Chapter 197 - 121: A Morally Shocking Argument

"Defense counsel, do you have any idea what you’re saying!?"

During the trial.

Presiding Judge Wang Cheng simply couldn’t hold back. He stared at the defense lawyer, Sun Li, his voice filled with shock.

Not cheating at the Home Like a Hotel?

Good heavens, their clothes were off, and they’d tumbled into bed together. That’s not considered cheating?

Then what is!?

What’s more... the police had practically thrown the evidence in their faces!

’Is Sun Li questioning the police’s evidence? Does she think their conclusion was wrong, or does she just not take criminal evidence seriously at all?’

Countless thoughts flashed through Wang Cheng’s mind, but he couldn’t find an answer for any of them. He could only stare blankly at her.

"We are fully aware!"

Sun Li shot back, her tone indignant.

Seeing this,

Presiding Judge Wang Cheng was about to say something, but as he opened his mouth, a voice came from the plaintiff’s side instead.

"Your Honor, we would like to ask what the defense’s definition of ’cheating’ is!?"

At the plaintiff’s table.

Xu De had suddenly spoken up, interrupting the judge.

His expression was placid, betraying no emotion. It looked like a simple question, devoid of any malice.

Presiding Judge Wang Cheng paused, his gaze returning to the defense.

"Defense counsel."

"Regarding the plaintiff’s question, do you have a response?"

He wasn’t angry that Xu De had disrupted the proceedings.

Basic-level civil cases were a bit different from criminal cases in the intermediate court.

Civil cases were generally handled at the grassroots level, and at that level... to be blunt, though objective, the decorum of the general public could be quite concerning.

Xu De had said before that the courts weren’t always meticulously orderly; sometimes, fights even broke out.

That’s right.

He was talking about civil cases!

When you encountered difficult, unreasonable people, it was hard to maintain order. Some would even start cursing in the middle of a hearing or take off a shoe and throw it at someone.

In comparison, what was so bad about interrupting to ask a question?

Especially when the one asking was Xu De.

The man had managed to present evidence in advance for a simple civil case—that was treatment not even Huang Shi or Hu Guang had ever received!

"Plaintiff’s counsel, please do not interrupt me!"

Sun Li snapped, displeased.

She then paused, considering her words for a moment before speaking.

"As for the opposing counsel’s question..."

"Yes!"

"First of all, the third party in this case, Guo Tu, is an artist."

"Your Honor, this third party, Guo Tu, majored in painting. In other words, he’s a painter. And coincidentally..."

"What Guo Tu excels at happens to be nude sketching!"

As she spoke,

Sun Li pulled several rolled-up sheets of paper from her briefcase.

SWISH!

She unrolled them, and suddenly, several exquisite nude sketches were on display.

"Your Honor, look. These are drawings Guo Tu has done in the past!"

Sun Li held up the drawings, displaying them for everyone to see.

Nude sketching wasn’t exactly common in the field of painting.

Most art students, during their studies, had teachers who would hire models to replace still-life objects like bananas and apples. These models would stand in the center of the classroom for the students.

And among them...

it was the "nude models" who were the most memorable!

What is a nude model?

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

A beautiful or handsome person stands before dozens of people without a stitch of clothing on, posing like a statue while everyone stares and sketches every detail of their body.

It wasn’t illegal, but in practice, such an act was a significant challenge to public order and decency.

At the very least, these models were likely doing it behind their significant others’ backs, which was ethically questionable.

"At the scene, Guo Tu’s paintbrushes and canvas were found, so..."

"It’s easy to see that the third party was not there to commit adultery, but was preparing to do a nude sketch!"

Sun Li said, her words coming out in a rapid-fire burst.

"Your Honor, this isn’t an affair! It is... an artistic intertwining of souls!"

Art...

The moment that word came out,

At the plaintiff’s table, Wang Yu’s expression instantly darkened, and a boiling rage surged in his chest.

’That counts as art?’

’What kind of art?’

’The art of cuckolding someone!?’

It had to be said, when some lawyers played dirty, they went to lengths an ordinary person could never imagine. Lin Yue, at least, would never be able to pass off an affair as "artistic creation."

"Your Honor, let’s put aside for a moment whether or not this was ’artistic creation.’"

"But being seen nude by another person is an objective fact!"

From the plaintiff’s table, Lin Yue looked toward Presiding Judge Wang Cheng.

She began to speak slowly.

"According to Article 1043 of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code."

"The text explicitly states, ’Spouses shall be faithful to, respect, and care for each other.’ This means one cannot be intimate with another person behind their spouse’s back, nor can one casually show their private body parts to an outsider!"

"Clearly, the defendant has violated this article."

"This is a direct infringement on our client’s spousal rights, right to sexual exclusivity, and personal dignity!"

In a marriage,

the law doesn’t stipulate that one must have spousal consent to be nude in front of others.

In other words, you can’t completely stop your wife or husband from posing nude for someone else; they don’t need your permission beforehand.

But then again,

this sort of thing does violate other statutes—namely, Article 1043, the one concerning mutual fidelity!

"Objection!"

Sun Li suddenly objected, her face contorting in an ugly expression as her upturned eyes shot a fierce glare at Lin Yue.

’We’re both women, so why does she have to go and help a man...’

she thought, and seeing Lin Yue’s beautiful, delicate features, a wave of jealousy washed over her, urging her to mount a swift rebuttal.