Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 598 - 591 Guan Ping Goes to Court, A Battle of Wits

Chapter 598: Chapter 591 Guan Ping Goes to Court, A Battle of Wits

Xiao Zou betrayed me?

Zhang Wei "never expected it," but he had already come to this realization when the other party started speaking for You Dalei.

If he couldn’t see through the betrayal after such assistance, wouldn’t that make him a fool?

Thus, after experiencing an emotional "earthquake," Zhang Wei’s expression finally shifted from one of shock to the calm he now displayed.

But it was clear to everyone that beneath this calmness was a depth of brooding despair, like a vast and endless ocean.

"Oh, can’t accept my betrayal?"

Detecting the thick hatred in Zhang Wei’s gaze, Xiao Zou’s mouth also revealed a cold sneer.

Humph~

What does it matter if you’ve noticed? You, Zhang Wei, are undoubtedly destined to lose today!

"Judge Bao, please make your decision!"

After tearing off the pretense, Xiao Zou then looked towards the judge’s bench.

"After consideration, the court finds Lawyer Zhang’s assertions unsupported by any concrete evidence, thus the prosecution’s objection is valid."

After careful thought, Judge Bao decided to side with the prosecution.

Zhang Wei gritted his teeth, seemingly enraged at the disruption of his plan.

"Lawyer Zhang, do you wish to continue with your questioning?"

Following his explanation, Judge Bao looked towards Zhang Wei again.

Although you were stabbed in the back by Xiao Zou, I cannot say much, for I am a judge after all.

I only know that, as a judge, I am not to consider the positions of both the prosecution and defense.

Of course, if you go too far, I, as a judge duty-bound to impartiality, will still remind you.

Now, Zhang Wei, use any strategies you have left at your disposal.

"I have one last question for Mr. Guan!"

Zhang Wei approached Guan Yuhong and asked with utmost solemnity, "Mr. Guan, you would never kill someone, at any time, right?"

Confronted with this question, Guan Yuhong remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "In fact, I have been pondering this question for 12 years."

"I would never kill anyone, nor would I commit any illegal or criminal act. I have been studying law in prison precisely to remind myself that people need to respect the law, to respect the rules."

"I know that over these 12 years, I have failed to be a good father, to fulfill my responsibilities, to fulfill my duties. To my son Guan Ping, I owe a great deal."

"But I can tell everyone here loudly that I, Guan Yuhong, have never thought of killing anyone, because I am a father, and I too have a son, so I could never harm another father!"

As he spoke, tears formed in the corners of Guan Yuhong’s eyes, revealing his genuine emotions.

Guan Ping, sitting in the hearing area, also shed tears of agitation and affection under the heartfelt speech of his father.

For this case, they, father and son, had sacrificed far too much...

And this authentic display by the two not only moved many in the courtroom.

In the hearing area, several people’s eyes reddened, as if they were truly about to cry.

Even in the juror’s box, some subconsciously took deep breaths, evidently adjusting their emotions to prevent themselves from crying out.

"Judge Bao, regarding my client, I have no further questions!"

Seeing this, Zhang Wei could only conclude his questioning and then slowly returned to the defense bench.

This sight caused many observers to perceive Zhang Wei’s departure as somewhat desolate.

"Humph, out of tricks!"

In the middle of the hearing area, Chen Xiao, as an excellent lawyer, naturally saw that Zhang Wei had run out of options.

In court, if a lawyer prompts their client to make emotional statements in an attempt to influence the jury, it indicates that the opposition has no more strategies to employ.

If you possess strong evidence, why would you need to resort to such tactics? Simply presenting a game-changing piece of evidence would suffice.

Playing on emotions is a tactic of last resort. Of course, sometimes this move can be quite effective.

But only sometimes.

So, in Chen Xiao’s view, Zhang Wei was out of options.

She nodded at Xiao Zou; both of them smiled slightly, knowing what was in their minds.

"Prosecution, it’s your turn."

At Judge Bao’s prompt, Xiao Zou straightened his attire and then walked to the witness stand.

"Defendant Guan Yuhong, I want to ask you, the person who killed Sun Mou, was it you?"

As soon as Xiao Zou entered the court, he directly leveled an accusation at Guan Yuhong.

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei had hardly warmed his seat when he immediately stood up to interrupt.

"Xiao Zou, what do you mean by this?"

Judge Bao’s eyebrows raised slightly on the bench, his tone somewhat displeased.

So I had just supported you a moment ago, and now you’re giving me attitude?

As a prosecutor, are you sentencing the defendant with your very first sentence in cross-examination?

What exactly is your intention? I, Bao, am quite curious to know.

"Sorry, Judge Bao. As a newcomer, this is my first time in court conducting a cross-examination. I got a bit too excited!"

Xiao Zou quickly apologized, his attitude sincere.

"That’s it?"

Judge Bao thought to himself, you come at me with a knife from the get-go, and now you offer this half-hearted explanation.

For a courtroom newcomer to say something like this upon arriving because they got too excited?

Who do you think you’re fooling?

Aren’t newbies in court usually so scared that their legs are weak and their speech is stuttering?

Your opening line just now was full of confidence!

"Prosecution, be mindful next time... no, I should say, let this not happen again!"

However, Judge Bao felt helpless and could only issue a warning.

Xiao Zou nodded in thanks, then asked Guan Yuhong again, "Defendant, you’ve just claimed you are innocent, but whether it’s the evidence on the murder weapon or the testimonies of the eyewitnesses from 12 years ago, all are highly unfavorable to you!"

Facing Xiao Zou, Guan Yuhong calmly replied, "The murder weapon is that umbrella, the parts inside were bought from my shop by the killer, it’s normal for my fingerprints to be on it."

"As for the testimony of the eyewitnesses, they received money from Longxiang Construction 12 years ago. Helping them speak is quite normal, right?"

Seeing this, Xiao Zou interrupted with a cold laugh, "Are you suggesting that normal business transactions between Longxiang Construction and the vendors in the convenience store could make the eyewitnesses say untrue things? Are you calling into question other people’s character?"

"Objection, the prosecution is overinterpreting and extending my client’s words without meaning!"

Zhang Wei immediately stood up, interrupting Xiao Zou and looked towards the bench.

"Hmm, Lawyer Zhang makes a good point. The objection is sustained!"

Judge Bao said, glancing at Xiao Zou with a hint of warning in his eyes.

Xiao Zou frowned. He had clearly forgotten that even in a disadvantage, Zhang Wei was still an excellent lawyer.

One of Zhang Wei’s most renowned abilities was his capacity to adapt on the spot, which is why he never found himself at a significant disadvantage against any opponent in court.

Xiao Zou’s move was clearly not going to take Zhang Wei down with a single strike, and it even gave Zhang Wei various opportunities to counterattack.

One strike did not succeed, but Xiao Zou was not annoyed.

After all, the advantage was his. Zhang Wei wouldn’t be able to stir up much trouble.

"Defendant, your explanation about the fingerprints on the murder weapon, that the killer assembled it after buying parts from your store, I find it far too perfunctory."

"Even if there really was a killer who assembled a weapon using parts bought from your store and then went on to kill Sun Mou, but now we come to the problem..."

Xiao Zou spread his hands, questioning, "Where is the killer?"

"The killer is Lin Berte!"

"You mean a dead person?"

Upon hearing Guan Yuhong’s response, Xiao Zou showed a cold smirk.

He approached the jury, speaking icily, "Lin Berte is already dead. I think it is exceedingly despicable of the defense to push all the blame onto a dead person."

"Oh, wait, this isn’t the first time they’ve done this. They also depicted Victim Sun Mou as a villainous gang member, a scheming scoundrel, and now they are tarnishing another dead person, attempting to shift the blame for murder onto someone who cannot speak. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, does it?"

After hearing this, a few jurors indeed appeared pensive.

Although they had heard before that Victim Sun Mou’s reputation was not that good, could it also be possible that the defense was slandering him?

Since Sun Mou was already dead, they had no way of knowing what he had done in life.

Similarly, Lin Berte was also dead and couldn’t come back to life to defend himself.

So, for the defense to discredit Lin Berte, there were plenty of ways to go about it.

So, it could be argued that Sun Mou and Lin Berte became the focus of the defense’s attacks only after their deaths.

"Objection, subjective speculation!"

Zhang Wei naturally objected to Xiao Zou’s words.

If he didn’t object, the jury and the audience could be misled by Xiao Zou.

"I apologize, Judge Bao, I retract my last statement and conclude my cross-examination."

Xiao Zou ended his questioning directly and gave Zhang Wei a cold smile.

He had to cross-examine Guan Yuhong. In fact, reducing the frequency of Guan Yuhong’s speech was actually beneficial to his side.

Guan Yuhong had been well-behaved in prison. In the past 12 years, he hardly made any mistakes, so Xiao Zou couldn’t criticize Guan Yuhong’s prison conduct.

Moreover, Xiao Zou knew that Guan Yuhong had endured for 12 years, just to vindicate himself in court. It was time to let the opponent step down, to avoid him playing the sympathy card and influencing the jury.

Guan Yuhong glanced at Xiao Zou, then turned to look at Zhang Wei, as if he still had a lot to say.

But Xiao Zou didn’t give him the chance.

Guan Yuhong could only stand up and return to the defense’s bench, under Judge Bao’s indicating gaze.

Judge Bao looked towards Zhang Wei again.

"We call the witness Guan Ping to the stand to testify!"

This time, Zhang Wei directly called Guan Yuhong’s son, Guan Ping, to testify in court.

Guan Ping nodded solemnly to Guan Yuhong and sat in the witness seat at Zhang Wei’s gesture.

"Young Guan, hello."

"Hello, Lawyer Zhang!"

After a brief greeting, Zhang Wei began his questioning.

"Young Guan, do you know Lin Berte?"

"He was my neighbor, and I actually knew a little about him. I know his background seems quite complicated."

"Oh, how so?"

"It is said that he was involved in some gray and even black industries, in any case, all bad things. I also heard that he was a professional ’Cleaner’. As long as people paid him, he’d do anything!"

"Do you have evidence to prove what you say?"

"I once saw him start a fight in a bar. He slit a man’s throat with a dagger, nearly killing him. And after Lin Berte slit that man’s throat, he bent down and said to him, ’You brought this on yourself’."

"Are you saying, you witnessed a scene where Lin Berte ’did a job’, right?"

"Yes."

Guan Ping nodded solemnly, then looked at the jury and the audience. Unfortunately, although they were all looking at him, they didn’t seem to care much about his testimony.

"Then, do you know Lin Berte is dead?"

"Of course I know!"

Guan Ping said, closing his eyes and recalling, "In fact, I knew before the investigative team because he was my neighbor. Our apartments were both on the 4th floor. I could see everything that happened in his rental place first-hand. That day I just happened to see it."

"That day, it seemed like a guest came to Lin Berte’s home. They appeared to know each other and even sat down and talked for a while. Just as Lin Berte turned his back, the person suddenly attacked him."

Zhang Wei quickly raised his hand to interrupt, "According to the investigative team’s forensic report, Lin Berte died from a cyanide injection. Did you see that person...?"

"Yes, I saw that person took out a syringe after Lin Berte passed out!"

"So, you’re saying someone murdered Lin Berte to silence him?"

"Yes, it must be so because Lin Berte was the real murderer who killed Sun Mou back then, and he was definitely silenced by someone from Longxiang Construction!"

Guan Ping said this glaring angrily at the seat in the middle of the audience, looking at You Dalei.

"Thank you for your answer, Young Guan. My questioning is over."

Zhang Wei and Judge Bao nodded to each other, concluding the questioning.

Xiao Zou smirked coldly, calmly standing up.

"Guan Ping, do you know that the prosecution, right from the start, has been investigating the cause of Lin Berte’s death and found you to have the greatest suspicion of committing the crime?"

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but interrupt at Xiao Zou’s first sentence.

"Judge Bao, the prosecution already withdrew the murder charges against Guan Ping. Prosecutor Zhu also made a promise not to press murder charges against Guan Ping again. Why is the prosecution going back on its word now?"

"Judge Bao, the promise made by Prosecutor Zhu Yuansi has nothing to do with me, right?"

Xiao Zou was direct in his approach, directly countering Zhang Wei.

"I am the one in charge of the case now. What does Zhu Yuansi’s words have to do with me, Xiao Zou?"

Zhang Wei had never expected that Xiao Zou would truly be so shameless.

You’re Zhu Yuansi’s lackey, and yet you choose to ignore your boss’s words just like that?

"In fact, given Guan Ping’s statement just now, which contradicts his testimony at the hearing, the prosecution has decided to reopen the case investigation into Guan Ping’s murder suspicion!"

Ignoring Zhang Wei, Xiao Zou spoke directly to the jury, "At the previous hearing, Guan Ping said he knew nothing about Lin Berte’s death, but now he tells the court that he saw the moment Lin Berte died. Clearly, there are contradictions in the testimony. Therefore, the prosecution will reopen the investigation into Lin Berte’s death based on this point, and will list Guan Ping as the primary suspect!"

This statement made the jury and the attendees at the hearing all look at each other in confusion before they turned to look at Xiao Zou with surprise, and then at Guan Ping, who was on the witness stand.

There was actually such a thing going on.

"Oh, right. We’ll discuss the investigation later. Let’s get back to the case," Xiao Zou said.

Xiao Zou said and walked up to Guan Ping, "Witness, you lied at the previous hearing, didn’t you?"

"Objection, the question is irrelevant to the case!"

"Judge Bao, whether a witness has lied can prove their character!"

Xiao Zou sneered coldly, looking towards the bench.

"The defense objects again, the witness has the right to refuse to answer any questions related to the investigation that has been dismissed,"

But Zhang Wei was not willing to show weakness; after all, the investigation had ended, and the prosecution had been rejected by Zhu Yuansi, so what if we refuse to answer.

"This..."

Faced with the two conflicting parties, Judge Bao was in a difficult position.

"Judge Bao, the defense wants to clarify that the previous investigation has been dismissed by the responsible prosecutor, and Guan Ping has been cleared of suspicion. As for today’s testimony, there actually isn’t a contradiction," Zhang Wei remarked, reminding everyone, "The witness Guan Ping said that he saw Lin Berte talking to someone. He doesn’t know who that person was. Whether the attacker used a syringe on Lin Berte, causing Lin Berte’s death when he was not paying attention, is yet unknown."

"Likewise, Guan Ping did not see whether Lin Berte truly died. He is also unclear whether Lin Berte’s heart stopped beating. He simply recounted what he saw in court, which does not contradict the testimony given during the first investigation!"

With Zhang Wei’s explanation, the jury and the hearing attendees exchanged looks. Is this considered an explanation?

"That’s right. I didn’t know Lin Berte was already dead, so I thought about going over to check, which is to say it happened to be on the way, and I thought I might as well take a look, and then the investigative department people arrived, and after that, you all know what happened."

Guan Ping was cooperative, echoing whatever Zhang Wei said.

This made Xiao Zou frown. You’re spouting nonsense again.

The divine didn’t witness Lin Berte’s death, wasn’t clear whether Lin Berte’s heart had stopped.

As for whether his heart stopped or not, who could tell?

"So, you’re saying that the witness only saw someone appearing to attack Lin Berte, but did not witness the moment of Lin Berte’s death?"

"You could say that!"

Seeing Xiao Zou’s question, Zhang Wei directly answered.

Xiao Zou frowned but found it hard to refute Zhang Wei’s words.

He could only look at Guan Ping again, pressing, "If according to your statement, there indeed exists the possibility that Lin Berte was silenced!"

"But there’s another point I hope everyone considers, and that is that all of this could be a farce directed and acted by you, Guan Ping!"

Xiao Zou said, raising his hand to point at the defense bench.

"The defendant Guan Yuhong is your father, and you, as his son, fabricating evidence to frame the victim Lin Berte for a murder 12 years ago, isn’t that also a possibility?"

"Moreover, the murder weapon that killed Lin Berte, the black umbrella contaminated with cyanide, clearly had your fingerprints on it. Yet you claim you’re not the murderer?"

"Objection!"

Facing Xiao Zou’s questioning, Zhang Wei objected once more.

"That case has already been dismissed, and the evidence obviously has dubious origins; someone is framing the witness!"

"Then why couldn’t it be that the witness is framing himself to set up the prosecution, thereby exonerating himself?"

Faced with Zhang Wei’s questioning, Xiao Zou directly employed the tactic of infinite recursive scenarios.

That made Zhang Wei exclaim in admiration.

This move is usually used by me on others, are you stealing my techniques?

Framing oneself to set up the prosecution, huh?

Zhang Wei had to admire Xiao Zou’s imagination, serving under Zhu Yuansi is really a waste of your talent.