Chapter 46 - 38: Nobody Knows Legal Better Than Me

Le... Legal!?

"How is that possible?"

"He stole my grandson! Isn’t that an obvious crime?!"

Li Youcai cried out in disbelief.

Liu Cui, flustered, quickly added, "That’s right, officer. You must have misunderstood something, right?"

"How could a human trafficker kidnapping a child not be illegal? Didn’t you just say our son broke the law? How come when it’s him, it’s suddenly legal..."

Hearing this, Wang Wei was speechless.

’So they *do* know human trafficking is illegal,’ he thought. ’Funny how they didn’t think so when they were the ones buying a child.’

’But now that it’s happening to them, they’re here insisting someone else broke the law...’

And Xu De... for him to actually go and steal the child! He was a lawyer, yet he’d gone and snatched the boy in the middle of the night while Li Youcai was away!

Wang Wei had thought Xu De’s courtroom maneuvers were astonishing enough, but he never expected him to have this up his sleeve. It was a real eye-opener.

But he didn’t say any of this out loud. Instead, he took a deep breath and explained slowly,

"It’s difficult for me to explain this to you."

"In any case, I can tell you this much with certainty."

"As long as the other party did not engage in any overt, physical conflict with you, then no law was broken."

At these words, Li Youcai and Liu Cui were dumbfounded.

’He thought about it for all that time, only to give us an answer like ’it’s not illegal if there’s no physical conflict’!?

But last night, Xu De took advantage of the fact that he couldn’t get home and just drove over to steal the boy. They were dozens of kilometers apart; how could there possibly be a conflict!

"How is that possible?! Are you looking down on us? Trying to cheat us just ’cause we’re farmers!?"

Li Youcai was so furious he directed his anger at Wang Wei.

Wang Wei couldn’t be bothered with him anymore and simply brushed him off.

"In any case, this is outside my jurisdiction. If you have an objection... you can go to the police."

With that, he turned to leave.

But just before he left, Wang Wei paused. He looked back at the two of them and dropped one more piece of information.

"The court has scheduled the hearing to resume in three days. Don’t forget to appear."

And with that, he left.

Although the prosecution’s indictment had been refuted, the angles the defense had presented were easy to verify. All they needed to do was confirm the details surrounding the standoff between the police and the people at the scene.

As soon as even one point was confirmed, the entire chain of logic would come together.

And as luck would have it, that one crucial point... Xu De could directly verify it with the testimony of Li Sheng and Li Li!

Including today, four days was more than enough time.

Li Youcai and Liu Cui, however, weren’t thinking about any of that.

The two of them stared at Wang Wei’s retreating back, their faces flushed red and their fists clenched.

Legal...

"He must have been bribed!"

Li Youcai’s eyes were venomous as he cursed, damning Wang Wei’s entire family tree from his ancestors eighteen generations back to his yet-unborn grandchildren.

Liu Cui’s expression also changed in an instant, her eyes turning incredibly dark.

But no amount of cursing could change the fact that the child was gone. After thinking for a moment, the two of them decided on a course of action.

"Let’s go home first. Maybe Dahu wasn’t stolen after all!"

They made up their minds to return to their hometown first.

Upon returning to Li Family Village that afternoon, Li Youcai discovered that Li Yang was indeed gone and flew into a rage.

...

「The next day.」

November 12th.

Two days remained until the case reopened.

"The child was stolen? Are you sure!?"

「Ten in the morning.」

Inside the Lusen City Police Department.

Two police officers looked at Li Youcai and Liu Cui, who had come to file a report, their expressions turning serious.

"Yes! You have to help us! He’s our only grandson. If he’s gone, how are we supposed to live..."

Liu Cui wailed, while Li Youcai stood beside her, his face a mask of sorrow.

"Well..."

The two officers hesitated.

If it had been anyone else reporting this, they would have certainly followed procedure and handled it quickly.

But... they recognized them. These were the same two people who had thrown a tantrum in the station before. Forget stealing a child; they had even accused the police of murder!

Fortunately, someone arrived to help them out of their predicament.

"What’s going on here?"

Just then, detective Li Xiang, thermos in hand, walked over to them with a frown.

Seeing him, the two young officers looked as if they’d seen their savior and quickly recounted the series of events.

"Grandson was stolen?"

Li Xiang was taken aback. He looked at Li Youcai and Liu Cui with suspicion.

"Yes, they said it was someone named Xu De..." the officer added.

"Xu De..."

Li Xiang muttered the name for a moment, and then his expression grew strange.

If he remembered correctly, Wang Mei’s custody case had already concluded, and the child had been awarded to her.

And with Li Erniu dead, Wang Mei was the sole legal guardian... Seeing Li Youcai’s state, he guessed there hadn’t been any conflict when the child was taken.

’In that case...’

For a moment, Li Xiang, a veteran detective with over twenty years of experience, was stumped. He didn’t even know how to begin thinking about this. Finally, he said,

"I understand."

"You can go for now. Come back at two this afternoon, and I’ll update you on the progress."

Hearing this, Li Youcai and Liu Cui left in high spirits.

However.

「Two in the afternoon.」

When Li Youcai and Liu Cui finally arrived, they were told...

Li Xiang said, "The legal department says it’s perfectly legal and compliant. It doesn’t constitute a crime."

At these words, the two of them were once again dumbfounded.

"How can that not be a crime?! I’m Dahu’s grandpa! He stole my grandson! How is that not a crime!?" Li Youcai grew agitated.

Li Xiang, taking a drag from a cigarette, shook his head. "The legal department contacted the other party. It’s true, it’s not illegal. The police will not be filing a case."

Hearing this, Li Youcai jumped up in a fury and began to curse loudly.

"I see what this is! You’re doing this on purpose, just to get back at us!"

Seeing him suddenly bring up the incident when they went to rescue Wang Mei, Li Xiang was speechless.

’Arrogant then, groveling now,’ he thought. ’The thought is almost laughable!’

He waved his hand, dismissing the two of them as if shooing away a pair of shrews.

"If you’re not satisfied, go to the procuratorate. In any case, the evidence on our side is clear."

"We can’t file a case!"

Li Youcai was so mad he was practically steaming. He cursed for a long time, but seeing it was useless, he finally left in a huff.

...

「November 13th.」

Only one day remained until the retrial hearing.

After raising hell at the police station to no avail, Li Youcai and Liu Cui decided to just go straight to the Lusen City People’s Procuratorate.

First thing in the morning, they got into a heated conflict with the procuratorate staff.

"What’s that noise outside?"

「In the office.」

Prosecutor Hu Guang stopped his work and looked at Wang Wei beside him to ask.

Wang Wei was at a loss for words. He finally sighed and explained the whole story.

Hearing this, Hu Guang felt as if a fishbone were stuck in his throat... or rather, he was so speechless it was as if his mouth had been glued shut!

’What do you mean the defense lawyer, during the court’s recess, while they were on their way back to the procuratorate... didn’t even stop to eat and instead rushed to the plaintiff’s home to steal a child!?’

’And to top it all off, under the current circumstances, his actions somehow managed to be perfectly legal and compliant...’

"This..."

Hu Guang fell silent.

It was the first time he had ever seen a lawyer who was so audacious, who dared to think and act so boldly—a man walking a tightrope on a high platform of risk, dancing back and forth on the very edge of the law!

Hu Guang shook his head, put the matter aside, and went back to reading his documents.

Outside.

Li Youcai and Liu Cui caused a scene for a long time, but when they saw it was having no effect, a sense of powerlessness washed over them.

Until...

...

...

「November 14th.」

The day before the court hearing was set to resume!

「Two in the afternoon.」

Inside the Jinmao Law Firm.

"Hey, Lawyer Xu, Lawyer Sun’s been on sick leave for the past couple of days. Hasn’t shown his face at the firm."

"Any thoughts on that?"

In the firm’s main hall, a few lawyers were teasing Xu De, making jokes.

Xu De, who was getting some coffee, heard them and flashed a nonchalant smile.

Sun Hao was on leave.

Sick leave. He’d taken it on the 11th, not even daring to wait for Xu De to get back. He hadn’t even dared to show his face.

If things went as expected, he was most likely still hoping that Xu De would lose the case after tomorrow’s hearing, and only then would he return.

Xu De couldn’t be bothered to waste any thought on him.

Another lawyer remarked with a sigh,

"It’s a shame we don’t know who gave him that lump on his face. At least taking leave lets him hide for a few days."

At that, everyone exchanged knowing smiles, and laughter filled the hall.

Until...

Suddenly, a voice rang out, catching the attention of Xu De, who was still getting his coffee.

"Lawyer Xu, there’s someone outside to see you!"

’Someone’s here for me?’

Xu De raised an eyebrow, calmly took a sip of his coffee, and then headed outside.

"Alright, I’ll handle it."

He put down his cup and walked out of the law firm.

CREAK~

He pushed open the main door of the firm, and two vaguely familiar figures entered his line of sight. It was none other than Li Youcai and Liu Cui!

Their faces were extremely grim and sullen, the corners of their mouths drooping so low they almost touched the ground.

Their dark eyes were fixed on Xu De, like venomous snakes ready to strike at any moment.

Judging from their clenched fists, they were both clearly furious.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Li and Ms. Liu."

Seeing them, Xu De put on a professional smile. He slowly approached them and stopped.

"What can I do for you?"

Anger surged in Li Youcai’s heart.

’He’s asking what I’m here for? As if he doesn’t know!’

’Damn it! For the past two days, he’d run all over Lusen City’s government offices—he’d been to the procuratorate several times, the police station a few times, he’d even gone to the fire department.’

But he always got the same, unified answer...

It was perfectly legal and compliant!

Li Youcai was so mad his chest felt like it would explode, but there was nothing he could do. He’d been everywhere he could think of. Getting revenge and sending Xu De to jail was probably impossible now.

So, he had to settle for the next best thing: go to the source and get the child back.

"Where’s my Dahu!?"

Li Youcai suppressed his rage, his voice low and gravelly.

Hearing this, Xu De put on an expression of sudden realization, then smiled.

"Dahu? Is that Li Yang’s nickname? Nice. It’s a name that sounds healthy."

Listening to this completely off-topic remark, Li Youcai only grew more furious.

"Where’s my grandson!? Don’t you try to change the subject! I’m telling you, if I don’t see my grandson today, this isn’t over between us!"

"Mr. Li, I know you’re anxious, but just listen to me," Xu De said, trying to placate him.

"First, don’t be anxious."

Somehow, even though Xu De hadn’t said a single curse word, his words made Li Youcai’s chest burn with rage. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in fury.

"Where is my Dahu!?" Li Youcai snarled through clenched teeth, his face a ferocious mask.

"Oh, you want your grandson? Pfft, you should have said so earlier! If you’d said so, I’d have known that’s why you came looking for me," Xu De said.

Hearing that, the flames of Li Youcai’s anger subsided slightly, but...

"But, Mr. Li, you know... you can’t always get what you want in this world."

A smile suddenly appeared on Xu De’s face. He looked at Li Youcai and said slowly,

"For example, the retrial for Wang Qiang’s case starts tomorrow."

"And I want a ’Letter of Understanding’ and a ’Criminal Settlement Agreement’."

"But do I have them? I do not."

’A Letter of Understanding... a Criminal Settlement Agreement?’

Although the way he was talking was a little strange, the moment those words left his mouth... Li Youcai froze.

Then, his brow furrowed. He stared intently at Xu De, as if he vaguely understood something. In a low voice, he asked,

"You..."

"What are you trying to say!?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Xu De narrowed his eyes.

’Generally speaking, obtaining a letter of understanding through threats, explicit coercion, false promises, or deception is illegal, and the letter would be invalid.’

’But then again...’

’According to the law, if I don’t threaten, coerce, or make a deal, and the other party simply... imagines things... and signs the letter on their own...’

’...then even if my words have a certain... artistry to them, as long as it doesn’t reach the level of ’fraud’ or affect the ’truthfulness of the expression of intent,’ the letter remains valid and legal.’

’As for entrapment? Heh, he would never stoop to that.’

’On the contrary, he would explain it with abnormal clarity in plain language and even confirm it repeatedly!’

’No one understood what was illegal better than him!!!’

Xu De’s tone was slow as he chuckled and said,

"You want your child but can’t get him, and I want a letter of understanding but can’t get it. You can’t always get what you want in this world..."

"It’s not like you’re just going to sign a letter of understanding for me right now, are you?"

"Mr. Li... am I right?"