Chapter 32 - 27: I’m Pleading Not Guilty

Why did countless lawyers steer clear of Wang Qiang’s case?

The reason was simple: the abduction and the murder were being treated as two separate cases.

If you looked only at the murder, starting from the moment Wang Qiang attacked, there was no escaping a charge of intentional homicide. It was a guaranteed loss—a useless effort that would only damage a lawyer’s win rate and reputation. Naturally, no one wanted to take the case.

However, if you viewed it as a single case, starting from the moment Li Erniu imprisoned Wang Mei...

Then there was plenty of room to operate!

And so,

after this string of meticulously logical statements, the courtroom fell silent for a moment.

After a while,

a murmur of discussion rippled through the gallery.

"This... from this perspective, it doesn’t seem like intentional homicide at all. It’s clearly self-defense, or at worst, excessive self-defense!"

"Exactly. Even if Li Erniu wasn’t actively violent at that moment, if the imprisonment was ongoing... then the ’imprisonment’ itself was an unlawful assault."

"Which firm is that defense lawyer from? This... Is he here to give a speech or something?"

"His presence is so intense... Seriously, which firm is he from?!"

"..."

The people in the gallery only needed a moment’s thought to grasp Xu De’s point.

He was simply framing the case from the perspective of the common person!

「At the judges’ bench.」

"This... Should we contact the police?"

Judge Liu Jianguo was inwardly shaken. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he leaned over and asked the man beside him, Zhang Bingxin.

Sun Dong asked, "Do you think there might be a misunderstanding in the information?"

Liu Jianguo shook his head. "I don’t know."

Zhang Bingxin contemplated for a long moment, not answering immediately. Instead, he looked up, his eyes on the standoff between Xu De and the prosecution. He then said,

"Let’s not be hasty. We’ll watch a little longer."

The other two nodded, their gazes returning to the courtroom floor.

「In the midst of the trial.」

’To try Wang Qiang’s murder case starting from the point of the abduction?!’

On the prosecution’s side, Wang Wei’s expression turned grim. Years of experience allowed him to instantly perceive the defense’s true intentions.

’If this happens... our entire indictment will be overturned!’

Prosecutor Zhang Qing also nodded, his brow furrowed. He might be young, but now that the point had been so clearly exposed, he understood exactly what was happening.

As for the ever-shrewd Chen Wei...

...the moment he realized he’d been played and had fallen into a pre-designed trap...

"Slander! A complete fabrication!"

Chen Wei’s pupils constricted. As if every cell in his body was screaming at him, he shot to his feet, pointed an accusatory finger at Xu De, and bellowed:

"Your Honor, we never admitted that the abduction case was still ongoing!"

"The opposing counsel is fabricating testimony! I move to have him removed from the courtroom!"

’I walked right into it...’

In that instant, Chen Wei could feel his undershirt sticking to his back, soaked through. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing grew ragged.

He had actually been outmaneuvered by some wet-behind-the-ears kid!

The entire basis for discussing "acting justly" was the admission that a standoff existed between the police and the civilians.

And once that standoff was confirmed, it meant the abduction case was not over. Everything that happened between Wang Qiang and the deceased would be considered part of that abduction case!

The other side had used the "acting justly" argument as a flashy distraction, and he’d completely missed the real trap!!!

’Damn it! Damn you, Sun Hao!’

’You told me he’d only been a licensed lawyer for three months, you bastard? That goddamn Jinmao Law Firm set me up!’

Chen Wei was cursing up a storm in his head, all his earlier composure gone.

He saw it clearly now. Sun Hao had colluded with this lawyer to set a trap for him!

It was a classic bait and switch. Sun Hao pretended to sell out his contact, making Chen Wei let his guard down. He’d gone into the trial underestimating his opponent, full of contempt, and walked right into Xu De’s trap. That move...

’Sun Hao, this isn’t over!!!’

Chen Wei was furious, wanting nothing more than to skin the man alive.

But it was clear he wouldn’t get the chance to do any skinning right now. He had to keep paying the price for his blunder.

And just as he expected, a cold sneer came from the defense table.

"Heh. Counsel for the victim’s family, would you like me to repeat what you just said for His Honor?"

Xu De’s lip curled into a sneer, his eyes locked onto Chen Wei.

’If there was a wildcard in this case,’ he thought, ’then for the defense, it’s me. And for the prosecution... it’s this guy, Chen Wei!’

’Why?’

’Because people like Hu Guang play by the rules, by the book.’

’But Chen Wei... he just wants to see me and Wang Qiang go down in flames!’

"You!" Chen Wei’s face flushed with anger, a vein throbbing on his forehead, but he was rendered speechless.

You had to stand by your words in court.

He had just acknowledged the existence of coercion; to retract that statement now would be to contradict himself, which would almost certainly influence the judge’s discretion!

"Heh."

Seeing that his opponent wasn’t pressing the issue, Xu De didn’t bother to target him further.

His gaze shifted, sweeping over everyone present before finally landing on the presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin. He continued,

"Your Honor, the defense maintains its position. At the time of the incident, the ’abduction case’ had not concluded."

As if on cue,

the moment his voice faded, a voice from the prosecution’s table cut in.

"Counsel for the defense, according to the police report,"

"at the time of the incident, the victim in the abduction case, Wang Mei, was already in the vehicle, protected by seven police officers. The situation was under control, with no risk of further confrontation."

Prosecutor Wang Wei rose to his feet, his resonant voice filling the room.

"Therefore, according to relevant statutes, the arrest phase of the abduction case was officially concluded at that point!"

"The subsequent violent altercation was not caused by the abduction, but by the personal conflict between the defendant, Wang Qiang, and Li Erniu!"

This was the crux of their argument for why the case had to be treated as two separate incidents.

The cause of the later violence was entirely separate from the cause of the initial standoff.

Except...

"Absurd!"

Xu De showed the prosecutor no deference. His eyes narrowed as he shot a cold glare at Wang Wei and scoffed,

"Whether a case is over isn’t determined by an outsider’s opinion! It’s determined by the actions of the people involved!"

"The fact is, the criminal, Li Erniu, was unrepentant even after getting into the vehicle! He attempted to continue his unlawful assault against the victim, Wang Mei!"

As he spoke, he raised a document without hesitation.

"Your Honor, this is evidence submitted by the prosecution."

"It is the sworn testimony of seven police officers. All seven of them stated that, I quote, ’the deceased, Li Erniu, after entering the vehicle, grabbed the victim Wang Mei’s hand and attempted to pull her out of the car.’"

"This testimony makes it unequivocally clear that the victim was still in imminent danger and had not yet been fully rescued!"

"By that same logic, the illegal confinement had not ended, and therefore, neither had the abduction case!"

Xu De hadn’t submitted much evidence of his own before the trial, just a stack of materials.

Why?

Because the prosecution and Chen Wei had already submitted all the evidence he needed. He could just show up and use theirs against them.

As for whether they’d be willing to let him?

Who cares.

’The law says I can use it. It’s perfectly legal and by the book. Even if you don’t like it, I have the right to use it!’

And so...

"According to Article 6 of the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law, it is explicitly stated that cases exhibiting these circumstances can be consolidated!"

"Likewise,"

"my client, Wang Qiang, is protected under the Lusen City ’Good Samaritan’ ordinance, and furthermore, his actions fall under Article 20 of the Criminal Law: ’Legitimate Self-Defense’!"

"Your Honor, members of the court, and everyone in the gallery, I am Xu De, counsel for the defendant."

"And for my client, Wang Qiang, I am entering..."

Xu De’s eyes were grim. His voice wasn’t loud or passionate, but carried a deathly-serious solemnity.

"A plea of not guilty!"