The Decision

A Not-Guilty Defense...

Not a reduced sentence. Not a lighter charge. But... not guilty!

The instant those words fell,

it felt as though an invisible hand had seized the hearts of all four hundred-odd people in the First Courtroom. They jolted, their chests rising and falling sharply.

"Not guilty? The defense lawyer is arguing for an acquittal!?"

"How is that possible? If someone kills while defending themselves when their life isn't in danger, it's almost always Excessive Self-Defense. And Li Erniu didn't even use particularly forceful methods to take her away..."

"But the fact is, the defense lawyer is arguing for an acquittal. His reasoning is airtight, too."

"If Li Erniu really was the one who started it... there's no telling where this case might go!"

"..."

The spectators were shaken to their core.

Reporter Zhang Xia stared, mouth agape, at the lone, slender figure in the courtroom.

A Not-Guilty Defense...

This was no request for a reduced sentence. For that, all you had to do was argue with the prosecution and find something in the defendant's favor.

An acquittal was different.

The court would only find a defendant not guilty if you overturned every claim the prosecution had submitted, from beginning to end!

Overturned them—claims jointly verified by the police, the court, and the Procuratorate, all challenged by one person!

Just hearing that made the difference in difficulty clear, let alone trying to pull it off.

Some veteran lawyers went their entire careers without daring to argue for an acquittal even once!

And this young man before her... Was he even twenty-five? Yet he dared to argue that Wang Qiang was not guilty!

"Liu Cui..."

Zhang Xia felt her blood boiling. Her breathing grew a little ragged.

But the middle-aged reporter beside her had her eyes fixed on the Trial Hearing and paid her no attention at all.

"Don't talk."

"Keep watching!"

Zhang Xia nodded and turned her full attention back to the proceedings.

In the courtroom,

"Prosecution, do you have any objections!?"

Xu De was like a warrior mowing down enemies in a game. His sharp gaze cut across the courtroom and landed squarely on the prosecutors.

"This..."

Wang Wei was speechless. The defense had found a devious angle.

Because Li Erniu had held on to Wang Mei, Xu De argued that the trafficking case was not over and Wang Mei was still in danger.

That, in turn, undermined the charge that Wang Qiang had killed in a fit of emotion and gave his actions a basis in Legitimate Self-Defense.

Wang Wei could only look to Hu Guang.

Hu Guang frowned, gathering every clue in his mind and thinking through them carefully.

As for Chen Wei and Li Youcai...

"What? The police had already taken that ungrateful wretch away! Why's my son still guilty!?"

Once Liu Cui understood what Xu De meant, she was so furious she nearly stamped her feet.

She had seen Wang Mei being taken away with her own eyes.

The woman had left, gotten into a vehicle, and even had seven armed officers protecting her. She was long gone from that woodshed.

How could that still count as confinement!?

"Chen Wei! Lawyer Chen, say something!"

Li Youcai, anxious as well, looked toward Chen Wei, his litigation representative, and urged him on in a low voice.

Two hundred and twenty thousand yuan.

If they won this case, they might make the other side pay them two hundred and twenty thousand yuan!

Whether the other side could afford it or not, they were bound to get a substantial sum!

The case had seemed won. The money had been within reach. So... how had everything suddenly changed?

What did Xu De mean, Wang Mei was still being held captive even though she had been rescued!?

"Say something!" Li Youcai snapped.

But Chen Wei, seated beside the Prosecution Bench, did not react. It was as if he had heard nothing.

Had he really not heard?

No.

At the representative's seat,

Chen Wei's face was flushed a deep, liver-red. Veins throbbed on his forehead, and his bloodshot eyes looked ready to tear Xu De apart. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.

Could he speak?

Of course.

But did he dare!?

That lawyer at the Defendant's Bench had actually dared to set a logical trap during the hearing...

Even Chen Wei, who was called a shyster, had to rely on evidence when facing people like Chen Bingxin and Hu Guang. Yet this man had brazenly baited them into giving him what he needed in open court. Reckless hardly began to describe it!

Most importantly...

He did not dare speak.

Yes, Chen Wei was a little afraid to open his mouth now. He had only said a few words earlier, and without realizing it, those few words had led him straight into the other man's trap...

Who knew what other traps Xu De had waiting for him?

So,

as Li Youcai and Liu Cui pressed and cursed him from behind, Chen Wei could only bury his head in the sand and pretend he could not hear.

Damn you, Sun Hao! You teamed up with him to play me for a fool!

Chen Wei cursed inwardly.

This isn't over between us!!!

But whatever he thought, he still said nothing.

The courtroom, which had been in an uproar moments before, fell into an uncanny silence. A tense stalemate slowly took hold.

At the judges' bench,

"Hu Guang has nothing to say. Does that mean he agrees with the defense?"

"No. I'd say the defense's argument caught him so off guard that he can't find an angle to refute it yet."

"Heh. Finding an opening won't be quick..."

"The hearing's at a standstill. This isn't what we expected. What do we do?"

"..."

Judges Liu Jianguo and Sun Dong conferred briefly, then both looked at Zhang Bingxin.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Bingxin prepared to speak.

He picked up the Gavel.

Bang!

As the sound rang out, Zhang Bingxin opened his mouth.

"Now—"

But he had barely said one word when another voice cut him off.

"Presiding Judge, the defense has more to say!"

Seeing that he had gained the upper hand, Xu De did not hesitate. His expression sharpened, and he interrupted Zhang Bingxin in a firm voice.

Zhang Bingxin paused, the words sticking in his throat. Still, he swallowed them and lowered the Gavel.

"The defense may proceed."

At that,

Xu De nodded. He searched through the papers on the table, then held up a document.

Zhang Bingxin frowned and narrowed his eyes at it. Unable to tell what it was, he asked,

"What is that?"

Xu De replied, "Evidence submitted to the court six days ago by Chen Wei, the victim's litigation representative!"

On the prosecution's side,

Chen Wei's head snapped up at the sound of his name. He stared at Xu De with a troubled expression, his face dark.

What did Xu De mean, evidence Chen Wei had submitted?

Damn it, couldn't Xu De find his own evidence? Ever since the hearing began, he had used either the prosecutors' evidence or Chen Wei's!

And... what evidence was this?

Chen Wei frowned.

Xu De continued, "It contains the police's mental health evaluation of Wang Mei, the trafficking victim. The assessment was: normal!"

Normal...

Wang Mei had indeed had some mental health problems, but that was before her rescue.

The moment she was rescued, it was as though she had been given a miracle drug. She had recovered completely, leaving only psychological issues behind!

But...

Why was he bringing this up?

While everyone was still trying to work it out, his next words reached their ears.

"Honorable Presiding Judge and jurors,"

"the defense maintains that the defendant, Wang Qiang, acted in Legitimate Self-Defense. Furthermore, his conduct also meets Greenwood City's criteria for a heroic act!"

Xu De abruptly returned to his earlier argument, bringing up the heroic act once more.

This time, though, his reasoning was even tighter!

"Chen Wei, the representative in the Civil Lawsuit, previously said that protecting one's daughter is a legal obligation."

"But..."

"Under Articles 17, 18, and 39 of the Civil Code, an adult aged eighteen or older who is mentally sound has full capacity for civil conduct. Their parents' legal guardianship ends automatically, without any court ruling!"

"At the time of the incident, the victim Wang Mei met those conditions."

"Therefore, my client, Wang Qiang, stepped forward when he had no legal obligation to do so. His actions meet the locality's explicit criteria for a heroic act!"

Xu De still had not let go of that heroic-act argument.

And then...

"Furthermore, after Li Erniu died in this case, my client was not arrested."

"He turned himself in!"

Xu De's words landed like another bombshell.

Even Hu Guang, who had remained calm at the prospect of the charges being overturned, widened his eyes and stared at Xu De with a frown.

Turned himself in?

Xu De did not explain. Now that he had the floor, he had no intention of wasting the chance. He would establish every possible point in the defendant's favor.

So...

"At the same time, I must once again question the prosecution."

"Prosecution, on what grounds have you concluded that my client Wang Qiang killed Li Erniu?"

Xu De's face was grave as he delivered one seemingly absurd claim after another without so much as blinking.

His voice rang out, clear and loud, reaching everyone at the Prosecution Bench.

"Was it the statements the police obtained? The evidence left at the scene? Or an eyewitness account..."

"None of them!"

"There is no evidence whatsoever proving that, during the incident, my client Wang Qiang voluntarily drove the knife into Li Erniu's abdomen while no one was threatening or restraining him!"

"The only evidence shows that Li Erniu attempted to commit murder and caused his own death!"

The scene had been chaotic when it happened.

Dozens of people had crowded together, blocking any clear view. The police could only draw conclusions from the fingerprints on the knife handle.

But that raised a question...

In such chaos, who could say whether someone had grabbed Wang Qiang's arm and driven the knife in his hand into Li Erniu?

So without conclusive proof...

What if someone had wanted to use Wang Qiang's hand to get rid of Li Erniu?

What if someone had deliberately held Li Erniu in place so that Wang Qiang would kill him?

"Honorable Presiding Judge and jurors,"

"the prosecution's evidence is insufficient. The charges do not match the facts. The deceased attempted to commit murder..."

"And the defendant's conduct includes Legitimate Self-Defense, a heroic act, and Voluntary Surrender. In light of all this, the defense submits..."

Xu De took a deep breath. His barrage of arguments had left his mouth dry, but he had no intention of stopping.

Legitimate Self-Defense, Voluntary Surrender, no conclusive evidence, a heroic act...

Those arguments led to Xu De's final words.

"The defendant is not guilty!"

"I ask the Presiding Judge to rule accordingly!"