I Plead Not Guilty!

Why had the Wang Qiang case made countless lawyers shy away?

Because the trafficking and killing were considered two separate cases!

If the killing was judged from the moment Wang Qiang struck first, there was no escaping a charge of intentional homicide. Defending him would be a guaranteed waste of effort that could only damage a lawyer's win rate and reputation. Naturally, no one wanted the case.

But if both incidents were treated as a single case, beginning when Li Erniu imprisoned Wang Mei ten years ago...

Then there was room to maneuver!

And so.

After Xu De laid out his tightly reasoned argument, the courtroom fell silent for a moment.

Then, after a long pause.

Murmurs began to rise from the public gallery.

"How is that intentional homicide? Looked at this way, it's clearly self-defense. At worst, it's excessive self-defense!"

"Exactly. Li Erniu might not have attacked her at that moment, but if the imprisonment hadn't ended... then that imprisonment was already an unlawful infringement."

"Which firm is the defense lawyer from? Is he here to give a speech?"

"That presence... Which firm is he from!?"

"..."

It took the spectators only a little thought to grasp Xu De's point.

He was simply bringing the case back to how ordinary people would see it!

At the judges' bench.

"Should we contact the police?"

Judge Liu Jianguo was shaken. After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he turned to Zhang Bingxin beside him and asked the question.

"Do you think there could be some misunderstanding about the information?" Sun Dong asked.

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

Zhang Bingxin thought for a long while. Instead of answering at once, he looked up at Xu De and the prosecution facing off and said:

"No rush. Let's keep watching."

The other two nodded and turned their attention back to the courtroom.

During the hearing.

"Try Wang Qiang's killing as part of the trafficking case!?"

Prosecutor Wang Wei's expression turned grave. Years of experience had made him quick to detect the defense's intent.

If they did that... their existing indictment would be overturned!

Prosecutor Zhang Qing frowned and nodded too. Young as he was, the issue had been laid bare enough for him to understand what was happening.

As for Chen Wei, who was nobody's fool...

The moment he realized he had been outmaneuvered and had fallen into a trap prepared by the other side...

"Slander! Complete fabrication!"

Chen Wei's pupils contracted. As though every cell in his body were urging him on, he sprang to his feet, pointed at Xu De, and shouted:

"Presiding judge, we never conceded that the trafficking case was still ongoing!"

"The opposing counsel is fabricating testimony. I request that he be removed from the courtroom!"

I fell for it...

Chen Wei felt sweat soak through the shirt against his back. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and even his breathing grew hurried.

He had been played by a greenhorn!

For his argument about whether Wang Qiang had acted to help another person to stand, Chen Wei had first had to acknowledge a standoff between the police and those at the scene.

And once that standoff was established, the trafficking case had not ended. Everything that happened between Wang Qiang and the deceased would be considered part of it!

The lawyer had used "acting to help another person" as a hook and made him overlook that step!!!

Damn it! Damn Sun Hao!

Three months since he qualified—that's what you fucking told me? Jinmao Law Firm fucking set me up!

Chen Wei cursed inwardly. The composure he had shown at the start of the hearing was gone.

He saw it now: Sun Hao had joined forces with this lawyer to set a trap for him!

Pretend to sell the lawyer out, make Chen Wei lower his guard, then let his contempt at the start of the hearing carry him straight into Xu De's trap. That move...

Sun Hao, this isn't over!!!

Chen Wei was furious enough to want to skin him alive.

But he plainly would not get the chance now. He still had to pay for his mistake.

Sure enough.

A cold laugh came from the defense.

"Heh. Counsel for the victim, would you like me to repeat what you just said to the presiding judge!?"

Xu De stared straight at him with a cold smile.

If the defense's biggest wild card in this case was Xu De himself, the prosecution's was Chen Wei!

Why?

Because Hu Guang and the others followed procedure and the law.

But Chen Wei simply wanted Wang Qiang and Xu De dead!!!

"You!" Blood rushed to Chen Wei's head. Veins bulged on his forehead, but he could not get another word out.

In court, he had to answer for his words.

He had just conceded the existence of coercion. If he took it back now, he would be contradicting himself, and that would very likely affect the judge's exercise of discretion!

"Heh."

Seeing that Chen Wei had nothing more to say, Xu De did not bother pressing him further.

His gaze swept across the courtroom before settling on Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin. He continued:

"Presiding judge, the defense maintains that the trafficking case had not ended at the time of the incident."

As if on cue.

The prosecution spoke the instant his words fell.

"Defense counsel, according to information provided by the police."

"At the time of the incident, Wang Mei, the victim in the trafficking case, had already boarded the vehicle. Seven officers were protecting her. No disturbance had occurred at the scene, and there was no risk of further confrontation."

Prosecutor Wang Wei rose to his feet, his deep voice carrying through the room.

"Therefore, under the relevant law, the arrest operation in the trafficking case had ended!"

"The disturbance that followed was not caused by the trafficking. It arose from the conflict between the defendant, Wang Qiang, and Li Erniu!"

That was precisely their main reason for treating the matter as two separate cases.

The cause of the later disturbance was entirely different from the cause of the earlier standoff.

But...

"Absurd!"

Xu De showed the prosecutor no courtesy. His eyes narrowed as he fixed Wang Wei with a cold stare and declared:

"Whether a case has ended is not for an outsider to say. It depends on what the parties involved actually did!"

"The fact is that Li Erniu, the perpetrator, still harbored criminal intent after boarding the vehicle and tried to continue harming the victim, Wang Mei!"

With that.

He raised a document in his hand without hesitation.

"Presiding judge, this is evidence submitted by the prosecution."

"It contains statements from all seven police officers. Every one of them said that after boarding the vehicle, the deceased, Li Erniu, took Wang Mei by the hand and tried to lead her off it."

"These statements plainly show that the victim remained in potential danger and had not yet been rescued!"

"By the same reasoning, her unlawful imprisonment had not ended, and neither had the trafficking case!"

Xu De had submitted little evidence before the hearing, only a pile of documents.

Why?

Because the prosecution and Chen Wei had already submitted the evidence. He could simply use theirs in court.

What, whether they wanted him to?

Who cared?

The rules allowed him to use it. It was perfectly lawful, and he could rely on it whether they liked it or not!

And so...

"Article 6 of the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law expressly states that cases meeting these conditions may be tried together!"

"Likewise."

"The defense submits that Wang Qiang's actions fall under Greenwood City's provisions on acting to help another person, specifically in the form of self-defense under Article 20 of the Criminal Law!"

"Honorable presiding judge, members of the jury, and everyone in the public gallery, I am Xu De, counsel for the defense."

"Everyone, on behalf of the defendant, Wang Qiang, I enter..."

Xu De's eyes were solemn. His voice was not impassioned; it carried a quiet gravity.

"A plea of not guilty!"