Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 514 - 510: Insider Recommendation? The Intensification and Resolution of Hostility

Chapter 514: Chapter 510: Insider Recommendation? The Intensification and Resolution of Hostility

In the witness box.

Facing Zheng Fenyong’s questions, Mo Juren answered:

"Even after marrying her, we made sure to maintain a certain distance between us!"

Hearing this answer, Mo Yuzhu blinked in surprise.

This daughter of his was practically rendered speechless.

What you have between the two of you is what you call ’a bit of distance’?

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but laugh.

Mo Juren, as a Councilor, truly understands an art called "The Art of Speaking."

The distance you keep with your wife, that’s practically being strangers.

You can count on one hand the number of times you see each other in a year.

Were it not for the Dongfang Capital City Council events, Yang Chunyuan probably wouldn’t mind spending all day in the lab, keeping company with corpses all day long.

In other words, she chooses to be with corpses over spending time with you.

And yet, you can say in front of the entire courtroom that ’we keep a bit of distance between us.’

Impressive!

Truly impressive!

What Zhang Wei admired was Mo Juren’s ability to lie through his teeth.

His skin was indeed thick enough to say such things without batting an eye or breaking a sweat; his gaze didn’t even wander.

Indeed, he had what it takes to be a Councilor.

"Ahem, Councilor Mo, your answer is excellent!"

Even Zheng Fenyong was startled and couldn’t help but praise.

"Then I’ll continue to ask, how often do you and your wife see each other in a year?"

"Well, although we don’t see each other often, every time we meet, it brings us a sense of novelty."

God, that ’sense of novelty.’

Seeing each other five times a year, each time naturally feels novel.

You probably have to take a moment to recognize who the person is when you first meet.

After a while, you finally remember, oh, this is my husband (wife)!

Zhang Wei’s mouth twitched slightly as he finally understood the art of political speech.

"Councilor Mo, I’m asking for the actual number of times, not for you to brush me off with that rhetoric!"

Zheng Fenyong couldn’t help himself and pointed out the issue directly.

"Sigh..."

At this point, Mo Juren knew he could no longer hide it and stretched out one hand, fingers spread wide.

"We see each other about this many times a year."

Five fingers, that meant five times!

"Councilor Mo, are you saying you and your wife hardly see each other, right?"

"We both have jobs, we’re both very busy, I’m at the City Council, she’s at the First Forensic Laboratory, and we’re both very career-oriented."

"I see," Zheng Fenyong nodded, then curiously added, "I believe you didn’t start this way as soon as you got married, you must have seen each other often at the beginning, right?"

"Yes, we weren’t as busy at the beginning, and we only started to see each other very rarely after I was elected as a Councilor. Our affections also..."

Mo Juren said, his expression darkening as he recounted how their careers had led to an irreversible change in their relationship.

"So when were you elected as a Councilor of the Dongfang Capital City Council?"

"Six years after I got married to my wife!"

"Were you also holding a position in the City Council before becoming a Councilor?"

"Yes, I was responsible for the organization and assessment of some City Council departments, and also for some review tasks."

Zheng Fenyong nodded but his eyes suddenly turned colder.

This movement was enough to make Zhang Wei curse under his breath on the defense bench.

"It looks like the real deal is coming!"

He realized that Zheng Fenyong had called Mo Juren to the witness stand not only to understand the marital relationship between Mo Juren and Yang Chunyuan.

His real purpose was about to emerge!

"Councilor Mo, I know that even before you met the defendant, you were already holding an important position within the City Council, right?"

"It’s not exactly an important position; it’s just that my father recommended me to the old Council Chairman, and I can’t disappoint his expectations!"

"So it can be said that after you entered the city council and took on the job, you were actually able to meet with top-level figures directly!"

As these words were spoken, many in the courtroom looked at Mo Juren with changed expressions.

Inside the city council, were there secrets that couldn’t be spoken of, and did Mo Juren’s father engage in actions that, once mentioned, could lead to his disappereance?

Suspicion!

Everyone began to speculate, their faces filled with deep suspicion.

"Councilor Mo, after you got to know the defendant Yang Chunyuan and married her, that’s when the First Forensic Office was established, right?"

"It seems like it."

"The establishment of the First Forensic Office was triggered by the serial killings case of Mr. Li, wasn’t it? Using this case as a catalyst, the Dongfang Capital City Council decided to invest in forensic verification, funding and equipment to ensure the trace investigation of criminal cases could be fast and efficient?"

"I remember the council indeed had that intention at the time."

At that time, Mo Juren was not yet a council member, but he remembered this matter.

During that period, Dongfang really did have people feeling unsettled, and after the suspect Mr. Li was apprehended, in order to soothe public sentiment, the city council ordered the establishment of the First Forensic Office.

Subsequently, funds and research grants, all kinds of high-tech forensic equipment and instruments, were successively invested into the office and laboratory.

It was precisely because of this that the technology in the field of crime forensics in Dongfang began to gradually improve, eventually leading the forefront of forensic science in Dragon Country.

"So, in recommending Yang Chunyuan as the head of the First Forensic Office, did you, Mo Juren, play a part?"

Prosecutor Zheng finally asked the question he most wanted to ask.

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei also stood up immediately, expressing his protest, "Irrelevant questioning, hearsay evidence, harassing the witness!"

But Prosecutor Zheng revealed a cold smile and turned towards the bench, "Judge Liu, this question is crucial to the case. I request your authorization to continue my questioning!"

"This is..."

Judge Liu looked towards Zhang Wei, but then to the jury.

At that moment, in the jury of twelve people, everyone was curiously looking at Mo Juren.

They might not be very concerned about the case, but they were very interested in these political news, even what could be called insider information.

With a sigh of helplessness, Judge Liu announced, "Objection overruled!"

He clearly saw that if he did not follow the jury’s inclination, they might immediately rebel and even suspect that he had issues of his own.

Therefore, he had no choice but to let Prosecutor Zheng’s questioning continue.

Zhang Wei sat down helplessly, his eyes glancing coldly towards the prosecution’s bench.

"Councilor Mo, please answer my question. At that time, you already held a significant position in the city council and even if you didn’t have the authority, you had the opportunity to meet with higher-ups. So did you play a certain role when Yang Chunyuan became the head of the First Forensic Office?"

"This..."

Mo Juren also saw the keen eyes of the jury, all looking at him.

He could only sigh and answer, "At that time, I indeed found the council member in charge of this matter and recommended my wife to him, but at that time, it was just a mention, really, the actual situation..."

"Thank you for your answer!"

Prosecutor Zheng quickly interrupted Mo Juren’s response, as he had achieved his purpose.

Similarly, Mo Juren’s words were heard by everyone in the courtroom.

Especially the twelve-person jury, who immediately showed an "as expected" expression.

Scandal!

There was indeed a scandal!

No, it should be said to be an inside story!

They had previously been curious about how Yang Chunyuan, although she had only worked on one case, had instantly jumped from a newcomer to the head of a department—wasn’t that leap a bit too great?

Now the truth had come to light.

It turned out that she secured her position by relying on her husband, who held a "significant position" in the city council, and his recommendation.

At this, the entire jury was in an uproar.

Moreover, many in the audience seats were pointing and whispering at Yang Chunyuan in the defense’s bench.

Everyone had a very dismissive attitude towards Yang Chunyuan, a woman who had climbed to a high position by "pulling strings."

A woman who, relying on her husband’s connections in the city council, had obtained an internal recommendation.

Disdain!

Brazen disdain!

Even Yang Chunyuan herself was dumbfounded upon hearing Mo Juren’s answer.

"I became the head because of his recommendation?"

Yang Chunyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

She genuinely didn’t know this.

Mo Yuzhu and Zhang Wei also looked at each other, both completely clueless.

Such matters would never leave a written record, let alone be found by others following some trail of clues.

They obviously hadn’t been able to investigate this either; otherwise, they wouldn’t have let Mo Juren appear in court.

This is a problem now!

At least in Zhang Wei’s view, the entire jury’s hostility towards Yang Chunyuan had escalated to an unprecedented level.

If they were to enter a verdict now, it would surely be 12 guilty votes—without any other possibility.

Because everyone hates those with connections and despise people who get ahead through backdoor dealings.

Or rather, everyone wants to be well-connected, but they don’t have the means, so they naturally detest those who do.

Unfortunately, Yang Chunyuan was just such a person.

She married a good husband and then immediately gained status and fame, becoming the top figure in Dongfang Capital’s forensic community—all too easily.

How would those who work hard and struggle below view her?

The gaze of animosity was naked on the faces of both the jury and those in the spectator’s gallery.

"Order!"

Judge Liu had no choice but to bang the gavel to maintain order.

Thud, thud, thud!

It took three consecutive bangs of the gavel to quiet the somewhat noisy courtroom.

As for the instigator of all this, Zheng Fenyong was quite pleased with the effect of his tactics.

"Councilor Mo, you recommended your wife to the council member who was responsible for establishing the forensic office, and then your wife got elected, isn’t that right?"

"This, I..."

Mo Juren could also see the hostility in the courtroom and suddenly didn’t know what to say.

But his defensive and evasive demeanor led the entire courtroom to believe they had pinpointed his weak spot.

A buzz of discussion began to rise again among the spectator’s gallery and the jury.

"Thank you for your answer, Councilor Mo. Although you couldn’t answer my question, I believe everyone present can see the difficulty you’re having in explaining this!"

Zheng Fenyong nastily got under Mo Juren’s skin one more time, then directly concluded his questioning.

This tactic was undeniably ruthless.

You can’t explain it, can you? So let me just suggest to the jury and the spectator’s gallery that you’re unable to speak because the issue involved interests at high levels back in the day, so you dare not say it.

After all, even if I didn’t say it outright, I can’t stop the jury and the audience from running wild with their imaginations, thinking along those lines, right?

It’s not enough to kill; you must also aim for the heart...

That was Prosecutor Zheng’s method.

How to recover from this problem

It was brutal, vicious!

So Zhang Wei felt the pressure.

Step by step, facing the gaze of the entire courtroom, he approached the witness stand.

"Councilor Mo, greetings!"

Mo Juren looked at Zhang Wei with a wry smile.

He felt that his court appearance had not only failed to help Yang Chunyuan but had actually made things much worse.

"Councilor Mo, may I ask what your position was at the city council at the time?"

Zhang Wei asked, and perhaps feeling that the question was a bit vague, he immediately added, "I mean, at the time you recommended your wife, that is, when the First Forensic Office was being established."

"At that time, I was just an ordinary office worker, in charge of running errands and delivering messages for the bigwigs..."

Mo Juren laughed self-deprecatingly—that was indeed his way of frequently encountering the big shots.

Every high-ranking figure needed messages delivered, and even internal letters and documents would be passed by him.

"Then, let me ask another question: When you recommended your wife to the old councilor responsible for setting up the office, in what setting did you speak to him?"

"During a chat."

"Could you be more specific? For instance, was it during a meal, while walking down the corridor, or perhaps during a city council field trip when everyone was idly chatting to pass the time?"

"Objection!"

Just as Zhang Wei posed the question, Zheng Fenyong from the prosecution immediately interjected, "Leading the witness!"

But Zhang Wei was well-prepared for this move.

He immediately looked toward the bench, "Judge Liu, since the prosecution has accused Councilor Mo of improper recommendation, I believe it’s necessary to clarify this issue. If he was merely having a casual conversation with the old councilor, that can’t be considered an improper recommendation, can it?"

"This..." Judge Liu pondered for a moment; it did seem to make sense.

And even if they didn’t ask now, if this issue were to be investigated later on, the Internal Affairs Investigation Department would have to get to the bottom of it.

Well then, let’s just ask directly in court.

"Objection overruled, the witness needs to answer this question!"

Councilor Mo nodded and tried to recall: "I remember it was an excursion organized by the City Council. I sat with the senior councilor in a pavilion in the suburbs and we chatted casually."

"Like chatting about household matters?" Zhang Wei quickly followed up.

"Something like that. There were quite a few people at the scene, and of course, I was just running errands for the councilors. I just happened to be nearby, and they pulled me into the conversation."

"Oh, so you’re saying that you weren’t actively recommending, but were pulled into chatting by the councilors?"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but repeat the point.

Although this couldn’t completely diminish the jury’s hostility toward the defense, he could distinctly feel the hostility waning.

"Councilor Mo, you simply told the senior councilor at that time that your wife had solved a case?"

"No, actually, they brought it up themselves. They mentioned my wife while discussing candidates, and I just happened to hear it."

"Ah, I see!" Zhang Wei realized.

"In other words, the councilors already had the intention of appointing my client, your wife, as the person in charge, and your presence was more of a coincidence?"

"Objection!"

Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong had never expected that Zhang Wei, this young man, would disperse the atmosphere he had just created with a few "concept-diluting" questions.

"Objection overruled!"

Judge Liu did not indulge Prosecutor Zheng but nodded at Zhang Wei instead.

This question indeed needs to be clarified, so go ahead.

"Councilor Mo, I believe that even if you hadn’t been there, Forensic Yang would still have had a very good chance of becoming the head of the First Forensic Office, right?"

"I’m not sure about that."

Councilor Mo also smiled, sensing a lighter atmosphere in the courtroom, finally allowing himself a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he was very satisfied with Zhang Wei’s performance. He was no doubt the man his daughter had her eyes on; he indeed had skills.

But Zhang Wei decided to press on his advantage.

"Councilor Mo, I know you and your wife are both busy, but I want to ask one thing—throughout the many years you’ve been married, has your wife ever forged evidence, tampered with a body, or altered reports? Has she ever been the subject of such an investigation?"

"No, not once since she took charge of the First Forensic Office!"

"You mean, not a single complaint or internal affairs investigation in over twenty years?"

"Yes!"

Mo Juren affirmed with a nod.

Although his relationship with his wife wasn’t good, he did know that Yang Chunyuan was beyond reproach when it came to work.

Although at times she seemed cold, it was this strictness that had kept the First Forensic Office error-free for over 20 years.

"In my opinion, maintaining a high work efficiency continuously without any mistakes is nearly impossible."

Zhang Wei said, looking at the jury, "So I’d like to say, the senior councilor who originally appointed my client to be in charge had excellent judgment!"

The jury’s hostility began to wane.

Although many people dislike nepotism, if someone is competent and demonstrates corresponding work efficiency in their position, then it’s a different matter.

No one likes nepotism; actually what they despise is not the ascent of the capable, but that those who rise to the top lack excellence—mere mediocrities inspire envy and even scorn.

But if a capable person climbs high and shows corresponding professional ability, then the feelings of dislike and jealousy will fade, replaced by respect.

At this very moment, the courtroom tide was turning.

The jury and the public gallery began to shift their view of Yang Chunyuan from hostility to acceptance!

Zhang Wei’s objective was also achieved.

"Thank you, Councilor Mo, for your answers. We have no further questions!"

Having achieved his goal, Zhang Wei promptly concluded the questioning.

When he returned to the defense table, both Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu couldn’t help but nod their thanks to him.

Even Councilor Mo on the witness stand let out a breath of relief.

Perhaps only the trio on the prosecution bench had a hint of gloom in their eyes.

"You did well, kid. You’re ruthless. Worthy of the one who managed to take down my own brother!" Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong stared at Zhang Wei, a trace of severity on his face.

And Black beside him looked equally somber.

"Prosecutor Zheng, does this mean it’s time for my client to testify?"

"Mmm, let your client get ready!"

Prosecutor Zheng may not have liked Zhang Wei’s tactic, but he still had an ace up his sleeve.

The trial was far from over!