Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 508 - 504: Pre-trial Confrontation, Asking the Right Questions

Chapter 508: Chapter 504: Pre-trial Confrontation, Asking the Right Questions

Friday, morning.

Zhang Wei received a court notice, instructing him to attend a pre-trial session in the afternoon.

The actual trial would begin next week, with the time to be arranged by the presiding judge.

Zhang Wei wasn’t surprised by this timing.

In fact, he had hoped that the pre-trial could take place in the morning and that the trial could commence in the afternoon.

In that case, he might have a chance to see who was planning to make a move on Yang Chunyuan.

However, for now, they had already gathered at Mo Yuzhu’s home.

Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu were sitting together, but despite being mother and daughter, there was no interaction between them.

As for Mo Juren, he hadn’t been seen since their argument yesterday.

On their seats, Mo Yuzhu cautiously looked up at Yang Chunyuan, while her gaze was fixed on Zhang Wei.

"Lawyer Zhang, the pre-trial starts this afternoon, right?"

"Yes!"

Yang Chunyuan smiled, a hint of bitterness in her expression. "I used to appear in court as an expert witness. I never thought that this time I would be the defendant!"

"Forensic Yang, everyone has their unfamiliar areas. It’s all about taking part, right?"

Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu stared blankly at Zhang Wei.

What ’It’s all about taking part’? In this kind of situation, you’re better off never experiencing it at all!

"By the way, Forensic Yang, I didn’t ask before, but now that I have the chance, I’d like to know, have you offended anyone?"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei took out his notebook.

He had reviewed documents all of last night and indeed found some clues.

"For instance, the Yidao Gang that dominated Chengbei of Dongfang Capital City 15 years ago, the God Eagle Party, an external gang that moved from the north 12 years ago, a notorious tycoon from Dongfang Capital named Liu Mou 8 years ago, a criminal called Niu Mou who murdered his ex-wife and her whole family 7 years ago, 5 years ago..."

Zhang Wei started listing them off, naming each suspect he doubted.

These organizations and individuals bore intense hatred towards Yang Chunyuan.

It was because of the key evidence provided by Yang Chunyuan that the investigative department and the court reached guilty verdicts against them.

Most of them were still serving prison sentences.

If Yang Chunyuan were to be found guilty this time, all the evidence she had provided before would be subject to retrial, and these people could regain their freedom.

"I’m not sure."

Yang Chunyuan looked towards Mo Yuzhu, "Go to my room, to the desk. The second drawer on the left-hand side."

Mo Yuzhu hurried upstairs and then came back down with a bunch of letters.

"These are some of the threatening letters I’ve received since I started working. But this is only a part of them; another batch was sent to my office."

"I’ve seen that batch. Actually, Classmate Mo and I went to your office yesterday. But aside from the threatening letters, we didn’t find any clues there," said Zhang Wei while he began to look through the letters.

Many of these letters were sent by relatives of the suspects.

Some were pleas for mercy, some were threats, and there were even wives of suspects wanting Yang Chunyuan to help exonerate their husbands.

Threats, pleas, and even sharp insults—the contents were varied and bizarre.

Even the most polite individuals in normal times would tear off their masks of pretense and reveal their ugly faces when facing the possibility of imprisonment.

Therefore, these letters contained all kinds of threats.

"Among these letters, there are many who threaten you, but I believe the ones who would actually act are in the minority," Zhang Wei said, putting the letters aside. After all, none of these letters were of any value.

This was because the people who wrote them only stopped at the threat level of "if you dare harm my family, I will come after yours."

Those capable of writing such threats wouldn’t imagine using a case from 20 years ago to counterattack Yang Chunyuan.

The true mastermind was clearly someone else!

"Gurgle..."

Just then, a discordant sound interrupted Zhang Wei’s train of thought.

Zhang Wei looked at Yang Chunyuan in surprise; an embarrassed smile crept across her usually serious face.

"Mom, you didn’t have breakfast?"

"The family is under investigation, and the cooking auntie didn’t come..."

Forensic Yang, who was busy with work, obviously couldn’t cook herself, and with the cooking auntie not showing up, she naturally could only go hungry.

Alright then.

Zhang Wei had not expected that Yang Chunyuan, who appeared to be a career-driven woman, actually couldn’t cook for herself.

But considering the status of Mo Juren and Yang Chunyuan, it’s likely they wouldn’t cook for themselves either.

"Forensic Yang, since that’s the case, let me show off my skills!"

Zhang Wei knew it was time to showcase his real talents.

However, when he opened the refrigerator in the kitchen and found it completely empty, his expression changed again.

"Umm, I just got back home about a month ago, so I haven’t prepared anything," said Yang Chunyuan, lowering her head in embarrassment, her face showing a bit of apology.

It was somewhat shameful to have guests at home and not even have anything to offer them.

"No worries, there are people outside who can run errands for us!"

Zhang Wei chuckled and walked to the villa door, waving to someone not far away.

Soon, a male field worker came running over.

"Buddy, do me a favor, take this money and go buy some groceries at the supermarket."

"I’m on field duty, in charge of standing guard, and not responsible for buying groceries!"

"Brother, that’s where you’re wrong, you should think of it this way!"

Seeing that the man was uncooperative, Zhang Wei immediately put on a serious face: "Although Forensic Yang is currently under your protection, who knows if someone might try to poison her in secret? If you go buy the groceries, wouldn’t you be helping us eliminate the threat of poisoning?"

"Really?"

"Yes, the person intending to poison wouldn’t know where you’ll buy the groceries, right? Isn’t that helping us remove the threat?"

"Brother, hurry up and go, if the party involved gets hungry, it might affect her performance in court this afternoon!" said Zhang Wei as he half-pushed the man away.

Although the field worker was annoyed, Zhang Wei’s words made some sense to him and he felt somewhat convinced.

Before long, he returned holding bags full of ingredients, handing them over to Zhang Wei.

Next, it was Zhang Wei’s turn to act.

minutes later.

Under Zhang Wei’s deft hands, the ingredients were transformed into several dishes that were colorful, aromatic, and crisp to the bite—typical home-style stir-fries.

"This, this is too delicious, right?"

Yang Chunyuan, who seldom ate at home, couldn’t stop praising the dishes after tasting Zhang Wei’s culinary skills.

Afterward, her gaze towards Mo Yuzhu and Zhang Wei changed slightly.

She even nodded her head, as if she was very satisfied with someone.

That look was as if entrusting one’s daughter to Zhang Wei was a very sound decision.

Hey, hey, hey!

Forensic Yang, what kind of look is that? I really just came to help you with the case, hey.

After lunch and a short rest, the three of them set out for the city court.

Of course, their actions were under the "protection" of the field staff.

...

PM.

Dongfang Capital City Court, criminal court.

Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong had already arrived, sitting at his place, and was looking through files with his head bowed.

Next to him sat the plaintiff Mr. Li and his commission lawyer Black, the original parties of the case.

In the first row of the observer seats, a group of people from the Procuratorate Headquarters, including Xiao Baihe and Tan Yingying, were present, accompanied by Zhao Chunming and Guo Wufeng, all of whom were old acquaintances.

They were here naturally to support Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong.

After all, this was a big case for the Southern District General Procuratorate, and even though many of them knew Yang Chunyuan, their roles forced them to stand on the opposite side of her.

Zhang Wei, taking his seat with Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu, made a trio.

Once Yang Chunyuan was seated, she glanced over at the observer seats and then laughed mockingly.

"Forensic Yang, are you looking for Councilor Mo?"

"Humph, getting dragged into this kind of case, he probably can’t continue to be a councilor anymore!"

Yang Chunyuan did not deny it; instead, she scoffed at her husband in name once more.

It seemed that these spouses relished seeing each other as the butt of the joke, even to the point of mocking one another.

Zhang Wei had no desire to comment any further and could only feel sorry for Mo Yuzhu, who had grown up in such a family environment.

"All rise!"

Just when the time was about right, the court guard finally made the announcement.

The young Judge Liu, wearing his pitch-black robe, walked into the courtroom step by step.

He glanced at Yang Chunyuan on the defense bench, his face revealing a complicated expression.

Of course, he had heard of Yang Chunyuan’s great reputation, but the two of them had rarely worked together directly.

Instead, it was the seniors in the criminal court—Old Chen, Old Wang, and Old Li—who had worked on numerous cases with Yang Chunyuan.

Therefore, Dongfang Capital City Court had chosen him, Xiao Liu, to preside over this case in order to eliminate any possible bias.

However, Xiao Liu was also inwardly troubled.

Back when he was at the local court, he wouldn’t even handle a major case in a month, mostly dealing with minor matters such as neighbors stealing dogs or chickens.

He hadn’t been transferred to Dongfang Capital for long, and already he had faced so many cases, each more thorny than the last.

Moreover, neither the prosecutors nor the defense in these cases were pushovers, each batch of people presenting more formidable challenges than the previous ones.

Speaking of the defense, there was Zhang Wei again!

If this lawyer was involved in a trial, even if it was a civil case, he could turn it into a criminal one.

Now, just the mention of Zhang Wei made the judges of the city court feel overwhelmed.

As for Zheng Fenyong, this man was even more formidable.

A senior prosecutor from the Southern District General Procuratorate, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, his stature was equally astonishing.

Moreover, Zheng Fenyong had a brother who had been put behind bars by Zhang Wei. If anyone claimed these two had no history of conflict, who would believe it?

But even with a vendetta, it was useless because Zheng Fenyong had taken on this case first, while Zhang Wei later became the defense attorney. Such grievances could not serve as a basis for dismissing the case.

The case must still proceed, and it must be fought diligently.

Judge Liu felt the pressure; he had to be constantly vigilant against any possibility that the prosecution might settle scores with Zhang Wei, old and new alike.

"Ahem, this court now declares the pre-trial examination of the case brought by the Southern District General Procuratorate against Ms. Yang Chunyuan, head of Dongfang Capital’s First Forensic Office, for committing perjury by providing false testimony, commenced!"

After Judge Liu struck the gavel and made the announcement, he looked towards the prosecution’s bench.

Zheng Fenyong calmly stood up and approached the bar.

After sweeping a glance over the defense bench, he began in a melancholy tone:

"20 years ago, the defendant Yang Chunyuan wasn’t the widely renowned chief forensic officer of Dongfang Capital; she was just a newcomer in a forensic office, who usually only assisted other forensic officers, unable even to perform an autopsy on her own."

"It was then, by a twist of fate, that she became involved in a serial murder case and met Mr. Li, who at that time was the prime suspect in the case."

"Yang Chunyuan knew that her opportunity had come, a chance to make a name for herself in the forensic community, to leapfrog to fame. If she could personally find evidence that proved the defendant Li had committed the crime and solve this series of murders, she would shoot to stardom!"

"As for how to solve it, how to find evidence, Yang Chunyuan must have pondered these questions, and eventually, a bold idea formed in her mind!"

As Zheng Fenyong spoke, a cold smirk appeared on his face: "And that was to frame the suspect!"

"Even if it meant placing false evidence within the body, she had to frame Mr. Li. As long as she could solidify his guilt, then her name Yang Chunyuan would spread throughout the whole of Dongfang Capital as the case was solved!"

"Therefore, starting from that case 20 years ago, Yang Chunyuan began committing the crime of falsification, providing false testimony, and up until now, in the investigation of the 1324 criminal cases she has been responsible for, how many truths and how many falsehoods exist is unclear to anyone!"

"Yang Chunyuan must be held accountable for her crimes, and she must be responsible for those who have suffered unjustly and have been imprisoned for years, even decades!"

This address was indeed full of passion, especially the final accusation, which was emphatic and filled with sufficient emotion, as if Zheng himself had endured an unwarranted injustice.

Difficult!

Even Zhang Wei sensed the difficulty.

Zheng Fenyong, worthy of being a senior prosecutor from the Southern District General Procuratorate, had barely laid out his legal argument, yet delivered such an attention-grabbing statement; indeed, he was formidable!

"My legal argument statement is finished!"

"Well then, may I invite the defense?"

Despite feeling the pressure, Zhang Wei was just as composed as he stood and approached the bar.

"I wonder if everyone here has heard of concepts like ’unfounded accusations’ or ’hearsay evidence,’ which are the reasons we defense lawyers often stand up and interrupt the opposition in court."

"Prosecutor Zheng said a lot just now, but what I want to say is that he’s been using unverified content. Even if he attempts to prove these things in court later, when he cited them, they were all unverified."

"So I hope everyone won’t be misled by Prosecutor Zheng. My client is a forensic official with excellent work ethic, dedicated and responsible, an expert in forensic pathology."

"She endures physical discomfort every day, fights nausea, and takes responsibility for each victim, seeking the final evidence on their behalf to help identify suspects and to stand up for justice!"

"You can imagine that in order to finish the evidence collection task as soon as possible, the forensic experts have to get up at 4 a.m. every day and come to the morgue early in the morning to dissect and collect evidence,"

"Also, because the dissection may involve extremely bloody and horrifying scenes, many forensic experts endure hunger and start working without breakfast, continuing until the dissection is completed and the evidence collected. They need to write reports, submit samples for verification, and so on, possibly going the entire morning without a drop of water. They have persisted in this intense workload for over 20 years!"

"If it’s true, as the prosecution says, that my client tried to take shortcuts, then for what reason? Taking shortcuts to become famous, to make money—this everyone understands. But taking shortcuts to suffer, to endure over twenty years of hardship, getting up early and working late, investigating and collecting evidence, dissecting bodies, going to crime scenes to collect DNA samples—then what is the point of taking shortcuts?"

Zhang Wei spread his hands out, a look of puzzlement on his face.

These words also led everyone in the courtroom to contemplate deeply.

The defense seemed to make a lot of sense.

"Oh, able to completely refute my argument!"

Initially, Zheng Fenyong didn’t take Zhang Wei very seriously, but after the first round of courtroom arguments, he realized that this opponent was on a completely different level from those he had faced before.

At least in the eyes of this Senior Prosecutor from the Southern District General Procuratorate, Zhang Wei had reached a level almost equal to his own.

Zheng Fenyong was surprised. Zhang Wei was so young—rumored to be even a student of his brother—how could he have such rich courtroom experience, such powerful ability to perform on the spot.

"Therefore, we maintain a defense of innocence!"

In conclusion, Zhang Wei added a sentence, which effectively outlined his trial strategy.

"Alright, the court has now heard both parties’ arguments. Now let’s bring in the jury panel candidates!"

Guided by the court guard, the jury panel candidates entered the courtroom.

However, all these jurors were from neighboring cities; not a single one was a local from Dongfang Capital.

After the jurors had taken their seats, Zheng Fenyong decided to make the first move.

He stood up first and approached the jurors.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a question for you. If you have worked in a company for five years and suddenly there’s an opportunity for promotion before you, wouldn’t you really want to seize that chance?"

The jurors were curious about this question but still nodded their heads.

"So, if you wanted to compete for this opportunity, but in the end found out the person who got promoted wasn’t you, but a new person who had joined the office less than a year ago, would you accept that?"

Among the jurors, many looked puzzled, but a few appeared to understand.

"Finally, the identity of this new employee comes out—he turns out to be the general manager’s nephew!"

At this revelation, all the jurors showed a look of sudden realization.

The general manager’s nephew, then it’s not a problem.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you faced this kind of situation, those who would have a complaint against the company, please raise your hand!"

Most in the jury panel raised their hands.

But a few did not.

"Judge Liu, our side would like to dismiss jurors number 1, 5, 9, and 10!"

Zheng Fenyong quickly eliminated the four who had not raised their hands.

These people, when faced with unfair treatment, chose to accept it calmly, without even a thought of rebellion against the company.

Clearly, they were not the jurors he was looking for.

"Lawyer Zhang, it’s your turn!"

Having finished his questions, Zheng Fenyong gave up the stage.

The whole room went silent, curious to see what kind of "key" questions Zhang Wei would ask.

However, a few people in the courtroom looked bemused.

Xiao Baihe, Zhao Chunming, and Judge Liu all glanced at Zhang Wei with a strange look.

Because they knew that Zhang Wei’s questions were usually very peculiar.

"Ahem!"

Zhang Wei cleared his throat and approached the jurors.

"Everyone, you all like to drink beverages, right?"

The jurors looked at each other, completely not understanding what this question meant.

"Then if, after you finish your drink, you find ’win another bottle’ under the bottle cap, wouldn’t you be surprised and delighted?"

With these words, the entire courtroom was baffled.

Only Xiao Baihe, Zhao Chunming, Judge Liu, and a few others nodded subconsciously.

Yes, that’s exactly it.

This guy’s questions, that’s the flavor!