denied Zhao Xiaoxiao’s viewpoint.

"If it’s not him, then who could it be?"

"Who else can it be?"

Zhang Wei furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

Zhao Xiaoxiao’s eyes darted around and then suddenly she suggested, "Today in court, that Chef Wang who testified, do you think there’s a big possibility with him?"

"Chef Wang?"

In Zhang Wei’s mind appeared a man dressed more stylishly than the average.

Although the man was a witness for the prosecution, given how quickly he had agreed to be a character witness the day before, his suspicion was relatively low.

However, just because the suspicion is low doesn’t mean there is no suspicion.

"Now that you mention it..."

In Zhang Wei’s mind, a strange thought suddenly emerged.

"I remember Chef Wang testified that he also owns shares in the restaurant, right?"

"Seems like it."

"If the verdict is that Old Tan maliciously committed arson, then the insurance company won’t compensate Old Tan... but what about Chef Wang, how much would the insurance company compensate him?"

Zhang Wei was puzzled, "Is their insurance jointly compensated, or is it compensated separately?"

"Don’t know..."

Hearing his second daughter’s answer, Zhang Wei’s gaze, however, shifted towards the computer in the room.

Zhao Xiaoxiao also noticed this "malicious" look.

Second daughter, you know what to do!

Time to work!

"Give me 5 minutes..."

The second daughter began to work. Her hands flew over the keyboard, rapidly typing with incredible speed.

Instantly, on the computer screen, Chef Wang’s information and various records appeared.

"Wait a minute!"

Zhang Wei, with eagle eyes, seemed to have spotted something and yelled for a pause, pointing at a line of text.

Zhao Xiaoxiao understood and enlarged the content for display.

"Wow, looks like our Chef Wang really has some issues..."

Looking at a line of record about Chef Wang, a sly smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Wei’s lips.

Then, the information updated, revealing more data about Chef Wang.

Soon, the insurance information came up.

"Two insurance policies, no wonder..."

Upon seeing the information that was unexpected yet made sense, Zhang Wei instantly understood.

"Now, the next step is to look for that possibility!"

In Zhang Wei’s mind, countless scenes flashed, one by one surfacing.

He lowered his head and then abruptly focused his eyes on his own wrist.

"Second daughter, let me ask, do mobile phones have GPS?"

"Yeah."

"So if the mobile phone is on standby, will the GPS still work?"

"Not necessarily!" Zhao Xiaoxiao shook her head, "But let me tell you, phone location tracking is inaccurate and can drift, unless you keep the GPS positioning on; otherwise, you could be in the city center one moment and find yourself on the outer ring in the next second."

"The phone indeed suffers from location drifting. But what about a sports watch?"

"That, I really haven’t tried..."

"Now you can give it a try."

Zhang Wei patted his second daughter, signaling her to continue her work.

"Then I want delicious food, I want fried chicken legs, fries, and cola!"

"Alright~"

Since the second daughter made a request, Zhang Wei naturally wouldn’t be stingy.

He went downstairs, headed to the commercial street, and bought ingredients and soda.

As he was returning, just as he reached the entrance of Zhao Mansion, the door suddenly opened.

"Zhang, you’ve disappointed me!"

A face peeked from inside the door—it was Zhao Qingyan; he was at home!

Zhang Wei almost jumped in fright, then guiltily hid the soda and chicken legs and fries behind his back.

"Uncle Zhao, let me explain, these are for me to eat, not for your daughter, she..."

"Zhang, what you’re doing and what you’re going to cook isn’t my concern."

Zhang Wei let out a sigh of relief.

As long as you don’t blame me for letting your daughter eat junk food, who doesn’t love fried chicken legs, fries, and cola anyway?

"Zhang, I’m disappointed because with such a big incident, you didn’t even contact me!"

Zhao Qingyan frowned, stepping out of Zhao Mansion.

"Is it my case?"

"Isn’t your case related to me as well?"

"Uncle Zhao, haven’t you already divorced? Plus, you previously said that Xiao Xiao lost her mother at five, which means you two haven’t seen each other for about fifteen or sixteen years."

Zhang Wei complained of the unfairness. I didn’t contact you because you said you and your ex-wife have been apart for so long, probably becoming strangers by now.

"Ah, she and I..."

Zhao Qingyan heaved a sigh, his face showing signs of age.

"Let’s not talk about the past.

He waved his hand, then smiled and said, "After so many years, I didn’t expect that princess-like woman would find someone who could tolerate her."

"Maybe that’s just a decent person. But I think Madame Chen seems quite happy with her life."

As Zhang Wei spoke, he glanced at Zhao Qingyan again.

Why are they so happy?

Isn’t it all because of you, who can distribute stock dividends of five to six million to them every year, making sure they never have to worry about food and clothing?

"Speaking of which, how’s the case going, are you confident?"

"Uncle Zhao, rest assured, I’ve already found the key point. With a bit of luck, maybe tomorrow I can teach some people a lesson."

Hearing Zhang Wei say this, Zhao Qingyan immediately understood that this kid was about to teach someone a profound lesson again.

"That’s good, now I can rest easy!"

Zhao Qingyan nodded, "If there’s anything you need help with, just ask!"

"Uncle Zhao, come on, aren’t you very busy lately?"

"So what if I’m busy? Everything has a priority. You wouldn’t think that this case is less important than my work, would you?"

"Uncle Zhao, I was wrong."

Alright, Zhang Wei apologized.

He did have something to apologize for—something serious happened to Zhao Qingyan’s ex-wife, and he hadn’t even contacted her.

He took it for granted that her work was important, but some things are indeed more important than work.

"But with you on the case, I’m actually quite relieved!"

As Zhao Qingyan spoke, he also asked, "How is Xiao Xiao doing?"

"Xiao Xiao is busy. She’s been clocking in every day recently, but with Guider Zhou’s approval, she doesn’t have to stay at the special forces dormitory like Liu Dashun and Zhu Erdan do; she’s still very free."

"That’s good."

Hearing this, Zhao Qingyan was reassured.

"By the way, I’ll send someone to observe the trial tomorrow, so do perform well, now I’ll leave you to it!"

Zhao Qingyan returned to Zhao Mansion and closed the door again.

"Observing, huh? Uncle Zhao still can’t let go of his feelings..." muttered Zhang Wei.

But soon, his phone rang, a message from Zhao Xiaoxiao.

[Zhao Xiaoxiao: I’m starving to death, missy here, where’s the late-night snack you promised me /Angry/Angry/Angry]

[Zhang Wei: On my way, on my way, got held up on the road for a bit, about to make you a late-night snack /Xixi]

Seeing the message from his second daughter, Zhang Wei slightly smiled.

This girl, so lively and lovely, having a daughter you can order around and is easy to please, how nice~

...

The next day.

Friday, the day of the trial.

Court preparatory room.

"Little Hou, it all depends on you this time!"

"Yes, if you can defeat Zhang Wei, then you must win against him this time!"

Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng, having come to watch the battle today, were now in the preparatory room, cheering on Hou Liangliang.

"Don’t worry, to restore the glory of the Procuratorate is my bounden duty!"

Hou Liangliang naturally responded loudly, his face brimming with confidence.

Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng both nodded unconsciously; this was the spirit they wanted!

Worthy of being the son of the Procurator General, impressive!

"Xiao Baihe, Tan Yingying, you two remember, you must fully support Little Hou’s work, understand?"

"Director, I will fully cooperate!"

"Oh!"

Hearing Zhao Chunming’s instructions, Tan Yingying’s expression was extremely solemn, while Xiao Baihe just responded indifferently.

Zhao Chunming didn’t mind, after all, the advantage was on the side of the Procuratorate Headquarters.

"Little Hou, remember, do not take this lightly. Zhang Wei has some tricks up his sleeve; every time you think you can win against him, he always manages to turn the tables!"

"Rest assured, Director Zhao, this time I must make him taste defeat!" Hou Liangliang said with a sneering smile.

The evidence and courtroom dynamics were all in favor of the prosecution; the advantage could be said to be enormous.

As long as he didn’t mess up, how could he be turned over?

At the same time, next door in another preparatory room.

Compared to the self-assured prosecution, which was nearly ready to pop champagne at the halfway mark, the atmosphere on the defense’s side was somewhat gloomy.

Chen Xiaoyu, holding her son Xiao Zhi, looked at Old Tan again with worry, "Lawyer Zhang, I’m not sure about this case..."

"Madame Liu, don’t worry. Regarding the case, Xiao Xiao and I have found a good angle to approach it."

Zhang Wei said, while Zhao Xiaoxiao also crossed her arms and lifted her chin with confidence.

Chen Xiaoyu and Old Tan exchanged glances, "Lawyer Zhang, do you mean..."

"Don’t fret, you’ll find out soon enough!"

Zhang Wei patted Old Tan’s shoulder, then urged, "Let’s go, it’s time for the trial."

At the same time.

In the judge’s office.

"Hmm, I understand!"

"Please rest assured, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, I will handle the case with fairness, without favoring any side, you can be at ease."

"As for your son, I will definitely take care of him under the premise of compliance with regulations."

"I know he’s still young, and if there’s anything he’s not doing well, I will point it out and help him grow."

"Yes, yes, you are a senior, and your call is a concern for our work, I understand, I do..."

Judge Liu hung up the phone, and then his expression turned cold.

"Heh, your son is still young, huh? He’s several years older than the defense attorney, isn’t he?"

"And as for this case, I’m the judge. I need to act on the facts, so you better not get your hopes up."

"Even though you are the chief prosecutor and your reason for calling is to show concern for our court’s work, everyone knows what’s on your mind when you call."

"But the issue is, this phone record is kept on file, and if that Zhang Wei disputes the result later, the problem will be serious."

"If I don’t give you face, the worst that happens is that I get some cold looks next time I visit the Procuratorate, and that’s no loss to me."

"If I really did that sort of thing, the consequences would be severe!"

Judge Liu had his own balance in his heart; although he verbally agreed to the person on the other end of the phone, it was only a superficial promise.

"Let’s go, it’s time for court!"

He glanced at the time, donned his robes, and quickly left his office.

At the criminal court, on the scene.

When Judge Liu arrived at the courtroom, the prosecution and defense had already taken their seats.

On the prosecutor’s side, Hou Liangliang was full of confidence.

Tan Yingying by his side was expressionless, and Xiao Baihe next to her seemed bored.

Perhaps in their minds, there was only one thought – when will this case and trial end?

On the defense’s side, Old Tan looked nervous and uneasy.

On the contrary, Zhang Wei and Zhao Xiaoxiao beside him were calm, with an indifferent expression.

Perhaps in their minds, there was only one thought – when will this trial start? The wait is so boring.

In the front row of the audience, Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng were filled with anticipation, eager to see Zhang Wei defeated.

Similarly, Chef Wang, who had given his testimony yesterday, was also present.

He even nodded towards Old Tan, as if offering support to his good friend.

"Cough cough, this court now declares, the public hearing for Old Tan’s pickled fish restaurant fire incident... the second formal hearing begins!"

Judge Liu struck the gavel and then looked towards the defense bench.

"Lawyer Zhang, which witness would you like to summon today?"

"We would like to call Madame Liu, a waitress from Old Tan’s pickled fish restaurant, to testify in court!"

Hearing this witness, many were surprised.

What could a waitress explain?

Old Tan and Chen Xiaoyu exchanged glances, Hou Liangliang had a strange expression, and Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng in the front row of the audience were also somewhat taken aback.

Does this witness carry any weight?

Or does she know something that others don’t?

But if she did, why didn’t she say it before the defendant presented his own case, what’s the point of summoning her now?

In the midst of everyone’s doubts, Madame Liu walked into the courtroom.

Madame Liu was a woman around fifty, with slightly graying temples but still looking energetic.

"Hello, Madame Liu."

"You, hello, Lawyer..."

Madame Liu, sitting in the witness stand for the first time in her life, was also feeling uneasy and tense, replying with a very insecure tone.

"Don’t be nervous, Madame Liu, I asked you to come to the stand just to talk about the things you’ve seen; just answer truthfully."

"I... I’ll try my best..."

Zhang Wei smiled and then asked, "Madame Liu, you’ve been the longest-serving employee under my client Old Tan’s management, by your employment records you’ve known Old Tan for over 10 years, right?"

"It’s been 11 years. I started as a server in the restaurant, occasionally washing dishes, and later the boss promoted me to take charge of some things in the kitchen."

"Hmm, so you’re pretty familiar with the restaurant, I take it?"

"If it’s about the kitchen, I should know everything."

Madame Liu spoke, then suddenly waved her hand, "But regarding the fire incident, I really don’t know anything. I also didn’t expect a good restaurant to catch fire just like that."

She thought Zhang Wei was going to ask about the fire incident.

"Madame Liu, you don’t have to be nervous, I’m not trying to ask you about the fire."

"Huh?"

Madame Liu was astonished.

So was everyone else in the courtroom.

Isn’t the crux of this case the fire? If you’re not asking about the fire, what else is there to ask?

"Madame Liu, there’s just one thing I want to ask!"

Zhang Wei said, raising a finger and pointing towards the front row of the audience.

"I want to ask about the relationship between Chef Wang and my client Old Tan – what exactly is it?"

As soon as these words came out, many people showed perplexed expressions.

How do Chef Wang and Old Tan get along – can’t you see for yourself?