Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 521 - 516: Summoning Zhang Tianlong? A Compromise Proposal

Chapter 521: Chapter 516: Summoning Zhang Tianlong? A Compromise Proposal

Wednesday, morning.

Dongfang Capital City Courthouse, Criminal Division Office.

Judge Liu had never expected that Zhang Wei would call for another motion.

"What’s the deal with you, kid?"

I adjourned the court on Tuesday and decided to hold a session on Thursday so that you all could take a day off and prepare for Thursday’s hearing.

But here you are, kid, not only skipping the rest day but also dragging me to work with you, right?

Can you not?

Did you really think I had nothing else to do on Wednesday? It’s not a weekend, I have other work, okay?

Although Judge Liu wanted to complain about all this, not only was Zhang Wei standing in front of him, but also Zheng Fenyong from the prosecution.

And it wasn’t just Zhang Wei; he had brought his whole entourage.

Behind Zhang Wei stood Yang Chunyuan, Mo Yuzhu, and Mo Juren.

Even though Mo Juren was currently under immense public pressure, with virtually everyone online vilifying him,

he was still a council member of the city council, and he hadn’t been dismissed yet.

"Councilor Mo, what brings you here?"

Being a young Judge, Liu naturally had to give face to a city council member, and greeted Mo Juren politely.

"I was called over by Zhang Wei, just came to make an appearance."

Mo Juren frankly admitted that he didn’t know why he had to be there today.

Zhang Wei had indeed told him that all he needed to do was show up.

Judge Liu nodded with a smile and then immediately turned his questioning gaze to Zhang Wei.

Kid, what are you up to, spit it out quickly.

Similarly, Zheng Fenyong of the prosecution side also turned his attention to Zhang Wei.

"Ahem, since Judge Liu is asking, I might as well say it!"

Zhang Wei cleared his throat and spoke loudly, "We request that Judge Liu issue another subpoena!"

"Another subpoena?"

Judge Liu was startled, again?

You’re really asking for trouble, who is it this time?

"Zhang Wei, can you tell me whom you want to subpoena?"

"Judge Liu, rest assured, the person in question is not someone difficult to deal with."

Zhang Wei waved his hand with a smile and said, "It’s just Zhang Tianlong."

"Who?"

For a moment, Judge Liu didn’t quite catch on. Why do those three words sound familiar?

"Zhang Tianlong, the Council Head of Dongfang Capital City Council!"

However, Zheng Fenyong on the side immediately grasped the implication, and blurted out a curse in shock!

"The Council Head?!"

The next moment, Mo Juren, Yang Chunyuan, and Mo Yuzhu, the family of three, also realized who it was.

"Holy sh*t, the Council Head!"

Finally, even Judge Liu couldn’t hold back anymore and let loose a curse.

Holy sh*t!

Holy sh*t!

Goddamn!

Judge Liu ranted inwardly.

You’re out to get me killed, aren’t you, Zhang Wei? Of all people, you have to subpoena the head of Dongfang Capital City Council.

"Zhang, Lawyer Zhang, do you think I, Judge Liu, enjoy my job?"

"Judge Liu, I can tell you’re passionate about your work as a judge."

"Since you’ve noticed that, then you must understand that I love my job, so I don’t want to lose it!"

Judge Liu was close to losing his composure, flailing his arms in fury as he sat, "You want me to sign the subpoena for the council head, right? Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Judge Liu, you’ve misunderstood. I believe Councilor Head Zhang is not the petty type to hold grudges; he’s magnanimous!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he even winked at Mo Juren.

Magnanimous?

Judge Liu felt that no matter how magnanimous the other party might be, they wouldn’t forgive someone who issued subpoenas so casually.

Besides, who could guarantee whether Zhang Tianlong was truly magnanimous?

The young Judge Liu thought that if he wanted to keep his job, he might have to avoid taking on cases involving Zhang Wei in the future.

"Lawyer Zhang, I think..."

"Judge Liu, you’re not scared, are you?"

Just as Judge Liu was about to voice his concerns, Zhang Wei suddenly spoke up with a hint of mockery in his tone.

Scared!

Of course, I’m scared! Subpoena the Council Head? I’m scared to death right now!

If he could speak the truth, Judge Liu would tell Zhang Wei directly that he was panicking on the inside!

But as a judge, he couldn’t show hesitance in front of the legal parties, or he’d bring shame to the courthouse.

"I reckon, isn’t it a bit too abrupt to just subpoena the speaker of the city council like this?"

"Judge Liu, it’s not abrupt at all, I have a reason for subpoenaing Councilor Head Zhang!"

Zhang Wei looked at Judge Liu with a serious face and said, "As far as I’m aware, Councilor Head Zhang and my client’s husband, Councilor Mo, have some well-known conflicts. Therefore, I cannot rule out the possibility that Councilor Head Zhang might use his position to suppress and retaliate against my client. I subpoena him to testify in court in hopes of clearing Councilor Head Zhang’s name!"

Wow, what a move!

Judge Liu inwardly exclaimed what a move.

The reasoning sure sounded lofty and grand.

But according to what you, Zhang Wei, mean, isn’t it still suggesting that Zhang Tianlong is a petty person who seeks retribution for even minor offenses?

And what about the conflicts with Mo Juren—so he retaliates by tripping up the opposition, even using the opponent’s wife’s work to create obstacles?

If Zhang Tianlong is the kind of person you describe, someone who stops at nothing to achieve his goals, wouldn’t that mean I, Xiao Liu, am even more doomed?

"Lawyer Zhang, the matter of subpoenaing Councilor Head Zhang isn’t something I can decide on my own. I have to report to the leadership!"

Judge Liu had no choice but to bring up the leadership.

But he knew that even if he reported it, it wouldn’t help; the leadership would probably scold him for it.

"Oh, Judge Liu, you’re about to call the chief judge, aren’t you? Let me dial for you!"

Zhang Wei seemed to give Judge Liu no chance to refuse, immediately walking to the front of his office and dialing an internal number directly from the landline.

"Damn it, how do you know that!"

Judge Liu was shocked. You’re obviously not a member of the municipal court, so how do you know our internal dialing system?

But the call had already been made, and just as Judge Liu was about to speak, the phone connected.

"Hello, this is Xiao Liu, right? What’s the matter?"

The voice of the chief judge came through the phone.

Seeing this, Judge Liu had no option but to pick up the receiver and say, "It’s me, Xiao Liu!"

He then glared fiercely at Zhang Wei and hastily started explaining.

Sure enough, the chief judge scolded Xiao Liu over the phone, implying, "Are you so idle that you need to drag me into your mess?"

Xiao Liu, being scolded, naturally apologized profusely, nodding and bowing.

But deep down, he had this thought: Why should I take the blame alone? I need to share this burden, and you, the chief judge, also need to bear some of it.

"You handle this case as you see fit, I won’t interfere!"

Alas, the chief judge was cunning and seemed to see through Xiao Liu’s intentions, leaving him with those words.

Now, Xiao Liu couldn’t even offload the burden.

Judge Liu’s face completely fell.

Not only had he not found any assistance, but he had also been scolded, so obviously his mood was far from good.

"Lawyer Zhang, about subpoenaing Councilor Head Zhang, perhaps you might want to reconsider?"

Although he was asking, Xiao Liu almost "signaled" with his eyes that he really couldn’t make the decision to subpoena Zhang Tianlong.

"Judge Liu, this makes things difficult for me!"

Zhang Wei looked at Judge Liu with an expression that said, "Why can’t you be more helpful?"

But Judge Liu was inwardly troubled. Wouldn’t it be better for you, Zhang Wei, to just choose an easier path and spare me?

"Judge Liu, since you say it’s difficult, then why don’t we just not do it?"

Upon hearing this, Judge Liu felt his mood lifting.

"You should’ve said so earlier, let’s just not do it then..."

"Judge Liu, did you think I was going to back down?"

Just as Xiao Liu naively thought Zhang Wei was really going to give in, the latter’s mocking tone left him speechless.

Indeed, having found his target, how could Zhang Wei possibly give up?

"Zhang Wei, I really can’t help you with the matter of subpoenaing Councilor Head Zhang, I..."

"Judge Liu, I, Zhang Someone, won’t make things difficult for you..."

Not make things difficult?

Since you came into my office, haven’t you been making things difficult for me, Liu Someone?

How come you speak as if you’re considering my situation?

Zhang Wei didn’t bother with Judge Liu’s inner monologue; he seemed to have made a calculated concession.

"...If Zhang Tianlong cannot be subpoenaed, then let’s both take a step back and subpoena his secretary to testify instead!"

"The secretary?"

Judge Liu’s eyes lit up, but he also looked puzzled.

Why subpoena the secretary?

"Judge Liu, if Councilor Head Zhang is too busy with official duties to attend, then let us subpoena his secretary. I trust Judge Liu wouldn’t have trouble with just a secretary, right?"

Just a secretary, can’t I handle that?

Judge Liu suddenly felt capable again.

"Zhang Wei, don’t underestimate the power of our municipal court. If it’s just the secretary of Councilor Head Zhang’s office, then of course it’s possible!"

Judge Liu waved his hand grandly, agreeing to it right away.

It’s only a secretary, after all. How could I, Liu Someone, say no!

Especially if it means not subpoenaing Zhang Tianlong, I could subpoena anyone else.

"Then thank you, Judge Liu. I have no further requests!"

Zhang Wei thanked him, a triumphant look appearing on his face.

The motion conference concluded, and the prosecutor Zheng Fenyong didn’t even say another word.

He had watched the whole process as Zhang Wei and Judge Liu put on a joint act, but deep down, he felt something was off.

He pondered over it, feeling like Zhang Wei’s goal from the start wasn’t to summon Zhang Tianlong, but rather that secretary.

Even after Judge Liu agreed, he sensed something was amiss.

He also had the nagging feeling that he had somehow fallen into Zhang Wei’s "trap".

"Well, Judge Liu, we’ll take our leave now, we’ll see each other at tomorrow’s hearing!"

Zhang Wei left with Mo Juren, Mo Yuzhu, and Yang Chunyuan, after all, their purpose had been achieved, and there was no point in staying any longer.

As he walked out the door, he revealed a sly grin.

Indeed, a certain sage surnamed Lu had once said, the nature of the people of Dragon Country is to always prefer compromise and moderation.

For instance, if you say, "This room is too dark, we need a window here," no one would allow it. But if you suggest tearing off the roof, they would agree to a window.

The same principle applies.

You propose to summon Councilor Head Zhang, who is the council speaker of Dongfang Capital, the outright number one figure in Dongfang!

The city court definitely wouldn’t want to offend this esteemed councilor, so summoning him was out of the question.

But if you advocate for summoning the councilor and then take a step back, saying you want to summon his secretary instead.

Hearing that you no longer insist on summoning the councilor, the city court would easily agree.

As long as the councilor isn’t being summoned, summoning anyone else is no issue, right?

Actually, his real target from the start was not the councilor; it was the secretary.

...

That same afternoon.

Council Speaker’s Office.

"Councilor, these are today’s important letters."

The secretary placed some letters from important institutions on Zhang Tianlong’s desk for him to peruse.

At the same time, she discarded many more non-essential letters into a trash bin at the corner of the hallway outside the office.

As the speaker of the city council, Zhang Tianlong’s office received hundreds, maybe thousands of letters every day.

And as the council speaker’s secretary, her job was to sift through these letters, picking out the important ones for the speaker to review, and considering the non-essential ones as garbage, to be thrown away.

"Hmm, a letter from the city court?"

Zhang Tianlong opened an envelope and discovered, to his surprise, that it was a court summons.

Who has the guts to send me a summons!

Zhang Tianlong inwardly praised the audacity, I, Zhang Someone, also dare to be summoned!

Which judge has the courage of a bear and a leopard?

Is it surname Liu, you’re done for!

Holding the summons, Zhang Tianlong was about to crush it and then planned to teach that Liu something.

"Eh, it’s not summoning me!"

But as he glanced through the letter, he quickly noticed the name at the end who was being summoned.

"My secretary?"

Zhang Tianlong was slightly surprised. It was a summons for his secretary, and it was delivered to our office.

Oh, summoning the secretary?

Then it’s fine.

Zhang Tianlong called his secretary over and tossed the summons to her.

"Councilor, this case seems to be related to Zhang Wei, doesn’t it?"

The female secretary quickly spoke up after inspecting the information on the summons.

"Zhang Wei’s case, the one about Mo Juren’s wife?" Zhang Tianlong also noticed something strange.

It’s Yang Chunyuan’s case, in theory, it shouldn’t involve me.

Why does my secretary need to be summoned?

"Was it Zhang Wei who summoned you?"

"It should be, but I did everything cleanly, there’s no way my tracks could have been found..."

The secretary lowered her head, speaking with a tone that even she herself seemed to lack confidence in.

If there were no tracks found, what’s this summons about?

Zhang Tianlong also considered this, his eyes narrowed slightly, "In that case, I’ll arrange for you to leave the city overnight. Forget about the summons!"

"This case must drag Mo Juren down with it, no one else can interfere with my plans!"

Zhang Tianlong gave the secretary a knowing look, and she immediately nodded.

Just a little trip to avoid the limelight, no problem!

"Come up with any excuse, then I’ll notify the city court in my name, saying you had already left before receiving the summons!"

"Yes, Councilor!"

The secretary said, quickly made up an excuse, and then prepared to secretly leave Dongfang Capital.

But what they didn’t know was a car was parked outside the doors of the city council.

In the car, four people were waiting, staking out the direction of the city council office.

"Zhuzhu, such a big case in your family, why only tell me now?"

"Simple-minded person, I just didn’t want to worry you."

"And you, Zhang Wei, why do you only think of me when you need help? You didn’t even tell me about Zhuzhu’s issue earlier, and she and I are such close friends?"

"Isn’t it because I was afraid you’d act rashly, and in case you got upset and directly stormed into the city council and kidnapped Zhang Tianlong, wouldn’t that be a disaster?"

"Who ever said I’d be that impulsive?"

In the car, a girl sitting in the passenger seat quickly waved her hand.

But someone sitting in the back seat was inwardly scoffing.

With your combativeness, if you really did something impulsive and wrong, there’d be no time to put things right.

The four of them were none other than Zhang Wei, Mo Yuzhu, Xia Qianyue, and Zhang Wei’s personal driver Zhang Xinyan.

"Hey, hey, look over there!"

Just at that moment, Zhang Xinyan, who was at the steering wheel, seemed to have spotted something urgent.

Zhang Wei and the others quickly looked in the direction indicated.

Exiting the city council office building was a woman in a professional suit, wearing sunglasses and walking briskly.

After leaving the city council, she hastily hailed a taxi.

"Driver, to the airport!"

The taxi took off, heading straight for Dongfang Capital’s airport.

Upon witnessing this scene, Zhang Wei and the others instantly understood.

"Let’s go, follow her!"

In fact, without needing Zhang Wei’s instruction, Zhang Xinyan had already started the car.

...

hour later.

At Dongfang Capital Airport, inside the departure hall.

The secretary glanced at her watch, then at the waiting area ahead.

Her plane ticket was ready, bound for the Northwest Region of Dragon Country, and the flight was about to take off.

Once on the plane, the secretary would temporarily leave Dongfang Capital.

As for the court summons... sorry, your notice came too late; by the time I received it, I was already on the plane.

Why am I flying, you ask?

On a business trip, visiting family, vacationing in the Northwest for a holiday.

As for the excuse, just drum up any old reason; surely you court officials wouldn’t dare question me?

I’m the secretary of Councilor Head Zhang’s office; my backer is Councilor Zhang Tianlong himself. I imagine your city court wouldn’t dare cross Councilor Head Zhang, even if it had the audacity of heaven, right?

Hence, the secretary was brimming with confidence, regarding the court summons with utter disdain.

So what if you discover an issue? As long as I rebuff you with a "legitimate reason" and don’t return before the case is adjudicated, what can you do to me?

By the time I come back next time, Yang Chunyuan will have been convicted, and the case will already be closed.

Before Yang Chunyuan’s conviction, there’s no way I’m returning.

Perfect, I’ll just treat this as a vacation for myself, and I can relax in the metropolises of the Northwest.

"Ding dong, passengers for flight XX please begin boarding..."

Upon hearing the announcement, the secretary knew her flight had arrived.

"I’m off!"

She immediately stood up and headed for the boarding gate.

But after only a few steps, a young man suddenly flashed in front of her.

Expectedly, the man bumped into the secretary, causing her to stagger back a few steps.

"Are you blind? Don’t you watch where you’re going?" the secretary snapped caustically, her face full of irritation.

"I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, ma’am. I’m in a rush, my apologies!"

The young man apologized profusely, head bowed, his tone full of humility.

"Hmph, if I weren’t in a hurry, this wouldn’t be over just like that!"

Looking down on everyone, the secretary also snorted haughtily, and readjusted her bag to board the plane.

"Stop right there!"

Right at that moment, a stern shout came from behind, and suddenly, airport security personnel appeared, swiftly enclosing the secretary at the boarding gate.

"We’ve received a report that you’re carrying dangerous goods, posing a contamination risk!"

The security staff eyed the secretary warily, all looking alarmed.

"Are you guys crazy? I’m about to board a plane, and there’s no way I could be carrying any dangerous items!"

The secretary couldn’t believe it, but glancing at the time, she thought to charge through the checkpoint anyway.

"Stop her!" Security personnel weren’t about to be trifled with, and they swarmed forward, taking the secretary down to the ground.

"Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who I am? I am..."

The secretary continued to struggle, but a security officer directly opened her handbag, and pulled out a bottle containing green liquid from inside.

The surface of the glass bottle was marked with a "skull and crossbones" and an exclamation point "!"

Both symbols, no matter how you looked at them, were the mark of hazardous materials!

"What... what is this? How did it end up in my bag?"

The secretary was shocked upon seeing the bottle.

It wasn’t hers, truly it wasn’t.

"Ma’am, you are suspected of violating aviation security regulations; please come with us to the investigation department," said the security staff, not caring for the secretary’s reactions, and simply escorting her away.

Meanwhile, not far from the airport, the young man who had bumped into the secretary had a sly smile on his face, indicating a successful scheme.

Got her!