Chapter Summaries

At Xia Mingyuan’s second-instance hearing, Su Bai challenged presiding judge Jiang Feng for rejecting evidence and relying on the victims’ testimony to uphold the conviction. Jiang Feng closed the hearing without announcing a verdict, and Su Bai left intending to seek supervisory review.

• Su Bai repeatedly challenged Jiang Feng’s refusal to admit evidence that could undermine Wu Yan and the other victims’ testimony, while Jiang Feng defended his ruling as reasonable under the circumstances involving minors.
• Jiang Feng continued the hearing, restricted further discussion of his ruling, and warned that Su Bai could be removed if he disrupted proceedings.
• Wang Qin argued for conviction based on the victims’ testimony and Xia Mingyuan’s role as their teacher, while Su Bai prepared to make a final statement.
• Su Bai protested the panel’s handling of the case, said Xia Mingyuan would not confess guilt, and announced that they would seek a retrial through supervisory review.
• Su Bai left the courtroom, followed by Li Xuezhen, and then told Xiao Li that they would submit the supervisory-review request.

After the second-instance court upheld Xia Mingyuan’s conviction, Su Bai pursued a retrial with new evidence and a supervisory review focused on failures to recuse during the first-instance proceedings. The High Court accepted the evidence and assigned another city’s Intermediate People’s Court to retry the case, while the supervisory investigation found no unlawful conduct.

• Su Bai explained to Li Xuezhen that the supervisory review would focus on first-instance recusal issues, since they lacked evidence that Jiang Feng had acted with criminal intent.
• The second-instance court upheld Xia Mingyuan’s three-and-a-half-year sentence, and Su Bai prepared a retrial request using evidence that could challenge Wu Yan and the others’ statements.
• Su Bai told Xia Mingyuan and Xie Hui he would continue the case, then asked Li Xuezhen to organize materials and prepare to revisit Baichuan County No. 1 High School.
• Jiang Feng and Li Fei learned that their investigations had found no unlawful conduct, and they discussed the first-instance conflicts of interest and their voluntary recusals.
• The Provincial High Court accepted Su Bai’s new evidence and assigned another city’s Intermediate People’s Court to retry Xia Mingyuan’s case, while the supervisory response reported no unlawful conduct.
• Zhang Cuili called Xiaojun about the retrial, but he said he could not intervene and told her to wait for the new court’s decision.

After the retrial cleared Xia Mingyuan of sexually harassing and molesting students, he chose to pursue charges against Wu Yan and the others for falsely accusing him. Su Bai secured the opening of an investigation, and the case advanced toward trial as Wu Yan was taken in for questioning.

• The Pushan City Intermediate Court overturned the earlier judgments and found Xia Mingyuan not guilty after accepting Su Bai's supplementary evidence.
• Xia Mingyuan thanked Su Bai and chose to pursue charges against Wu Yan and the other students for their false accusations.
• Su Bai filed for a case to be opened in Baichuan County, while Li Xuezhen worried that local connections might obstruct the process.
• Zhang Xiaojun told Zhang Cuili that obstructing the case could cause trouble and advised her to focus on the eventual court verdict.
• Law Enforcement opened an investigation against Wu Yan, He Juan, Li Bing, and others, and personnel took Wu Yan in for questioning.
• The Prosecution submitted a request for prosecution, the Court scheduled a hearing, and Su Bai prepared to bring the case to trial.

Su Bai secured convictions for Wu Yan, He Juan, and Li Bing for falsely accusing Xia Mingyuan, though they received suspended sentences because they were minors. Xia Mingyuan then asked whether the relatives and judicial personnel who had helped bring about his wrongful conviction could also be held accountable, and Su Bai said there might be a way.

• Zhang Xiaojun and He Wenjie asked Li Fei to help Wu Yan and He Juan obtain acquittals, but Li Fei said the evidence established their intent and he could only seek leniency in sentencing.
• The court found Wu Yan, He Juan, and Li Bing guilty of false accusation and framing, sentencing Wu Yan to six months in prison suspended for one year, and He Juan and Li Bing to three months suspended for six months.
• Zhang Cuili protested the verdict and urged Zhang Xiaojun to help Wu Yan appeal, while Xia Mingyuan and Su Bai acknowledged that the judgment had restored some of his reputation.
• Xia Mingyuan asked Su Bai whether Wu Yan and He Juan's relatives and the biased second-instance presiding judge could be held accountable, and Su Bai said the matter was difficult but not impossible.

After Xia Mingyuan’s acquittal, public pressure prompted a municipal investigation that exposed misconduct by Zhang Xiaojun, He Wenjie, Jiang Feng, and Li Fei, restoring Xia Mingyuan’s reputation. Su Bai later reviewed a high-profile counterfeit-medicine case that Li Xuezhen urged the firm to accept, and the details surprised him.

• Southern Capital Media reported on Xia Mingyuan’s case, prompting public outcry and investigations by the Municipal Procuratorate and Provincial Procuratorate.
• The municipal investigation found that Zhang Xiaojun and He Wenjie had shielded relatives, while Li Fei and Jiang Feng had shown bias in the proceedings; the authorities announced disciplinary action and pursued the cases.
• Xia Mingyuan thanked Su Bai after learning the investigation had cleared his name, and the people involved were later tried and sentenced.
• Zhang Cuili demanded an explanation at court and was detained for fifteen days after she tried to grab a staff member.
• Li Xuezhen celebrated the outcome as her Achievement Points grew, while Su Bai noted that White Jun Law Firm’s reputation and his system progress had increased.
• Li Xuezhen urged Su Bai to consider a controversial counterfeit-medicine case, and he opened the details before questioning whether it was really a case of selling counterfeit medicine.

Su Bai agreed to represent Lin Yong in a second-instance appeal after reviewing his conviction for selling unauthorized leukemia medicine to fellow patients. After speaking with Lin Yong’s wife, Zhang Man, Su Bai planned to challenge the first-instance judgment and seek evidence for the defense.

• Su Bai reviewed Lin Yong’s case and agreed to take the appeal after Li Xuezhen explained that she had found it through her short-video account.
• Li Xuezhen arranged a meeting with Lin Yong’s family, while Wang Kexin and Li Xuezhen discussed what they had learned from recent trials.
• Zhang Man told Su Bai that Lin Yong had bought medicine for fellow patients without making a profit, and that the supposed proceeds had gone toward purchasing and arranging the medicine.
• Su Bai compared Zhang Man’s account with the case files, noted that Lin Yong’s four-year sentence seemed excessive, and prepared to gather defense evidence for the second-instance trial.

Su Bai prepared Lin Yong’s second-instance appeal around evidence that Lin Yong had bought medicine for fellow patients without profit and argued for a reduced sentence. The public hearing opened with Su Bai challenging the first-instance findings and four-year sentence, leaving the court to proceed with the appeal.

• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen investigated Lin Yong’s case, and Lin Yong admitted his conduct was criminal while worrying about his child and the patients who depended on him.
• Su Bai submitted new evidence to the Provincial High Court and agreed to a public hearing, while distributor Cao Zhiwei’s lawyers expected the first-instance judgment to be upheld.
• Reporters questioned Su Bai outside the court, and he directed them to follow the public livestream before entering with Li Xuezhen.
• At the hearing, Su Bai asked the court to overturn the first-instance judgment and reduce Lin Yong’s sentence, arguing that Lin Yong had made no profit and caused no serious harm.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong’s four-year prison term was excessive and that his circumstances warranted a much lighter sentence.

At Lin Yong’s second-instance trial, Su Bai argued that Lin Yong had not intended to profit from selling counterfeit drugs, while Fang Qi challenged that claim. Su Bai submitted signed messages from patients and asked the court to let several of them testify, leaving their testimony to follow.

• Duan Qingshui heard the Prosecution and Fang Qi and Zhang Yuan argue that the first-instance judgment should be upheld.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong had sold the drugs to help fellow patients rather than to make a profit.
• Fang Qi countered that Lin Yong had charged more than the drugs cost and might have spent the proceeds abroad.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong’s lack of earnings and the disputed use of the price difference weakened the claim that he intended to profit.
• Su Bai submitted signed messages from patients describing how Lin Yong had lowered prices, sometimes below cost, and asked permission for several patients to testify.

Su Bai called three patients to testify that Lin Yong had bought and sold unauthorized generic medicine to help people who could not afford the original drug, not to profit. After the moving testimony shifted public opinion, the court adjourned to deliberate whether Lin Yong had acted with intent to profit.

• Duan Qingshui granted Su Bai’s request and invited Lin Yong’s three witnesses to testify about his actions.
• The first two witnesses said Lin Yong had not sought profit and had helped patients obtain affordable medicine.
• The elderly third witness described how Lin Yong’s cheap medicine had saved her and her husband from the cost of unaffordable treatment.
• Viewers reacted to the testimony, while legal professionals said Lin Yong could still be guilty of smuggling and selling counterfeit medicine despite his motives.
• Fang Qi maintained that Lin Yong might have profited because he could not account for where the money went, and Duan Qingshui adjourned court for deliberation.

The Collegial Panel ruled that Lin Yong had not acted with subjective intent to seek profit, rejecting the first-instance finding on that issue. The hearing then moved to whether his sales of knockoff medicine constituted serious circumstances, and Su Bai argued that they did not because the medicine helped fellow patients without worsening their health.

• Fang Qi and Zhang Yuan worried that the second-instance ruling would go against their side, while Cao Zhiwei's deputy general manager predicted that Lin Yong would still be convicted but might receive a reduced sentence.
• Duan Qingshui, Lao Wang, and Lao Xu agreed that Lin Yong had not subjectively intended to seek profit and that the evidence did not show the proceeds had been used for his living expenses.
• Duan Qingshui announced that the court found Lin Yong had not engaged in subjectively profit-seeking conduct when purchasing medicine for others.
• Fang Qi realized that overturning the first-instance finding would likely reduce Lin Yong's sentence and worried about the consequences for his law firm and Glie Medicine.
• Duan Qingshui asked Su Bai to address whether Lin Yong's sale of counterfeit medicine had involved serious circumstances.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong's knockoff medicine had alleviated fellow patients' conditions without harming their health, so the court should find the circumstances minor and overturn the first-instance judgment.

At Lin Yong’s appeal hearing, Su Bai argued that the circumstances of Lin Yong’s unauthorized medicine sales should not be deemed serious because he had not acted for profit and the medicine helped patients who could not afford genuine drugs. The hearing ended with Duan Qingshui yet to rule on the sentencing determination.

• The public prosecutor argued that Lin Yong’s sales over two years, the number of purchasers, and the amount sold could support a finding of more serious circumstances.
• Zhang Yuan argued that counterfeit medicine carried greater risks of complications and posed a potential danger to more than a thousand purchasers.
• Su Bai countered that the panel had already rejected a profit motive, and that the medicine met ingredient standards despite lacking domestic authorization.
• Zhang Yuan maintained that the medicine’s potential dangers justified treating the circumstances as serious, even though the harms had not yet appeared.
• Su Bai argued that patients knowingly accepted the risks because they could not afford genuine medicine, and that Lin Yong had given them hope of staying alive.

At Lin Yong’s appeal hearing, Presiding Judge Duan Qingshui questioned Lin Yong and three witnesses about the generic copies and their risks. The court ruled that Lin Yong’s sales did not constitute serious circumstances, leaving the trial to proceed toward its final statements and verdict.

• Duan Qingshui asked Lin Yong about his knowledge of the generic copies, and Lin Yong explained that he had taken them himself before buying them for other patients.
• Three witnesses confirmed Lin Yong’s account, described taking the medicine without harm, and angrily accused the Accusing Party of slandering him.
• Duan Qingshui restored order, then asked whether the Accusing Party had anything further to say; Zhang Yuan said it did not.
• Duan Qingshui ruled that Lin Yong’s purpose had been to help patients, that the generic copies’ benefits outweighed their risks, and that his conduct did not meet the threshold for serious circumstances.
• Su Bai, the Public Prosecutor, and the Accusing Party all stated that they had no objection, and Duan Qingshui confirmed the determination.

At Lin Yong’s appeal hearing, Zhang Yuan argued that smuggling and selling counterfeit medicine warranted combined punishment of three to ten years, but Su Bai countered that Lin Yong had not acted for profit and the panel rejected the request. After Zhang Yuan’s baseless protest was overruled and he was warned, the court proceeded to the final statements on sentencing.

• Zhang Yuan objected to moving on to court statements and sought combined punishment for smuggling and selling counterfeit medicine, requesting a three-to-ten-year sentence for Lin Yong.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong had provided a no-profit purchasing service for fellow patients, so the proposed smuggling sentence and tax calculation had no basis.
• Duan Qingshui ruled that smuggling should be assessed according to whether it was committed for profit and denied Zhang Yuan’s request.
• Zhang Yuan protested the ruling, claiming Lin Yong’s large sales volume should determine the tax amount, but Duan Qingshui overruled him and warned he could be removed from the courtroom for further baseless objections.
• Duan Qingshui resumed the trial and called for court statements, and Su Bai prepared to argue for a reduced sentence.

The West Province High Court overturned Lin Yong’s first-instance ruling after Su Bai argued that Lin Yong had helped patients who could not afford genuine medicine, and that the offense was minor and not profit-driven. Lin Yong received one month of criminal detention without enforcement and was free to leave.

• The prosecution and Zhang Yuan gave their court statements, with Zhang Yuan arguing that Lin Yong’s sales of counterfeit medicine harmed genuine medicine suppliers and warranted a severe sentence.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Yong and the patients acted out of necessity because they could not afford genuine medicine, and asked the court to consider Lin Yong’s lack of profit motive and minor offense.
• Lin Yong told Duan Qingshui he had nothing more to say, and the court adjourned while the judges discussed the sentence.
• Duan Qingshui, Lao Wang, and Lao Xu agreed that Lin Yong deserved a light sentence, while Cao Zhiwei watched the livestream in displeasure.
• The West Province High Court overturned the first-instance ruling and sentenced Lin Yong to one month of criminal detention without enforced execution.
• Lin Yong realized he was free to leave the detention center, and Su Bai and Li Xuezhen felt relieved that the case had ended.

Lin Yong’s appeal reduced his four-year prison term to one month of detention without enforced execution, and public attention helped secure medical-insurance support for chronic leukemia patients. As Su Bai celebrated the case’s impact, Feng Lijian learned that Old Xiao wanted his help finding Su Bai for a difficult poisoning case.

• The court sentenced Lin Yong to one month of detention without enforced execution, and Su Bai declined to answer reporters’ questions beyond those about the trial.
• Cao Zhiwei worried that the verdict and public backlash would damage the West Province distributor and bring scrutiny from the national distributor.
• Lin Yong told Su Bai that officials were pursuing medical-insurance reimbursement for chronic leukemia patients and that the national distributor was investigating Cao Zhiwei’s company.
• Lin Yong thanked Su Bai for his defense, and Su Bai saw his system progress rise by 2% after the case ended.
• Li Xuezhen told Wang Kexin that the patients were receiving help and said defending good people had maximized her sense of accomplishment.
• Old Xiao asked Feng Lijian to connect him with Su Bai to assist with a difficult case, and Feng learned it involved poisoning.

Su Bai accepted the case of Zhu Yun, a Northern Capital University student who had been poisoned, and traveled to the Northern Capital to represent her. After reviewing the evidence against roommate Huang Xuemei, he saw that the prosecution lacked direct proof and left the case’s outcome uncertain as the first-instance trial approached.

• Feng Lijian asked Su Bai to represent Zhu Yun after her previous lawyer withdrew, and Su Bai agreed to take the case.
• Xiao Zhen told Su Bai that Zhu Yun had suffered chemical poisoning and that Law Enforcement suspected her roommate Huang Xuemei, whose relationship with Zhu Yun had been strained.
• Su Bai met Zhu Yun’s family and learned that she had survived but might suffer lifelong disabilities and intellectual impairment.
• After signing the representation agreement, Su Bai and Li Xuezhen reviewed the prosecution’s evidence and found it lacked direct proof that Huang Xuemei had administered the poison.
• Su Bai told Li Xuezhen that the case would be difficult to decide and that they would assess the arguments when the trial began.

At Huang Xuemei’s first-instance hearing, the prosecution argued that her hostility toward Zhu Yun and her removal of matching toxic chemicals supported an intentional-homicide charge, while her lawyer insisted that no objective evidence proved she administered the poison. Su Bai then prepared to accuse Huang Xuemei using circumstantial evidence.

• Before the hearing, Wan Xiangdong assured Huang Tao that the prosecution lacked direct evidence and promised to argue for Huang Xuemei’s acquittal.
• At the public hearing, Chen Le presented the prosecution’s evidence and recommended a death sentence with reprieve for Huang Xuemei.
• Wan Xiangdong questioned roommate Yao Qing, who confirmed she had heard Huang Xuemei threaten Zhu Yun but had not witnessed the poisoning.
• Wan Xiangdong argued that the roommates’ statements and Huang Xuemei’s removal of chemicals established suspicion, not guilt, and asked the court to find her not guilty.
• After Wan Xiangdong finished, Su Bai raised his hand to present accusations against Huang Xuemei based on circumstantial evidence.

At Huang Xuemei’s trial, Su Bai challenged her claim that she had lost the toxic chemicals and argued that her account was implausible. He asked the court to rule that she had brought the chemicals into the dormitory, leaving the case poised to advance on the circumstantial evidence.

• Su Bai questioned Huang Xuemei about why she stole toxic chemicals, and she said she had wanted to conduct experiments but lost them on the way back to the dormitory.
• Su Bai confronted Huang Xuemei with surveillance footage and chemical traces found in Zhu Yun’s belongings, but she denied poisoning Zhu Yun and invoked her right to stop his questioning.
• Sun Zhengping rejected Huang Xuemei’s request to end Su Bai’s questioning because Su Bai had not violated her legal rights.
• Su Bai argued that Huang Xuemei had a motive to resent Zhu Yun, had no credible reason to conduct experiments with toxic chemicals, and had not acted as someone would after losing them.
• Su Bai asked the court to reject Huang Xuemei’s account and rule that she had brought the chemicals into the dormitory.

At Huang Xuemei’s trial, the prosecution and defense disputed whether circumstantial evidence could prove she poisoned Zhu Yun, while Su Bai acknowledged the missing link between the laboratory chemicals and the poison on Zhu Yun’s toiletries. Su Bai questioned Huang Xuemei and witness Yao Qing about suspicious behavior, leaving the court’s verdict unresolved.

• Su Bai asked the court to exclude Huang Xuemei’s confession, and presiding judge Sun Zhengping said the court would consider excluding it.
• Luo Daxiang explained to livestream viewers that suspicion and circumstantial evidence did not by themselves complete the chain needed to prove Huang Xuemei administered the poison.
• Prosecutor Chen Le argued that Huang Xuemei’s conflict with Zhu Yun, theft of toxic chemicals, and access to their dormitory implicated her, while defense lawyer Wan Xiangdong demanded evidence linking those chemicals to the poison on Zhu Yun’s toiletries.
• Wan Xiangdong asked the court to dismiss the prosecution’s application and find Huang Xuemei not guilty, arguing that the evidence lacked a complete chain.
• Su Bai questioned Huang Xuemei about claiming that her chemicals had gone missing, then asked Yao Qing whether Huang Xuemei had behaved unusually before the poisoning.
• Yao Qing testified that Huang Xuemei had urged them to use separate cups and had spoken less about Zhu Yun than usual.

Su Bai argued that Huang Xuemei remained under strong suspicion despite the lack of direct evidence and requested an adjournment so investigators could gather more. The court granted the request, while Wan Xiangdong reassured Huang Tao that new evidence was unlikely and Huang Tao planned to send Xuemei abroad after an acquittal.

• Su Bai questioned Yao Qing about Huang Xuemei's unusual behavior before Zhu Yun was poisoned, strengthening the suspicion against Huang Xuemei.
• Wan Xiangdong objected that Su Bai's questions did not provide direct evidence and asked the court to deliver a verdict based on the available evidence.
• Su Bai requested an adjournment for further investigation, and Public Prosecutor Chen Le supported the request because the evidence remained unclear.
• Presiding Judge Sun Zhengping adjourned the trial so the prosecution could supplement the evidence.
• Wan Xiangdong told Huang Tao that new direct evidence was unlikely to emerge, and Huang Tao planned to send Xuemei abroad if she was acquitted at first instance.