All Sides Gather as Court Convenes!

November 10.

Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court, Green Parasol Province.

Afternoon.

"Oh no, we're late! If we don't get in there, the trial will be over!"

Outside the main entrance of Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court.

Before a taxi had even stopped, its door flew open.

A slim female reporter in flats climbed out, microphone in hand. She took one look at the towering steps leading to the lobby and hurried up them.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Her footsteps echoed through the noise.

"Zhang Wang, you're dead! If we miss this story, I'm reporting you to the team leader the moment we get back!"

Zhang Xia gritted her teeth and ran up the steps, breathless but still berating the man behind her.

A slightly overweight man wearing an ID badge struggled after her, panting as he carried a tripod and camera.

Zhang Wang howled in protest as he chased her.

"Sis, how is it my fault the company car broke down and we had to take a taxi!?"

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

Zhang Xia's chest heaved with anger.

They were siblings who had joined the same company after graduation and happened to be paired up.

Six months in, they had yet to break a single story. Their editor-in-chief had been giving them increasingly dangerous looks lately. When the Li Family Village case broke, she had wanted to seize the opportunity...

But though she had planned to arrive at the courthouse at noon to secure seats, Zhang Wang had delayed them until now!

"You've got the nerve to say that!" Zhang Xia snapped without slowing down.

Zhang Wang was about to reply when a sound caught his ear. He stopped and turned.

At the sight of what was behind them, his pupils contracted, and he blurted out:

"It's the prison van! It's here!"

Zhang Xia stopped and looked back.

There it was.

A white police van slowly drove through the courthouse entrance—the vehicle used by court officers to transport prisoners!

The two watched until it turned a corner and vanished.

"That must be Wang Qiang. The timing fits," Zhang Wang said quietly.

The defendant had arrived. The trial was about to begin!

Zhang Xia said nothing. She turned and sprinted toward the main hall, breathing hard, a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead.

At the top of the last step, she entered the lobby.

Looking up, she saw a towering red-and-gold national emblem hanging high above. It lent the hall an invisible air of solemnity.

She instinctively quieted herself. After checking the corridors, she picked one and hurried down it.

The Li Family Village case was being heard in the First Courtroom.

She took the elevator, then crossed a quiet hallway.

Finally.

Zhang Xia stopped outside the closed courtroom doors. She could faintly hear voices within.

She drew a deep breath, put her hand on the door handle, and pushed.

"Click."

The door opened a crack.

Through it, she glimpsed the judges' bench at the front, raised above the rest of the courtroom. Three chairs stood behind it, a gavel lay on the bench, and the national emblem hung high on the wall behind them, imposing and dignified.

She pushed harder, widening the gap.

Below the bench, in the center, stood a railed defendant's dock. A row of seats for the prosecution lay to the left, and one for the defense to the right.

The trial had yet to begin, and those seats were empty.

Behind them was a broad, tiered public gallery with at least four hundred seats by her estimate.

Every seat was occupied. More than four hundred people looked down on the courtroom.

Quiet conversations stirred around her.

"We made it. It hasn't started!"

Zhang Xia exhaled in relief. When she looked up again, she saw someone in the front rows waving at her.

"Over here!"

Zhang Wang stayed put to set up the camera at the back, while Zhang Xia hurried over.

The female reporter beckoning to her pointed at a seat.

"Hurry up. Do you know how much abuse I got for saving seats, especially in the first three rows?"

"You're always so careless. Good thing you called me. Without me next time, where are you going to sit?"

At that.

"Thanks, Liu. I'll treat you to dinner afterward."

Zhang Xia flushed but quickly sat down. She placed her shoulder bag in her lap, pulled out a pen and paper, and looked toward the courtroom floor.

The public gallery was packed, but the courtroom below was empty and strangely quiet.

The reporter surnamed Liu leaned toward Zhang Xia and whispered:

"Twenty minutes until it starts. They haven't arrived yet."

She paused, then sighed.

"This case really has stirred up public opinion. I never thought even the First Courtroom would be too small, and it can hold at least five hundred people!"

"They've even assigned judges from the First Criminal Division, Team One!"

The First Courtroom was the largest in Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court, yet plenty of people still couldn't get seats.

But Zhang Xia knew nothing about the judges from the First Criminal Division, Team One.

"What's special about Team One's judges?"

She asked quietly, glancing at the nameplates on the judges' bench: "Liu Jianguo," "Zhang Bingxin," and "Sun Dong."

Three empty chairs stood behind them.

"You've only just graduated, so it's normal you wouldn't know."

The other reporter explained:

"Team One of Greenwood City's First Criminal Division is the most capable and impartial team of judges in the entire city."

"They handle major, high-profile, and serious criminal cases!"

"Zhang Bingxin stands out even among them. He's the presiding judge of the First Criminal Division, with a deputy-division-level rank at the intermediate court. He's known for being incorruptible and looking only at the evidence!"

She paused and sighed.

"He's stubborn, too. If the evidence in the Li Family Village case weighs against the defendant... there's a good chance he'll follow the letter of the law!"

In other words... he might disregard public opinion and even set aside his own judicial discretion!?

Zhang Xia looked at the nameplate reading "Zhang Bingxin" in front of the middle chair and felt a surge of awe.

A man like that...

Might make this case even more explosive!

Just as the thought crossed her mind, an abrupt sound came from the courtroom floor. Everyone fell silent.

"Creak."

A side door opened.

Several middle-aged men stood in the doorway. They wore black suits, white shirts, bright red ties, and red badges on their chests.

The man in front swept his gaze over the room without a flicker of emotion. The moment he stepped forward, he radiated authority.

He led the others to the prosecution's seats. Ignoring the hundreds of people behind him, he calmly sorted through his materials.

"That's Hu Guang, head of the Second Procuratorial Department, First Case-Handling Group."

The reporter surnamed Liu kept her eyes on the prosecutor as she spoke in a low, serious voice.

"He's practically a case-handling machine. Like Zhang Bingxin, he never lets personal feelings enter his work!"

"Put those two together, and the Li Family Village case... could become even more explosive."

Two men who followed the rules to the letter, faced with a case tangled in human relationships. The thought alone was enough to make her scalp prickle!

After Hu Guang and the others sat down, several more people entered.

"See them? Beside the prosecution, at the civil plaintiffs' seats, are the victim's parents, Li Youcai and Liu Cui."

"And the man in a suit at the victim's seat is their litigation representative, attorney Chen Wei. He's a notorious ambulance chaser in Greenwood City. He'll do anything for money!"

The other reporter pointed them out.

Zhang Xia looked over and saw two elderly people with spiteful expressions, muttering under their breath.

There was also a man in gold-rimmed glasses who looked respectable but gave her a nasty feeling. He was sorting through documents, a smile on his lips and a hint of malice in his eyes.

Before long...

"The defendant and defense counsel are here!"

The reporter surnamed Liu blurted it out.

Zhang Xia looked up. Two court officers came through the side door, their faces stern, and headed toward the defendant's dock in the center.

Between them walked a gaunt, hunched man in a yellow vest, his eyes cloudy and lifeless.

It was Wang Qiang!

Once seated, he instinctively glanced to the side.

There, a young man in a neat business suit was walking toward the defense table.

Despite his youth, his gaze was steady and he showed no sign of nerves. After sitting down, he simply began arranging his documents.

At the sight of him.

Whispers swept through the public gallery.

The reporter surnamed Liu frowned and clicked her tongue.

"The defense attorney is Xu De, from Jinmao Law Firm. He hasn't handled a single criminal case yet. He's a rookie."

"A rookie lawyer!?"

Zhang Xia stopped taking notes and stared at the defense table in disbelief.

Xu De sat alone, leaving the defense table looking painfully bare.

She looked across at the prosecution.

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

The victim's litigation representative, the notorious Chen Wei...

Li Youcai and Liu Cui, who would serve as witnesses as well as civil plaintiffs...

The difference...

Wasn't it far too great!?

The imbalance was obvious. Most of the people in the gallery looked shocked, whispering as their eyes moved between the two sides.

Zhang Xia's thoughts were in turmoil. She didn't know what to say.

Until...

"All rise!"

The court clerk's call rang out without warning.

The instant the words fell!

"Click!"

Three figures in robes emerged from the passageway.

Their faces were solemn, their eyes sharp and steady, without a trace of a smile. The moment they appeared, an invisible authority filled the room, and the more than four hundred people in the gallery fell silent.

They were the three judges hearing the case!

Zhang Bingxin led them with measured steps to the bench. He took the presiding judge's seat on the raised platform, the focal point of the courtroom!

Once the three were seated and the clerk had spoken.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin lifted his head. He scanned the courtroom, taking in everyone present, then...

He picked up the gavel in his right hand and raised it high.

The next moment.

Bang!

The gavel struck with a crisp crack. His resonant voice filled the First Courtroom.

"This case concerns the murder of Li Erniu, a resident of Li Family Village in Yangcheng County, Greenwood City, Green Parasol Province!"