Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 661 - 653: A Helpless Xiao Baihe, Vying for a Painting?

Chapter 661: Chapter 653: A Helpless Xiao Baihe, Vying for a Painting?

Zhang Dihu had left.

He left and would never return in this lifetime.

After dealing with Zhang Dihu’s affairs, the King looked at the now empty reception hall and suddenly laughed.

"What time is the trial tomorrow?"

"Your Majesty the King, it’s at 9:30 a.m. at the Dongfang Capital City Court’s civil courtroom, in courtroom number 2."

"Got it!"

Once he received the answer, the King waved his hand and everyone quietly left.

They knew the King was already preparing for tomorrow’s business and could not be disturbed today.

"How nostalgic, the Dongfang Capital City Court’s civil courtroom. I wonder what expression they’ll have when they see me?"

The King said this with a laugh, seemingly very happy.

Elsewhere.

City council office.

At this time, Zhang Tianlong was still working overtime in the city council.

Of course, the reason for his recent overtime was naturally due to some matters he couldn’t do during work hours and had to take care of when undisturbed (working overtime).

"Mr. Zhang, I’m in a critical situation here, I keep feeling as if someone’s out to get me!"

"Since the beginning of the year, my ships and men have been constantly plundered, and now my crew has shrunk to less than a third of its original number!"

"Mr. Zhang, I need to request the assistance you promised me. Please provide me with some money so I can recruit more soldiers and prepare enough weapons. I want to go to war against those who are trying to take me down!"

Hearing the voice on the other end of the line, Zhang Tianlong couldn’t help but sigh.

"Captain Bashalo, I understand your situation, but we already agreed on the amount to be wired each month. You asking for more money unilaterally is somewhat unreasonable!"

"Mr. Zhang, I can feel it. The people coming for me this time are definitely not ordinary. You..."

Click!

The call was cut off.

Zhang Tianlong looked at the encrypted phone in his hand and couldn’t help but rub his head.

"Even a pirate getting plundered, you, Bashalo, are the king of pirates in that area. Could it be that the one plundering you is called Wang Lufei?"

"Moreover, now that you, Bashalo, are short on men, it looks like I need to find new allies. Once you lose power, this partnership is likely coming to an end!"

As Zhang Tianlong spoke, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Collaborating with Bashalo was indeed mutually beneficial.

But what was Bashalo’s identity? He was a pirate, engaged in plundering and pirating, an insatiable wolf.

Why did he forsake Duanmu Heizu back in the day and choose to side with Zhang Tianlong? Wasn’t it because of the different amounts of money offered?

On one hand was a one-time deal worth ten billion, after which he still had to run away. On the other hand was a steady business that could make several billion each month—a fool would know which to choose.

But now, Bashalo’s appetite was growing, and there were more and more problems with the shipping routes he escorted.

"Bashalo has started to slack off!"

Zhang Tianlong sighed. "As expected, keeping company with pirates is always a last resort."

Thinking this way, he began to contemplate whom to replace Bashalo with if he became unreliable.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling!

Right at that moment, the phone on his desk rang.

"Who is it?"

"Councilor Head Zhang, something terrible has happened—Lord Tiger has been captured!"

Hearing the message from the other end of the line, Zhang Tianlong was beside himself with concern.

"What’s the situation?"

"All I know is that Lord Tiger is about to be sent to the international court. He’s committed three serious crimes this time, each one carrying a sentence that would mean rotting in jail. All three charges together..."

"I understand!"

After hanging up the call, Zhang Tianlong’s brows were deeply furrowed.

Zhang Dihu had been captured and was about to be directly sent to the international court. This was truly... a difficult situation!

"""

Zhang Tianlong, although a top figure in Dragon Country and even more so in Dongfang Capital where his word was law, found that his influence didn’t reach far beyond that...

One knows their own affairs best; outside of his domain, he could only say his reach was like trying to strike with a whip that’s too short.

"It seems I need to go and pay respects to father!"

Having no other choice, Zhang Tianlong glanced at the time, then dialed a number he wasn’t too fond of.

"Arrange it for me, I need to see the old man!"

...

The next day, morning.

The sun shone brightly, and the sky was blue with white clouds.

It was the perfect weather for going to court.

At least, that’s what Xiao Baihe thought.

She sat in her spartan office, munching on a steamed bun while sorting through documents. After taking a few deep breaths, she finally got her things together.

"Hello, Mr. Bao? Have you gotten up... what, you haven’t woken up yet, I your mom..."

Suppressing her impulse to curse, Xiao Baihe convinced herself that she needed to communicate with clients calmly and even-temperedly.

After all, she was no longer the prosecutor she used to be.

"Mr. Bao, though I’d love to criticize your sleeping habits, please be aware that today is the trial date for a dispute over the ownership of a valuable painting worth 20 million! I’d like you to get out of bed, freshen yourself up, put on a clean, tidy suit, tie your tie, and then..."

"I know, I know..."

Her client on the other end of the line responded perfunctorily and then hung up abruptly.

"...and then get your ass to the civil court at the city court, I @￥#&*#￥%...!!!!!!!"

The rest of Xiao Baihe’s sentence was only muttered through clenched teeth to herself.

"Damn it’s so fucking frustrating, why do I have to put up with this crap as a defense attorney? If I hadn’t resigned back then, I..."

When she was a prosecutor, she never had to put up with such nonsense. Back then, she was the one raising her voice at suspects.

Little did she expect that after becoming a defense attorney, not only could she not raise her voice at others, but she also had to occasionally lower her stance and cajole clients.

It just goes to show, everything is a double-edged sword.

At Procuratorate Headquarters, although she wasn’t free and the pressure was high, at least she could speak loudly in court and when meeting suspects.

But after becoming a defense attorney, even though there wasn’t work pressure or restrictions, she had to serve her clients head to foot and even play the role of a full-time nanny.

"How did he manage to be such a powerful defense attorney back then, making clients not dare to disagree when he said something..."

Xiao Baihe seemed to remember someone and a trace of sadness flickered across her eyes.

That person had become a thing of the past, a memory from a Chapter in her life.

But this Chapter still occasionally played back in Xiao Baihe’s mind.

Ding-a-ling!

Interrupting her reverie was the alarm on her phone.

"Fuck, it’s time for court!"

Xiao Baihe: 凸(艹皿艹)

Xiao Baihe rushed out of her office frantically and headed for the nearest subway station.

On workdays, especially in the downtown area, never try to hail a taxi when you’re in a hurry, because you can never be sure if traffic will suddenly become gridlocked on some street.

Compared to the uncertainty of taxis, Xiao Baihe trusted the subway, a lesson learned through blood and tears.

Finally, with just 10 minutes before the hearing began, she arrived at the entrance of the city court.

"Hello, Mr. Bao? Where are you? I’m already at the entrance of the city court, you... what, you still haven’t gotten up, I @#%%&...~&*!!!!!!!!!"

Finally unable to hold back, Xiao Baihe cursed out loud on the spot.

At last, with a threat of "I’ll kick your ass so hard with my shoe if you don’t get here in 10 minutes," she managed to hang up the phone.

Of course, she still forced herself to calm down.

She even glanced at her phone—one more outburst and it might have become intimately acquainted with the ground.

Phone: WDNMD!

minutes later.

In Ni Qiuping’s office.

"""

"Um, Judge Ni, my client felt a bit unwell this morning, so may I kindly request your approval to start the court session 15 minutes late?"

Xiao Baihe was bowing her head at the moment, asking in as polite a manner as possible, or rather, in an almost servile manner.

"Lawyer Bai, what do you think?"

Ni Qiuping coldly faced the opponent’s representative lawyer.

"Judge Ni, the court session time was notified two days ago, I believe being punctual and on time for court is the duty of every citizen of Dongfang Capital City, isn’t it?"

Bai Meiqi glanced at Xiao Baihe, then calmly replied.

"Xiao Baihe, this isn’t the first time you’ve delayed us, is it? Do you know how much trouble it causes the court when you apply for a trial postponement five minutes before the session is due to start?"

"The time you are wasting is not just mine, but also that of the six jurors in the courtroom, the plaintiff’s side, my clerk, the court guard, and those in the... hearing booth..."

Bla bla bla—Xiao Baihe’s ears were practically developing calluses listening, but she couldn’t show displeasure; she had to maintain an attitude of earnest learning.

In her heart, however, she had already cursed her client’s ancestors up to eighteen generations.

"Discounting the two minutes we’ve been talking, I’ll only grant you an extra eight minutes!"

In the end, Ni Qiuping decided to be lenient and gave Xiao Baihe a chance.

Although she could hardly remember how many chances she had given the other party over the past two years.

"Thank you, Judge Ni, thank you very much!"

Xiao Baihe hastily expressed her gratitude and then took out her phone to make an urgent series of calls.

Finally, her client arrived, almost 10 minutes late.

However, his attire was somewhat casual (he was wearing cotton pajamas).

"Mr. Bao, why aren’t you dressed formally?"

"It’s because of you, asking me to come early. Where did I have time to dress properly!"

The client even had the nerve to point at Xiao Baihe and complain.

"But I told you two days ago that today’s session starts at 9:30, didn’t I?"

"Ah, I thought it was 10:30!"

After saying so, the client pointed at Xiao Baihe again and said, "Why didn’t you remind me yesterday? Then how could I be late?"

"I sent you a text message yesterday!"

"Oh, my phone was out of battery. I only remembered to charge it this morning!"

"I @#￥..."

Although Xiao Baihe was cursing inside, she remained courteous on the outside.

Under the scrutiny of the jury and the hearing booth, she led her pajama-clad client to the stand.

Ni Qiuping gave Xiao Baihe and her client a strange look but shook her head and didn’t say much more.

She just sighed to herself; the once ace prosecutor of the Procuratorate Headquarters had really fallen low.

"Ahem, since both parties, plaintiff, and defendant, are now present, the court hereby announces that the civil lawsuit concerning the inheritance dispute after the death of Mr. Bao’s ex-wife, Mrs. Wang, is now in session!"

After the sound of the gavel, Ni Qiuping emphasized again: "The parties have not disputed Mrs. Wang’s other assets before the court. However, there has been considerable dispute over the ownership of the painting left by Mrs. Wang. Currently, the focal point of contention between both parties centers on this painting!"

Ni Qiuping made a gesture, and a photo of a self-portrait appeared on the projection screen in the witness stand.

"As everyone can see, this is a self-portrait by Mrs. Wang made during her lifetime, entitled "Me". Both parties claimed ownership over this piece during the pre-trial, and now let’s hear their arguments!"

"Lawyer Bai, you represent the plaintiff’s side; please begin your statement!"

"Thank you, Judge Ni."

Bai Meiqi stood up as the representative and pointed at the painting shown on the projection screen.

"Mrs. Wang was a classical Renaissance painter from Dongfang Capital and also served as an instructing professor at the Dongfang Capital College of Arts. Her artwork is very famous among the upper class of Dongfang. Among her works, there are many valued at tens of millions and collected by wealthy individuals as art treasures. The point of contention this time centers on the painting "Me"."

"First, we need to be clear about the value of this painting. Since it is Mrs. Wang’s last piece, its value far exceeds any of her previous works. I’ve consulted the head of the Dongfang Capital First Auction, and he told me that if this painting were auctioned, the starting bid would reach 20 million, not to mention the premium due to its posthumous nature. Conservatively, I believe that after competitive bidding, the painting could fetch a final bid of 30 million or even 40 million!"

"Objection, hearsay evidence, no factual inference!"

As Bai Meiqi stated her case, Xiao Baihe promptly stood up to interrupt.

"In court, the disputed painting’s value is not to be measured by guesses. Mrs. Wang never intended to use this painting for commercial purposes during her life, so I believe the painting is merely a combination of oil paper and paint and is not as exaggeratedly valuable as the plaintiff suggests—it’s not worth tens of millions!"

Xiao Baihe had her reasons for doing so.

If a painting were worth tens of millions, the focus of the dispute would become about both parties fighting over money, which would be unfavorable to the defendant.

Because the defendant, Mr. Bao, represented himself, while the plaintiff, Bai Meiqi, represented a well-known art gallery.

To everyone, her client Mr. Bao was there for the painting, which inevitably made the jury suspect, feeling that he did all this for the money.

So, it’s better that the painting isn’t worth much, then the jury’s misgivings about her and her client would be much less.

"In court, my side has a different opinion!"

Faced with Xiao Baihe’s provocation, Bai Meiqi was well-prepared.

"Firstly, Mrs. Wang is widely recognized as a painter in the industry; secondly, the value of her works is traceable. My side submits records of Mrs. Wang’s exhibitions, sales, and auctions as evidence. These prove the enormous artistic value of Mrs. Wang’s paintings and that many buyers can afford them. Similarly, these bidding data also tell us that ’Me’, her final painting as part of her legacy, will be the most valuable!"

At Bai Meiqi’s signal, the assistant lawyer handed a stack of documents to Ni Qiuping, also tossing a copy to Xiao Baihe.

"Hmm, the objection is invalid; these documents can prove the immense value of ’Me’. In my view, the $20 million figure mentioned by the plaintiff is still relatively conservative, after all, a painter’s works only become valuable after their death!"

Ni Qiuping nodded her head; this time she supported the plaintiff.

Xiao Baihe reluctantly sat down, and Mr. Bao next to her slumped even more, a clear look of annoyance on his face.

Seeing this, Bai Meiqi pursued her advantage and pointed at the defendant, "It’s precisely because of the painting’s huge value that Mr. Bao repeatedly entangled with the gallery I represent, trying to claim ’Me,’ which Mrs. Wang gifted to our gallery, for himself. Such an act is no different than that of a robber!"

"Now everyone should be clear, Mr. Bao keeps saying the painting is a gift from his wife before her death, a memento for himself, but in reality, it’s all about money, about this asset worth millions that he has been pestering us for!"

"It’s for this reason that our gallery had to initiate a lawsuit on the issue of the ownership of Mrs. Wang’s painting ’Me’, filing a civil suit against Mr. Bao, to resolve his endless threats and warnings towards the gallery over the recent period, including many unreasonable demands!"

Under Bai Meiqi’s explanation, the image of defendant Mr. Bao as greedy to the point of profiting from the dead instantly engendered deep disgust within the jury.

Your wife has died; don’t you have any remembrance for her, but only care about her painting, worth at least $20 million? What exactly are your intentions?

To me, it seems you’ve completely fallen for the money!

It must be said, although Bai Meiqi’s tactics were old school, they were practical.

Associating everything with money, any motive would unconsciously appear impure in the eyes of the jury.

Especially, the image of the defendant, Mr. Bao, was that of poverty and destitution. At this moment, he had a chance at an asset worth $20 million within reach; would he give it up?

"Lawyer Xiao Baihe, look at them; think of something quick!"

The defendant also sensed something amiss and pointed at the jury at once.

"Please, I’m not a god; how could I possibly sway the jury’s thoughts?"

"But you are my lawyer, aren’t you?"

"Mr. Bao, apart from me, who was out of my mind at the time, who else in Dongfang Capital would take your case?"

Seeing his client look helplessly at her, Xiao Baihe felt frustrated as well.

This guy, really a pain in the ass!

No good, I need to pause, take a breath.

Seeing what this old chap looks like, I can’t help but want to hit someone!

At this moment, Xiao Baihe thought of that person, how they handled cases that no one else would take, but they could turn them around against all odds.

He really is incredible. I used to look down on him, but only after becoming a defense lawyer did I realize how tough this profession is.

"In court, my side calls upon our client, Ms. Mi, to testify!"

On the other hand, Bai Meiqi called her own client to the stand.

"Ms. Mi, could you please tell us about your relationship with the late Mrs. Wang?"

"Mrs. Wang has always been a supporter of our gallery, and she was also a good friend of mine. Many of her works were displayed in our gallery, and even the first painting she sold was through our gallery. I still remember how joyous she was when I notified her of the sale that day!"

As Ms. Mi spoke, a smile unwittingly formed at the corners of her mouth.

"And about the painting ’Me,’ is there anything you would like to say?"

"Mrs. Wang once told me that if she didn’t have any special requests upon her death, all of her works would be donated to our gallery without compensation. If they were sold for a high price, she wanted part of the funds to go towards charity!"

"It seems that Mrs. Wang really was a very compassionate artist!"

Bai Meiqi couldn’t help but nod her head, and the jury also unconsciously showed their approval.

Clearly, they all thought that having the painting belong to the gallery was the better outcome!

"I’m doomed!"

Watching this scene unfold, Xiao Baihe felt helpless and overwhelmed with pressure!

Because Bai Meiqi cleverly linked the gallery to charity, while on her side, the defendant represented greedy individuals!

This case was unwinnable!