As his voice rang out, an invisible force seemed to radiate from Zhang Bingxin, seated at the judges' bench, and sweep through the entire courtroom.
In the First Courtroom, everyone held their breath and fixed their eyes on Zhang Bingxin at its center, listening in silence.
"This case was brought by the Greenwood City Intermediate People's Procuratorate, which charged defendant Wang Qiang with Intentional Homicide and filed the prosecution with this court on October 10, 2002."
"In accordance with the relevant regulations, the First Criminal Trial Court of the Greenwood City Intermediate People's Court will hear this case in public."
"Judge Zhang Bingxin will serve as Presiding Judge in this case, with the court clerk..."
"The court is now in session!"
The court... was in session!
The moment those four words fell, hundreds of people felt a jolt, their pupils contracting.
Below, in the public gallery, Zhang Xia's expression tightened. She hurriedly took out a pen and paper and wrote it down.
She was not alone. Everyone else was shaken to the core.
"Intentional Homicide? The prosecutor really is charging him with Intentional Homicide!"
"That's one of the gravest crimes there is..."
"He spent ten years searching for his daughter, then accidentally killed her buyer while fighting to save her, and the Procuratorate charged him with Intentional Homicide... I wouldn't have the nerve to say that aloud, much less do it!"
"..."
Whispers rustled through the public gallery. People lowered their heads, stunned by what they had heard.
The notice board outside had announced the charge against Wang Qiang in advance.
But hearing the judge say it aloud still shocked everyone.
If any of this made the papers... no one dared imagine how explosive the public outcry would be!
At the Prosecution Bench.
Prosecutor Hu Guang showed no expression. His gaze was sharp, like a machine devoid of emotion.
The lawyer beside him, Chen Wei, turned and gave Li Youcai and Liu Cui a reassuring look.
Then he turned his gaze to Xu De, amusement glinting in his eyes.
Hah. Once they start breaking down the definition of Intentional Homicide... it won't be so easy to escape this charge!
A single crime could often be established on several grounds.
Intentional Homicide was no different. There were even several kinds of "intent," and one of them would fit Wang Qiang no matter how he argued!
Let's see how you defend him! Chen Wei stared at Xu De across the courtroom, a cold smile touching his face.
Just then.
At the judges' bench on the raised dais, the symbol of justice at the center of the courtroom.
Bang!
The Gavel came down, and every sound in the room stopped at once.
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin turned his seemingly all-seeing gaze toward the Prosecution Bench and slowly spoke.
"Prosecution, please read the indictment."
At that.
At the Defendant's Bench.
Wang Qiang sat in a chair enclosed by bars, his wrists shackled. His hands clenched tight.
Prosecutor Hu Guang drew a deep breath as well.
Holding a document, he slowly rose and began:
"Honorable Presiding Judge and members of the court."
"Defendant Wang Qiang, aged fifty-two, born April 17, 1950, was arrested on October 2, 2002, on suspicion of Intentional Homicide."
"Our office's investigation established that the victim had unlawfully controlled, confined, and raped the defendant's daughter. The defendant therefore became highly agitated and initiated a confrontation with the victim."
"The defendant, Wang Qiang, then initiated violence against the victim, Li Erniu, and subsequently used a weapon, causing the victim's death at the scene!"
At this point.
Hu Guang paused. His brow furrowed, and his tone grew grave.
He raised his head slightly. His eyes crossed the distance and fixed on Wang Qiang's thin figure.
The next moment, his voice rang out with force!
"His actions violated Article 232 of the Eastern Kingdom Criminal Law and constituted Intentional Homicide. The facts of the crime are clear, and the evidence is reliable and sufficient!"
"Our office has brought this prosecution in accordance with the law and asks the court to sentence the defendant accordingly!"
His argument was rigorous and complete.
Every word seemed like a massive stone pressing down on Wang Qiang's chest, leaving him struggling to breathe. His shackled hands clenched tighter and tighter.
At the judges' bench.
Zhang Bingxin nodded.
The murder case was inextricably linked to the abduction case, but that could not fully absolve Wang Qiang at trial. At most, it could somewhat reduce his sentence.
"Counsel for the victim, please present your position on this case."
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin turned his stern gaze toward Chen Wei, the lawyer seated beside the Prosecution Bench.
At the sound of his voice, hundreds of people turned to look.
Chen Wei took a deep breath.
He stood and swept his gaze across the vast First Courtroom. Then he glanced at Xu De, a sinister smile on his face.
The next moment.
"Honorable Presiding Judge, members of the court, and jurors present."
"I am Chen Wei, counsel for the victim in the civil claim attached to this criminal case. In light of today's Trial Hearing, I will now present our position on civil compensation."
"The defendant Wang Qiang's act of Intentional Homicide was the direct and sole cause of the victim's death. By law, he must bear full civil liability for compensation!"
Chen Wei abruptly shifted tack, his voice ringing in everyone's ears.
"Presiding Judge, these are the complete records of the victim's family circumstances."
As he spoke.
He raised the documents and handed them to the clerk beside him.
"The Eastern Kingdom Civil Code expressly provides that the defendant must pay death compensation of 49,700 yuan!"
"He must also pay support expenses. The victim's parents, his father Li Youcai and mother Liu Cui, are both sixty-one. They live in the countryside and have no pensions, no source of income, and no ability to work."
"The victim had no siblings."
"Under the regulations, support expenses of 64,600 yuan are owed!"
"The defendant must also cover the victim's funeral expenses of 4,043 yuan, as well as transportation, lodging, and medical expenses totaling 1,762 yuan..."
"Furthermore, the elderly parents have no other children. Having lost the person they depended on in their later years, they have suffered immense emotional distress. We seek an additional 100,000 yuan in compensation, bringing the total to..."
At this point.
Chen Wei paused. A moment later, he spoke a number that stunned everyone present.
"218,343 yuan!"
Nearly two hundred and twenty thousand!?
Two hundred and twenty thousand yuan for one death? Was that a lot? It did not sound like much.
But this was 2002!
Back then, migrant workers from the countryside earned less than eight hundred yuan a month. Even eight hundred was the kind of pay a highly skilled worker might get!
How long would a migrant worker have to go without food or drink to save up two hundred and twenty thousand yuan?
272 months.
A full twenty-two years—almost twenty-three!!!
"Two hundred and twenty thousand!? Have the family gone mad? They wouldn't pay that much if an ordinary person died! How can they demand two hundred and twenty thousand for a dead trafficker!?"
In the public gallery.
Even reporters accustomed to major cases could not hide their disbelief.
The gallery had fallen quiet for the opening of court and out of respect. Now, even with the national emblem hanging overhead, people could not help stirring and whispering.
"Two hundred and twenty thousand? Why doesn't he just rob someone!"
"Shameless... shameless! Utterly shameless! Robbers!"
"How do they have the nerve to ask for that!?"
"That brazen ambulance chaser must have demanded the extra compensation on Li Youcai and Liu Cui's behalf himself. Bastard. Animal..."
"..."
Reporter Zhang Xia stopped writing. She could not help looking up, her face dark as she stared at the unruffled Chen Wei.
There was no need to guess.
His talks with the defense lawyer must have gone badly, so he had deliberately demanded 220,000 yuan in court to vent his anger!
But...
Wang Qiang and Xu Hong would be the ones forced to pay it!
Zhang Xia gritted her teeth. She looked at Wang Qiang in his chair, barely five-foot-three and so gaunt that even his prison uniform hung loose. Her emotions churned.
"Bastard!"
She could not hold back the muttered curse.
Unlike the disturbance in the public gallery.
Order in the courtroom held, though a few people's expressions changed.
Sitting in their chairs, Li Youcai and Liu Cui breathed faster at the amount. Their eyes gleamed, and they looked eager and greedy, barely able to contain their excitement.
Prosecutor Hu Guang frowned slightly and glanced sideways at Chen Wei, but said nothing.
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin's brow knitted tight. After a moment, he asked:
"Are the victim's parents present?"
At his words.
Li Youcai and Liu Cui, seated to the side, lit up. The excitement vanished from their faces, and they quickly answered, "We're here, we're here!"
As though realizing they had shown the wrong emotion.
They immediately changed their expressions. Liu Cui lowered her head and choked back sobs, even sniffling from time to time.
At the sight.
Zhang Bingxin remained unmoved. After thinking for a while, he asked:
"Plaintiffs, does what counsel for the victim said match the facts?"
Li Youcai choked up. Sitting in his chair, he wiped away tears and said:
"Yes. What Lawyer Chen said is true."
"I was nearly forty before I had this one son. We worked the fields to raise him, and just when he'd married and had a child and was about to care for us in our old age..."
"Then this had to happen!"
As he spoke.
Liu Cui suddenly cut in from beside him:
"We raised that ungrateful girl for ten years, and this is how she repaid us... Ten years!"
"She ate our food and drank our water. We spent so much money on her all those years. It'd be bad enough if she never repaid us, but she joined up with someone else to kill our son... There's no justice, no justice! You have to make this right for us!"
With that, she began to wail through her sobs, tears streaming down her face.
Her cries echoed throughout the courtroom.
But everyone present felt a growing tightness in their chest. Their frowns deepened.
After a while, they could only feel helpless and sigh.
If the man killed had truly been a trafficker, there might have been room to maneuver. Li Youcai and Liu Cui's wailing would not have helped them.
But in the end, he was not legally a "trafficker." The court would not define him as one!
Under the law, his offense was a minor crime!!!
Hard as it was to believe, the victim Li Erniu had committed a minor crime, while Wang Qiang had killed someone guilty of a minor crime.
That meant his family could naturally seek compensation for his death, even a substantial sum!
But...
"Two hundred and twenty thousand..."
Someone muttered it. Before long, the courtroom fell silent, save for a few muffled sobs.
After a long while.
"Hah."
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin took a deep breath. With a heavy brow, he finally focused his gaze on the defense side—on...
The Defendant's Bench!
At the long Defendant's Bench sat a young man in a neat suit, his back straight.
"Defense, regarding what the prosecution, counsel for the victim, and the plaintiffs have just said..."
Seated on the raised dais, Zhang Bingxin looked at Xu De and asked:
"Do you have any objections?"
The moment those six words fell.
The restless courtroom went quiet. Hundreds of people turned as one and fixed their eyes on Xu De, alone at the Defendant's Bench.
Silence.
Utter silence.
Xu De slowly rose. He looked around without the slightest sign of agitation.
"Honorable Presiding Judge and jurors, regarding the other side's statements..."
"The prosecution's claims are unsupported by any evidence and cannot stand! Their account does not match the facts of this case! The court should not credit it! It is not credible!"
"Counsel for the victim has exaggerated and engaged in subjective speculation. His account does not reflect the objective facts at all!"
"Neither side has evidence to support its claims. They are pure speculation, inconsistent with the facts, and should not be accepted!"
"What actually happened was..."
Xu De paused briefly.
Suddenly, voices rang out.
"My client, Wang Qiang, never once set out to kill anyone."
"What the prosecution calls murder was an act of courage. Given the situation, he had no choice but to act to protect the seven police officers at the scene from harm!"
The judges' bench: ?
The gallery: ?
At the Prosecution Bench, prosecutor Hu Guang broke off from his thoughts. He looked up and stared, dumbfounded, at Xu De in the Defendant's Bench.
Wh-what the hell?
Before you continue