Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 461 - 457: Witness Attacked? Zhang Wei Gave Up?

Chapter 461: Chapter 457: Witness Attacked? Zhang Wei Gave Up?

Zhou Er, evening.

After a day of hearings, everyone was exhausted.

But the situation in the court was far from optimistic, so Zhang Wei had no choice but to work overtime with his buddies.

The hall of Zhang’s Martial Arts School had been turned into a "makeshift operations room."

Several blackboards were placed in the hall, all marked with clues.

"I’m back!"

Just then, the entrance of Zhang’s Martial Arts School was filled with the voice of Zhao Xiaoxiao.

"Xiaoxiao, you finally came back, I’ve missed you so much..."

Seeing his second daughter with a small bag on her back, Zhang Wei almost cried.

"How fun was it playing at your dad’s company over the weekend and Monday?"

"Not fun at all!"

Zhao Xiaoxiao waved her hand and immediately pouted.

But then, she took out a headset glowing with blue light from a silver backpack, a sleek silver laptop, and some incredibly cool-looking equipment and smart machines.

"This set must cost several hundred thousand, right?"

Zhang Wei smirked as he looked at the high-tech gear.

Uncle Zhao really spared no expense for his daughter.

"It’s less than that, he said it cost several million!"

Well, Zhang Wei’s perspective was rather limited, it seemed.

Several million in equipment, given away just like that, it paid to be his own daughter.

"By the way, do you need my help with your case?"

After entering, Zhao Xiaoxiao also saw the blackboards and was immediately interested.

"That would be great, but there’s nothing that needs your intervention for now. For the moment, help me look into the background of this woman Qian Moli."

"Dongxing Securities, right? Got it!"

Zhao Xiaoxiao immediately found a spot and got to work.

On the other hand, Zhan Qingze also rushed in with a phone in hand.

"Lawyer Zhang, I found him!"

"Who did you find?"

"A senior from my previous project department. It seems he lost a lot of money in an investment, left the company, and was taken away by the Financial Bureau for questioning. He was just released recently."

"Can he come here?"

"I’ve gotten in touch with him, he said he could, but outside right now..."

Zhan Qingze pointed towards the outside of the door.

It’s been unsafe outside recently.

"Alright, I’ll take Silly with me to meet him. You, just stay put in the martial arts school!"

Zhang Wei nodded and walked out of Zhang’s Martial Arts School with Xia Qianyue.

...

Dongfang Capital, suburbs.

There was an old pub on an aging street that looked particularly rundown.

Even though evenings were peak hours for pubs, this one, due to its "battlefield style" décor, wasn’t doing too well.

When Zhang Wei arrived with Xia Qianyue, he saw his target sitting at the bar.

A middle-aged man with thinning hair and a face etched with hardship.

"Are you Mr. Dai?"

"You are...?"

"I’m Zhang Wei, Zhan Qingze’s defense attorney. He’s now implicated in Dongxing Securities’ case."

"Oh, the junior who contacted me?"

The man said, taking a sip of his drink and then sighing, "Hey, Dongxing Securities... Once, my seniors and I tried to make our company the top private securities firm in Dongfang Capital, but we always fell short. I never thought that after that woman acquired the company, she would easily rise to number one..."

"You’re an old-timer at Dongxing Securities, wasn’t Qian Moli in charge before?"

"Haha, that woman doesn’t have any real skills."

As he spoke, he laughed, "Actually, I later found out that woman was just the mistress of someone powerful behind the scenes, entrusted with guarding his moneybags."

Zhang Wei leaned closer to the man and, after glancing around, asked in a whisper, "That person behind the scenes, wouldn’t happen to be Lord Tiger, would it?"

The man looked at Zhang Wei in surprise, then lowered his head and whispered, "Kid, you know enough, just don’t spread it around. You can’t afford to offend that person behind the scenes."

"What does it matter if I can’t afford to? I’m already up against them!"

Although Zhang Wei was wary of the name "Lord Tiger," the reality was that if he couldn’t prove Qian Moli and Lord Tiger were the masterminds behind the case, he would be unable to clear Zhan Qingze of his wrongful charges.

So, he had no room to retreat!

"Young man, at your age, I was fearless too. But harsh realities have worn down my edges and extinguished my fighting spirit. I know some people are untouchable no matter what!"

The man spoke, then gave his own example, "When I followed my senior, I was ambitious as well, but striving is not something you can achieve just by shouting slogans."

"As the company was acquired, Dongxing Securities managed to climb to a position we once thought unreachable with the help of others. Later though, like the junior who contacted me, I became the one who was scapegoated!"

Zhang Wei wasn’t surprised because he knew the man in front of him had just come out from the inside, and the specifics of the crime were also because...

"Mr. Dai, how much money was it on your side?"

"Not much, this much!" The man held up four fingers.

"400 million?" Zhang Wei asked tentatively.

Pfft—

The drink in the man’s mouth sprayed out.

"Cough cough, where would I get that much? That was from ten years ago. Back then, if I had lost 400 million, those investors would have beaten me to death!"

"Then it was..."

"40 million!"

Upon hearing this number, Zhang Wei exhaled.

The man took another sip of his drink and casually asked, "By the way, how much money did that junior who contacted me get blamed for?"

"20 billion!"

Pfft—

The man couldn’t hold it in any longer, spraying out all the drink and saliva from his mouth.

"That exaggerated?"

"Yeah, isn’t it way more fierce than in your time?"

"More than just fierce, it’s outrageously mad!"

The man reflected that if it were back then, the entire Dongxing Securities probably didn’t have that much money.

"So, did all that money eventually end up in that person’s pocket?"

"Yes, Dongxing Securities was that person’s money bag, and every time they needed funds, it was time to harvest from the investors!"

The man took another gulp of his drink and downed it in one go.

"In fact, since my time, every time there was a huge market fluctuation, it wasn’t just Dongxing Securities’ clients who lost money, many investors did too, and there were always some who made a fortune!"

"Retail investors are just wee lambs, while those who manipulate the market from behind are the ones who really make a silent fortune. We are just tools at best, able to make a tiny profit, merely tasting a bit of the meat they have allowed us from the edge of their plate, hehehe..."

Zhang Wei deeply agreed.

The capital market has always been like this.

"That’s too evil, manipulating the market, reaping the money of ordinary people!" Xia Qianyue couldn’t help but interject, her face full of outrage.

"Silly, this is the capital market, the water is too deep for you to grasp," Zhang Wei consoled with a remark, then looked back at the man, "So, how were you framed back then?"

"Hmph, they forged documents, of course."

Reflecting on the past, the man sneered, "They created several documents with my signature on them, dumping all the blame on me, and leaving me to carry the weight!"

"Not only that, but that woman also tried to curry favor with the Financial Bureau, crying and screaming about cooperating with the investigation, hiding all the evidence that was unfavorable to her, and giving all the evidence pointing to me to the Financial Bureau."

"The Financial Bureau also wanted to give the investors who lost money an explanation, so naturally, they were happy to have it easy, and that’s how they arrested me as the main culprit."

Speaking with outrage, the man said, "But they didn’t think it through. I’m just a regular trader, how could I embezzle so much money. Besides, if I had taken that much money, how could I transfer it out, moving 40 million directly to an overseas account in one day without leaving a trace?"

"Anyway, all that money was lost in the investment market, but who ended up with it, I don’t know, but surely it wasn’t in my pocket."

As he finished saying this, the man once again emptied his drink in one gulp.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei pulled out his wallet and took out a stack of money.

"I’ll pay for his drinks today!"

The man smiled, but it was tinged with bitterness.

"What if I wanted to ask you to come to court to testify tomorrow, would you do it?"

"Of course, there are some things I’ve long wanted to say, I need some justice!"

The determination in the man’s eyes was unmistakable, even as he appeared drunken, that streak of resolve did not waver.

"Good, my client may need your help tomorrow!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he gave Xia Qianyue a look, and the two said their goodbyes.

After Zhang Wei had left, the man remained drinking alone.

An hour passed, and the man finally drank nearly enough.

His body swaying, he stumbled along the wall, step by step making his way out of the bar, heading to the place he had rented.

As he walked down a small alley, several silhouettes suddenly sprang out.

"Mr. Dai, we didn’t expect you to be out!"

"Hmph, are you the lickspittle of that Ms. Qian?"

"Looks like you still haven’t learned your lesson. Ms. Qian said that after you got out, you should leave Dongfang Capital, but here you are, back again!"

"What, that woman wants to kill me? I just got out, and if she dares to really make a move, then bring it on!"

"Do you think we wouldn’t dare?"

The leader snorted coldly, waving his hand, "Go, teach him a lesson!"

In the alley, there was a one-sided beating.

...

Wednesday, morning.

"What, Mr. Dai is hospitalized?"

Zhang Wei felt it was unlikely, but he hadn’t expected Qian Moli’s side to go to such extremes.

He quickly asked Zhang Xinyan to drive, taking him and Xia Qianyue to the hospital.

In a hospital ward on the suburban ring road, Mr. Dai was wrapped in bandages, looking like a mummy.

"I’m sorry... for making a spectacle of myself... Just yesterday, I said I would testify in court... but today, well..."

"We should be the ones apologizing, it’s our fault that you got hurt," Zhang Wei said, full of remorse.

"No need to apologize... that woman surnamed Qian... she’s never been good... behind her is that person..."

After consoling him for a while, Zhang Wei paid the medical bills in full before he and Xia Qianyue took their leave.

After all, it was their blunder that had led to his injuries.

On the way out of the hospital.

"Zhang Wei, with the witness unable to appear in court, what should we do? Do we need to inform the court and ask for a delay..."

"It’s no use, I had originally planned to summon this witness as a last-minute one, to use the prosecution’s tactic against them, but I didn’t expect those people to go this far, not even allowing for the chance to appear in court. If Mr. Dai can’t appear, the trial will definitely proceed, as Old Chen only gave us 24 hours."

Zhang Wei said, frowning.

Now that their hidden witness was gone, they were indeed caught between a rock and a hard place.

Moreover, Old Chen had given them time to find a counter-strategy for the prosecution’s last-minute witness.

Time was given to you, and now you tell me there’s a last-minute witness, but he’s injured and needs ten to fifteen days of rest before he can testify in court, is that reasonable?

Not to mention Zhao Chunming would strongly oppose, Judge Chen would probably have objections as well.

"Then, are we out of options?"

Xia Qianyue looked worried, "How about this, I break into Fierce Tiger Hall and snatch that Lord Tiger out?"

"Simple-minded, we are law-abiding citizens, we can’t do anything illegal!"

Zhang Wei quickly rejected the idea.

Once such things started, one would be walking down a road of no return.

"But this way we have no evidence, aren’t you going to lose?"

"Indeed, if we follow the procedure, I likely won’t win."

Zhang Wei said, his eyes turning crafty.

"Zhang Wei, do you have some kind of plan?"

"Simple-minded, I’ve actually had an idea for a while. But this isn’t a plan, it’s a gamble, gambling on the chance to turn the tables!"

Zhang Xinyan drove Zhang Wei and his party back to Zhang’s Martial Arts School.

Inside the martial arts school, they met with Zhan Qingze and informed him of Mr. Dai’s situation.

"It’s my fault for harming the senior!"

Zhan Qingze was also filled with self-blame, his face showing his anguish.

"Young Zhan, are you feeling guilty for Mr. Dai, feeling that you owe him?"

"Yes!"

"Have you ever thought that, given the chance, you would want to take on the guilt for Mr. Dai?"

"Yes!"

"What if I told you that your dream could become a reality?"

"Is that... Lawyer Zhang, what do you mean?"

"Young Zhan, sometimes to win, we need to be willing to do whatever it takes!"

Zhang Wei muttered under his breath, then patted Zhan Qingze heavily on the shoulders.

Zhan Qingze felt panicked inside because he always felt there was something off about the way Zhang Wei looked at him.

In his gaze, there seemed to be a trace of pity.

Noon.

The main entrance of the city courthouse.

Less than one hour remained before the start of today’s session.

At the courthouse entrance, as before, a number of failed investors had gathered.

They, like yesterday, were holding banners, red-eyed, and exuded a disconcerting negative energy.

In a corner of the parking lot, a vehicle arrived.

"It’s the defense attorney and that broker’s car!"

Someone with keen eyes recognized it as Zhang Wei’s car.

Suddenly, a crowd surged forward, heading straight for it.

The car stopped quickly, but someone inside swallowed hard.

"Lawyer Zhang, do we really need to do this?"

"Come on, Zhan Qingze, muster up some courage. For the ultimate victory, any necessary sacrifice is worthwhile!"

"Lawyer Zhang, I am a little scared, why don’t we just..."

"Simple-minded, do it, throw him out!"

Seeing that someone was hesitating, Zhang Wei directly ordered Simple-minded.

"Okay!"

Following the throw of a tomboy, the car door opened, and a figure flew straight out, crashing into the crowd.

"It’s Zhan Qingze, that agent!"

"Beat him to death, beat him to death!"

"Ouch, stop hitting me, stop hitting me, you’re not supposed to hit the face..."

Amid a series of screams, Zhan Qingze was wailing in pain among the crowd.

hour later.

It was supposed to be the start of the court session, but at this moment, neither the prosecution nor the defense had taken their seats, and the judge hadn’t appeared to preside over the trial in the criminal court.

So where were they?

They were all in Old Chen’s office at the moment.

"Judge Chen, this is the accident assessment report of my client!"

Zhang Wei handed a hospital’s injury report to Judge Chen.

"After assessment by the orthopedic surgeon, my client has suffered multiple abrasions, minor injuries, a fractured calf, bruises on his face and chest; there’s also no ruling out the possibility of internal bleeding and other issues. The doctor advised me, for the sake of his personal safety, that he is not recommended to appear in court to testify!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he also pulled out a photo of Zhan Qingze wrapped in bandages all over.

"This is the condition of my client right now. He can’t possibly take the stand, let alone speak."

"How come he was fine yesterday, and now your client looks like this?" Old Chen looked at the photo of Zhan Qingze with a face full of sympathy.

Tragic!

Truly tragic!

"Yes, it’s terrible. It’s all the fault of those investors. They were waiting at the courthouse entrance, and before my girlfriend and I could protect the client, he fell victim to those thugs!"

Zhang Wei said as he pulled Xia Qianyue close, and they both secretly wiped away tears.

Unfortunately, Xia Qianyue lacked acting skills and just couldn’t cry.

Seeing this, Zhao Chunming, who stood by, couldn’t help but roll his eyes internally.

Pretense!

You’re trying to pull one over on me with this act?

Tan Yingying curiously glanced at Xia Qianyue, vaguely remembering that she was supposed to be the "number one" master, right?

The champion of the martial arts tournament was supposed to be cornered and beaten by a group of ordinary people with no fighting ability, and even have her client assaulted?

Doesn’t that seem somewhat unreasonable?

"So, Old Chen, I’d like to request a postponement of the trial."

"Of course, your client is in such a sorry state, we can’t proceed without postponing."

Old Chen naturally had no objection to the postponement.

Zhao Chunming opened his mouth, wanting to raise an objection, but upon seeing the photo in Judge Chen’s hand, he decided to keep silent.

If he opposed, who knows if Zhang Wei would contact the media to smear him with accusations of bullying, weaponized aggression against the weak, and mistreating an injured person.

He knew that Zhang could pull that off, smearing not only Zhao Chunming but also dragging the Procuratorate Headquarters through the mud.

In any case, Zhao Chunming did not oppose.

"Alright, until your client has recovered from his injuries, this case will be temporarily postponed. The specific date of the trial will depend on the condition of your client’s recovery..."

"Sorry, Judge Chen, I am going to terminate the employment contract with Zhan Qingze now, and I will no longer serve as his defense lawyer."

"What?"

"What’s going on?"

Zhao Chunming and Old Chen were both surprised to hear Zhang Wei’s words.

What do you mean, Zhang Wei?

Are you planning to concede defeat?

Or do you believe the case is unwinnable, so you’re cutting your losses early?

Or is it that you have another ploy up your sleeve?

No, that can’t be. If you’re severing the employment relationship, there can be no ploys.

"Zhang Wei, you say you want to terminate the contract with Zhan Qingze and no longer be his defense lawyer—is that true?" Old Chen couldn’t believe it, so he had to ask again.

"Yes, Judge Chen, that’s exactly what I mean. And I’ve already discussed it with the client in advance, and he did not object," Zhang Wei said, glancing at Li Qinghua, who was responsible for recording the meeting, signaling her to make an accurate record.

Li Qinghua couldn’t believe it either—Zhang Wei was giving up.

But since the client didn’t object and you said it out loud, that means you two must have agreed on it.

Zhang Wei, are you really giving up?