Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 597 - 590: Guan Yuhong’s Self-Proof, Xiao Zou’s Betrayal?

Chapter 597: Chapter 590: Guan Yuhong’s Self-Proof, Xiao Zou’s Betrayal?

(For some harmonization prevention reasons, the term "gang" has been replaced with "social club" to prevent 404 errors...)

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"Mr. Guan, did you kill the deceased Sun Mou 12 years ago?"

This question, naturally, was the most important and the answer everyone wanted to know.

Did Guan Yuhong really kill someone 12 years ago?

"No!"

Guan Yuhong almost immediately denied it without any hesitation.

"In fact, my dealings with the deceased Sun Mou were not extensive. Although he would visit each shop in the supermarket on a fixed schedule every month to collect ’protection money,’ my interactions with him were limited to this."

"If you ask whether I disliked him, I indeed did, because every merchant in the supermarket earned their money through hard work from dawn to dusk, yet we had to share some of it with them. Anyone would be uncomfortable with that."

"But to say that I would kill someone over a thug like that, how could I possibly harbor the intention to kill, especially when you think about it? If we lose one Sun Mou, wouldn’t a second Zhang Mou or Mr. Li just step up to take his place in the ’social club’?"

As Guan Yuhong spoke, he looked at the jury, "And moreover, the money we paid to Sun Mou every month was disgusting and unsettling, but at least it didn’t cripple us. We merchants opted to pay up to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Since we had chosen to accept it, it was as if we had tacitly agreed to these rules. To then turn around and kill Sun Mou would be rather extreme, both emotionally and logically for us."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei nodded and tried to summarize, "Mr. Guan, what you mean is that after all of you merchants chose to accept this, you were essentially acknowledging Sun Mou and the ’social club’ behind him for exploiting and ’protecting’ you?"

"Kind of, though there was exploitation, I never saw any protection."

Guan Yuhong chuckled. He had inquired back then, and there weren’t any significant figures behind Sun Mou’s ’social club’; it was just a minor group.

But as the saying goes, it’s easier to avoid the king of hell than to fend off a persistent ghost.

It was precisely these ubiquitous small ’social clubs’ that were the hardest to deal with.

Even if you filed a complaint, and the investigation department arrested a few people, they would be released the next day and might even retaliate against you more fiercely.

Therefore, paying money for peace of mind was their merchants’ compromise.

As for that ’social club’ saying that paying them would protect you and the like, they all scoffed at it.

"Hmm, I see."

Zhang Wei nodded again, "So for Mr. Guan back then, paying the ’ground rent’ to Sun Mou was already an accepted rule by everyone, and I believe Mr. Guan wouldn’t intentionally break it."

"Let’s go back to that time, 12 years ago. The prosecution once said that you had an argument with Sun Mou?"

"If you’re talking about arguments, all of us merchants at the supermarket have had arguments with Sun Mou."

Guan Yuhong chuckled, "Sun Mou’s behavior was essentially that of a robber. Would any of you have a calm and peaceful conversation with a robber?"

As soon as he said this, many people on the jury and in the audience nodded in understanding.

If I were harassed by someone like Sun Mou every day, I might not be able to resist hitting him, or at the very least, I would file a complaint and let the investigation department take Sun Mou away!

As for Sun Mou’s retaliation afterward...

Hmph, who’s afraid of whom!

Perhaps, this is what ordinary people think.

After all, they live in a society governed by the rule of law, and they aren’t afraid of ’social club’ members like Sun Mou who live off others and try to exploit merchants.

Zhang Wei looked at the jury, then turned to Guan Yuhong and asked, "Mr. Guan, besides yourself, did anyone else have an argument with Sun Mou before his death?"

"There were plenty."

Guan Yuhong said with a slight smile, "In fact, I remember clearly that in the weeks before Sun Mou died, he had been bringing people from real estate companies to discuss buying us out."

"Real estate companies?" Zhang Wei lifted an eyebrow, feigning surprise.

"Yes, the people from the real estate companies. In reality, Sun Mou was collaborating with a company called Tianma Real Estate back then. This company planned to buy the land of our supermarket and then develop it."

"Tianma Real Estate, why not Longxiang Construction?"

Zhang Wei said, turning his gaze to the hearing bench, namely, You Dalei’s seat.

"Longxiang Construction also sent someone over, and the money they offered was even more than Tianma Real Estate. However, Tianma Real Estate and Sun Mou’s gang had formed an alliance. When Sun Mou met with us business owners, he often made threats. It was during that period, once someone chose Longxiang Construction instead of Tianma Real Estate, which was backed by Sun Mou’s gang, Sun Mou would definitely come and cause trouble. For example, swearing or the business owners would end up fighting, which was quite common."

"What you mean is, before Sun Mou died, he was in cahoots with people from Tianma Real Estate, planning to acquire and develop the supermarket block. And at the same time, Longxiang Construction also had their eyes on that piece of land, so effectively there were two parties competing for the supermarket’s customers?"

"Yes."

"Tianma, having Sun Mou and the gang’s backing, opted for intimidation, while the well-funded Longxiang Construction decided to use more money to entice?"

"Yes."

Mr. Guan nodded and added, "Because we all had some complaints about Sun Mou and his gang on a daily basis, many people chose to cooperate with Longxiang Construction when faced with their interests."

"After all, Sun Mou came to exploit us every month, and this time, he even attempted to make us sell our shops to Tianma Real Estate, which offered less money. How could we possibly be willing to do that?"

Zhang Wei nodded, "I understand. Compared to Tianma Real Estate, who is short on funds and still dreams of using gang threats and other methods to acquire your shops, it’s understandable for you to choose the wealthier Longxiang Construction."

"Precisely because of this, Sun Mou was almost always verbally abusive towards the merchants who chose Longxiang Construction over Tianma Real Estate, with clashes happening daily."

"Then I have to ask a bit more, Mr. Guan, which one did you choose at the beginning?"

"Me?"

Mr. Guan pointed at himself, then laughed and shook his head, "I didn’t choose any at first, because I didn’t want to lose my grocery store, so I didn’t agree to either of their acquisitions."

"Oh, you didn’t choose Tianma Real Estate, nor did you choose Longxiang Construction, right?"

"Yes."

"Then that doesn’t make sense. To Sun Mou and Tianma Real Estate, a shop like yours that didn’t choose Longxiang Construction should be an even more necessary target to win over, right?"

Zhang Wei spread his hands, indicating he didn’t understand.

years ago, Tianma and Longxiang were competing for the supermarket’s tenants, which was essentially a battle over the development rights for that piece of land.

Tianma would surely despise those who had already taken sides, or specifically those who chose Longxiang.

But for someone like Mr. Guan, who hadn’t sided with Tianma nor Longxiang, they would definitely want to win him over.

Even if Sun Mou was inclined to act maliciously, his backer, Tianma Real Estate, wouldn’t have allowed it, right?

Otherwise, if they pushed Mr. Guan away, he could potentially turn around and throw his support behind the welcoming arms of Longxiang Construction.

The logic goes just like that.

The jury and many in the hearing bench could understand this.

"Mr. Guan, so during that time, since you expressed no support for neither Tianma nor Longxiang, did Sun Mou’s attitude towards you change?"

"Now that you mention it, indeed, during that time, Sun Mou didn’t even come around to collect the ground rent, and his attitude towards me improved significantly compared to the usual days."

"Yeah, because his backer, Tianma Real Estate, was obviously looking to acquire your grocery store. How could he possibly make a decision that goes against his financial backer’s wishes?"

Zhang Wei said, summarizing to the jury, "Therefore, in conclusion, my client couldn’t have killed Sun Mou, since there was no conflict of interest between them. If my client had sided with Longxiang, then they might have had a falling out, but as my client remained unaligned, Sun Mou and his backer, Tianma Real Estate, would be trying to win him over every day, rather than offending him."

"Here’s a summary: it’s not possible for my client to have had a conflict with them; in fact, Tianma Real Estate and Sun Mou would have been compelled to win over my client."

Many among the jury looked thoughtful, clearly feeling that Zhang Wei made some sense.

"Then why did Sun Mou end up dead, and why were the defendant’s fingerprints found on the murder weapon?"

It was at that moment, Xiao Zou from the prosecution’s bench suddenly stood up and spoke.

Nobody had expected Xiao Zou, a member of the prosecution, to interrupt Zhang Wei.

"Sorry for talking to myself. However, as a prosecutor, I am also curious as to why Sun Mou’s death seems to be greatly related to the defendant?"

The moment Xiao Zou spoke, he targeted Mr. Guan directly.

To say he had no personal agenda would be quite unlikely.

Otherwise, a normal statement from the prosecution would have been to raise an objection, rather than launch a surprise attack like he did.

"Prosecutor Zou, you..."

Zhang Wei made a face of "incomprehension," his expression full of shock.

It was as if he had been stabbed in the back by a good friend, completely dumbfounded, with his eyes wide open, his mouth slightly agape, about to speak but stopping himself.

This posture was witnessed by Zhao Xiaoxiao, Xia Qianyue, Mo Yuzhu, and Jessica, who were seated in the defendant’s area; thereafter, the four women exchanged glances and all smiled.

Zhang Wei, to actually have the spare energy to perform in the courtroom, how composed and confident he was.

"Damn, this kid’s acting skills are just too awesome!"

Old Tie next to him was amazed.

Prosecutor Zou only interrupted for a second, did you really need to overreact like that, each move and each look an over-the-top performance!

"Lawyer Zhang, please don’t look so surprised," Xiao Zou said, waving his hand, and then explained himself.

After raising the question, he sat down.

However, the question was also thrown to Guan Yuhong and Zhang Wei.

Why do you both insist that Sun Mou’s death should have nothing to do with Guan Yuhong, because there was no necessity for hostility at that time, but in the end, Sun Mou’s death seems to be closely related to Guan Yuhong?

Zhang Wei looked at Xiao Zou with disbelief in his eyes, astonishment written all over his face.

But soon, he lowered his head and took several deep breaths to calm his emotions.

"Actually, I do have an explanation!"

After regaining his composure, he finally recovered from "Xiao Zou’s betrayal."

"Oh, what explanation?" Xiao Zou hurriedly asked.

Zhang Wei pointed to the center of the witness stand and then postulated, word by word, "That is, Longxiang Construction plans to frame and pin the blame on my client!"

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone’s eyes turned to You Dalei.

The latter was also surprised and seeing the attention of the entire court directed at him, he frowned and looked at Zhang Wei on the stand.

President You’s gaze seemed to be questioning, you had every chance to explain things properly, why drag me into this?

"Please recall what my client explained, he didn’t side with Tianma or Longxiang at first. So theoretically, both Tianma and Longxiang should be trying to win him over, right?"

The jury and the people in the hearing seats nodded their heads.

"But what if my client made it clear to both parties that his grocery store wasn’t going to move, what then?"

The question made many in the jury and the hearing seats look at each other in confusion.

Yes, if there was a clear refusal, what would the outcome be?

"Tianma Real Estate chose to continue to woo my client because they were at a disadvantage in their competition with Longxiang Construction. If they acquired too few shops, then Longxiang would have the upper hand in subsequent land development, so they had to keep wooing the merchants and couldn’t afford to do anything too drastic."

"But what about Longxiang Construction? They had the clear upper hand, even to the extent that Tianma Real Estate wasn’t even a threat in their eyes. Because, frankly speaking, in property development, whomever can pay the most money will get more land, nothing more than that."

"For Longxiang Construction, acquiring the convenience store was a done deal. For those undecided merchants, they just needed to offer more money to complete the acquisition, so a company like Tianma Real Estate that couldn’t offer more was no competition at all."

"So what’s the biggest obstacle to the acquisition plan? Could it be those who clearly refuse to move and reject the acquisition?"

Zhang Wei said, looking towards Guan Yuhong.

"My client is exactly that kind of troublesome person because he clearly rejected both Longxiang Construction and Tianma Real Estate, stating he wouldn’t move. So he became the biggest obstacle to Longxiang’s land acquisition, and it can even be said that as long as my client continues to operate in the grocery store, Longxiang can’t complete the land development and start making money!"

"Therefore, in the face of huge interests, I believe that it’s not impossible that Longxiang Construction took a desperate action, right?"

"Lawyer Zhang, what do you mean by this?"

Xiao Zou immediately stood up and asked.

"It’s simple. Longxiang Construction hired an assassin named Lin Berte to take out Sun Mou and pin the murder on my client, Mr. Guan, to achieve a two-pronged plan!"

"As long as Sun Mou died, his gang and Tianma Real Estate would understand that this is the fate of anyone who stands in the way of Longxiang’s acquisition plan. And pinning Sun Mou’s death on Mr. Guan also directly removes the thorn from their side, the obstacle to their real estate development plan, a real two birds with one stone scenario!"

Threatening, warning, and removing a clear obstacle, these are the benefits that Sun Mou’s death and the framing of Guan Yuhong bring.

Sun Mou died, and Tianma Real Estate knew when to back off.

Guan Yuhong was found guilty, and naturally, the grocery store could no longer operate, so he was no longer an obstacle and couldn’t prevent the acquisition plan by Longxiang Construction.

This was indeed a case of killing two birds with one stone!

Sun Mou’s death was nothing but beneficial to Longxiang Construction!

After understanding the advantages of this plan, many people in the jury and the audience couldn’t help but nod their heads.

What a good plan this was!

The person who came up with this plan must be very clever.

However, their attitude toward human life, as if it was worthless, was quite infuriating.

Sun Mou’s death became a tool to warn competitors, and Guan Yuhong was also unjustly imprisoned; effectively, for the sake of profit, two families were sacrificed.

All eyes in the courtroom once again focused on You Dalei.

Twelve years ago, the only ones who could execute this plan and had the motive were none other than you at Longxiang Construction.

For the sake of that land development, you really did stop at nothing, even committing murder and framing someone for it!

Feeling the doubtful gaze of everyone around him, You Dalei’s face turned very ugly.

Likewise, Chen Xiao’s face was also quite unsightly.

So she turned her gaze to the prosecutor’s bench, looking at Xiao Zou.

Come on, you’re the prosecutor; hurry up and take action, think of something!

"Objection, these are all just the defense’s speculation, based on subjective imagination, with no evidence to support it!" said Xiao Zou, fulfilling his role "responsibly" as a prosecutor by standing up to interrupt and raise doubts.

While speaking, he also looked towards Zhang Wei and Guan Yuhong, "Though your exchange was compelling, I have to say, these deductions of yours are entirely one-sided, and the truth is definitely otherwise!"

Judge Bao thought for a moment and likewise asked, "Lawyer Zhang, what you’ve told us sounds like a good story, but do you have any evidence to back it up?"

"The only ones who could prove this are two people; the first is the hitman Lin Berte, who is now dead. The second is none other than President You, as he’s the direct beneficiary!" Zhang Wei said, raising his hand to point at You Dalei in the middle of the audience, who definitely had to be in the know.

"Lawyer Zhang, are you suggesting that President You might have hired a hitman?" asked Judge Bao.

"Yes, Prosecutor Zou!" Zhang Wei affirmed.

"Ridiculous, do you think just by telling a story, you can slander a good person?" retorted Xiao Zou in a very firm tone.

"Prosecutor Zou, why would you..." Zhang Wei started.

"It is my duty as a prosecutor not to let any criminal go unpunished, but also not to wrongfully accuse anyone who is innocent!" Xiao Zou declared, seemingly oblivious to Zhang Wei’s puzzled look, saying righteously, "Clearly, you’re so eager to exonerate the defendant that you’d drag a respectable businessman down with him. I’m truly disappointed in you, Lawyer Zhang..."

As Xiao Zou spoke, he shook his head in apparent disappointment at Zhang Wei’s performance.

And his demeanor left many in the jury and those at the hearing exchanging glances, puzzled as to why this prosecutor was so supportive of You Dalei.

Could it be that these were all just defamatory allegations made by the defense?

But the story they told just now seemed so plausible, didn’t it?

Because of the prosecution’s support, many in the jury and audience began to slightly change their attitude.

Was You Dalei really innocent since he was supported by the prosecution?

That was something uncertain to say.

Zhang Wei, too, now finally "realized" Xiao Zou’s betrayal.

The shock on his face transformed into incomprehension, turning into questioning of Xiao Zou, this "good comrade."