Chapter 28 - 23: All Parties Assemble, The Trial Begins

November 10th.

Qingwu Province, Lusen City, Intermediate People’s Court.

In the afternoon.

"Damn it, damn it, I’m late! If I don’t get in there now, the trial will be over before I even get in!"

In front of the Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court.

A taxi hadn’t even come to a complete stop when the door was impatiently thrown open.

The next second, a slim female reporter in flat-heeled shoes stepped out of the car. Holding a microphone, she glanced up at the towering flight of stairs leading to the main hall and anxiously started up them.

"TAP TAP TAP, TAP TAP TAP..."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the air, mixed with frantic shouts.

"Zhang Wang, you’re dead! If we miss this scoop, I’m reporting you to the team leader the second we get back to the office!"

The reporter, Zhang Xia, gritted her teeth, panting as she ran up the stairs, not forgetting to curse the person behind her.

Following behind her, a slightly chubby man with a press pass around his neck gasped for breath, struggling to keep up. He was carrying a tripod and a camera.

Zhang Wang felt utterly wronged, wailing as he chased after her.

"Sis, the company car broke down so we had to take a taxi! What does that have to do with me?!"

"All I did was forget the camera the first time we left. Then when we went back, I accidentally grabbed a broken one..."

Hearing this, Zhang Xia’s chest heaved with rage.

The two were siblings. After graduating, they ended up at the same company and were even assigned to work together as a team.

They hadn’t dug up a single story in the six months since graduation, and the editor-in-chief’s glares had been growing more dangerous by the day. When the Li Family Village case finally broke, she was desperate to seize this scoop...

But unexpectedly, their plan to get to the courthouse at noon to grab a good spot had been delayed by Zhang Wang until now!

"And you have the nerve to say that!" Zhang Xia shouted, her pace not slowing in the slightest.

Zhang Wang was about to retort when his ears twitched. He instinctively stopped and turned around.

When he saw what was behind them, his pupils contracted, and he blurted out:

"It’s the prisoner transport van! The van is here!"

Zhang Xia stopped in her tracks and looked back.

She saw it.

A white police van was slowly driving through the main gate of the courthouse—the very vehicle used by bailiffs to transport suspects!

The two watched it intently until it turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

"They must be transporting Wang Qiang. The timing is right," Zhang Wang said in a low voice.

The defendant had arrived, which meant the trial was about to begin!

Zhang Xia said no more. She turned and ran swiftly toward the main hall, breathing hard, a few strands of hair sticking to her forehead.

As she stepped onto the last stair, Zhang Xia entered the main hall.

Looking up, she saw the large, gold-and-red national emblem hanging high above, radiating an invisible, solemn aura!

Zhang Xia subconsciously composed herself. She looked down at the several corridors, identified the right one, and walked quickly into it without hesitation.

The Li Family Village case was being heard in "Courtroom Number One."

She took the elevator, then passed through a quiet, cool hallway.

Finally.

Zhang Xia stopped at the closed main doors of the courtroom. Standing there, she could faintly hear sounds coming from inside.

She took a deep breath, placed her hand on the doorknob, and gave it a slight push a second later.

"CLICK~"

The door opened with the sound, revealing a narrow crack.

Peeking through the gap, she could see the very front of the courtroom: the judge’s bench, the highest platform in the room. Behind it stood three chairs, a gavel rested on the bench, and the national emblem hung high on the wall behind, projecting an air of stern authority.

Pushing with more force, she widened the gap.

Below the bench was the defendant’s dock, enclosed by a railing and overlooked by the judges. To the left was a row of seats for the prosecution, and to the right, a row for the defense.

The trial had not yet started, and these seats were all empty.

Behind them was the large, tiered gallery. A quick glance suggested there were at least four hundred seats.

At this moment, all four hundred-plus seats were filled, with over four hundred people looking down upon the courtroom floor.

A quiet commotion reached her ears, the sound of hushed whispers.

’I made it. The trial hasn’t started yet!’

Zhang Xia let out a long sigh of relief. Looking up again, she saw a figure in the front rows waving at her.

"Over here, over here."

Zhang Xia hurried over.

The female reporter who had waved pointed to a seat and said:

"Hurry up. Do you have any idea how many dirty looks I got for saving you a seat? And in the front three rows, no less."

"You’re always so careless, girl. It’s a good thing you called me. Without me, I wonder where you’d be sitting next time!"

Hearing this,

"Thank you, Liu. I’ll treat you to dinner later."

Zhang Xia blushed but quickly sat down, placing her bag in her lap and pulling out a pen and paper. She then looked up toward the courtroom floor.

Aside from the packed gallery, the courtroom floor was empty, making it feel quite desolate.

Seeing this, Liu, sitting in her chair, turned sideways to whisper to Zhang Xia:

"The trial starts in twenty minutes. People haven’t arrived yet."

With that, Liu paused, then remarked with emotion:

"The public outcry over this case is huge. I can’t believe even Courtroom Number One isn’t big enough. This place can hold at least five hundred people!"

"They even brought in the judges from the First Criminal Division, Team One!"

Courtroom Number One was the largest in the Lusen City Intermediate Court, yet even so, a whole crowd of people couldn’t find a place to sit.

But as for the judges of the First Criminal Division, Team One... Zhang Xia had no idea what that meant.

"Liu, what’s special about the Team One judges?"

Zhang Xia asked quietly, glancing again at the nameplates on the judge’s bench that read ’Liu Jianguo,’ ’Zhang Bingxin,’ and ’Sun Dong.’

Behind the three nameplates were three empty chairs.

"It’s normal for you not to know, since you just graduated."

Liu began to explain:

"The judges of Lusen City’s First Criminal Division, Team One, are the most professional, impartial, and capable judicial team in the entire city."

"They specialize in major, critical, and serious criminal cases!"

"Among them, Zhang Bingxin is the most prominent. He’s the head of the First Criminal Division, a high-ranking member of the intermediate court at the deputy-director level, and he’s famous for being incorruptibly impartial and looking only at the evidence!"

At this, Liu paused and sighed.

"He’s a very rigid man. In the Li Family Village case, if the evidence is against the defendant... he will very likely stick strictly to the book!"

’In other words... he’s capable of ignoring public opinion and even giving up his own judicial discretion?!’

Suddenly.

Zhang Xia looked at the nameplate with the name ’Zhang Bingxin’ on it, marking the center chair, and a sense of awe grew in her heart.

’A person like that...’

’Isn’t he just going to add fuel to the fire with this case?!’

Just as Zhang Xia was thinking this, an abrupt sound suddenly echoed from the courtroom floor below, and the crowd instantly fell silent.

"CREAK~"

The side door of the courtroom creaked open.

Several middle-aged men stood in the doorway. They were dressed in black suits, white shirts, and bright red ties, with a red insignia pinned to their chests.

The man in the lead swept his gaze over the courtroom without a flicker of emotion. The moment he stepped forward, his powerful aura filled the space.

He calmly led his men to the prosecution’s table, ignoring the hundreds of people behind them, and simply began organizing his materials.

"That’s Hu Guang, the head of the First Case-Handling Team of the Second Prosecution Department."

Liu whispered, her eyes fixed on Prosecutor Hu Guang, her tone serious.

"He’s also what you’d call a case-handling machine. Just like Zhang Bingxin, he never lets personal feelings get involved!"

"With these two on the same case, the Li Family Village trial... is probably going to be like adding fuel to the fire."

The thought of two men who operate strictly by the book handling a case so steeped in human emotion was enough to make one’s skin crawl!

After Hu Guang and his team were seated, a few more people followed.

"See them? Sitting next to the prosecution, at the civil plaintiffs’ table, are the victim’s parents, Li Youcai and Liu Cui."

"Sitting in the ’victim’s representative’ seat, the one in the suit is the victim’s legal representative, the lawyer Chen Wei. That guy is a notorious shyster in Lusen City. He’ll do anything for money!"

Liu said.

Zhang Xia looked over and saw an elderly couple with venomous expressions, muttering something under their breaths.

There was also a man in gold-rimmed glasses who looked deceptively genteel. He was also arranging his files, but a smirk played on his lips and a hint of malice glinted in his eyes.

A short while later...

"The defendant and the defense have arrived!"

Liu suddenly blurted out.

Zhang Xia looked up and saw two stone-faced bailiffs walking sternly from the side door toward the defendant’s dock in the center.

Between them stood a man who was rail-thin, wearing a yellow vest. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and his back was hunched.

This was none other than Wang Qiang!

After he sat, he instinctively glanced to his side.

There, a nattily dressed young man in a professional suit was slowly walking toward the defense table.

Though young, his gaze was calm, and his expression showed no sign of nervousness. After sitting, he simply began to organize his documents.

Looking at this man.

Murmurs immediately broke out in the gallery.

Liu frowned and clicked her tongue.

"The defense lawyer’s name is Xu De, from Jinmao Law Firm. He has no criminal case experience whatsoever. A total rookie."

"A rookie lawyer!?"

Zhang Xia was stunned. The hand she was using to take notes froze, and she looked up at the defense side in disbelief.

The defense side consisted of Xu De alone, looking starkly empty.

She then looked at the prosecution side opposite them.

Prosecutors Hu Guang, Wang Wei, and Zhang Qing...

The victim’s legal representative, the notorious shyster Chen Wei...

Li Youcai and Liu Cui, acting as both witnesses and civil plaintiffs...

The disparity...

It was just too great!

The difference in lineup was obvious. Most of the people in the gallery were visibly surprised, whispering amongst themselves and glancing back and forth between the two sides.

Zhang Xia’s mind was in turmoil as well, unsure of what to think.

Until...

"All rise!"

The court clerk suddenly shouted the command.

The instant the voice fell!

"CLICK!"

Several figures in judicial robes emerged from the corridor, walking at a deliberate pace.

Their faces were calm and solemn, their gazes sharp and steady, without a trace of a smile. The moment they appeared, an invisible authority instantly began to build, and the entire gallery of over four hundred people fell silent.

It was the three judges presiding over the case!

The lead judge, Zhang Bingxin, walked with steady steps to the judge’s bench and sat in the focal point of the entire courtroom—the high platform, the presiding judge’s seat!

After the three were seated and the clerk said a few words.

The presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, sitting in the main seat, suddenly looked up. He scanned the courtroom, taking in everyone at their respective tables, and then...

...he picked up the gavel with his right hand and raised it high.

The next second.

"BANG!"

The gavel fell with a crisp sound, followed by a resonant voice that echoed throughout Courtroom Number One.

"This case concerns the death of Li Erniu, a resident of Li Family Village in Yangcheng County, Lusen City, Qingwu Province!"