The moment Yu Caixia announced the recess, everyone in the courtroom rose.
They watched Yu Caixia and the other two members of the judicial panel leave the bench.
During the recess, everyone was anxious about the final verdict.
There was only one exception.
Su Bai.
Li Xuezhen's palms were slick with sweat. This was her first time taking part in a trial.
She had also witnessed Su Bai's arguments in court.
Although the arguments were over, the final verdict was still unknown, leaving her extremely nervous.
Li Xuezhen looked at Su Bai curiously.
"Lawyer Su, aren't you nervous about the final verdict?"
"This is a major case, and the trial's being livestreamed. I heard it's caused quite a stir. Aren't you worried at all?"
The corners of Su Bai's mouth lifted slightly. "There's no need to be so nervous. They'll impose whatever sentence is warranted, and they won't impose one that isn't. Don't worry."
"We're not the ones who should be worried. Look at Mr. Li. As Nandu Bank's legal counsel, he should be much more nervous than we are."
Li Xuezhen glanced at Li Mo and saw him looking their way. She couldn't help saying, "Lawyer Su, Lawyer Li seems to be looking at us."
Su Bai looked up and noticed that Li Mo was staring at him with anger, resentment, nervousness, and all sorts of other negative emotions tangled in his eyes.
He smiled faintly. "Ignore him. Mr. Li is just doing his eye exercises."
Li Xuezhen: ????
Eye exercises? What on earth?
Li Xuezhen didn't understand what he meant, but she knew Su Bai was making a dry joke. She nodded silently and said nothing more.
Meanwhile.
After the recess began, the three members of the judicial panel-the presiding judge and the two other judges-held their final deliberations.
"Do either of you have any thoughts on this case?"
Yu Caixia looked at the other two judges.
One of them said, "Regarding the plaintiff's claim that Wang Li is innocent, legal arguments were presented in court, along with some evidence."
"But he was sentenced to twenty years in prison at the first trial, and that verdict was upheld on appeal. If our final ruling differs too much, might it cause controversy?"
The other judge nodded in agreement.
Yu Caixia frowned slightly. "Our verdict must be based on the law. There's no need to use the first and second rulings as a reference."
"Then let's go with the presiding judge's ruling."
"Agreed!"
In the end, all three agreed that Yu Caixia would deliver the verdict.
Outside the courtroom, the livestream viewers and media reporters endured an agonizing wait through the thirty-minute recess.
Quite a few reporters were cursing openly.
"I thought Nandu Bank was sure to win, so I went out of my way to get an exclusive interview. But looking at how this is going, what the hell was the point?"
"Fuck! If I'd known, I would've interviewed that lawyer from White Jun Law Firm. It would've been a bombshell online!"
"Seriously, I'm kicking myself!"
"Ugh, whoever interviewed that lawyer from White Jun Law Firm really hit the jackpot!"
Outside the courtroom, the reporters kept discussing the case.
One young female reporter's eyes lit up.
Earlier, when none of the other media outlets had thought much of White Jun Law Firm's chances, she had gone to interview them.
She had never imagined-never imagined-that it would pay off so well!
Now I've got a chance to turn my internship into a permanent job!
In the courtroom, the thirty minutes soon passed. Everyone following the lawsuit was eagerly awaiting the final verdict.
Yu Caixia and the other two members of the judicial panel returned to the bench.
The court clerk called, "All rise!"
Rustling filled the room.
Everyone in the courtroom stood.
Li Mo looked nervously at the bench. He no longer had any confidence about the outcome of this trial.
All he could do was wait for Yu Caixia to announce the verdict.
His eyes happened to stray toward the plaintiff's side, where he found Su Bai looking utterly relaxed. His heart sank.
Holding the judgment documents, Yu Caixia slowly began to speak under everyone's gaze:
"This case is before this court, the Nandu Higher Court, for a final ruling. The plaintiff is Wang Li, and the defendant is Nandu Bank."
"This court has jurisdiction over this case, and all applicable law is domestic law."
"Under our nation's Criminal Law, taking public or private property through violence, coercion, or threats constitutes robbery."
"The prosecution's allegation that the plaintiff, Wang Li, was an accomplice to robbery does not meet the legal requirements. Wang Li's actions did not constitute the offense of robbery."
"However, Wang Li knew that the money had been obtained illegally and nevertheless chose to use it to pay his father's fees. This involves unjust enrichment, the transfer of illicit funds, and the concealment of criminal proceeds."
"Given the circumstances and the urgency of the situation, and taking into account that Wang Li had lost his basic capacity for rational judgment at the time, a lenient sentence will be imposed."
"Wang Li is sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for one year! He must return the unlawfully obtained funds!"
"Regarding the plaintiff's demand for compensation from Nandu Bank, the bank did bear some involvement in this case. Nandu Bank is ordered to apologize to Wang Li. All other claims are dismissed!"
"All claims raised by the defendant are dismissed!"
"This is the final judgment. Under our nation's procedural law, this court will send the written judgment to all parties within ten days of the close of proceedings."
Bang!
The gavel fell.
"Court is adjourned!"
With Yu Caixia's announcement, the final trial came to an end.
Hearing the final verdict, Li Mo completely fell apart!
They had lost?!
Nandu Bank had lost?!
And the defeat was utterly crushing!
Not only had the court ruled that Wang Li was not guilty of robbery, overturning the first and second verdicts.
But!
He had been sentenced to just six months-and not only that, the sentence was suspended!
What did a suspended sentence mean?
It meant Wang Li didn't have to go to prison at all.
As long as he behaved himself and committed no crimes or other violations of the law, his sentence was effectively nothing!
The moment the verdict was announced, Li Mo, Nandu Bank's legal counsel, nearly lost his mind!
In Nandu Bank's legal affairs office.
Xu Zhiqiang was watching.
When he heard the verdict on the trial livestream, he froze for a moment.
He let out a long sigh!
While watching the livestream, he had already had a vague feeling that they were probably going to lose this trial!
What he hadn't expected was that the defeat would be this disastrous!
Wang Li getting a suspended sentence was bad enough, but Nandu Bank even had to apologize to him!
Who could take that?
For a moment, Xu Zhiqiang had no idea what to do.
If he told Wang Wu about the verdict, he could already picture himself being made to leave on the spot, carrying his personal belongings.
In the office of Nandu Bank's president.
Wang Wu watched the trial livestream shut off after the announcement that court was adjourned.
Beside himself with rage, he stormed over and pushed open the door to the legal affairs office.
"Xu Zhiqiang, what did you promise me?!"
"Didn't you say Nandu Bank was guaranteed to win, and that we'd win in the court of public opinion too?!"
"This is what you call winning?!"
(End of chapter)
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