Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 590 - 583: Summoning Chen Xiao, Zhang Wei Exposes!

Chapter 590: Chapter 583: Summoning Chen Xiao, Zhang Wei Exposes!

Who is the key witness?

Zhu Yuansi really wanted to ask, but would Zhang Wei tell?

"Judge Bao, regarding Old Huo, our side also chooses to end the questioning!"

Zhang Wei did not reveal the name of the key witness but chose to end the cross-examination first.

Old Huo stepped down from the witness stand, but he did not leave the courtroom; instead, he found a seat in the back row of the spectator’s gallery.

Clearly, he also cared about this case, planning to continue watching.

After Zhang Wei ended the cross-examination and returned to the defense’s bench, Zhu Yuansi couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

"Judge Bao, our side requests a pretrial conference!"

"Hmm, this court approves!"

Judge Bao gestured to Zhang Wei, who, although his seat had still not warmed, had to stand up and come to the front of the courtroom.

"Prosecutor Zhu, may I ask why you called me up here? What do you want to do?"

"Lawyer Zhang, let’s not beat around the bush. Since you brought up the key witness, please tell me who is the key witness in this case?"

Zhang Wei was not surprised that Zhu Yuansi wanted to know who the key witness was.

After all, it was a trap he had set, and the other party really fell for it.

"Actually, this key witness is within the witness list, but I feel that Prosecutor Zhu, from the beginning, you never intended to summon this person, did you?"

"Who?"

Zhu Yuansi was surprised. Within his own witness list, who could it be?

"She is..."

As Zhang Wei spoke, he leaned in close to Zhu Yuansi and Judge Bao, whispering a name.

Zhu Yuansi and Judge Bao exchanged looks, both somewhat shocked.

The person was in fact the key witness for this case, but somehow that didn’t seem quite right.

"Lawyer Zhang, are you serious?"

"Whether it’s true or not, Prosecutor Zhu, just summon her. She’s always been on your witness list, so why not allow her to prove her innocence in court, huh~"

Zhu Yuansi thought for a moment and felt that was reasonable.

If she’s a witness, then summon her.

After the pretrial conference, Zhang Wei and Zhu Yuansi returned to their respective seats.

"Prosecutor Zhu, you wish to summon a witness, right?" Judge Bao asked knowingly this time.

"Yes, Judge Bao, our side requests to summon Miss Chen Xiao to testify in court!"

No sooner had he spoken than many in the courtroom turned to look at the middle seat of the spectator’s gallery.

Chen Xiao’s expression stiffened, believing that she would not be summoned by the prosecution, yet she found herself unexpectedly called.

Is Chen Xiao the key witness?

This was the question in the minds of many in the courtroom.

Zhang Wei had mentioned a key witness, and now Chen Xiao was being summoned to court, there had to be a connection.

So, was Chen Xiao the key witness?

In the midst of everyone’s confusion, Chen Xiao walked to the stand and took her place as a witness.

After all, she was the lawyer from the defense firm twelve years ago for the Guan Yuhong case, a relevant party to the case.

That the prosecution would summon her and list her as a witness was expected.

Thus, Chen Xiao was not surprised about having to appear in court.

Soon, she took her seat on the witness stand.

Zhu Yuansi stood up, walked to the front of the courtroom, and faced Chen Xiao directly.

"Lawyer Chen, hello."

"Prosecutor Zhu, hello."

The two women greeted each other with a smile.

"Lawyer Chen, could you please tell everyone in the courtroom your identity?"

"Twelve years ago, I took over Mr. Guan Yuhong’s case from Group Leader Tie Ruyun, serving as his defense attorney!"

"So, we can say that you, Lawyer Chen, are a direct participant in the case, right?"

"Yes."

"Lawyer Chen, do you know that Lawyer Zhang just said something to me? He said that you are the key witness in this case, which means that besides being the defense attorney, you also play an incredibly important role with respect to this case?"

"I’m not clear on what Lawyer Zhang means. Twelve years ago, I only defended Mr. Guan, and I’m not familiar with other details of the case!"

Lawyer Chen naturally denied it.

"Is that so, Lawyer Chen, are you sure you don’t know anything?"

"Apart from defending Mr. Guan in court, I don’t know any other information about this case. In fact, if it weren’t for Group Leader Tie’s incident, I wouldn’t have been appointed as a last-minute defense attorney!"

"Alright then..."

Hearing Lawyer Chen’s denial, Zhu Yuansi gave Zhang Wei a meaningful glance.

I’m at a loss with this key witness, maybe you want to try?

Zhang Wei naturally nodded, if it’s up to me then let’s go!

"Judge Bao, our side has finished questioning Lawyer Chen."

"Lawyer Zhang, it’s your turn!"

Judge Bao also knew that since Zhang Wei had proposed this witness, naturally it would be Zhang Wei who would conduct the cross-examination.

Zhu Yuansi returned to the prosecutor’s bench, sat down slowly, but her eyes drifted toward the courtroom, she wanted to see how Zhang Wei would question Chen Xiao.

Although unclear about what exactly Chen Xiao knew, she was well aware that Chen Xiao was an outstanding partner-level attorney at Long Teng.

Such a lawyer, if really tight-lipped, should presumably not spill any secrets to someone like Zhang Wei, right?

Therefore, Zhu Yuansi really wanted to see what tactics Zhang Wei had up his sleeve.

Zhang Wei walked up to the courtroom calmly, approaching Chen Xiao.

"Hello, Lawyer Chen."

"Hello, Lawyer Zhang."

The two greeted each other, exchanging pleasantries.

"Speaking of which, Lawyer Chen, I could be considered your junior, right?"

"Oh?" Chen Xiao appeared surprised, then turned to look at Tie Ruyun.

You, Zhang Wei, were also trained by Old Tie.

And why are you mentioning this to me? Are you trying to break the ice to make it easier to fish for information from me?

Is it that I, Chen Xiao, have gone mad, or have you, Zhang Wei, lost your memory? With us on opposite sides, practically like fire and water, you still think about establishing rapport with me?

"Of course, I’ve never really considered Old Tie a mentor. If I were to compare myself to Yang Guo, then Old Tie would be Zhao Zhijing!"

Upon hearing this, Tie Ruyun became agitated.

God damn Zhao Zhijing!

Are you trying to say that I brought you into the Quanzhen Sect, but in the end, you relied solely on yourself, right?

Wait, now that you mention it, that’s not exactly wrong...

Tie Ruyun suddenly felt unsettled again, could he truly be Zhao Zhijing?

"Lawyer Zhang, you’ve come to court, surely not to joke around, right?"

Zhang Wei’s joke was too much for Chen Xiao who couldn’t help but interrupt him directly.

"Oh, look at me, I almost forgot about the matter at hand!"

Zhang Wei, embarrassed, tapped his head, then laughed: "So, Lawyer Chen, let’s get back to business!"

"First question, you just told Prosecutor Zhu that you were forced to take over my client’s case and become his attorney in court because of an incident with Old Tie, right?"

"Yes."

"So then, what incident would that be?"

"Of course, it’s..."

Chen Xiao was about to blurt out the incidents of Tie Ruyun following and even threatening her, but she quickly realized.

There was a trap within this question.

Since this was a criminal court session, committing perjury on the stand could lead to imprisonment.

The basis for judging perjury would be whether the witness spoke the truth according to the facts and whether there was any act of lying.

Having settled the issue with Tie Ruyun, if she continued to claim in court, in front of the judge, that Tie Ruyun followed her, that would be tantamount to fabricating a non-existent incident.

In other words, she couldn’t speak of Tie Ruyun’s incident because it simply didn’t happen.

Chen Xiao finally realized, Zhang Wei had asked her to testify in court to trap her!

She looked at Zhang Wei and indeed saw the "sly" smile on his face.

"Hmph, waiting here for me, I see!"

Chen Xiao sneered inwardly, yet her expression remained unchanged, responding with an even tone, "12 years ago, Group Leader Tie and I had some misunderstandings, which led to his expulsion from the law firm. I had no choice but to take over the case."

"Oh, some misunderstandings?"

Zhang Wei made a "you’ve caught me" expression and even planned to dig deeper.

"Yes, just some misunderstandings. Thankfully, with Lawyer Zhang’s help, all those misunderstandings were resolved," Chen Xiao deflected, giving Zhang Wei no chance as she dismissed the question with her ambiguous answer.

"Indeed, weren’t all these misunderstandings orchestrated by you, Lawyer Chen?"

Zhang Wei retorted with a question, then laughed, "And Lawyer Huang Yunhe, he was involved as well. The two of you conspired to kick Old Tie out, obviously for the case of my client, right?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I have no idea what you’re talking about," Chen Xiao denied again.

"Fine, it doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it. After all, the Lawyer’s Association has brought justice to Old Tie!"

Zhang Wei sneered, as the so-called misunderstandings had already been dealt with by the Lawyer’s Association.

Zhang Wei could use this issue to his advantage.

"12 years ago, Lawyer Chen Xiao, through false accusations, deprived Group Leader Tie of his right to defend. Then, under the secret guidance of Huang Yunhe, she got the opportunity to defend my client. However, in the courtroom, she repeatedly set a new low for defense lawyers, ultimately leading to my client Guan Yuhong’s loss in court and his subsequent life imprisonment!"

"I can say that Lawyer Chen Xiao’s goal was to have Guan Yuhong imprisoned, to strip him of everything, including his career, namely the grocery store he ran in a mini-mart!"

"Objection, unfounded accusations!"

Faced with Zhang Wei’s accusations, Chen Xiao could no longer sit still and objected in court.

"Judge Bao, can a witness object?"

"Of course not, only the defense and prosecution lawyers can raise objections!"

Judge Bao said, his gaze warning Chen Xiao, "Lawyer Chen, you’re currently a witness. If Prosecutor Zhu doesn’t object, please try to hold back for now!"

Chen Xiao’s expression turned cold, obviously dissatisfied with the outcome.

But she had no choice, she had to bear it.

Zhang Wei, looking very pleased with himself, approached Chen Xiao and said, "Lawyer Chen, you and I both know I’m telling the truth, right?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I don’t understand what you’re talking about!"

"Denying it is useless; the truth is the truth!"

Zhang Wei laughed, then addressing the jury, said, "I know you all must be curious why Lawyer Chen would go to the lengths of framing her own group leader to take on the defense for my client, only to watch him go to prison."

"There’s only one answer: Lawyer Chen and You Dalei, the boss of Longxiang Construction, which was in charge of acquiring the land for the mini-mart, were actually in cahoots. They conspired to send my client to prison to acquire the mini-mart for real estate development!"

This explosive revelation stunned many in the courtroom.

Chen Xiao’s gaze shifted slightly, clearly surprised that Zhang Wei had brought this issue to light.

And Zhu Yuansi was equally surprised. Was there so much more to the case of Guan Yuhong?

The jury and spectators, the "melon-eating crowd," all gaped in disbelief.

"That’s right, the land is now very well developed; the famous Longxiang Building, Longxiang Entertainment City, Longxiang Shopping Center and so on in Longdu, all stand on that plot of land!"

This further shocked the jury and the spectators.

So the land where the mini-mart used to be is actually beneath the famous Longxiang Building and Longxiang Shopping Center in Longdu.

It seems that the land is indeed very valuable.

Therefore, considering this, it’s plausible to deduce that if Chen Xiao and You Dalei were indeed colluding, could they have schemed against Guan Yuhong?

By sending him to prison, they could ensure that he couldn’t oppose the acquisition of the mini-mart?

Possible!

Actually, very possible!

The jury and spectators now looked at Chen Xiao with eyes full of suspicion.

If You Dalei had been present in court today, perhaps their scrutiny would have extended to him as well.

"All these are just your speculations and lack evidence!"

"You’re right, Lawyer Chen. I don’t have evidence, given that I’ve only been in Longdu for a little over a week, and this case did happen 12 years ago. Unless I’m given more time, perhaps I’ll find evidence!"

In response to Chen Xiao’s skepticism, Zhang Wei simply smiled calmly.

You have a point, but I’m not worried. I just need time, and I’m sure to catch the two of you red-handed.

"However, Lawyer Chen, have you forgotten one thing?"

"What thing?"

"This trial isn’t to judge you but to fight for an acquittal for my client, Mr. Guan Yuhong. In other words, as long as I present reasonable doubts, the court must consider these doubts, and then my client may be acquitted due to the principle of ’when in doubt, find in favor of the defendant’!"

Zhang Wei’s words made Chen Xiao’s face change subtly.

Right!

She had forgotten what was the purpose of this trial.

The trial was to determine whether Guan Yuhong was guilty, and whether he should be held responsible for the murder committed years ago.

If Zhang Wei raised reasonable doubts that proved there was more to the case, Guan Yuhong would indeed be acquitted.

At that time, if Guan Yuhong were to be declared innocent, the investigation department would definitely have to reinvestigate and gather evidence.

One of the reasonable doubts Zhang Wei presented in court was the collusion between You Dalei and himself to frame Guan Yuhong, which would also enter the investigation phase.

Although Lawyer Chen Xiao was confident, with Dragon Lord’s protection, it shouldn’t cause any trouble.

But being under investigation, both You Dalei and she would definitely be affected, and over the years, they had done quite a few guilty deeds; if anything were to be discovered, their career or their standing in Dragon Lord’s eyes would surely be impacted.

As for the career, that wasn’t too big of a deal, they had already advanced far ahead of countless others, losing a bit wouldn’t matter much.

But what was vital was their standing in Dragon Lord’s eyes, which absolutely could not be lost.

"Lawyer Zhang, all these accusations are merely your slander. Do you think that by making up such excuses for the parties involved, you can deceive the investigation department, do you think..."

"Actually, it doesn’t matter whether it’s about deceiving or not. If Lawyer Chen you insist on denial, why not summon President You as well and let him confront us in court?"

Lawyer Chen Xiao wanted to deny it, but Zhang Wei’s next statement silenced her completely.

You even wish to summon You Dalei!

Lawyer Chen Xiao never imagined Zhang Wei to be so bold as to casually suggest summoning the boss of Longxiang Construction.

Do you really think you have that much power?

"Ridiculous, if President You has to appear in court just because of your fabrications, wouldn’t that be..."

"Who said I’m fabricating anything?"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei snapped his fingers towards the back.

Suddenly, the most frequently seen photo in the Lawyer’s Association’s hearing seat appeared on the projection screen.

Lawyer Chen Xiao from 12 years ago, snuggling up with a man, the two of them getting into an imported car.

This photo, both Lawyer Chen Xiao and Zhang Wei were all too familiar with.

"Lawyer Chen, you should remember, during the internal investigation by the Lawyer’s Association, what this photo represented, how many times you met the man in the picture, and who is he?"

Lawyer Chen Xiao looked at the photo, and once again fell silent.

"Lawyer Chen, please tell me, who is this man?"

Lawyer Chen Xiao’s mouth twitched, her facial muscles trembled slightly; she was suppressing her anger.

"This is President You!"

Although she didn’t want to answer, the fact was the fact; the man in the photo was indeed You Dalei.

"Hmm, Lawyer Chen, do you still dare say there’s nothing between you and President You? You even got into his imported car. Judging by your demeanor, you must be lovers, right? Are you hooked up, or do you have an affair?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I have already answered your question during the internal hearing at the association. There’s no relationship between President You and me; we were merely discussing business!"

Hearing Lawyer Chen Xiao’s response, Zhang Wei laughed. The jury and the audience laughed as well.

Negotiating business, and you need to get into his car late at night?

I’ve never heard of lawyers needing to communicate with clients at their homes late at night, and it requires snuggling up so intimately.

Your excuse, isn’t it a bit too dismissive?

"Lawyer Chen, are you trying to say that you didn’t conspire with President You, didn’t frame Old Tie, didn’t plan against my client, and had no intention of incriminating him to go to prison, all in order to clear the way for Longxiang Construction’s acquisition?"

"No!"

Lawyer Chen Xiao’s face darkened as she stared daggers at Zhang Wei, but she still emphatically denied everything.

However, as a defense lawyer, she was also aware that merely denying would not be convincing, especially when Zhang Wei put it that way.

Unfortunately, in this case, she was only a witness, not a defense lawyer.

The only person who could refute and defend themselves was Zhu Yuansi, who sat at the prosecutor’s bench.

But would Zhu Yuansi help Lawyer Chen Xiao? The answer was obviously no.

At this moment, Zhu Yuansi was simply watching the spectacle unfold.

She hadn’t anticipated that the case would involve these matters, or get entangled with Longxiang Construction’s You Dalei.

The thought that these facts may not be speculations but could be actual truth, Zhu Yuansi wished she could end the hearing immediately and let the investigation department gather evidence.

Because this feeling of being led by the nose by the defense was incredibly annoying.

Especially when the defense lawyer was someone like Zhang Wei, it made her even more displeased.

She wondered if the prosecutors from Dongfang Capital had to endure such things every time they confronted Zhang Wei?

If so, they really had it tough...