Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 583 - 576: Request for Retrial, 12 Years of Waiting

Chapter 583: Chapter 576: Request for Retrial, 12 Years of Waiting

Longxiang Construction Group, President’s Office.

Zhang Wei had left, taking Xia Qianyue with him.

At this moment, only You Dalei and Lawyer Chen Xiao remained in the office.

"This kid, he didn’t just come here to issue a challenge, did he?"

"No, because he came to see me today. Running into you was just a coincidence."

You Dalei shook his head; he had no idea that you, Chen Xiao, were also here.

He guessed that Zhang Wei originally wanted to come over and ask him some questions, but because Chen Xiao was present, knowing he couldn’t get any straight answers, he changed his approach to issuing a challenge.

"However, speaking of which, does he really only know so much about Guan Yuhong’s case?"

You Dalei thought about the way Zhang Wei forcefully linked him to Guan Yuhong’s case earlier and couldn’t help but want to laugh, yet he couldn’t manage to.

"Not sure, but my guess is that if he can beat so many people in Dongfang Capital, it’s probably not as simple as it seems on the surface!"

Lawyer Chen Xiao was actually somewhat wary of Zhang Wei’s attitude.

After all, although the opponent looked young, he was said to be a ruthless character in Dongfang Capital.

The victories were all hard-earned.

Even if the lawyers from Dongfang Capital and the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters were incompetent enough to let Zhang Wei win so much, it in itself could explain some things.

This kid, even if young and inexperienced, clearly had real strength.

Beating the Procuratorate Headquarters once or twice might be good luck, but three, four, or five times, that certainly couldn’t be just luck.

"The kid also said that tomorrow he will take Guan Yuhong to the appeals court. What should we do?"

"Better to hold our forces for now. After all, the Procuratorate Headquarters aren’t just sitting around eating their own food. Do they really think he can just appeal and succeed?"

Lawyer Chen Xiao said, scoffing, "Zhang Wei may have a bit of fame in Dongfang Capital, but this is Longdu; it’s not up to him to act recklessly!"

"Besides, as Guan Yuhong’s lawyer from 12 years ago, I have an obligation to attend the court for the appeal application. At that time, Zhang Wei won’t only have to face Prosecutor Zhu; he will also have to contend with my sniping!"

"That makes sense!"

You Dalei nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

He was convinced that even if Zhang Wei were formidable, facing a prosecutor should be challenging enough, not to mention having the top lawyer Chen Xiao cooperating on the side; the appeal couldn’t possibly succeed!

"Don’t worry, even if this kid manages to stir up a little trouble, we still have the Dragon Lord backing us up!"

"Hahaha, hearing you say that, this time the kid is bound to lose no matter what he calculates!"

"Of course, as long as we’re here, the kid has no chance of winning!"

In the office, laughter soon echoed all around.

You Dalei and Lawyer Chen Xiao were brimming with confidence in that moment, full of self-assurance.

Just like they said, they really didn’t know how they could lose.

...

At the same time.

Since he hadn’t expected Chen Xiao to be there, Zhang Wei had no choice but to cease his questioning of You Dalei.

After issuing his challenge, he returned with Xia Qianyue.

By the time they got back to their guest house, it was nearing evening.

Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others were still nowhere to be seen, apparently out enjoying themselves.

Zhang Wei wasn’t one to shirk his responsibilities; when it was time to work, he worked, and when it was time to rest, of course, he rested.

He took Xia Qianyue out for a short stroll to experience some of Longdu’s local delicacies.

One could only say that there were delicacies from all over, but the native specialties of Longdu were actually somewhat lacking.

After all, Longdu gathered workers from all over Dragon Country, and in order to earn their money, the merchants employed all sorts of tactics, each playing on the hometown pride of these workers to attract their sense of belonging.

Thus, there were foods from everywhere, except the distinctive flavors of Longdu itself.

Presumably, Longdu’s local specialties didn’t deign to stoop to accommodating outsiders.

This also gave Zhang Wei a glimpse into Longdu’s character; arrogant!

At 10 p.m., Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others came back, while Zhang Wei also spent a few sweet hours with Xia Qianyue in their own little world.

"Remember to go to bed early, everyone. Tomorrow is Monday, and we’ll be taking the parties concerned to appeal!"

"Okay, I’m really tired from playing today, time for a bath~"

Zhao Xiaoxiao yawned, feeling sleepy.

"Good night, Zhang Wei; good night, Xia Qianyue!"

"Goodbye, see you tomorrow~"

"Sweet dreams!"

Mo Yuzhu, Jessica, and Xia Qianyue also said their goodbyes to Zhang Wei before heading back to their respective rooms.

Zhang Wei took a deep breath, began his nightly routine, and then returned to his room to sleep early.

After all, they had been preparing for next week’s appeal for quite some time.

They were waiting for this day!

...

Monday, the day of the appeal.

Before he knew it, Zhang Wei had already spent a week in Longdu.

It was the third week of October, and the scorching heat of summer had mostly subsided, leaving only the refreshing autumn breeze and a slightly cooler temperature.

"Old Tie, you’re back too!"

"Obviously, today is the day for retrial application, how could I not be here?"

Tie Ruyun chuckled inwardly and then adopted a serious demeanor, "Zhang Wei, we’re going to the Supreme Court today, are you confident?"

"Don’t worry, everything is going according to plan!"

Zhang Wei responded with an "OK" gesture, exuding confidence.

"That’s good!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s confidence, Old Tie also breathed a sigh of relief.

Today’s appeal carried his hopes for the past 12 years; nothing could go wrong.

But now, he was the assistant attorney, and the stage belonged to Zhang Wei.

"Alright then, after breakfast, we’ll head out!"

After a simple and pleasant breakfast, everyone was ready to go.

At the same time.

In a prison on the outskirts of Longdu.

Inside a solitary cell.

Guan Yuhong was organizing his personal belongings and carefully checking in the mirror to see if there were any spots on his face that needed further grooming.

He had just shaved his beard, and because of his excitement, there were a few small cuts on his chin.

Touching his smooth chin and looking at his face in the mirror, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

For this day, he had waited a full 12 years.

From the initial unease and fear of entering prison; to later shouting, questioning, approaching madness; then to self-doubt, and finally numbness; followed by an epiphany one day to accept his fate; and finally, on an unknown day, hope rekindled.

Over these 12 years, he had carried too much weight.

Only he knew what he had really been through these 12 years.

"12 years, a full 12 years, just for today!"

Guan Yuhong really wanted to shout this in front of everyone.

Do you know how I’ve spent these 12 years?

There were no games in prison, no television to watch, let alone playing "Greedy Blue Moon". Do you know what these 12 years have been like for me?

"Guan Yuhong, your appeal will begin in 1 hour; it’s time to get ready to leave!"

The prison guard came at this moment.

"Okay, guard, I’m ready!"

Guan Yuhong had prepared for this day for 12 years; he didn’t need the guard’s reminder – he was already prepared.

...

hour later.

At the Supreme Court of Dragon Country, the appeals courtroom.

Zhang Wei and Old Tie, along with Xia Qianyue, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Jessica, and Mo Yuzhu, a group of six, waited inside the courtroom.

Then, the prison guards brought Guan Yuhong into the courtroom.

On the witness stand, as Guan Yuhong’s son, Guan Ping was also there early in the morning waiting.

Upon seeing his father, the two looked at each other for a long time, communicating silently.

"Lawyer Zhang, Lawyer Tie!"

"Mr. Guan!"

Both parties nodded in greeting before taking their respective places.

On the other side, Lawyer Chen Xiao also arrived. As the defense attorney for Guan Yuhong in the case from twelve years ago, it was naturally her obligation to be present.

However, Lawyer Chen Xiao was merely looking at Lawyer Zhang’s group, occasionally showing a mocking smile on her face.

In her view, the idea of seeking a retrial for a case that was twelve years old might seem utterly fanciful.

"Ahem, the Guan Yuhong case!"

Following the announcement by the chief judge in the appellate court, Lawyer Zhang’s group approached the bench.

Also taking the floor with them were the members of the prosecution.

As it happened, the person who came was still Zhu Yuansi.

It seemed that Prosecutor Zhu was Lawyer Zhang’s opponent.

"Why call for a retrial of a murder case from twelve years ago?"

The presiding judge looked down at Lawyer Zhang’s group with curiosity, being a justice of the Supreme Court’s appellate court.

"Your Honor, as Mr. Guan’s defense attorney, I have discovered many unreasonable aspects in the trial from twelve years ago. Therefore, to prove my client Mr. Guan Yuhong’s innocence, my team requests that the appellate court accept our plea and support a retrial of this case!"

"What particular aspects of the case from twelve years ago were unreasonable?"

"Numerous ones, but the most important point stems from the defense counsel at the time, Ms. Chen Xiao!"

"Oh, Lawyer Chen?"

The presiding judge looked toward Lawyer Chen Xiao, clearly surprised.

Twelve years ago, Lawyer Chen Xiao was Guan Yuhong’s defense attorney, a fact not widely known.

However, twelve years later, Lawyer Chen Xiao is a junior partner at Longteng International, a matter familiar to many.

Could the existence of multiple irregularities in a case associated with a renowned attorney be considered scandalous for the opposition?

"Your Honor, as one of the stakeholders in this case, I find Lawyer Zhang’s accusations quite baffling!"

Seeing Lawyer Zhang directly targeting her, Lawyer Chen Xiao immediately denied any wrongdoing.

"In fact, twelve years ago, I devoted a great deal of effort to Mr. Guan’s case. Unfortunately, the prosecutors from the Procuratorate Headquarters were more skilled, and I failed to obtain an acquittal for Mr. Guan, due to my own inadequacies, nothing more!"

"Your Honor, this is precisely the irrationality I’m talking about!"

Lawyer Zhang raised a finger in challenge, saying, "Mr. Guan’s case was quite influential at the time, yet Longteng International, ranked first in Longdu, had an intern lawyer take charge of such a case. Doesn’t that seem a bit too rash?"

"Lawyer Zhang, if I remember correctly, you too handled many criminal litigation cases as an intern lawyer, didn’t you?"

Lawyer Chen Xiao, also well-prepared, even used Lawyer Zhang as an example, elaborating, "Like your first confrontation with the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters in the Lin Xiao case, your second in the Tang Chunfeng case, your third in the Wang Yuqing case, your fourth in the Fang Yunshu case..."

Indeed, over the weekend, Lawyer Chen Xiao had somehow investigated Lawyer Zhang’s entire record of confrontations with the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters since his debut.

When Lawyer Chen Xiao first saw Lawyer Zhang’s record, she too was stunned.

It was difficult to imagine that a student fresh out of law school, who hadn’t even obtained his license yet, would take on the role of a public defense attorney—a position generally seen as the most grueling, exhausting, and dangerous in the industry—and win so many criminal litigation cases.

This guy must be cheating!

Are you kidding me, calling this an intern lawyer?

This guy must be a genius, very daring, or incredibly lucky.

But one thing’s for certain—he’s extremely unorthodox!

"Lawyer Chen, I’m delighted that you’ve reviewed the cases I’ve handled, but did you notice they all share one common characteristic?"

"What commonality?"

"That is, many people thought these cases were unwinnable, yet I chose to take them on because I knew the defendants were innocent!"

Saying this, Lawyer Zhang pointed at Guan Yuhong, "Likewise with this case, I believe Mr. Guan is innocent, which is why I am initiating an appeal for a retrial!"

"Since Lawyer Chen brought me up, I’d like to clarify here that initially, many attorneys thought those cases were hopeless, so they didn’t take them. In the end, they all fell into my hands."

"But the case of my client Mr. Guan is different. Longteng Law Firm clearly had many excellent lawyers, yet the firm didn’t consult my client Mr. Guan for his opinion before arbitrarily changing his commissioned attorney. This completely violates standard practice!"

"Tie Ruyun was well aware of the circumstances at that time!"

"Oh, that’s strange. Didn’t I prove Old Tie’s innocence at last week’s internal hearing?"

"This..."

Lawyer Chen Xiao never expected that, although she intended to criticize Lawyer Zhang with Tie Ruyun’s matters, Lawyer Zhang was already prepared.

The issues with Old Tie had already been unveiled.

"Hmm, I’ve heard about your Lawyer’s Association hearing," said the presiding judge, unable to help but nod his head after hearing this.

Then he turned to Tie Ruyun, "Lawyer Tie, you were the one responsible for defending the client at the time, weren’t you?"

"Yes, Your Honor!"

"At that time, I remember you had to give up your right to defend because the Lawyer’s Association was investigating you, right?"

"Yes."

"12 years later, which was just last week, the Lawyer’s Association withdrew their accusations against you. So, can we say that 12 years ago you were wrongfully accused and the Lawyer’s Association should not have revoked your defense qualification?"

"I think, yes."

"Hmm, I understand!"

It seemed that the presiding judge had decided to accept the suggestion put forth by Zhang Wei.

However, this alone would obviously not be enough to warrant a retrial of the case.

"12 years ago, due to some unjust issues, the defense lawyer lost his qualification to defend, and then Lawyer Chen stepped in to replace Lawyer Tie, right? However, Lawyer Chen obviously took the case in a hurry and couldn’t provide excellent defense services to the client, which led to Mr. Guan Yuhong being wrongfully convicted and then imprisoned..."

"Yes, Your Honor. I even requested an appeal after the trial ended, but Lawyer Chen completely disregarded my suggestion. I felt belittled, my rights were not protected!"

Guan Yuhong also spoke up, pointing at Lawyer Chen Xiao with an indignant expression on his face.

Seeing both Zhang Wei and Guan Yuhong "firing" at Lawyer Chen Xiao, the presiding judge turned his head to look at Zhu Yuansi.

"Prosecution, what is your opinion?"

"We believe that a retrial is somewhat inappropriate!"

As the prosecution’s representative, Zhu Yuansi naturally needed to protect the interests of the prosecution.

The murder case from 12 years ago, who knows how much manpower and resources would have to be spent if a retrial were initiated.

Moreover, if a case from 12 years ago were to be overturned upon retrial, it would also be a huge blow to the credibility of the Longdu District Procuratorate Office.

After considering everything, the prosecution naturally wouldn’t support a retrial.

In fact, in cases where a conviction had been made, the prosecution would never agree to a retrial.

Zhang Wei had anticipated this.

"Your Honor, Prosecutor Zhu, regarding the appeal for retrial, please allow us to submit evidence to prove that 12 years ago, my client Mr. Guan Yuhong suffered injustice!"

Since the prosecution disagreed, they would have to rely on proof to gain support.

"The court grants permission. If the defense has evidence that can prove there were many errors or unreasonable factors in the judgment 12 years ago, then the court will consider the matter of retrial for this case!"

The presiding judge had nothing more to say; if you have evidence, then present it.

"First of all, please allow me to disclose a piece of information that shows Lawyer Chen Xiao, as Mr. Guan Yuhong’s defense lawyer, had a major conflict of interest with Mr. Guan’s interests!"

"In fact, it can be said that if Mr. Guan were to go to jail, it would actually benefit her, so she could never genuinely provide dedicated service for Mr. Guan Yuhong!"

The first piece of evidence submitted by Zhang Wei was yet again targeting Lawyer Chen Xiao.

"This is a photo taken 12 years ago by my colleague, Lawyer Tie, while he was working at Longteng International Law Firm. It shows Lawyer Chen Xiao and President You of Longxiang Construction in a close photograph!"

These photos had already been presented at the internal hearing, but this was the first time they were submitted to the court.

The presiding judge and Zhu Yuansi both received a copy of the photo.

Lawyer Chen Xiao’s complexion darkened slightly, as she had not expected Zhang Wei to bring evidence from the internal hearing to this venue.

"In fact, the conflict of interest between Lawyer Chen Xiao and my client Mr. Guan originates here. My client Mr. Guan has repeatedly refused Longxiang Construction’s attempts to buy him out because he did not want to give up the shop he relied on for his livelihood, resulting in a conflict of interest with Longxiang Construction."

"Lawyer Chen Xiao became a cooperating lawyer with Longxiang Construction within one year after Mr. Guan Yuhong went to prison. And from the photos, it is clear that President You of Longxiang Construction had maintained a close relationship with Lawyer Chen Xiao even during the trial of Mr. Guan Yuhong. It is difficult to say whether they conspired against my client Mr. Guan’s interests for Longxiang Construction’s acquisition efforts!"

Hearing this, the presiding judge couldn’t help but nod.

The timing of the photos was during the trial period of the Guan Yuhong case 12 years ago, and no one disputed this fact.

During this period, Chen Xiao was already involved with You Dalei.

It’s hard to say whether Chen Xiao would deliberately let Guan Yuhong go to jail for the benefit of You Dalei and Longxiang Construction.

After all, once Guan Yuhong was imprisoned, his shop would no longer be able to operate, making his agreement or disagreement to Longxiang Construction’s acquisition meaningless.

The man was in prison; how could he resist Longxiang Construction’s real estate development plan?

"Indeed, Lawyer Zhang makes a valid point, Lawyer Chen. Your actions indeed have many improprieties!"

Looking at the photos in his hand, the presiding judge expressed skepticism towards Lawyer Chen Xiao.

His reaction was simultaneously noticed by Guan Yuhong and Zhang Wei.

The former clenched his hands involuntarily, his face solemn.

After all, he had been waiting for this moment for 12 years.

As for Zhang Wei, his gaze was calm, and he even had a hint of skepticism.

After all, Lawyer Chen Xiao and Zhu Yuansi would not easily permit the case to undergo an appeal for retrial!