Paying a Bitter Price for Her Actions

Inside White Jun Law Firm.

Wang Li and Zhang Tongwei sat on a sofa.

Su Bai sat opposite them.

There were only two sofas in the firm. Li Xuezhen was not fussy; she brought over a little folding stool and sat behind Su Bai to his right.

"Lawyer Su, we've won this trial, but I heard Xie Jing's lawyer, Ye Fei, saying at the courthouse that she intended to appeal."

"If there's an appeal..."

Zhang Tongwei hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.

Wang Li cut in bluntly. "What do you mean, if there's an appeal? There's no need for all these what-ifs!"

"Even if they do appeal, we'll hire Lawyer Su again and beat them until they give in. If the second trial doesn't do it, we'll beat them in the final trial!"

"What are you hesitating for? Don't tell me you're afraid Lawyer Su can't win?"

Clearly, Zhang Tongwei was worried about the legal fees that a second or final trial would incur.

Su Bai took a sip of tea. "You don't need to worry about an appeal. Their chances of winning are slim. All they can do is appeal against the fraud conviction."

"It won't affect your divorce decree or the ruling on the division of property."

"Besides."

"Even if they appeal and include those matters, almost any criminal or prosecution lawyer you hire should be able to win. Given the first-instance ruling, the legal fees won't be too high. There's no need to worry about this."

After hearing Su Bai's explanation, Zhang Tongwei finally felt the weight lift from his chest.

"Thank you, Lawyer Su."

"Lawyer Su, about your legal fees—I don't have that much cash available right now. I'll need a few days. Once I sort out the issue with my house, I'll be able to pay."

"I might need a little more time."

Zhang Tongwei felt deeply uneasy as he said this.

The corner of Su Bai's mouth twitched. Was he afraid Su Bai would give him trouble over a late payment?

"You don't have to pay me on the spot. Once you have the money, just transfer it to the firm's account. Just don't forget."

"All right, Lawyer Su."

Zhang Tongwei let out a long breath of relief.

Wang Li and Zhang Tongwei did not stay at the firm for long. After getting a general idea of what would happen next, they left.

They also reached an agreement.

Once the judgment arrived at the firm, Zhang Tongwei would transfer the legal fees into its account when he came to collect it.

"Lawyer Su, we've finished both of our cases, and we don't have any new ones lined up. Should we keep advertising and take on a few more?"

When it came to enthusiasm for litigation.

Li Xuezhen was far more fanatical than Su Bai. Her eyes lit right up whenever lawsuits were mentioned.

One case had barely ended before she was itching to take on another.

Su Bai rubbed his brow, wondering where Li Xuezhen got all that excitement about litigation.

Young people really did have drive.

"All right, keep advertising."

So far, the firm had only taken on two cases.

The first had made quite a splash online, but unfortunately, it hadn't done a damn thing for them.

The second was the marriage fraud case Wang Li had referred to them.

They had just won it.

Still, once news of the outcome had circulated for a while, it would probably draw attention within legal circles.

After all, Ye Fei was a lawyer at Nanyuan Law Firm.

She was fairly well known.

She had an established standing among lawyers handling marital cases.

Now that she had lost and he had even sent her to prison, White Jun Law Firm's name would at least reach quite a few people in the Southern Capital legal community.

Things unfolded just as Su Bai had imagined.

On the first day after the initial trial ended.

Ye Fei contacted a friend of hers who worked as a criminal lawyer at Nanyuan Law Firm.

When Jiang Min, a criminal lawyer at Nanyuan Law Firm, learned that Ye Fei had been sentenced to a year in prison, the first reaction was shock!

How could someone go to court for a marital case and come out with a one-year prison sentence? That was absurd!

But after learning the full story, Jiang Min's expression gradually settled.

"Ye Fei, I suggest you don't appeal."

"Why? There's clearly a chance on appeal! I handled a marital case and got sentenced to a year in prison. How is that reasonable?"

"It isn't reasonable, but your conduct was indeed bordering on criminal activity. The first-instance sentence was somewhat harsh, but if you continue with an appeal, you could very well face more serious charges."

"The presiding judge at the first trial considered it an offense of inciting an individual. If new witnesses come forward or someone else brings a case during the appeal, you could be convicted of inciting a group."

"You specialize in marital law, but you also passed the Judicial Examination. You understand the distinction between an individual and a group, don't you?"

Ye Fei had lost her earlier composure and was beginning to panic. "Are you sure?"

"Is there really no chance at all of winning an appeal?"

Jiang Min let out a long sigh. "Xie Jing's case may already have been tried and decided. There's practically no chance of winning."

Ye Fei's face turned deathly pale.

Jiang Min was a specialist criminal lawyer at Nanyuan Law Firm who had handled hundreds of criminal cases, large and small.

She knew Jiang Min would not lie to her. If Jiang Min said an appeal was risky, then there was a ninety percent chance of that risk being real. She did not dare gamble on the outcome.

Ye Fei closed her eyes.

She recalled the series of illegal and criminal acts she had committed.

And now.

She had finally paid a bitter price for her unlawful conduct.

Within the Southern Capital legal community.

Lawyers at the various firms all had ways to contact one another.

Even if they did not deliberately look into what had happened to Ye Fei, they could not stop the news from spreading by word of mouth.

Especially when it was something as explosive to legal circles as a lawyer being sent to prison.

That evening.

News that Ye Fei had been sentenced for suspected unlawful conduct spread throughout the Southern Capital legal community.

"Have you heard? Have you heard? A lawyer at Nanyuan Law Firm who specializes in marital matters and has won over a hundred marital cases has been sent to prison!"

"Really? No way! You can go to prison for handling a marital case? That news doesn't sound very credible!"

"I swear I'm not lying! It's already spread through all the law firms. That marital lawyer is pretty famous, too. Her name's Ye Fei!"

"Holy shit! I remember her! She got sent to prison!"

"?! I remember she was always skirting the edge of the law, wasn't she? She stirred up her followers and was certainly good at marital cases. Who was ruthless enough to send her to prison over a marital dispute?"

"That's incredible! Which firm was it?"

"I heard it was a solo practice called White Jun Law Firm. It only has one fully qualified lawyer."

"That firm sounds familiar. Oh, right-wasn't it the firm that handled the Nandu Bank case last time?"

"Now that you mention it, I do remember!"

The next day, White Jun Law Firm became the talk of the Southern Capital legal community.

Quite a few firms became interested in Su Bai.

Some that had his contact details tentatively asked whether he would consider joining their firms.

Su Bai politely declined.

Working for himself and working for someone else were entirely different sources of motivation!

He would also have to give them a cut of his legal fees.

Working for himself simply meant fewer cases, but he earned more.

He could still do that math.

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(End of chapter)