What Exactly Are You Trying to Do?!

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

Xu De looked solemn, his gaze earnest, as he said in a low voice:

"I never do anything... illegal or criminal!"

Lin Yue arched an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, asking in confusion:

"So... you're not stealing the child anymore?"

The instant she finished, Xu De objected, sounding displeased:

"How could that be? Of course I'm stealing the child. Never mind stealing."

"Push me far enough, and I'll snatch him outright!"

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

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

Did that even need explaining? Wasn't it common sense?!

Lin Yue kept grumbling inwardly, but she still reined in her emotions.

She sat down opposite Xu De, briefly organized her thoughts, then slowly said:

"The Eastern Kingdom has no offense called 'child stealing.' Instead, there are two offenses: [Article 240 of the Criminal Law, 'child trafficking'] and [Article 262 of the Criminal Law, 'child abduction']."

"Both are inextricably linked to stealing children, and both carry severe penalties!"

"And your conduct fully satisfies the elements of both offenses."

What she said was indeed true.

However...

"You're right, but..."

Hearing that, Xu De first nodded, then smiled mildly and continued:

"What is the core subjective element required for a conviction for [child trafficking]?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he supplied the answer himself.

"Intent plus profit!"

In other words, the act had to be intentional and motivated by financial gain. As long as both factors were present, the conduct would be classified as [child trafficking]!

Xu De wasn't stealing the child for money, so theoretically, that offense could not apply.

"But even so, it still falls under Article 262 of the Criminal Law, [child abduction]!"

Lin Yue shook her head, her tone firm.

True, he wasn't selling the child for profit, but he was intentionally taking control of him and carrying him away!

That fully matched the offense.

"You certainly know your field, Lawyer Lin."

Xu De didn't deny it, nodding in agreement.

But then his tone abruptly shifted.

"However..."

"What you're describing is what criminal law calls the subjective element."

"What about the objective element? Tell me..."

"How does the original wording of the Criminal Law define the objective elements of this offense?"

Lin Yue paused. Her excellent legal training instantly brought the original text to mind, and she blurted it out reflexively:

"Article 262 explicitly defines the objective elements as abducting a minor under fourteen years of age, causing them to leave their family or guardian."

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

The child stealing Xu De spoke of... was practically following the objective definition of a crime to the letter.

But!

The instant Lin Yue finished speaking—

"Lawyer Lin, you said it yourself."

"Objectively, taking a child away from their family or guardian constitutes abduction, but..."

Xu De's voice followed without a pause, his eyes suddenly sharpening as he asked:

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

"Of cour—"

Lin Yue was about to nod, but suddenly stopped, freezing as though something had dawned on her.

Seeing her reaction, Xu De slowly said:

"No!"

"According to Article 27 of the Civil Code, the core provision on guardianship..."

"The child's parents are his guardians!"

"As close relatives, Li Youcai and Liu Cui are merely first in line for guardianship. Note the wording: 'in line'!"

In other words.

Only after both of the child's parents had died could they seek guardianship, and only with guardianship could they seek to keep the child.

But the problem was...

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

So, at present, one person alone held guardianship.

"And that is our client, Wang Mei!"

Xu De spoke rapidly, his words firm and decisive, and continued.

"Lawyer Lin, now look again at the objective definition of abduction in the Criminal Law. Do you still think... I'm breaking the law?"

At those words.

Lin Yue froze. Her mind began racing, caught in a whirlwind of thought.

The objective definition of the offense was causing a child to leave his family or guardian, yet the plaintiffs were not his guardians.

Most importantly...

"Lawyer Lin, don't forget that the custody case has already concluded."

"Wang Mei won!"

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

"In other words..."

"Li Youcai has neither custody rights nor guardianship."

"Under the law, his act of keeping the child for himself is itself illegal!"

All at once.

Those words exploded in Lin Yue's mind, and her pupils contracted slightly.

What he said... really... actually... seemed to be right!

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

And now, an "outsider" was forcibly keeping the child with him... even thinking about it felt wrong.

A long while passed.

Only then did she recover and reply hesitantly:

"But... but the wording also says 'leave their family.' Li Youcai really is a close blood relative..."

Even if he had no rights, the law could hardly disregard their blood relationship.

Xu De immediately replied:

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

"Second, Li Youcai's home counts as a home, but somehow my client Wang Mei's home doesn't count as the child's home?!"

As he spoke.

Xu De widened his eyes. Looking at the timid Lin Yue, his face filled with exasperation at her failure to grasp the point, and he shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm merely taking the child from a 'residence' whose occupants have neither custody nor guardianship..."

"To another home, where the parent has both custody and guardianship."

"Legally speaking, I haven't taken him away from his family!"

At that moment.

Lin Yue stood frozen, every rebuttal in her mind melting away like cream.

Common sense told her it was illegal, but her professional knowledge told her...

Legal!

"This isn't abduction. It's exercising guardianship rights."

A smile appeared on Xu De's face. Sitting on the sofa, he folded his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly.

He said thoughtfully:

"You know."

"Nobody understands breaking the law better than I do!"

Arrogant as it might look, shocking as it might sound, anyone who came along could only stare helplessly!

Once she understood that.

Lin Yue felt her whole heart tremble. Her gaze at Xu De was already filled with disbelief and shock.

In more than twenty years of life.

She had met legal luminaries, attended expert lectures, graduated from one of the nation's top universities, and even studied under a renowned mentor.

Yet despite all that experience.

This was still the first time she had heard of legally stealing a child!

And the crucial thing was, he wasn't even lying!!!

Lin Yue's eyes widened, her thin lips parting as she voiced a question from the depths of her soul:

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

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

"Besides, the child's custody case has already been decided. Wang Mei won at first instance, and the court ordered immediate enforcement."

"But Li Youcai and Liu Cui have kept stalling and refused to hand him over!"

Xu De waved his hand dismissively, his face displeased and his voice now filled with anger.

"Strictly speaking."

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

"They're the ones having him stolen illegally and in bad faith!"

The moment those words came out.

Lin Yue felt as though her soul had ascended. He had smoothed every wrinkle in her brain flat, and somewhere beyond her comprehension, an entirely new door opened before her.

So Chinese characters could be arranged like that...

Was that really something a human could come up with?!

Seeing her expression.

Xu De looked gratified, feeling that she was teachable after all.

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

Lin Yue's lips moved, but she couldn't squeeze out so much as a word of objection.

A crime?

Even if they brought all this into a trial hearing, the judge and prosecutor would, at most, be left collectively dumbfounded.

Nobody could find a single illegal thing about it!

"You..."

Lin Yue looked at Xu De's calm, composed face, unsure what to say, her cheeks reddening with the effort.

After a long while, she finally managed a sentence.

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

Since it wasn't illegal, she instead began worrying about the fast-approaching first-instance hearing.

Lin Yue gripped the chair, a trace of anxiety appearing on her face as she said:

"You know the first-instance hearing is coming up."

"If you don't steal the child back before the hearing, our chances at first instance... will be shaky."

Earlier, at the door, she had accidentally overheard quite clearly that the court had already sent a summons.

The hearing would begin in five days, on November 10. If Xu De didn't take action soon... he might lose the case.

However.

Just as Lin Yue was wondering whether he would catch the other side off guard today, tomorrow, or the day after...

"Steal the child before the hearing?"

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

"When did I say I was going to steal him before the hearing?"

Lin Yue: ?

"If you don't steal him before the hearing, what's the point of stealing him after the hearing ends and the court has already issued its ruling?!"

Shock appeared on Lin Yue's face once more.

The hearing was where both sides fought it out and obtained a result!

Stealing the child was meant to give them leverage to secure a favorable result, yet he wanted to steal him after the result was decided... what use would that leverage be then?!

"Naturally, we'll use something else instead."

Xu De replied as though it were obvious.

"Remember this: the child is our leverage for keeping the plaintiffs, Li Youcai and his wife, in check."

"That leverage has nothing to do with our arguments at the hearing!"

"To deal with the judge and prosecutor, we... need to try something new."

Lin Yue stared blankly at the man before her. He seemed almost like a stranger.

Xu De took a document he had written from his briefcase and set it on the table.

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

"This is what I'm using at the first trial hearing!"

With that, he reached out.

The document slid beneath his palm to Lin Yue's side of the table.

Curious, Lin Yue lowered her puzzled gaze to the page.

But when she saw what it said, she went rigid.

There, in plain sight, were several lines of text...

The document read:

[1. Regarding the defendant Wang Qiang's actions in stopping a human trafficker and defending the safety of a police officer: these actions constituted a courageous act in defense of others. In light of the facts of this case and the applicable law, the defense submits the following arguments...]

[2. Regarding the deceased Li Erniu: his death resulted from self-inflicted harm during an attempted murder and was unrelated to the defendant. 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 blank.

Words had weight.

Lin Yue could feel their weight now.

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

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

There was no telling whether they would take off their belts and whip them!

"Wait..."

Lin Yue looked up at Xu De in utter disbelief. Her fair throat bobbed, and her lips parted.

A trembling voice, on the verge of breaking down, rang through the reception room.

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

"And what do you mean he was bravely protecting a police officer with a gun?"

"What the hell are you trying to do?"