What the Hell Are You Trying to Do?!

"Lawyer Lin, I have to stress this again."

Xu De's expression was grave, his gaze steady. He spoke in a low voice.

"I never do anything illegal."

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow, planted her hands on her hips, and asked in confusion,

"So... you're not going to steal the child?"

The moment she finished speaking, Xu De shot back indignantly,

"Of course I am! I'm definitely stealing the child. In fact—"

"If they push me far enough, I'll snatch the child outright!"

With that, Xu De turned and walked back into the reception room. He dropped onto the sofa and looked at her again.

"And why do you think stealing the child would be illegal?"

Does that really need explaining? Isn't it common sense?!

Lin Yue grumbled inwardly, but kept her emotions in check.

She sat across from Xu De, gathered her thoughts, then said slowly,

"The Eastern Kingdom has no law specifically called 'child theft.' Instead, there are two offenses: 'child trafficking' under Article 240 of the Criminal Law, and 'child abduction' under Article 262."

"Both are closely tied to stealing a child, and both carry severe penalties!"

"What you're planning meets the criteria for both."

What she said was true.

But...

"You're right, but..."

Xu De nodded, then gave her a mild smile.

"What is the key element of intent in a child trafficking charge?"

Without waiting for her answer, he supplied it himself.

"Intent to commit the act, plus intent to profit!"

In other words, if someone knowingly committed the act for money, both elements were present, and it would be ruled child trafficking.

Xu De wasn't stealing the child for money, so in theory, that charge wouldn't apply.

"Even so, Article 262 of the Criminal Law still applies: child abduction!"

Lin Yue shook her head, her tone firm.

True, he wasn't planning to sell the child for profit. But he did intend to take the child away and keep the child under his control.

That fit the offense perfectly.

"You really know your law, Lawyer Lin."

Xu De nodded, acknowledging her point.

Then he changed tack.

"But..."

"What you've described is the element of intent under criminal law."

"What about the act itself? Tell me..."

"How does the Criminal Law define the conduct that constitutes this offense?"

Lin Yue paused. Her legal training brought the wording to mind at once, and she recited it without thinking.

"Article 262 defines it as abducting a minor under fourteen years of age away from their family or guardian."

If profit was involved, it was trafficking. If not, it was abduction.

Xu De's plan to steal the child seemed to follow the legal definition of a crime to the letter.

But!

The instant Lin Yue finished speaking—

"Lawyer Lin, you said it yourself."

"The act constitutes abduction if it takes a child away from their family or guardian. But..."

Xu De picked up without missing a beat. His eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Are Li Youcai and Liu Cui the child's guardians?!"

"Of—"

Lin Yue was about to nod, but abruptly stopped. Something had occurred to her, and she froze.

Seeing her reaction, Xu De said slowly,

"They aren't!"

"Look at Article 27 of the Civil Code, the key provision on guardianship."

"The parents are the child's guardians!"

"Li Youcai and Liu Cui are close relatives. They're merely first in line for guardianship. Note those words: 'in line'!"

In other words,

only if both parents died could they seek guardianship of the child. Only after obtaining it would they have grounds to keep the child.

But the problem was...

Only Li Erniu had died. Wang Mei was still alive!

So right now, one person—and one person alone—held guardianship.

"That person is my client, Wang Mei!"

Xu De spoke rapidly and with absolute conviction. He continued,

"Lawyer Lin, look again at the conduct the Criminal Law defines as abduction. Do you still think I'd be breaking the law?"

At that,

Lin Yue went still. Her mind raced as she tried to work it through.

The offense required taking a child away from their family or guardian, but the plaintiffs weren't the child's guardians.

Most importantly...

"Lawyer Lin, don't forget: the custody case has already been decided."

"Wang Mei won!"

Xu De lowered his gaze and leaned forward, looking at her as he said gravely,

"In other words..."

"Li Youcai has neither custody nor guardianship."

"Legally, keeping the child for himself is unlawful!"

Suddenly,

his words hit Lin Yue like a thunderclap. Her pupils contracted.

What he said seemed... actually... perhaps... right!

With neither custody nor guardianship, Li Youcai was a stranger to the child in the eyes of the law.

And now, that "stranger" was forcing the child to stay with him. Even thinking about it felt wrong.

A long while passed.

Only then did she recover enough to reply hesitantly,

"But... but the definition also says 'away from their family.' Li Youcai really is a close blood relative..."

Even if he had no legal right, the law could hardly ignore their blood relationship.

Xu De answered at once,

"First, I have no malicious intent in taking the child."

"Second, if Li Youcai's home counts as the child's home, why wouldn't my client Wang Mei's home count too?!"

As he spoke,

Xu De widened his eyes at the shrinking Lin Yue. He looked thoroughly disappointed and shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm merely taking the child from the 'residence' of someone with neither custody nor guardianship..."

"...to the home of someone who has both."

"Legally, I'm not taking the child away from their family!"

At that moment,

Lin Yue froze. Every argument in her head melted away like butter.

Common sense told her it was illegal. Her legal training told her...

It was legal!

"This isn't abduction. It's an exercise of guardianship."

Xu De smiled. Seated on the sofa, he clasped his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly.

He said after a moment's thought,

"You know..."

"No one knows more about breaking the law than I do!"

It sounded outrageous and looked even worse, but whoever heard his argument could only stare, powerless to refute it!

Once she understood,

Lin Yue felt her whole heart tremble. She stared at Xu De in utter disbelief.

In her twenty-odd years of life,

she had met leading legal scholars, attended expert lectures, graduated from a top university, and studied under a renowned professor.

Despite all that,

this was the first time she had heard anyone argue that stealing a child was legal!

And the worst part was, he wasn't making it up!!!

Lin Yue's eyes widened. Her lips parted as a question rose from the depths of her soul.

"Is... is that really right?!"

"What's wrong with it?" Xu De asked.

"Besides, the custody case was decided long ago. Wang Mei won at the first trial, and the court ordered immediate enforcement."

"But Li Youcai and Liu Cui keep stalling and refuse to hand over the child!"

Xu De waved a hand, his face full of displeasure and his voice brimming with anger.

"Strictly speaking..."

"We'd be stealing the child legally and in good faith."

"They'd be maliciously and illegally getting their stolen child stolen!"

The instant those words left his mouth,

Lin Yue felt as though her soul had ascended. It was as if he had ironed every wrinkle out of her brain, and a whole new door had opened before her.

So you can arrange words like that...

What kind of person comes up with something like this?!

Seeing her expression,

Xu De looked pleased, as though his pupil had finally learned something.

"Do you still think I'd be committing a crime?" he asked.

Lin Yue's lips moved, but she couldn't force out a "yes."

A crime?

Even if they brought all this into court, the judge and prosecutor would, at most, be collectively dumbfounded.

No one could point to a single thing that broke the law!

"You..."

Lin Yue stared at Xu De's unruffled face, at a loss for words. Her own face flushed red.

After a long pause, she finally managed to ask,

"So... when are you going to steal the child?"

If it wasn't illegal, what worried her now was the approaching first trial.

Gripping the chair, Lin Yue said anxiously,

"You know the first hearing is coming up."

"If you don't steal the child back before then, the case could go either way."

At the door, she had quite clearly—and accidentally—overheard that the court had already sent a summons.

The hearing was set for November 10, five days away. If Xu De didn't act soon, he might lose.

But

just as Lin Yue wondered whether he would catch them off guard today, tomorrow, or the day after...

"Steal the child before the hearing?"

Xu De raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. He spread his hands.

"When did I say I'd do it before the hearing?"

Lin Yue: ?

"If you don't do it before the hearing, what's the point of stealing the child after the court has closed the hearing and issued its ruling?!"

Lin Yue looked stunned all over again.

The hearing was where both sides fought their case and got a result!

Stealing the child was supposed to give them leverage to win. If he waited until after the ruling, what use would that leverage be?!

"We'll use something else instead, of course."

Xu De answered as though it were obvious.

"Remember, the child is leverage over the plaintiffs, Li Youcai and Liu Cui."

"That leverage has nothing to do with our arguments in court!"

"For the judge and prosecutor, we'll need a new trick."

Lin Yue stared blankly at the man before her, who suddenly seemed a little unfamiliar.

Xu De took a document he had written out of his briefcase and placed it on the table.

"You didn't think I'd spent the past few days working on something I could explain in a few sentences, did you?"

"This is what I'm bringing to the first hearing!"

With that, he reached out and pushed the document across the table to her.

Curious, Lin Yue lowered her gaze to it.

But the moment she read it, she froze.

There, in black and white, were several lines...

[1. The defendant, Wang Qiang, acted to stop a human trafficker and protect a police officer. His defensive actions constitute a courageous act in the public interest. With regard to the facts of this case and the applicable law, the defense submits the following arguments...]

[2. The deceased, Li Erniu, died as a result of his own actions during an attempted murder. The defendant bears no responsibility for his death. The defense submits the following arguments...]

Lin Yue stared at the words.

Her eyes widened. Her mouth fell open in an O, and her mind went utterly blank.

Words had weight.

Lin Yue could feel their weight with perfect clarity.

Those few lines might as well have been a one-ton hammer crashing down on her head!

The hearing was in five days. If this actually came up in court, the judge and prosecutor...

There was no telling whether they'd whip them with their belts!

"Wait..."

Lin Yue looked up at Xu De, stunned beyond belief. She swallowed, then parted her lips.

A moment later, her trembling voice rang through the reception room.

"What do you mean Wang Qiang turned himself in?"

"And what do you mean he was acting heroically to protect a police officer with a gun?"

"What the hell are you trying to do?"