L-Legal!?
"How is that possible?"
"He stole my grandson! Ain't that obviously a crime?"
Li Youcai cried out, rejecting the claim outright.
Liu Cui was flustered too. She hurried to add, "Officer, have you got something wrong?"
"How could a child trafficker stealing a kid not be against the law? You said my son broke the law, so how come it's legal when he does it..."
At those words, Wang Wei was speechless.
So they knew child trafficking was illegal. Why hadn't they thought of that when they bought someone?
Now that it was their turn, they couldn't stop going on about the law...
And then there was Xu De.
He had actually stolen the child... A lawyer had gone to Li Youcai's house while he was away and taken the child in the middle of the night!
Wang Wei had thought the stunt at the trial hearing was astonishing enough. He hadn't expected Xu De to have another move up his sleeve.
But he kept that to himself. Taking a deep breath, he explained slowly:
"I can't make you understand."
"But I can tell you this with absolute certainty."
"As long as he didn't get into an open, physical confrontation with you, he broke no law."
Li Youcai and Liu Cui stared at him, dumbfounded.
After all that thought, his answer was that it wasn't illegal unless there was a physical confrontation!?
Xu De had driven over to take the child while Li Youcai couldn't get home. They'd been dozens of miles apart. How could there have been a confrontation?
"No way! You look down on me 'cause I'm a farmer, don't you? You think you can fool me!?"
Li Youcai was so furious he turned his anger on Wang Wei.
Wang Wei couldn't be bothered with him. He shook him off.
"In any case, I have no jurisdiction. If you object... go to the police."
With that, he turned to leave.
But before he went, Wang Wei stopped and looked back at the two of them.
"The court has set the hearing for three days from now. Don't forget to appear."
Only then did he leave.
The prosecution's filing had been challenged, but the defense's arguments were easy to verify. They only needed to check the confrontation between the police and the people at the scene.
Confirm one point, and the entire chain of reasoning would fall into place.
As it happened, Xu De could establish that crucial point directly through Li Sheng's and Li Li's testimony!
Including today, four days was more than enough.
Li Youcai and Liu Cui gave none of that much thought.
They watched Wang Wei leave, faces flushed and fists clenched.
Legal...
"He must've been paid off!"
Li Youcai's eyes burned with malice. He cursed the man's ancestors eighteen generations back and descendants yet to be born.
Liu Cui's expression turned dark as well.
But no amount of cursing would bring the child back. After a moment's thought, the two settled on a plan.
"Let's go home first. Maybe Dahu wasn't taken!"
They decided to return to their village.
That afternoon, Li Youcai arrived back in Li Family Village and found that Li Yang really was gone. He flew into a rage.
The next day.
November 12.
Two days remained before the case returned to court.
"The child was stolen? Are you sure!?"
At ten that morning, at Greenwood City's police station, two officers looked at Li Youcai and Liu Cui, who had come to report the theft. Their expressions grew grave.
"Yes! You've got to help us! He's our only grandson. If he's gone, how are we supposed to live..."
Liu Cui wailed, while Li Youcai stood beside her looking grief-stricken.
"Well..."
The two officers hesitated.
If anyone else had made this report, they would have followed procedure and handled it at once.
But they recognized the pair. These were the two who had thrown a tantrum at the station. They had claimed not just that their child had been stolen, but even that the police had killed someone!
Fortunately, someone came to their rescue.
"What's going on?"
Detective Li Xiang approached, thermos in hand and brow furrowed.
The two young officers looked as though they had seen a savior. They quickly filled him in.
"Their grandson was stolen?"
Li Xiang paused and studied Li Youcai and Liu Cui with suspicion.
"Yes. They say it was someone named Xu De..." one officer added.
"Xu De..."
Li Xiang murmured the name, then his expression turned strange.
If he remembered correctly, Wang Mei's custody case was over, and the court had awarded her the child.
Li Ergou was dead, leaving Wang Mei as the child's only legal guardian... And judging by Li Youcai's account, there probably hadn't been any confrontation when she took the child away.
In that case...
For once, Li Xiang, a veteran detective with over twenty years of experience, didn't know what to make of it. At last, he said:
"I understand."
"Go home for now. Come back at two this afternoon, and I'll tell you what we've found."
At that, Li Youcai and Liu Cui left in high spirits.
But at two that afternoon, when they finally returned, they were told otherwise...
Li Xiang said, "The Legal Affairs Division says it was entirely lawful. No crime was committed."
The two were dumbfounded.
"How can it not be a crime? I'm Dahu's grandfather! He stole my grandson, and that ain't against the law!?" Li Youcai demanded.
Li Xiang took a drag on his cigarette and shook his head. "The Legal Affairs Division contacted the other party. It really wasn't illegal, so the police won't open a case."
Li Youcai stamped his feet in fury and burst into abuse.
"You're getting back at us on purpose! That's what this is!"
Li Xiang was speechless. The man had suddenly dragged up the time he'd gone to rescue Wang Mei.
How quickly his tune had changed. What a joke!
He waved the two troublemakers away.
"If you won't accept it, go to the Procuratorate. The evidence on the police side is clear."
"We can't open a case!"
Li Youcai was seething. He cursed for a while longer, but when it did no good, he finally left.
November 13.
Only one day remained before the case returned to court.
After making a scene at the police station to no avail, Li Youcai and Liu Cui went straight to the Greenwood City Intermediate People's Procuratorate.
Early that morning, they got into a heated dispute with the Procuratorate staff.
"What's that noise outside?"
Inside his office, Prosecutor Hu Guang stopped working and turned to Wang Wei beside him.
Wang Wei sighed helplessly and explained the whole affair.
When he heard it, Hu Guang felt as though something were stuck in his throat. Or perhaps he was simply too speechless to respond.
What kind of defense lawyer skipped meals during the court recess, while they were heading back to the Procuratorate, just to rush to the plaintiff's home and steal a child!?
And somehow, under the circumstances, it had all been perfectly lawful...
"Well..."
Hu Guang fell silent.
Never before had he seen a lawyer so bold, so willing to walk a tightrope over danger and dance along the edge of the law!
Hu Guang shook his head. Leaving the matter alone, he went back to reviewing the information.
Outside, Li Youcai and Liu Cui kept making a scene. When nothing came of it, helplessness began to well up inside them.
Until...
November 14.
The day before the case returned to court!
Two in the afternoon.
At the Jinmao Law Firm.
"Hey, Attorney Xu, Attorney Sun has called in sick. He hasn't been to the firm for days."
"Any thoughts on that?"
Several lawyers in the firm's lobby teased Xu De.
Xu De was pouring himself a cup of coffee. At their words, he gave an unconcerned smile.
Sun Hao had taken sick leave.
He'd put in for it on the eleventh, without even daring to wait for Xu De to return. He hadn't dared face him.
Most likely, he was still hoping Xu De would lose tomorrow's hearing so he could come back afterward.
Xu De couldn't be bothered with him.
Another lawyer sighed.
"Too bad we don't know who gave him that lump on his face. The sick leave lets him hide for a few days."
Everyone exchanged knowing smiles, and laughter spread through the lobby.
Until...
A voice cut through the noise and caught Xu De's attention as he poured his coffee.
"Attorney Xu, someone's here to see you!"
Someone's here for me?
Xu De raised an eyebrow and took a quiet sip of coffee before heading out.
"All right. I'll take care of it."
He set down his cup and walked toward the firm's entrance.
Creak.
He opened the front door and saw two familiar figures: Li Youcai and Liu Cui!
Both wore dark, grim expressions, their mouths turned so far down they looked ready to drag on the floor.
Their cold eyes fixed on Xu De like venomous snakes poised to strike.
Their clenched fists made their fury plain.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Li and Ms. Liu."
Xu De gave them a professional smile, approached, and stopped before them.
"What can I do for you?"
Li Youcai's anger flared.
What did he think they were here for? As if he didn't know!
Damn it. Over the past two days, he had gone to nearly every government office in Greenwood City. He'd visited the Procuratorate several times, the police station more than once, and had even gone to the fire department.
But everywhere he went, he got the same answer...
Everything the other party had done was legal and aboveboard!
Li Youcai was so furious his chest felt ready to burst, but there was nothing he could do. He had gone everywhere he could. Getting back at Xu De and putting him behind bars seemed impossible.
So he had to settle for the next best thing: find Xu De himself and get his grandson back.
"Where's my Dahu!?"
Li Youcai held back his anger, his voice low and rough.
Xu De looked as though he had just realized what Li Youcai meant, then smiled.
"Dahu? Is that Li Yang's nickname? Not bad. It sounds like a healthy kid's name."
That utterly irrelevant answer made Li Youcai even angrier.
"Where's my grandson!? Quit dodging the question! I'm telling you, if I don't see my grandson today, you haven't heard the last of me!"
At that,
"Mr. Li, I know you're anxious, but hear me out."
Xu De kept trying to soothe him. He spoke slowly.
"First, don't get worked up."
For some reason,
though Xu De hadn't cursed or said anything particularly offensive, those words made Li Youcai feel as if his whole chest were burning with rage. His fists clenched on their own, and he gritted his teeth.
"Where's my Dahu!?" Li Youcai demanded through clenched teeth, his face twisted with fury.
"You want your grandson? Ah, you should've said so! Then I would've known why you came to see me," Xu De said.
At that,
the fire inside Li Youcai died down a little, but...
"But, Mr. Li, you know you can't always get what you want in this world."
A smile suddenly appeared on Xu De's face. He looked at Li Youcai and said slowly,
"Take the Wang Qiang Case. It's going back to court for retrial tomorrow."
"And I want a Letter of Understanding and a Criminal Settlement Agreement."
"But do I have them? No."
A Letter of Understanding... a Criminal Settlement Agreement?
Xu De's phrasing sounded a little strange, but the moment Li Youcai heard those two terms, he froze.
Then,
his brow furrowed. He stared hard at Xu De, as if he had begun to understand, and lowered his voice.
"You..."
"What do you mean!?"
"Exactly what I said."
Xu De narrowed his eyes.
Generally speaking, obtaining a Letter of Understanding through threats, explicit coercion, false promises, or deception was illegal, and the letter would be invalid.
But then again,
if he made no threats, used no coercion, and offered no deal, and the other party signed a Letter of Understanding purely because of what he imagined Xu De meant...
Then even if there was a touch of artful phrasing in Xu De's words, the letter would remain valid and legal as long as he hadn't crossed the line into "fraud" or compromised the signer's "genuine expression of intent."
No one knew more about breaking the law than he did!!!
Xu De spoke slowly, his words pointed and his tone cheerful.
"You want the boy but can't get him, and I want a Letter of Understanding but can't get one either. You can't always get what you want..."
"It's not as if you'd sign a Letter of Understanding for me right now."
"Isn't that right, Mr. Li?"
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