The Day of the First Trial!

"Nothing. I was just feeling a little wistful."

Lin Guodong kept his thoughts to himself and said no more.

"About what?" Su Xin asked.

"The prosecutors in Greenwood City."

Lin Guodong raised an eyebrow, a rueful note in his voice.

"The prosecutors and judges in Greenwood City... they're in for a treat!"

A treat?

What kind of treat could prosecutors and judges be in for?

Su Xin did not understand. Her face was full of questions, but she did not press him.

Lin Guodong had no intention of explaining, either. Once the trial began, she would understand what he meant.

His appetite returned, and before digging in, he left her with one last remark.

"Anyway..."

"Just wait until the trial starts in two days!"

That day.

November 8, 8 p.m.

The Greenwood City Intermediate People's Procuratorate had closed long ago. The entire building lay dark and silent.

But light still glowed in one window.

Inside the office.

"Phew."

Prosecutor Hu Guang breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting at his desk, he rubbed his aching brow.

The desk lamp cast a warm yellow light that showed every trace of exhaustion on his face.

A voice came from beside him.

"Go home. Your health matters more."

Hu Guang opened his eyes to find a cup of hot tea being pushed toward him.

He looked up. His colleague Wang Wei and his apprentice Zhang Qing stood behind him, both looking just as tired and drained.

Hu Guang did not answer. He took the cup and sipped.

Gulp.

The hot tea ran down his throat, and warmth spread through his chest, driving away the chill in his body.

Hu Guang felt himself relax. He let out a long breath, then looked up at the two men.

"Has the court said anything about the chain of evidence we submitted?"

Wang Wei pulled out a chair and dropped into it.

Then he said gently:

"No. The prosecution's evidence corroborates the police evidence, and we submitted it during the evidence period. There shouldn't be any problems."

Hu Guang nodded.

He was the prosecutor handling the Wang Qiang Case. With the trial approaching, he naturally wanted to check everything once more.

Then.

Hu Guang looked at Zhang Qing, who had been standing silently to the side, and asked with a frown:

"What about the victim's family?"

"Don't tell me they'll disappear when the trial starts."

Some people were baffling. They might skip a hearing just to sleep in, especially in remote areas where legal awareness was thin on the ground.

Zhang Qing said:

"We notified Chen Wei days ago."

Chen Wei was an unscrupulous lawyer, but that only spoke to his character and methods.

It did not mean he was bad at his job!

Making sure Li Youcai and Liu Cui appeared in court on time was a small matter Chen Wei could handle. But...

"Chen Wei has been collecting statements in Li Family Village."

Zhang Qing hesitated, then could not hold back any longer. Frowning, he said:

"Those statements of his..."

Before he could finish, Hu Guang cut him off.

"What? Were they obtained illegally?"

Hu Guang took a cigarette from the pack on his desk, lit it, and drew on it.

As nicotine filled his chest, he breathed out slowly and looked at the young prosecutor before him, his voice almost indifferent.

"Or did Chen Wei fabricate evidence?"

At that.

Zhang Qing's words stuck in his throat. After a long pause, he shook his head and said quietly:

"No."

Was there anything wrong with Chen Wei taking statements in Li Family Village, near the scene of the crime?

Honestly, from a legal standpoint, no.

But statements came from people's mouths, and what people said did not necessarily depend on reality. It depended on what they wanted to say!

What would the villagers of Li Family Village say about an outsider killing Li Erniu?

Naturally, they would twist black into white and smear white into black!

Especially when the people giving statements were the dozens who had taken part in the disturbance at the scene.

In court, their statements would carry considerable weight!

But those people could hardly say Li Erniu deserved to die, or that they themselves had broken the law. They would never do that. Even if only by instinct, they would side with Li Youcai to protect themselves.

Those statements might differ from reality.

But they could still be presented in court as evidence!

"What about the defense lawyer?"

Hu Guang asked suddenly.

"I remember... the defendant has a lawyer called Xu De. Has he done anything?"

The two men in front of him froze for a moment.

After thinking back, they shook their heads.

"No."

"We haven't heard anything from the court. He didn't submit any evidence during the evidence period," Wang Wei replied.

He had not submitted a single piece of evidence.

Which meant...

"He plans to fight the case on argument alone."

Hu Guang paused, his brow furrowing.

"What's this lawyer's background?"

Fighting a case by improvising his arguments in court... that was far too overconfident!

Even seasoned lawyers would not dare do that. Anyone who could win on that alone would have to be a top-tier lawyer at the very least.

No... even a top-tier lawyer would not take that approach!

"He has no track record."

Zhang Qing shook his head. "He's a young lawyer who finished his internship only a few months ago."

A young lawyer fresh out of his internship, with no evidence, intending to improvise his defense in court...

On the other side was a meticulous chain of reasoning assembled by the police and prosecution. Chen Wei had even gone to Li Family Village to collect statements!

This...

"Enough. We're the prosecution, not the defense."

Hu Guang stubbed out his cigarette and took a deep breath. The weariness left his eyes, replaced by a sharp, steady gaze.

"We've followed every required procedure. Now... we wait for the trial the day after tomorrow!"

And he was not the only one troubled by the Li Family Village Case...

November 9.

Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court.

"The defense still hasn't submitted any evidence... This is bad. The prosecution submitted plenty before the trial."

"This..."

"Old Zhang, this case is particularly serious, and public opinion is intense. The court has chosen an open hearing. If the defense fares too badly during the trial..."

In the office of the First Criminal Trial Court.

Judge Liu Jianguo held a newspaper. Looking at the flood of public opinion across its pages, his face was grave.

After a long while, he turned to the man beside him.

A middle-aged man in a judge's robe sat there. He had a square face and weathered skin. His features were ordinary, but he carried an imposing authority.

Liu Jianguo said heavily:

"The trial starts tomorrow. Unless something unexpected happens, a lot of people will be watching this case in person."

Under the law.

At an open hearing, members of the public and reporters could attend and watch from the gallery.

And if they saw the defense being overwhelmed... the crowd might erupt in anger!

A father who had searched for his daughter for ten years caused the death of the man who bought her while trying to save her, only to receive a severe sentence...

Just imagining that scene gave Liu Jianguo goose bumps.

And yet...

"We'll conduct the trial as normal."

Judge Zhang Bingxin spoke without expression. He held the newspaper, his calm eyes betraying no emotion.

At that.

Liu Jianguo wanted to say something, but held back.

Zhang Bingxin was the judge handling the Wang Qiang Case—the presiding judge, in other words. His attitude would have a decisive effect on the direction of the entire case!

Liu Jianguo knew what kind of man he was.

Neutral, fair, and open!

Zhang Bingxin almost never exercised judicial discretion. He looked only at the evidence and the truth.

That also meant the case would come down to the abilities of the lawyers and representatives on both sides. But in this case, Wang Qiang's defense lawyer... he had not even submitted any substantive evidence.

"Let's get ready."

Zhang Bingxin finished reading the newspaper and set it down, his expression unchanged. Then he stood.

"Prepare for tomorrow's trial!"

Liu Jianguo watched him leave.

He was silent for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"Ah."

He was only a court judge, not the police or the prosecution. He was not even presiding over the case. All he could do now...

Was prepare for the trial!

With that thought, Liu Jianguo swept aside his misgivings. His expression turned solemn as he returned to work.

That day.

The entire afternoon seemed to crawl by, stretching on and on!

[Yang Teng Law Firm.]

Chen Wei, the victim's litigation representative, looked over the files of information he had compiled. A sinister smile glinted in his eyes.

[Intermediate People's Procuratorate.]

Prosecutors Hu Guang and Wang Wei checked and rechecked the materials they planned to use, their expressions unusually serious.

[Jinmao Law Firm.]

Xu De finished writing his last document and smiled at the words on the page.

His fate would depend on whether he could stand alone against a hundred opponents and outargue them all in court tomorrow!

Even.

Across the city...

Discussion of the Li Family Village Case grew more heated throughout Greenwood City!

Women at the market, workers in construction-site canteens, office employees, and factory hands all argued about the case until they were spitting with excitement. Their fervor seemed to drive away some of November's chill.

Even the reporters were readying their pens and paper.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for the first trial to begin tomorrow!!!

And amid that tense anticipation and preparations on every side, time slipped quietly past. In the blink of an eye...

November 10.

The first trial in the Li Family Village Case began!