Chapter Summaries

Su Bai questioned Fang Shijun and Feng Xiang about their unlawful arrest, and the court determined that they were suspected of abuse of authority. The hearing then turned to Du Ming, whose lawyer pleaded not guilty and demanded that the prosecution be held accountable for false accusations.

• Fang Shijun claimed that he and Feng Xiang had acted without anyone's orders to protect a company from delays, and Su Bai pressed him about knowingly breaking procedure to help it.
• Fang Shijun said they had acted as law enforcement officers to protect the company's lawful interests, while Su Bai concluded their answers supported the abuse-of-authority charge.
• Lin Shen offered no objection when Xu Hao determined that Fang Shijun and Feng Xiang were suspected of abuse of authority, and Xu Hao stopped Fang Shijun's legally unsupported argument.
• Xu Hao asked Du Ming and his counsel how they would respond to charges of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and perversion of the law in adjudication.
• Xu Xiao pleaded not guilty on Du Ming's behalf and requested that the prosecution be held accountable for false accusations, surprising Su Bai and the courtroom.

Defense lawyer Xu Xiao challenged the evidence against Du Ming and tried to argue that public opinion had pressured the Prosecution, but Su Bai exposed the claim as unsupported and the judge rejected it. When Du Ming admitted he knew the prosecution’s test report was illegal, Xu Xiao had no further objections, and the court found the facts established, leaving Du Ming’s conviction imminent.

• Xu Xiao argued that Du Ming had acted lawfully while presiding over Qin Bao’s case and claimed public opinion had led the Prosecution to bring erroneous charges.
• Cao Xue challenged Xu Xiao’s claim, and Su Bai demanded substantive evidence, prompting Judge Xu Hao to reject the argument and warn the defense to stay focused on the evidence.
• Xu Xiao objected to the Prosecution’s evidence about Du Ming’s use of Ma Wu’s test report, arguing that Du Ming had authority to accept it.
• Xu Hao asked Du Ming whether he knew the report was unlawful, and Du Ming admitted that he did.
• Xu Xiao offered no further objections, and Xu Hao declared the facts established.

The court found Du Ming, Ma Wu, Fang Shijun, and Feng Xiang guilty, then heard arguments over whether the offenses involved particularly serious circumstances. The judges agreed to consider the case’s social impact when determining sentences, but the verdict had not yet been announced.

• Xu Hao announced that the criminal allegations against Du Ming, Ma Wu, Fang Shijun, and Feng Xiang were substantiated, and the parties raised no objections.
• Su Bai argued that the defendants’ conduct had caused enormous social harm and damaged Qin Bao’s reputation, career, and mental health, supporting a finding of particularly serious circumstances and heavier punishment for favoritism and fraud.
• Du Ming disputed responsibility for the case’s social impact and blamed the arrest, detention, and other stages on the other defendants; Fang Shijun and Feng Xiang reacted with alarm.
• Xu Hao adjourned the hearing, and Li Xuezhen hoped the defendants would receive longer sentences.
• Xu Hao, An Guoming, and Liu He agreed that the evidence supported finding serious circumstances based on social impact, then discussed approximate prison terms before returning to hear court statements.

The Hohhot Intermediate Court found Ma Wu, Fang Shijun, Feng Xiang, and Du Ming guilty of abuse of power and related crimes, sentencing them to prison terms. After receiving six years, Fang Shijun claimed someone had instructed him and asked whether identifying that person could reduce his sentence.

• Cao Xue argued that the defendants’ circumstances should be deemed particularly serious, while Ma Wu accepted responsibility and Fang Shijun and Feng Xiang asked for leniency.
• Du Ming challenged the possibility of a particularly serious finding, and Qin Bao explained that he had exposed Tranquil Spirit Medicinal Wine to protect the public.
• Xu Hao sentenced Ma Wu to one year and six months, Fang Shijun to six years, Feng Xiang to five years and six months, and Du Ming to seven years in prison.
• Fang Shijun objected to his sentence, then claimed someone had instructed him to commit the crimes and asked if identifying that person could reduce his punishment.

After the unlawful enforcement officials were sentenced, Su Bai helped victims pursue compensation from Anyao Group, turning the case into a major class action. The group’s sales collapsed, and Chairman Liu Haitao was taken in for questioning over bribery, realizing that his powerful backers had fallen.

• After the hearing, Su Bai explained that Du Ming was unlikely to succeed in appealing his sentence, while Fang Shijun and Feng Xiang volunteered to accuse others.
• Su Bai advised Qin Bao to pursue compensation from Anyao Group for Qin Wei and state compensation for Qin Bao’s unlawful detention, then assigned Xu Xiang to follow up.
• Qin Wei won 86,756 yuan from Anyao Group, and Qin Bao received nearly 90,000 yuan in state compensation for his detention and emotional distress.
• Su Bai publicized the victories, prompting dozens of consumers to seek legal help and a large group lawsuit that led to Anyao Group being ordered to pay ten million yuan in collective compensation.
• Anyao Group’s sales plunged amid public boycotts and regulatory pressure, while Liu Haitao’s attempt to contact someone went unanswered.
• Law enforcement officers brought Liu Haitao in for questioning over a major bribery case, and he realized his backers had fallen.

After Qin Bao’s case ended, Liu Haitao was sentenced to eleven years and Anyao Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Su Bai accepted a new, high-profile case involving a death caused by an administrative department’s procedural violations, while wondering whether it might advance the firm’s stalled system progress.

• News of Liu Haitao’s arrest sent Anyao Group’s shares plunging, and its shareholders fought to take control of his shares.
• Qin Bao told Su Bai that he had returned to his doctoral studies and was preparing to work at his university’s affiliated hospital.
• The system unlocked a growth mission for Su Bai to build White Jun Law Firm into a full-service Red Circle Law Firm, but its progress stayed at 50 percent.
• Li Xuezhen qualified as a lawyer and raised the idea of investing in the firm, while Su Bai turned her down.
• Hohhot announced that thirty-four people were implicated in the connected cases, and Liu Haitao received an eleven-year prison sentence for bribery involving an enormous sum.
• Feng Lijian referred Li Xuezhen a difficult case involving a death after an administrative department’s improper handling, and Su Bai agreed to take it.

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen took Lin Dong’s case in Guangdu after the local authorities claimed he had died of a sudden heart attack and blocked a forensic examination. The examination showed that Lin Dong had died from blunt-force beating, and Su Bai agreed to pursue a case and sue the Law Enforcement Department as Lin Guanxing sought the truth and his son’s name cleared.

• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen met Wang Siyuan in Guangdu to discuss the case, which involved a death in detention and lacked basic evidence.
• Su Bai arranged for media attention to prompt the authorities to approve a forensic examination of Lin Dong’s body.
• The forensic examiner found bruising and wounds and gave a preliminary conclusion that Lin Dong had died from blunt-force beating, not a heart condition.
• Lin Guanxing saw his son’s injuries and asked Su Bai whether a case could be opened and those responsible held accountable.
• Su Bai said they should seek to open a case and sue the Law Enforcement Department, while Lin Guanxing said he wanted only to learn the truth and clear his son’s name.

Su Bai brought a wrongful-death case over Lin Dong’s death in custody to trial, challenging the gap between the forensic report and the official account. As the three accused men pleaded guilty, Su Bai questioned them in court and sought answers that could prompt a supplementary investigation.

• After the forensic report contradicted the official account of Lin Dong’s injuries, Su Bai challenged the custodial department’s explanation and filed suit against the law enforcement agency over its officers’ alleged negligence.
• The prosecution charged Xu Feng, Li Tao, and Zhang Manlei with intentional homicide and recommended prison terms; two custodial officers were also named as defendants in the related claims.
• Before the livestreamed hearing, Li Xuezhen told Su Bai that the case felt strange, and he said they would seek answers in court.
• At the hearing, the three accused men pleaded guilty, but Su Bai objected to their statements and the prosecution’s evidence, citing the forensic report’s mention of blows from a club-like object.
• Presiding Judge Wang Lei allowed Su Bai to question the three men, and Su Bai aimed to clarify the unexplained injuries and prompt a supplementary investigation.

Su Bai challenged gaps in the evidence surrounding Lin Dong’s death and won an adjournment for further investigation. As the Prosecution reopened its inquiry, two men worried that the investigation could expose a cover-up.

• Su Bai questioned Xu Feng and the other defendants about the beating and the unknown wooden sticks, then challenged Fang Tang and Dong Bing over their negligence and the missing surveillance footage.
• Su Bai argued that unexplained injuries, missing evidence, and Law Enforcement’s initial claim that Lin Dong died of heart disease warranted further investigation; Wang Lei granted an adjournment and ordered the Prosecution to complete the evidence.
• After court, Su Bai told Lin Guanxing that the Prosecution had likely skipped supplementary evidence while rushing to bring charges, and Li Xiaorong began investigating the leads Su Bai had raised.
• In Xiushui District, a man warned another person that the investigation might uncover more problems and refused to interfere with the Prosecution, while the other person regretted the cover-up and feared its consequences.

Su Bai pushed for supplementary evidence in Lin Dong’s death case, and Li Xiaorong’s investigation uncovered that Fang Tang and Dong Bing had arranged for the three assailants to be held with Lin Dong and supplied them with the wooden stick. The case returned to court with five defendants facing prosecution, where Su Bai exposed the defendants’ coordinated concealment and the trial turned to whether Fang Tang and Dong Bing had acted negligently or intentionally.

• Su Bai accompanied Li Xiaorong to obtain the police-station surveillance footage, but the crooked camera showed only the detainees’ shoes.
• Li Xiaorong followed Su Bai’s suggestion to compare the three assailants’ statements, and investigators found their identical accounts had been coordinated.
• Xu Feng, Li Tao, and Zhang Manlei admitted striking Lin Dong with a wooden stick and revealed that Fang Tang and Dong Bing had placed them with Lin Dong and thrown the stick into the holding area.
• The prosecution charged Xu Feng, Li Tao, and Zhang Manlei with intentional homicide and negligently causing death, and also charged Fang Tang and Dong Bing over their role in the incident.
• At the resumed hearing, Su Bai opposed Fang Tang and Dong Bing’s request for acquittal and questioned Xu Feng, who admitted they had concealed the stick and coordinated their statements after Fang Tang explained how it could affect sentencing.

At trial, Fang Tang and Dong Bing denied negligent homicide and argued that the missing wooden club left the evidence incomplete. Su Bai challenged their defense with the victim’s injuries and the defendants’ statements, while Judge Wang Lei waited to hear Su Bai’s response to Fang Tang’s accusations.

• Xu Feng, Li Tao, and Zhang Manlei pleaded guilty and accepted punishment through their legal aid counsel.
• Fang Tang and Dong Bing denied the charges, and their lawyer argued that the missing wooden club and reliance on statements made the evidence insufficient.
• Su Bai asked how the club appeared during detention and how the defendants explained Lin Dong’s severe club injuries.
• Zhang Tao passed Su Bai’s questions to Fang Tang and Dong Bing, and Fang Tang called the charges slanderous while refusing to explain the evidence.
• Viewers discussed the evidence in the trial livestream, and Wang Lei considered the case sufficient for conviction but awaited Su Bai’s reply.

In court, Su Bai challenged Fang Tang’s claim that the case against him lacked evidence and pressed him and Dong Bing on why they had concealed Lin Dong’s true cause of death and obstructed an autopsy. Both defendants fell silent, leaving the question of their intent unresolved as Su Bai awaited Wang Lei’s determination.

• Su Bai questioned Fang Tang’s claim of false accusation, pointing to the missing weapon, his conduct as a guard, and his alleged coordination of accounts with Xu Feng and the others.
• Fang Tang insisted that Su Bai’s questions assumed guilt and demanded substantive evidence of intentional conduct.
• Wang Lei asked Su Bai to provide evidence or legal grounds for alleging intent, and Su Bai argued that the defendants’ actions after Lin Dong’s death warranted examination.
• Su Bai asked Fang Tang and Dong Bing why they had attributed Lin Dong’s death to a heart attack and obstructed his family’s request for an autopsy.
• Fang Tang and Dong Bing could not answer and remained silent, while Su Bai waited for Wang Lei’s determination.

Fang Tang and Dong Bing struggled to defend their conduct as the judges debated whether their actions constituted intentional or negligent offenses. While the Collegial Panel leaned toward finding intent, Li Xiong and an associate worried that a supervisory review could hold them accountable for the false announcement.

• Wang Lei pressed Fang Tang to explain the false announcement, and Su Bai challenged his claim that the defendants had intended to bring Xu Feng and the others to justice.
• The court adjourned, and Su Bai told Li Xuezhen that a death sentence was unlikely because the circumstances differed from the case she recalled.
• Wang Lei, Xie Hongwei, and Li Xia debated Fang Tang and Dong Bing’s culpability, then Wang Lei concluded that Fang Tang’s words and actions supported a finding of intent.
• Li Xiong and an associate watched the trial livestream and worried that investigators would uncover their role in the false announcement.

The court heard closing statements in Lin Dong’s death case, and Su Bai argued that Fang Tang and Dong Bing bore serious responsibility for instigating the violence and concealing the truth. The court sentenced Xu Feng, Li Tao, and Zhang Manlei to prison and gave Fang Tang and Dong Bing longer terms, while Li Xiaorong anticipated further investigations.

• Fang Tang insisted he was innocent and denied responsibility, while Xu Feng’s legal aid lawyer argued that Fang Tang and Dong Bing had helped cause Lin Dong’s death and should bear greater blame.
• Dong Bing waived his statement, and Su Bai urged severe sentences, citing the defendants’ roles in the incident and their concealment of Lin Dong’s cause of death.
• Presiding Judge Wang Lei sentenced Xu Feng to twelve years, Li Tao to eleven years, and Zhang Manlei to ten years in prison for intentionally causing death.
• Wang Lei sentenced Fang Tang to thirteen years and Dong Bing to twelve years for perjury, collusion over testimony, concealment, and conduct that caused death.
• Fang Tang protested the judgment, while Li Xiaorong thanked Su Bai and acknowledged that the case still required follow-up work.

Fang Tang and Dong Bing received thirteen-year prison sentences for Lin Dong’s murder, while Su Bai helped Lin Dong’s family pursue compensation and awaited official findings about the case. Li Xiong learned that someone might take over his vacant position and feared the investigation could send him to prison.

• Fang Tang protested the verdict and demanded an acquittal, but Zhang Tao left rather than continue representing him.
• Online viewers praised the sentence, while the authorities promised to investigate questions about Lin Dong’s death announcement and the refusal to perform an autopsy.
• Lin Dong’s family thanked Su Bai, who told them he would handle their compensation claim against the detention facility.
• The Guangdu Basic Court accepted the civil compensation case, and relevant departments investigated the officials involved in Lin Dong’s case.
• Li Xiong learned that higher-ups might fill his vacant position while he was suspended, and he feared he might go to prison.

Li Xiong and Lin Ming were convicted for their roles in covering up the circumstances of Lin Dong’s death, while Su Bai helped Lin Dong’s family secure state compensation. After returning to White Jun Law Firm, Su Bai learned that Xiao Haibo had been detained on suspicion of perjury in a civil case, which Su Bai suspected might involve a false accusation.

• Authorities arrested Li Xiong and Lin Ming after Fang Tang’s testimony and additional evidence helped advance the investigation.
• The court awarded Su Bai’s requested 1,569,764 yuan and twenty-seven jiao in state compensation to Lin Dong’s family.
• At trial, Li Xiaorong argued that Li Xiong and Lin Ming had failed their duties and undermined Lin Dong’s legal rights; the court sentenced Li Xiong to five years and Lin Ming to three and a half years in prison.
• Li Xiaorong told Su Bai that Fang Tang’s appeal had been rejected, and Su Bai informed Lin Guanxing that the case was effectively closed.
• Su Bai learned that Li Xuezhen had created a short-video account in his name and that the system’s progress had risen to 52 percent.
• Zhang Yuan told Su Bai that Xiao Haibo had been detained after a client accused him of perjury in a civil financial dispute, and Su Bai suspected a false accusation.

Su Bai took over Xiao Haibo’s defense after Xiao Haibo was accused of coaching a client to commit perjury, despite the charge appearing unsupported and possibly tied to local protectionism. The case proceeded to trial at the Chong City Intermediate Court, where presiding judge Ma Qiao received a troubling call before the hearing.

• Zhang Yuan told Su Bai that Xiao Haibo had been accused of perjury for advising a client before a hearing, and Su Bai agreed to defend him.
• Su Bai traveled to Chong City with Li Xuezhen, but authorities rejected his request to release Xiao Haibo on bail.
• Xiao Haibo told Su Bai that someone who seemed to be from the court had urged him to plead guilty for a suspended sentence, and Su Bai said they would plead not guilty if the case went to trial.
• Su Bai learned that Xiao Haibo’s former client had accused him after winning a lawsuit against Wanli Limited Company, then found the client unwilling to speak with him.
• The prosecution proceeded with the case at the Chong City Intermediate Court, prompting outrage among lawyers in the Southern Capital Lawyers Group.
• Before the hearing, presiding judge Ma Qiao took a call from someone pressuring him about the evidence and the trial.

Xiao Haibo stood trial for allegedly inducing his client, Xia Guangming, to commit perjury, while prosecutor Shi Xiujie pressed a weak case under apparent local pressure. Su Bai challenged the prosecution’s questions and the presiding judge’s conduct, leaving the hearing tense as he dared the court to convict Xiao Haibo without evidence.

• Ma Qiao opened the hearing, and Shi Xiujie requested a two-year prison sentence for Xiao Haibo.
• Su Bai challenged the prosecution to explain what evidence showed that Xiao Haibo had induced perjury.
• Shi Xiujie questioned Xiao Haibo about his instructions to Xia Guangming and their relationship with Wanli Limited Company’s manager.
• Xiao Haibo argued that the case involved illegal fundraising, not a private loan, and said his actions were supported by the evidence available at the time.
• Su Bai objected that Shi Xiujie’s questions were outside the scope of the perjury charge and told Xiao Haibo he could refuse to answer irrelevant questions.
• Su Bai accused the hearing of being biased and dared Ma Qiao to convict Xiao Haibo without evidence.

At Xiao Haibo’s trial, prosecutor Shi Xiujie accused him of inducing witness Xia Guangming and committing perjury, while defense lawyer Su Bai argued that Xiao had corrected Xia’s mistaken understanding using evidence. The chapter ended with Su Bai awaiting Presiding Judge Ma Qiao’s ruling on the accusations.

• Presiding Judge Ma Qiao warned Su Bai for interrupting, then Shi Xiujie presented three allegations that Xiao Haibo had guided and induced Xia Guangming during an earlier case.
• Su Bai requested Xia Guangming’s testimony, and Xia confirmed the prosecutor’s account but could not provide further examples of alleged inducement.
• Xiao Haibo rejected the accusations and explained that he had instructed Xia to follow his statements because he was Xia’s authorized representative and wanted the civil proceedings to proceed accurately.
• Su Bai argued that Xiao had relied on evidence to correct Xia’s subjective belief about his relationship with Wanli Limited Company’s manager, so his conduct was not perjury or improper inducement.
• Su Bai asked the court to find Xiao not guilty and waited for Ma Qiao to rule.

During Xiao Haibo’s trial, the judges and prosecutor tried to secure a conviction by having Xia Guangming change his testimony, but Su Bai challenged the new evidence and confronted the panel over its handling of the case. The chapter ended with the trial underway and Su Bai prepared to appeal if the court ruled against Xiao Haibo.

• Ma Qiao questioned Xia Guangming about whether Xiao Haibo had forged documents or prompted false testimony, but Su Bai warned the witness about the legal consequences of lying, and Xia Guangming declined to add anything.
• During the adjournment, Ma Qiao, Li Huan, and Wang Mo agreed to rely on a changed version of Xia Guangming’s earlier testimony, and Shi Xiujie persuaded the witness to go along with it.
• After the trial resumed, Shi Xiujie introduced new evidence based on Xia Guangming’s claim that Xiao Haibo had instructed him to lie about knowing of Wanli Limited Company’s illegal fundraising.
• Xiao Haibo denied the allegation, while Ma Qiao pressed him to guarantee the accuracy of his denial.
• Su Bai argued that the prosecution had not verified the evidence or established its legality, challenged the panel’s questioning, and warned that he would appeal an unlawful ruling.