Chapter 14 - 10: You Seem to Need Some Rare Help

October 4th.

The investigation into the custody case for Wang Mei’s child was complete. The Lusen City Basic People’s Court took the case, placing it on a special procedural track. By their estimates, the hearing would likely be held on October 25th.

That day, the legal aid lawyer let down her bun, retied her hair into a ponytail, and prepared to handle the case with care.

Upon receiving the news from the court, Li Youcai and Liu Cui were furious. They rushed to the police station, where they happened to run into Wang Mei and Xu Hong, who were there to visit Wang Qiang.

The pair immediately grew arrogant, starting to shout like shrews screaming in the street.

Inside the police station, Liu Cui planted her hands on her hips, her face contorting with rage as she cursed:

"You ungrateful wretch! After my son was so good to you, this is how you repay him?!"

"Just you wait! Your damned father killed my son, and I’ll make him pay with his life!"

The color drained from Wang Mei’s face.

Her frail figure stood there, head bowed, as she endured being jabbed at and viciously berated.

...

October 6th.

Liu Cui and Li Youcai decided to find a lawyer to represent them in the civil suit for custody.

An advertisement led them to a boutique law firm in Lusen City. After hearing the details of the lawsuit, the firm was initially willing to take the case. However, when it came time to sign the contract...

"Money? Why do you need money?!"

In the reception room, Liu Cui shot to her feet as if she had heard something unbelievable, pointing at the lawyer and shrieking:

"That murderous bitch gets a lawyer for free, so why do we have to pay for ours?!"

"Is there any justice in this world?!"

The lawyer was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Li Youcai, who was beside her, had an idea. He said:

"How about this? We can’t write, so we won’t sign the contract."

"You go ahead and fight the case as planned. I’ll pay you after you win."

Hearing this, the lawyer could only explain helplessly, "We can’t represent you in court without a contract. It doesn’t matter if you can’t write. You can use your thumbprints..."

Li Youcai’s brow furrowed, clearly displeased.

He immediately pulled a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and tried to stuff it into the lawyer’s hand.

"Are you afraid we’re going to run off or something?!"

"This hundred yuan is a deposit. You take it. Once the case is won, I’ll definitely pay you the rest!"

The lawyer’s face turned pale as he stared at the hundred-yuan bill.

After arguing to no avail, the two of them, now furious and embarrassed, cursed out the law firm before storming off.

...

October 9th.

The police investigation into Wang Qiang’s case was complete. The prosecutor’s office would now take over.

At the same time, Wang Qiang was transferred from a holding cell to a detention center to await trial.

The prosecutor’s office would file a public indictment, and the case would be handled by the Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court.

It was expected that the prosecutor’s review period would end in about thirty days, after which the trial would begin.

And based on the information available, Wang Qiang...

...would be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison!

Upon hearing the news, Li Youcai and Liu Cui danced with joy, clapping their hands in celebration.

...

October 17th.

Wang Qiang’s application process was complete!

「A few days later.」

A staff member from the legal aid agency arrived at Jinmao Law Firm, holding a "Notice of Assignment."

After a discussion among the senior partners, they discovered... it was a notice of assignment for a specific, individual lawyer!

And the assigned lawyer was none other than an obscure young man at the firm named Xu De!

They immediately summoned Sun Hao, the leader of Xu De’s team. When he learned the details of the situation... he was ecstatic!

’A criminal case, and a major one at that!’

’If you mess up a case like this, your entire career is over.’

"Director, don’t you worry. Lawyer Xu is one of our firm’s budding Gold Medal Lawyers. He can definitely be entrusted with this great responsibility!"

Sun Hao suppressed his excitement, speaking to the director with a mix of bluster and deception.

’A budding Gold Medal Lawyer?’

The director bought it. He called Xu De in to handle the internal handover.

As for Xu De, who had been idle for more than ten days, the moment he received the notice...

A gentle smile appeared on his face.

...

...

「October 25th!」

The day of the first hearing in the custody battle between Wang Mei and the couple, Liu Cui and Li Youcai!

Two in the afternoon.

Outside the Lusen City Basic People’s Court, as the legal proceedings concluded, a shouting match erupted.

Wang Mei, her mother Xu Hong, and their lawyer had just walked out of the courthouse.

When a series of shouts assaulted their ears.

"You bitch! I gave you food and drink, what more could you be unhappy about? And now you want to take my grandson away!"

"You ungrateful slut! Nothing good will come of my grandson staying with you!"

"He’s my grandson! Why should he go to you? Just you wait! Er Niu is barely cold in his grave and you’re already acting like this. He’ll haunt you from beyond the grave!"

"..."

Looking up.

They saw Li Youcai getting up from the roadside, pointing at Wang Mei and Xu Hong’s faces and cursing up a storm.

He had lost.

The judge had only briefly reviewed the circumstances of the case and the financial situations of both parties. He hadn’t even called for a recess...

...before directly awarding custody of the child to Wang Mei!

Li Youcai and Liu Cui had nearly gone mad with rage at the verdict. They had immediately blocked the courthouse entrance to wait for the other party to come out.

"I..."

On Wang Mei’s emaciated, skeletal face, her lips trembled, but she didn’t dare say a word.

Xu Hong was furious, opening her mouth to let out cries of "Aah, aah," but sadly, she couldn’t form a single word.

"Let me tell you, as long as you’re a part of our Li family, you’ll always be a part of our Li family!"

Li Youcai said viciously, "It’s no use trying to run!"

Liu Cui, beside him, also scrambled to her feet.

Her gaze fell on the female lawyer next to Wang Mei.

Liu Cui glared, and a stream of vicious words spewed from her mouth.

"And you, you heartless bitch! Aren’t you afraid lightning will strike you dead and you’ll give birth to a son with no asshole?!"

"Dressed like such a slut, who knows how you really won this case, you cheap whore..."

It was this lawyer who had won the case for Wang Mei.

She had bright eyes and pearly teeth, with a sharp, capable air about her. Dressed in an all-black professional suit, she was quite beautiful.

The female lawyer scoffed. Without a hint of fear, she took a step forward and said directly:

"Heh, Ms. Liu."

"Are you aware of the consequences of slandering a lawyer?"

"Based on what you just said, I have every right to sue you for compensation for defamation of my character, in accordance with the law!"

Com... compensation?

The word fell.

It was as if Li Youcai had been struck by lightning. He tugged on Liu Cui’s sleeve and shot her a fierce glare.

Liu Cui didn’t dare say anything more, but she was still seething with shame and anger.

Finally, she turned back to Wang Mei, her eyes wide as she spat out a threat through clenched teeth.

"Hiring a lawyer? Anyone can hire a lawyer!"

"You want to steal my grandson?!"

"Just you wait! Your deadbeat father is still in the detention center, right? Just watch and see if I don’t make him pay with his life!"

Hearing this, Wang Mei panicked. This was the very reason she had been swallowing her anger and staying silent.

True, she had been abducted; she was the victim.

But Wang Qiang had killed Li Erniu, and it was considered an "unprovoked attack." According to the law, the maximum penalty was death!

They were the victim’s family. They had every right to demand he be held accountable.

"No... please don’t..."

Wang Mei’s breathing grew ragged, her mind a complete blank.

"You worthless slut! Go sell your body to buy your dad a nice coffin!"

Liu Cui spat out the curse.

The next second, she and Li Youcai turned and stormed away, clearly off to find a lawyer of their own.

Seeing this, Wang Mei collapsed bonelessly to the ground.

After a long moment, she felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Why is this happening... why..."

Her collapsing emotions were like a burst dam, instantly overwhelming her spirit.

Wang Mei mumbled to herself, her face streaked with tears. She had never felt so helpless.

’I have a child.’

’My child was born of rape, but he’s still young. He hasn’t been corrupted. He would sneak food to me, bring me water, and even try to secretly let me go. He would cry his eyes out whenever he saw me being beaten.’

’I don’t want to give up my child...’

’But on the other hand, there’s my father, Wang Qiang...’

’Wang Qiang searched for me for ten years. Ten whole years. He went from having black hair to white, from a strong man to a bag of bones. He was even willing to kill for me!’

Wang Mei’s eyes were vacant as she stared at the ground.

The law couldn’t touch Li Youcai and his wife. Wang Mei felt hopeless, and all she could do was despair.

"Aaaah..."

Beside her, Xu Hong cried out, trying and failing to force a smile onto her weathered face.

She turned to the female lawyer and gestured with her hands.

"Sigh."

Seeing this, the female lawyer let out a deep sigh, feeling willing but unable to help. She explained:

"Generally speaking, Mr. Wang’s actions could be judged as self-defense, but... the main issue is that he was the one who attacked first."

"Attacking first plus a fatality means there’s a chance he’ll be convicted of intentional homicide... At the very least, he won’t be able to escape a charge of intentional injury."

"Unless... we can get a letter of understanding from the victim’s family, and the testimonies of other witnesses at the scene favor Mr. Wang. But that couple..."

Her voice trailed off.

The female lawyer fell silent.

’How could they possibly get Li Youcai to provide a letter of understanding?’

’Wang Mei would have to give up custody of her child! She’d also have to serve the two of them, care for them in their old age until they die, and become a dog that wouldn’t leave even when beaten!’

Of course, if Li Youcai and his wife were the ones who had bought Wang Mei in the trafficking case, they could naturally be sent to prison, and this current worry wouldn’t exist.

But according to the investigation, the buyer was the deceased Li Erniu. Li Youcai and his wife did not commit the crime of human trafficking.

As for the crimes of harboring, sheltering, and complicity in purchasing a trafficked person... they would need to open a separate investigation. A lawsuit plus an investigation, with just the first hearing taking at least a year to start. By then, Wang Qiang would have long been sentenced...

The female lawyer didn’t want to say these things out loud. She felt it was all too cruel.

None of the three spoke.

Xu Hong silently reflected on her life, feeling as if she were in hell. A sourness pricked her nose, her heart clenched, and she quietly wiped at her tears, but they only flowed faster.

She was just an ordinary person, an ordinary person from the bottom rungs of society.

In the beginning, she couldn’t afford enough food or clothing. She had finally managed to build a decent life and had raised her child through hardship, only for her to be gone in a flash.

A thousand kilometers. A whole thousand kilometers!

Step by step, they had worn through the soles of their shoes, exhausted their energy, and their hair had turned white from worry.

They had finally found their daughter, but in the blink of an eye, her husband was about to be gone too...

"Aah, aah..."

Xu Hong stroked Wang Mei’s head, trying to offer a comforting smile.

The scene fell quiet, thick with a somber, sorrowful silence.

Just then.

As if in a daze, a figure suddenly stopped in front of them, his shadow falling over the two women.

They subconsciously looked up and saw a man in a suit who looked vaguely familiar standing before them. The two women froze.

Looking at the two plainly dressed women before him, Xu De, who had just arrived on the scene, stopped. He pushed up his glasses and revealed a smile.

"It looks like..."

A gentle voice drifted into their ears.

"You seem to be in need of some... uncommon assistance."

...