Chapter 205 - 124: You Fight Your Way, I’ll Fight Mine

Even if she were a complete idiot, by now, she could clearly tell that something was wrong with the trial!

Her heart tightened.

"Are you doing this on purpose? You just can’t stand to see me do well, can you!?"

"..."

Hearing this, Sun Li, who had been trying her best to argue just moments before, flushed red with anger.

’Win the case?’

’A typical divorce case, yes, we would have won.’

’Especially in a divorce against a programmer. Their job means they spend less time with their child, so in a lawsuit, a 70/30 split is common.’

’Yang Chunping’s case fit that description perfectly.’

’But...’

"Why didn’t you tell me about the things you did!?"

Sun Li hissed in a low, furious voice.

Hearing this, Yang Chunping froze for a moment before flying into a rage out of sheer embarrassment. "How dare you raise your voice at me!?"

As a fellow woman, Sun Li knew better than to engage with that kind of redirection.

"Let me tell you, if we lose this case, life won’t be easy for either of us!"

Sun Li gritted her teeth and ignored her, instead glancing over at Xu De and Lin Yue at the plaintiff’s table.

’She felt like the opposing lawyer looked familiar...’

’But she couldn’t quite place him, and there was no time to dwell on it now.’

She turned her gaze to the presiding judge, Wang Cheng.

"Your Honor!"

"The defendant, Yang Chunping, is employed at the Qingyi Art Education and Training Institution in Lusen City. Although her monthly salary is above average, her job is actually extremely unstable!"

"If a harsh judgment is passed down rashly, the defendant will very likely fall into financial hardship..."

"Admittedly,"

"the evidence submitted by the plaintiff does indeed mention that Yang Chunping has committed some faults."

Sun Li took a deep breath.

’In all her past years, her Legal Ability had never reached its current peak.’

’She could recall relevant statutes to use without even opening a law book.’

’As for Yang Chunping backstabbing her, should she stop putting in the effort?’

’But it was just like she’d said.’

’Losing this case would do neither of them any good!’

"According to Article 1090 of the Civil Code, the original text explicitly states,"

"’At the time of divorce, if one party has difficulties in living, the other party who can afford it shall provide appropriate assistance. The specific method shall be agreed upon by both parties; if an agreement cannot be reached, the people’s court shall make a judgment.’"

"When the division of assets is targeted against the defendant, Yang Chunping, she is highly likely to fall into a state of financial hardship!"

Article 1090 of the Civil Code was a catch-all statute in divorce cases.

Just look at the keywords: ’divorce,’ ’financial hardship,’ ’the other party can afford it, appropriate assistance.’

Notice a problem?

None of the keywords is ’fault’!

That’s right.

This statute doesn’t state that it doesn’t apply to the party at fault. It’s mandatory. As long as one party is in hardship, the other must provide appropriate assistance.

Regardless of gender, even if that person is at fault...

as long as they face financial hardship, the other party must provide a reasonable amount of money.

"I ask Your Honor to exercise discretion in your judgment!"

Sun Li enunciated clearly, speaking again in an attempt to sway the judge’s attitude.

At the plaintiff’s table.

Xu De paused when he heard this, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’Still fighting over the division of assets...’

’Heh.’

’Then go ahead and fight. In the grand scheme of things, the overall split is already decided. She’s just haggling over another ten or twenty percent...’

’The money that can be won elsewhere is far more than that ten or twenty percent!’

"Your Honor, members of the jury."

"In this case, the defendant, Yang Chunping, has clearly caused irreversible physical harm to Wang Xiaoyu."

"According to [Article 1179 of the Civil Code] on ’Compensation for Personal Injury,’ the original text explicitly states that anyone who infringes upon another’s person and causes injury shall compensate for medical expenses, nursing expenses, nutritional expenses..."

"According to [Article 1183 of the Civil Code] on ’Severe Mental Distress,’ the original text explicitly states that when an infringement on the personal rights and interests of a natural person causes severe mental distress, our side has the right to demand compensation for that mental distress!"

He opened his mouth and immediately cited two grounds for compensation.

The moment those two sentences were finished,

the corner of Sun Li’s eye twitched at the defendant’s table. She was fuming but completely helpless against him.

The situation in the courtroom was now crystal clear.

Xu De wasn’t fighting her on the statutes regarding property division.

It was purely a matter of: you fight for your property split, and I’ll demand my compensation amount!

She had never in her life seen a divorce case fought like this.

Since when was the main point of a divorce case not fighting over the couple’s joint marital assets? When did it become a claims case!?

"Ju—"

Sun Li tried to say something, but unfortunately, Xu De cut her off, shutting her down completely.

"Your Honor!"

"According to Article 1091 of the Civil Code, ’Compensation for Fault in Divorce,’ causing a child to suffer irreversible, severe injury constitutes a major fault. Our side has the right to once again demand compensation for mental distress, plus compensation for the child’s personal injury, disability, and mental distress!"

"According to Article 1165 of the Civil Code, ’Liability for Fault,’ the defendant intentionally committed adultery, intentionally concealed it, and caused my client public humiliation by forcing him to call the police. She bears immense responsibility and should face increased compensation for damage to his reputation!"

"According to the Civil Code..."

A continuous stream of words poured out of Xu De’s mouth as if from a torrential river.

Listening to this barrage of claims, Sun Li was completely stunned.

In fact,

it wasn’t just her.

Everyone in the entire Third Tribunal,

even those on the bench—the judge, the jurors, and the several clerks and bailiffs—couldn’t help but stop their conversations and turn to stare at him, the corners of their eyes twitching.

’Holy cow.’

’This guy is dead set on compensation...’

’All this compensation... even if they sold Yang Chunping herself, she probably couldn’t afford it!’

At this moment,

Sun Li, at the defendant’s table, listened to his speech, her face growing redder and redder like a ripe apple, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

’Damn it... where did this lawyer come from!?’

She cursed inwardly, a creeping sense of despair washing over her.

’An insurmountable chasm...’

’The gap in Legal Ability between them was simply an insurmountable chasm!’

’They weren’t even in the same league.’

’The things he was saying... forget coming up with them on the spot, an ordinary person couldn’t even recite them if they had a full day to prepare!’

’She felt like she was standing at the foot of a mountain, looking up at someone at the very peak. She was completely outmatched in terms of legal theory and statutes. If the physical evidence had been in her favor... she might have had a fighting chance.’

’But his evidence-gathering ability was clearly on a higher level!’

’She had no idea how all this evidence had even appeared in court!’

’She had clearly come to the courthouse the day before the trial to check, and there was no evidence at all. How could he suddenly pull out a mountain of it after the trial began!?’

’This wasn’t scientific, and it certainly wasn’t procedural!’

’To have this kind of ability and not use it on criminal cases, instead coming to a civil divorce case to deliver a curb-stomp battle...’

’Despair...’

’The despair of being completely and utterly crushed filled Sun Li’s entire being, leaving her weak and exhausted.’

’This man...’

’Just where in the world did he come from!?’

Things weren’t much better on the judge’s bench.

"No... just how much is he demanding in compensation!?"

"I did a quick calculation. Based purely on the statutes... it’s at least two hundred thousand!"

"Two hundred thousand? Juror Liu, are you serious?"

"If you don’t believe me, ask Judge Wang!"

"..."

On the bench,

the two jurors turned their heads in unison to look at Wang Cheng.

Seeing this, Presiding Judge Wang Cheng’s lips moved for a moment. He finally took a deep breath and clicked his tongue, saying in a low voice:

"If we look at it purely from the perspective of the statutes... the compensation to Wang Yu should be 30,000. The level of damage to his reputation is in the highest tier."

"Compensation for the child... starts at 80,000, but with both mental and psychological factors, it should be around 150,000."

All things considered,

it might not reach 200,000, but if it was just compensation, 150,000 was a strong possibility.

In fact, the theoretical maximum compensation for the child was 250,000. Wang Cheng’s estimate of 100,000 to 150,000 was already extremely conservative!

As for whether 150,000 was a lot...

let’s put it this way: in terms of pure purchasing power, 150,000 could be considered the equivalent of a million in later generations!

A member of the Xu Family’s eye twitched. "Wang Yu’s total assets are only around five hundred thousand, aren’t they?"

His total assets were five hundred thousand, but you couldn’t calculate it based on that amount.

In a normal 50/50 split, Yang Chunping would be lucky to walk away with a hundred thousand in cash.

Not to mention, the property division now would be at least 80/20!

So she’d get twenty or thirty thousand, only to have to turn around and pay 150,000 in compensation!?

She couldn’t afford that even if she sold herself!

Suddenly, the courtroom fell silent once more.

Until...

In the ensuing haze,

"Your Honor."

A voice once again came from the plaintiff’s side.

"According to Articles 17 and 129 of the Law on the Protection of Minors..."