Ye Fei noticed Li Xuezhen's stare and frowned slightly without saying anything.
Beside her, Xie Jing was a nervous wreck.
"Attorney Ye, can we win this case?"
"If we lose, we won't both end up in prison, will we?"
"Attorney Ye, do you think their fraud allegations against us will hold up?"
Xie Jing's barrage of questions made Ye Fei irritable, too.
She would have been fine if Xie Jing hadn't brought it up, but now she really was starting to worry!
After all, some of what she had done was indeed illegal. When she first started, she had worried about being exposed.
But as her operation grew and she made more and more money, repeatedly skirting the boundaries of the law, she had instead become increasingly brazen.
Being accused of fraud this time had come as a complete surprise.
After all...
Who the hell would have imagined that taking a case as a lawyer could land her in prison?
Who could possibly understand how she felt?
No one understood Ye Fei's feelings at that moment.
Facing Xie Jing, Ye Fei could only try to keep her calm. They couldn't afford to fall apart.
"Don't panic. Their lawyer does have the upper hand, but the court hasn't delivered its ruling yet. We don't even know whether the presiding judge has accepted his arguments. This isn't the time to get anxious."
"Let's wait until court resumes and we make our statements."
"No one can say how things will turn out yet. Don't worry."
Ye Fei's reassurances did nothing to ease Xie Jing's nervous expression.
She knew perfectly well that Ye Fei wasn't confident either.
At that moment, she was overwhelmed with regret.
Her life used to be so happy. She could order Zhang Tongwei around however she pleased.
If only she hadn't been greedy, she wouldn't have ended up in this position!
But since Ye Fei had said that, she couldn't very well say anything more. She nodded, her mind consumed entirely by regret and the question of whether she would be sentenced, leaving no room for anything else.
Meanwhile...
The three members of the collegial panel were discussing the fraud allegations raised at that day's hearing and the related issues.
Yang Yu took a sip of water. "Jiang Hao, Hongmei, as the two jurors, what do you think of this case? What ruling would be appropriate?"
Jiang Hao considered it for a moment.
"Judging by the courtroom arguments, the plaintiff clearly has the advantage. His explanation of how the elements of fraud are satisfied is well supported. I support the plaintiff's position and a finding of fraud."
Yang Yu turned his gaze toward Liu Hongmei.
"Hongmei, what do you think?"
"Presiding judge, I don't think this case constitutes fraud."
"Look at the plaintiff's argument first. Although it's well supported and clearly explains the elements of the offense, it employs a deceptive debating tactic."
"Of course, that's perfectly lawful and permissible in court."
"Su Bai's argument is that the other party committed fraud, and that the property involved was the plaintiff Zhang Tongwei's personal premarital property.
"But that hasn't become an established fact.
"According to his account, Zhang Tongwei's personal property remains his personal property. Xie Jing did have that intention and was in the process of carrying it out.
"But that doesn't satisfy the established conditions for a completed offense, because Xie Jing hasn't obtained Zhang Tongwei's property yet. At most, it was an attempt."
"And there's another crucial point: fraud requires an unlawful act!"
"If... Xie Jing obtains marital property through a lawsuit, that act is lawful.
"All we can say is that Xie Jing collaborated with her lawyer, Ye Fei, to target her husband, Zhang Tongwei, intending to take his premarital property through lawful means."
"But Ye Fei isn't a criminal lawyer. Her understanding of fraud under criminal law isn't very deep, and the plaintiff's lawyer, Su Bai, led her astray, making her overlook this crucial point."
"I don't think a finding of fraud would be appropriate."
Liu Hongmei had a professional background as a criminal lawyer, so she saw this point very clearly.
It was simply Ye Fei's ineptitude at handling criminal cases that had put her at risk of becoming embroiled in one herself.
Jiang Hao disagreed with that interpretation and countered:
"I don't agree on that point. Xie Jing used coercion, threats of divorce, and other methods to induce the plaintiff, Zhang Tongwei, to sign a written pledge and a gift agreement. Isn't that unlawful?"
Liu Hongmei spoke up to rebut him again.
"That behavior skirts the boundaries of the law, but in this situation, it's difficult to establish exactly what happened and obtain evidence. That's the crucial issue!"
"But it's still unlawful, isn't it?"
Jiang Hao's relentless questioning left Liu Hongmei utterly speechless.
If she said it wasn't...
It certainly was.
But if she said it was, there was no evidence.
Ye Fei didn't understand criminal law either. She hadn't raised the issue in court, challenged the other party, or demanded that he produce evidence.
Ultimately, she simply lacked experience in criminal cases.
So the final decision rested with the presiding judge.
It depended on how the presiding judge would characterize this case and the alleged fraud!
At that moment, Liu Hongmei suddenly became interested in the plaintiff's lawyer.
She could tell that he had brought up fraud to protect the plaintiff's property from division and prevent the other party from getting her way.
If this case had been heard as a civil marriage dispute, it would have been difficult to avoid a ruling ordering the division of property.
That was why the plaintiff's lawyer had taken the initiative by alleging fraud!
He had even managed to lead the defendant's lawyer into a trap. She had to admit that he was genuinely skilled.
Seeing that Liu Hongmei had fallen silent, Jiang Hao spoke again. "This should count as unlawful conduct, right?"
Seriously, are you determined to keep harping on this?
"Yes, yes, yes. It's unlawful. Happy now?"
Liu Hongmei couldn't be bothered to keep arguing with Jiang Hao.
The case ultimately hinged on how the presiding judge, Yang Yu, viewed the question of whether this constituted fraud.
Neither she nor Jiang Hao had the final say.
Listening to their discussion, Yang Yu nodded slightly. He had already reached a tentative conclusion. This was precisely the point he had been struggling with.
But he hadn't fully made up his mind yet.
Still, he now had a general direction.
He would have to wait for the statements when court resumed before he could decide.
"All right. Both of you have made valid points."
"There's no need to keep discussing it. Once court resumes, let's hear the plaintiff's and defendant's statements before making a decision."
Yang Yu had spoken.
Naturally, Jiang Hao and Liu Hongmei said nothing further.
Back in the courtroom...
An hour passed quickly.
The lawyers and parties on both sides took their places.
"All rise!"
The presiding judge and the other two judges entered the courtroom again.
Bang, bang!
"The hearing in the case brought by the plaintiff, Zhang Tongwei, against the defendant, Xie Jing, will now resume."
The gavel came down.
At the plaintiff's table, Su Bai looked relaxed.
It was just as he had said: there was no way he could lose.
Victory was certain. He had also guessed the purpose of the recess; he simply didn't know how much he could win.
Li Xuezhen continued staring at Ye Fei.
Zhang Tongwei looked nervous. After all, the preservation of his family's property, worth several million, was at stake. Even with Su Bai's assurances and the overwhelming advantage he had witnessed during the hearing, he still couldn't relax!
At the defendant's table, meanwhile...
Ye Fei and Xie Jing looked markedly more somber by comparison.
The final ruling would determine not only whether they won or lost, but also both women's futures!
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(End of chapter)
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