The Trial Begins!

"Take care. I won't see you out."

At the entrance to Jinmao Law Firm, Xu De waved with a smile at the two retreating figures, who looked rather forlorn.

Li Youcai and Liu Cui snorted and stalked away.

Once they were gone,

Xu De let out a long breath and looked down at the Letter of Understanding and Criminal Settlement Agreement in his hands.

What did each of them do?

The first applied to the criminal case and could reduce the sentence to some extent. The second applied to the civil case. With it, Chen Wei's 230,000-yuan compensation demand would amount to nothing but a tantrum!

But what if they changed their minds about signing...

What if they couldn't?

More precisely, Li Youcai didn't meet the conditions for revoking the Letter of Understanding or the settlement agreement!

The law clearly stipulated that a Letter of Understanding could be revoked only if it had been obtained through "inducement, threats, coercion, or similar means," or if there had been a "material misunderstanding."

But Xu De had never threatened them!

And as for...

Inducement?

"I didn't induce him, either."

"On the contrary, I repeatedly told him in plain language that he had no custody rights and couldn't get the child through the courts!"

"So there's an eighty percent chance the judge won't find that Li Youcai was under a material misunderstanding."

"And even if the judge does, it won't matter."

"I'll honor the promise I made!"

Xu De murmured to himself as he studied the two documents.

What had he promised?

Visitation Rights!

In the recording, Li Youcai had explicitly said he wanted to "see the child."

As long as Xu De kept that promise,

Li Youcai would not have lost out in the final outcome. The consideration for the Letter of Understanding would have been fulfilled, and the defendant would have honored the agreement.

The court would see no reason to overturn documents that were already valid and lawful.

Could Li Youcai back out on the grounds that he had wanted "full custody of the child" but received only Visitation Rights?

No.

A mistake about one's motive did not affect a contract's validity!

"Everything's ready... Now I just have to wait for tomorrow's hearing."

Xu De smiled and turned back into the firm.

It was three in the afternoon.

Eleven hours remained before the hearing, leaving him plenty of free time.

He might as well use it...

To take care of some personal business!

Tap, tap, tap...

Xu De returned to the lobby, poured out the cold coffee, and filled three cups with fresh coffee. He set them on a tray and headed for the reception room.

When he reached it, he shifted his hip and pushed the door open.

Creak.

The door opened.

Through the gap, he saw two familiar faces.

"Coffee's here. Have some to perk yourselves up."

Xu De walked in with a smile and handed them each a cup.

They were Wang Chao and Lin Yue.

Wang Chao took his cup and, with a solemn expression, sipped it to appreciate the taste. Then he downed the rest in one gulp.

That was his particular way of savoring coffee.

The sip gave a "high-end" drink the respect it deserved. Downing the rest showed respect for his stomach!

Lin Yue took an elegant sip from the rim, then looked at Xu De in puzzlement.

"What did you call us here for?"

Xu De sat down across from them and smiled.

"I wanted to ask... Are you two interested in striking out on your own?"

Striking out on their own? Did he mean...

Starting their own law firm!?

Wang Chao and Lin Yue both froze, though their reactions could not have been more different.

"Start a law firm? Lawyer Xu, you really think highly of me!"

Wang Chao sat up straight, visibly excited.

He was touched. Other firms had looked down on him, called him a fake graduate of a top university, and complained that he couldn't argue a case or cite the law.

But Xu De was different. Working with him had felt great!

He would never forget how Xu De had praised him for climbing walls and picking locks on the night of the tenth, when they went to Li Family Village.

He had found a kindred spirit!

"If you'll have me, I'm ready to take on this venture with you!"

Xu De smiled and nodded.

"If you're willing, I can give you twenty percent of the shares."

"No. I should only take what I earn. I know what I'm worth."

Wang Chao shook his head and said earnestly,

"You can insult me all you like, but don't insult my character with money!"

Xu De gave him a thumbs-up. "I respect that!"

"But this isn't up for discussion. You're getting twenty percent."

He turned to Lin Yue.

A law firm was different from a company. An ordinary partnership firm had to be established by three lawyers, so both of them mattered.

"What do you think, Lawyer Lin?"

At that,

Lin Yue was tempted. She had wanted to strike out on her own for a long time.

But...

"How much do you currently have in savings, Lawyer Xu?" she asked.

"A little over three thousand," Xu De replied calmly.

Lin Yue shook her head. "That's not enough."

To establish a firm, the three partners had to contribute at least one hundred thousand yuan between them. Three thousand was nowhere near enough.

Before Xu De could speak, she continued,

"Still, I can put in a hundred and fifty thousand, on the condition that I get twenty-nine percent of the shares."

"And... how do you plan to grow the firm?"

"Where will the cases and clients come from?"

Her mother had founded a boutique law firm in Yanjing, so Lin Yue wasn't short of money. To her, the thinking of the person leading the firm mattered more.

Xu De was prepared for that.

He handed her a document.

"With this."

They looked down and saw...

"A Letter of Understanding?" Lin Yue frowned.

"For the Wang Qiang Case?"

She immediately understood, but still shook her head.

"Not enough. If you want to make a name for yourself through the Wang Qiang Case, you can't rely on the first hearing alone. You need an overwhelming victory when the verdict is announced."

For a firm to attract clients, its best option was to win an unprecedented case!

Show everyone what you could do, and clients would come.

If Xu De wanted the Wang Qiang Case to put him on the map, the first hearing alone wouldn't do it. The final verdict had to count as a victory, too!

In the legal profession, everyone looked at the result, not the process!

And a Letter of Understanding alone could not determine the verdict.

"What if I add this? Would it be enough!?"

Xu De handed her the settlement agreement.

Lin Yue read it, her eyebrows lifting slightly.

A settlement agreement could indeed affect only the civil claim, but there was another consideration.

If a case involved special circumstances and the parties had settled the civil claim, judges often exercised their discretion to reduce or lighten the sentence. Wang Qiang would stand a good chance of moving toward an acquittal.

But...

"Nine thousand yuan in compensation? To be paid off with interest over ten years?"

Lin Yue hesitated as she read the amount clearly stated in the agreement.

"Wang Mei still hasn't adjusted to life, and Xu Hong is disabled. If Wang Qiang has to pay nine thousand yuan while supporting the family..."

Even a victory would come at a cost.

Xu De had expected that reaction. Without a word, he placed a yellowed sheet of paper on the table.

"What if I add this, too? Would that be enough!?"

They looked down and found several IOUs from ten years ago. One read...

[I, Li Youcai of Li Family Village, Greenwood City, together with Liu Cui, borrowed one thousand yuan from Li Jianguo to buy a daughter-in-law, to be repaid within three years...]

Farther down...

Li Youcai's and Liu Cui's signatures and fingerprints were right there!

Was this irrefutable proof that Li Youcai and Liu Cui had participated in the trafficking case as accomplices!?

"Where did you get these!?"

Lin Yue's head shot up, and she stared at Xu De in disbelief.

Even the prosecutor hadn't obtained evidence like this!

"Don't worry about that. Besides these, I have three witnesses who will testify tomorrow."

Xu De smiled, with no intention of explaining.

Lin Yue's thoughts were in turmoil. After gathering herself, she said matter-of-factly,

"Leaving sentencing aside for now, there's still the nine-thousand-yuan compensation..."

"Lawyer Lin, sometimes you have to think flexibly."

Xu De sounded entirely unconcerned.

He pointed to the settlement agreement, then to the IOUs.

"It's true that the money is payable to Li Youcai."

"But suppose that, as soon as I've used the settlement agreement, I use the IOUs to complete the chain of evidence and have Li Youcai and Liu Cui convicted on the spot!?"

The evidence was solid. The court might not even need a second hearing before delivering its verdict.

With all their offenses added up, it would be just as Xu De expected: at least twenty years!

"But Lawyer Lin, let me ask you something!"

Xu De's voice rose, his tone turning grave.

"How many more years do you think Li Youcai and Liu Cui have left?"

Lin Yue fell silent.

They were both over sixty, lived in harsh conditions, and already had a host of health problems.

Forget twenty years, or even ten. They would be lucky to live another eight!

"Li Youcai and Liu Cui can't spend the money in prison. If they die of old age or illness before those ten years are up, what happens to the nine thousand yuan Wang Qiang owes them?"

Xu De laid it out without waiting for an answer.

"It becomes part of their estate!"

"And if it's part of their estate, someone has to inherit it, right?"

"So who inherits it?"

Lin Yue followed his reasoning. The moment she saw where it led, she froze.

Inheritance usually depended on how closely related someone was by blood.

And that meant...

Only one person was eligible to inherit their estate.

Li Yang!

"Li Yang—Wang Mei's son. And ten years from now, he'll still be a minor, so Wang Mei will manage the money on his behalf!"

Xu De smiled.

"In other words... that nine thousand yuan goes from Wang Qiang to Wang Mei!"

Silence fell.

The entire reception room was speechless.

The compensation Wang Qiang owed the plaintiffs would circle back, with interest, to his daughter Wang Mei ten years later!?

"Actually, it's not just this nine thousand yuan."

Xu De continued:

"Li Youcai's house, furniture, and savings would all count as his estate!"

"Wang Mei was imprisoned and abused for ten years... heh, she can't be left without any compensation."

What?

As for Xu De having mentioned swallowing up a family's estate to Li Sheng and Li Li?

He had never said those two would be the ones getting it!

If Li Sheng could swallow up that estate, why couldn't the victim?

In short...

"This, plus this—is that enough?!"

Xu De stared at Lin Yue, his eyes blazing.

Lin Yue opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Even setting everything else aside, this workable approach to inheriting the estate—a veritable loophole exploit—was enough to prove just how thoroughly Xu De had thought things through.

Not to mention his downright terrifying ability to improvise. Looking at it that way, perhaps Wang Qiang's case...

Really could make him an overnight sensation!

"Enough!" Lin Yue took a deep breath and nodded her agreement.

The money had been paid, yet somehow it was as though nothing had been paid at all.

They were willing to honor his visitation rights, but with Li Youcai sentenced and locked up in prison, he couldn't exercise them anyway. Having them was no different from not having them.

What did it mean to get something for nothing?

This was getting something for nothing!

"Welcome aboard."

A smile spread across Xu De's face, and he fairly radiated confidence and high spirits.

Now that the arrangements for the law firm had been settled.

Everything would come down to tomorrow's trial hearing!

At that thought, Xu De lowered his head and looked at everything he had spent over a month preparing from scratch.

"Letter of Understanding" + "settlement agreement" + "chain of evidence for the IOU" + "witness testimony" + "voluntary surrender"...

Either.

Tomorrow, the prosecutor and Chen Wei would crush him with an even fiercer assault, leaving his career prospects bleak and his failed defense sending him crashing to rock bottom.

Or.

He would single-handedly face the prosecutor, the lawyer Chen Wei, Li Youcai, and Liu Cui in court, carrying out a bloody slaughter worthy of a textbook—a winner-takes-all victory!!!

"Whether all my efforts come to nothing or I make a name for myself..."

"It all comes down to tomorrow's trial hearing!"

The next day.

On November 15, a prisoner transport van slowly drove into the Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court.

The trial officially began!

P.S. Monthly votes, please, monthly votes! The trial scenes I'm writing over these next two days will rival the Sahara Desert—extremely dry. Remember to drink plenty of water while reading!

Votes, please, votes, please QAQ