Chapter Summaries

Vice President Cao Chuan rejected pressure to give the defendants lighter sentences and presided over the trial, where prosecutor Duan Zhao recommended severe penalties. Su Bai and Li Xuezhen saw a chance to expose Li Xiaoguo’s involvement and request an investigation.

• Cao Chuan told the other panel judges to sentence the case according to the law and refused to take responsibility for a politically influenced lenient sentence.
• The court began the trial of Lin Long, Zhang Shanfeng, Zhang Qi, and Li Liang for collectively forcing a minor to have sexual intercourse.
• Duan Zhao recommended the death penalty for Lin Long, life imprisonment for Zhang Shanfeng, twelve years for Li Liang, and eleven years and six months for Zhang Qi.
• Lin Jianshe angrily demanded that Lin Jianye explain why the promised lenient sentence for Lin Long had turned into a death penalty recommendation.
• Su Bai concluded that the prosecution might not know of Li Xiaoguo’s involvement and planned to present the facts, then request an investigation into him.

At Wu Xiaojie's trial, Su Bai challenged the investigation for excluding Li Xiaoguo, whom the initial case records identified as a principal offender. The court adjourned the trial and ordered the Prosecution to submit supplementary findings, leaving Li Xiaoguo’s alleged role to be investigated further.

• Duan Zhao presented severe sentencing recommendations, and Lin Long and the other defendants gave coordinated accounts before confessing and accepting punishment.
• Su Bai told Cao Chuan that the victim’s side sought the death penalty for the principal offender and agreed with the prosecutor’s recommendations, then questioned Duan Zhao about when he took over the case and whether he had contacted the victim’s family.
• Duan Zhao confirmed that all four defendants had confessed before he took over and that he had not met the victim’s family.
• Su Bai submitted the initial case-filing acknowledgment, which identified Li Xiaoguo as a principal offender, and requested an adjournment to investigate why he had been cleared.
• Duan Zhao supported postponing the trial if Su Bai’s claims were true, and Cao Chuan adjourned the hearing and ordered the Prosecution to submit supplementary findings.

After the trial was adjourned, Su Bai and Duan Zhao planned to obtain evidence against Li Xiaoguo by persuading Lin Long and the other defendants to reveal the truth. Li Xiaoguo waited anxiously for news while a powerful official learned the Court was investigating the case and decided to intervene personally.

• Su Bai told Duan Zhao that Li Xiaoguo's family had allegedly arranged for others to take the blame, and they agreed to seek evidence from the defendants rather than rely on Wu Xiaojie's statement alone.
• Su Bai argued that Lin Long and the others might testify against Li Xiaoguo to avoid the death penalty and earn sentence reductions, and Duan Zhao agreed to question them without involving the Law Enforcement Department.
• Li Xiaoguo asked Auntie Wang whether the trial had cleared him, but she said the result was not out and he would have to wait.
• A secretary told an unnamed official that the Court had delayed Li Xiaoguo's trial to investigate further, and the official said he would contact the Court himself.
• The official ordered his secretary to ignore Lin Jianye's demand for a response about Lin Long's case.

Li Tongwei tried to influence the court over Li Xiaoguo’s case, but the court president avoided his call and decided to follow procedure. Meanwhile, Su Bai checked on Wu Xiaojie, and Duan Zhao persuaded Lin Long to stop taking the blame and cooperate with the investigation.

• Li Tongwei instructed his secretary to press the Kun City Intermediate People's Court president to resolve Li Xiaoguo’s case, while the president refused to answer and chose to handle it strictly by the book.
• Su Bai visited Wu Xiaojie, who said she remembered the assault and would cooperate at trial if it helped bring her attackers to justice.
• Duan Zhao questioned Lin Long about the defendants’ coordinated plan to shield Li Xiaoguo and explained the likely consequences of continuing to take the blame.
• Lin Jianshe urged his son to confess honestly and stop relying on Li Xiaoguo, whom he could no longer reach.
• Lin Long agreed to answer Duan Zhao’s questions truthfully after asking whether his cooperation could reduce his sentence.

After Lin Long confessed that he and others had taken the blame for Li Xiaoguo, Duan Zhao’s team arrested Li Xiaoguo on suspicion of sexually assaulting Wu Xiaojie. Li Tongwei learned of the arrest and feared the investigation could expose his and Zhang Hua’s involvement.

• Duan Zhao told Su Bai that Lin Long had confessed to Li Xiaoguo’s crimes and that the authorities planned to arrest Li Xiaoguo.
• Duan Zhao’s team used a food delivery ruse to arrest Li Xiaoguo at his residence and take him to the Procuratorate Department.
• Auntie Wang alerted Zhang Hua that Li Xiaoguo had disappeared, and Zhang Hua learned the Procuratorate Department had detained him over the Wu Xiaojie case.
• Zhang Hua told Li Tongwei that Li Xiaoguo had been arrested and that the Supervisory Department was investigating how others had taken the blame.
• Li Tongwei warned Zhang Hua to handle any questions implicating them and instructed him to find a top lawyer.

Duan Zhao presented evidence that Li Xiaoguo was the principal offender in Wu Xiaojie’s assault and had used connections to evade punishment, recommending the death penalty. The hearing resumed with Li Xiaoguo and the four original defendants before the court, while Zhang Hua feared that Li Tongwei might be the next person implicated.

• Duan Zhao rebuffed attempts to influence the investigation and relied on statements and evidence despite Li Xiaoguo’s refusal to speak.
• Cao Chuan resumed Wu Xiaojie’s trial after the prosecution added Li Xiaoguo as a defendant and completed supplementary investigations.
• Duan Zhao said Lin Long, Zhang Shanfeng, Zhang Qi, and Li Liang had identified Li Xiaoguo as the principal offender and described how he arranged for them to take the blame.
• Duan Zhao recommended the death penalty for Li Xiaoguo and prison terms of fifteen, fourteen and a half, twelve, and eleven and a half years for the four original defendants, citing their cooperation as meritorious service.
• Li Xuezhen welcomed the prosecution’s case, while Zhang Hua feared Li Xiaoguo would be convicted and that Li Tongwei would be implicated next.

At Li Xiaoguo’s trial, his lawyer Tian Yang attempted an innocence defense, but the prosecutor and presiding judge rejected it as unsupported by the evidence. The court adjourned to discuss sentencing, leaving Su Bai and Li Xuezhen expecting the verdict soon.

• Lin Long and the other original defendants accepted the prosecution’s statements and recommended sentences, while Li Xiaoguo anxiously looked to Tian Yang for an acquittal.
• Tian Yang argued that there was no direct evidence proving Li Xiaoguo assaulted Wu Xiaojie, but Duan Zhao cited the other defendants’ statements, Li Xiaoguo’s records, and the evidence chain against him.
• Cao Chuan challenged Tian Yang to explain why the other defendants identified Li Xiaoguo as the principal offender, and Tian Yang could not offer evidence of his client’s innocence.
• Cao Chuan adjourned the trial before court statements, and Su Bai and Li Xuezhen understood that the court would soon discuss sentencing and announce its verdict.

The judges confirmed the defendants’ guilt and rejected the death penalty, choosing a death sentence with reprieve for Li Xiaoguo. After Wu Jiang gave an emotional statement about his daughter’s suffering, the court announced its verdict, leaving Li Xiaoguo and Zhang Hua facing the consequences.

• During the adjournment, Cao Chuan and the other judges agreed that Li Xiaoguo and the other defendants were guilty but decided a death sentence would be excessive, settling on a death sentence with reprieve for Li Xiaoguo.
• After the hearing resumed, Duan Zhao and the defendants’ lawyers gave their court statements, while Tian Yang continued arguing for Li Xiaoguo’s interests.
• Su Bai had Wu Jiang deliver the victim’s statement, and Wu Jiang described how the assault had changed Wu Xiaojie and asked the court to hold the defendants accountable.
• Cao Chuan announced the sentences, including eleven years and six months for Zhang Qi, fifteen years for Lin Long, and a death sentence with reprieve for Li Xiaoguo.
• Li Xiaoguo reacted in disbelief, while Zhang Hua realized the verdict left no room to maneuver and feared he could not take all the blame for Li Tongwei.

After Li Xiaoguo received a death sentence with reprieve, the Supervisory Department investigated Zhang Hua while a dedicated Inspection Group began investigating Li Tongwei. Su Bai reassured Wu Jiang that Li Xiaoguo would face a long prison term and might receive additional punishment for other crimes, while Zhang Hua learned Li Tongwei had also been taken away for questioning.

• Zhang Hua told Li Tongwei that Li Xiaoguo had received a death sentence with reprieve, and Li Tongwei angrily ordered him to do his own job.
• Wu Jiang hosted Su Bai and Li Xuezhen for a meal and thanked Su Bai for securing justice for his family.
• Su Bai told Wu Jiang that Li Xiaoguo would serve at least seventeen years and might face combined punishment for other crimes.
• Supervisory Department staff took Zhang Hua in for questioning, where he claimed he had acted alone.
• An investigator showed Zhang Hua a photograph of Li Tongwei being taken away for investigation, shocking him.

Zhang Hua agreed to confess after learning that Li Tongwei had also been taken under investigation, while prosecutors uncovered Li Xiaoguo’s involvement in an intentional homicide and prepared to seek the death penalty on appeal. Li Xiaoguo learned that his parents could no longer help him and was left waiting in despair for the second-instance verdict.

• After seeing evidence that Li Tongwei had been taken away, Zhang Hua agreed to give a truthful account of everything he had done.
• Li Tongwei realized the investigation into him was serious and agreed to remain for questioning.
• Duan Zhao told Su Bai that prosecutors had confirmed Li Xiaoguo’s role in an intentional homicide and would protest the first-instance judgment to seek the death penalty.
• Li Xiaoguo recalled killing a college student with a bottle and learned that the Procuratorate had reopened the case.
• Auntie Wang told Li Xiaoguo that his father was under investigation and his mother had been called in to assist, leaving them unable to help him.
• Li Xiaoguo broke down after learning of his family’s troubles and waited in despair for his second-instance verdict.

The Yun Province High Court sentenced Li Xiaoguo to death and deprived him of political rights for life, rejecting his request for leniency despite his confession. After the verdict, Duan Zhao hinted to Su Bai and Li Xuezhen that he knew who had been involved and who was pulling the strings behind the case.

• Li Xiaoguo confessed to his crimes and asked the presiding judge for a lighter sentence, but the victims' families protested and demanded severe punishment.
• The presiding judge sentenced Li Xiaoguo to death and deprived him of political rights for life.
• Li Xiaoguo left the courtroom under police escort, while Li Xuezhen and Su Bai discussed the verdict and prepared to leave.
• Duan Zhao invited Su Bai and Li Xuezhen to a meal and recounted developments in the case.
• Duan Zhao asked Su Bai and Li Xuezhen whether they wanted to know why Li Tongwei was investigated, who else was involved, and who had pulled the strings behind the scenes.

After Duan Zhao explained that higher-ups had initiated the investigation into Li Tongwei, Su Bai learned that the National Bar Association would recommend him as a young talent. Li Xuezhen remained unsure how to advance her relationship with Su Bai, so she took Wang Kexin’s advice and found a promising case that could give them a reason to travel together.

• Duan Zhao said higher-ups had decided to investigate Li Tongwei after learning about Li Xiaoguo’s behavior, and Wu Xiaojie’s case had served as the fuse.
• Li Xuezhen returned to White Jun Law Firm happy that the victims’ families had received justice and took Su Bai’s agreement to send a wedding invitation as a sign of their future marriage.
• Feng Lijian told Su Bai that the National Bar Association’s young-talent recommendations had been confirmed and said he would notify local bar associations soon.
• Old Li asked Feng Lijian to tell Su Bai that he would give Li Xuezhen two mines as a dowry when she married him.
• Nearly a month later, Li Xuezhen worried that her relationship with Su Bai had not advanced, and Wang Kexin suggested she use a business trip to get closer to him.
• Li Xuezhen found a promising case and messaged Su Bai to ask whether they could go on a business trip together; Su Bai replied with a question mark.

Su Bai accepted Liu Wenya’s case against Ye Meizhen, who allegedly took her place in the college entrance examination years earlier. After confirming Liu Wenya’s account and discussing the limits of criminal charges, he prepared to pursue her other legal claims, while Li Xuezhen eagerly anticipated a business trip.

• Li Xuezhen gave Su Bai the case materials, and he identified civil issues involving Liu Wenya’s right to her name and her constitutional right to education.
• Li Xuezhen contacted Liu Wenya, who traveled from her village to White Jun Law Firm to discuss the case with Su Bai.
• Su Bai told Liu Wenya that the available facts and evidence did not support criminal punishment for Ye Meizhen, though her other claims might succeed.
• Liu Wenya explained that she wanted Ye Meizhen held accountable for taking her university place and continuing to flaunt her success before her.
• Su Bai agreed that White Jun Law Firm understood Liu Wenya’s claims, and Li Xuezhen asked when they would travel to investigate and file suit.

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen prepared to travel for Liu Wenya’s case, while Liu Wenya rejected Ye Yuandong’s settlement offer and insisted on seeking justice. Ye Meizhen and her father discussed using her husband’s court connections, and the chapter ended with Li Xuezhen revealing she had booked one twin room for the trip.

• Su Bai told Li Xuezhen to organize the case details before they left on a business trip.
• Ye Yuandong brought a group to Liu Wenya’s home, offered her fifty thousand yuan to settle, and pressured her to drop the lawsuit, but she refused.
• Ye Yuandong told Ye Meizhen that Liu Wenya would not settle, and Ye Meizhen suggested they offer no more than thirty thousand yuan while considering her husband’s connections.
• Li Xuezhen told Su Bai she had booked their accommodation, then showed him that she had reserved the only available twin room.

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen traveled to Zhou City, where he focused on Liu Wenya’s case instead of responding to Li Xuezhen’s attempts to grow closer. After the Zhou City Intermediate Court accepted the appeal and set a hearing date, Ye Meizhen sought help from her husband, who promised to use his family’s influence to prevent Liu Wenya from winning.

• Li Xuezhen arranged for hotels in Zhou City to be fully booked so she and Su Bai would share the only available twin room, but Su Bai spent the night studying the case and fell asleep without approaching her.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen filed an appeal at the Zhou City Intermediate Court on Liu Wenya’s behalf, and Su Bai firmly refused mediation because Liu Wenya wanted justice rather than compensation.
• Old Li asked Li Xuezhen whether she and Su Bai had become a couple, then reassured her when she described how the night had gone.
• The Zhou City Intermediate Court accepted the appeal, set a hearing date, and asked the parties whether they would settle or participate in mediation.
• Ye Meizhen asked her husband, Wang Qirui, to help protect her promotion by getting Liu Wenya’s case withdrawn or ensuring she lost, and Wang Qirui said he could not withdraw it but could help prevent Liu Wenya from winning.
• Ye Meizhen decided she would make Liu Wenya lose the case and pay legal fees, rather than accept the earlier settlement offer.

Wang Qirui asked Zhang Mengwei to favor Ye Meizhen in Liu Wenya’s case, and Zhang agreed to lean toward her where the law allowed. At the hearing, Zhang cut off Su Bai’s account of the evidence and asked him to state the claims, leaving Su Bai waiting for the court’s response.

• Wang Qirui asked Zhang Mengwei, the judge hearing Liu Wenya’s case, to show Ye Meizhen some leniency without breaking the law, and Zhang agreed to favor her in any gray areas.
• Ye Meizhen learned that Wang Qirui had arranged help from Zhang, then decided to hire a lawyer and skip the hearing herself.
• Liu Wenya prepared for the appeal hearing with Su Bai, worried that Ye Meizhen’s connections at the Intermediate Court could affect the outcome.
• Zhang Mengwei opened the hearing and outlined the claims concerning Ye Meizhen’s use of Liu Wenya’s name and her right to education.
• Su Bai began describing how Ye Meizhen had used Liu Wenya’s identity, but Zhang interrupted him and told him to state the claims directly.
• Su Bai demanded damages, a ruling that Ye Meizhen had deprived Liu Wenya of her right to education, and a public apology.

At Liu Wenya’s civil trial, Zhou Liang argued that the court could not rule on her constitutional right to education, while Su Bai challenged that legal basis for dismissal. Zhang Mengwei dismissed the education claim without answering Su Bai’s objection and turned to the compensation amount, leaving the dispute unresolved as the hearing continued.

• Zhou Liang accepted liability for infringing Liu Wenya’s right of name but offered only 5,000 yuan, and argued that her right-to-education claim should be dismissed because it arose under the Constitution.
• Su Bai argued that the Constitution could serve as a basis for a lawsuit and that the court could find Ye Meizhen had infringed Liu Wenya’s legal rights.
• Zhang Mengwei summarized that Ye Meizhen had infringed Liu Wenya’s right of name and that the parties disagreed over liability concerning the constitutional claim.
• Zhang Mengwei dismissed Liu Wenya’s claim that Ye Meizhen had infringed her right to education.
• Su Bai challenged Zhang Mengwei to identify a law barring constitutional claims, but Zhang Mengwei declined to answer and asked him to justify the requested compensation of more than 120,000 yuan.

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen finished Liu Wenya’s first-instance trial, where the judge favored Ye Meizhen and awarded only 5,001 yuan for the infringement of Liu Wenya’s right of name. After reviewing the judgment, Su Bai and Li Xuezhen decided to appeal to the Provincial High Court.

• Su Bai argued that Liu Wenya was entitled to over 120,000 yuan in compensation, but Ye Meizhen refused mediation and Zhou Liang declined to make a closing statement.
• Zhang Mengwei concluded the trial, and Liu Wenya worried that the judge’s dismissals meant her case was going badly.
• Su Bai told Liu Wenya that they would appeal if the first-instance court rejected their requests, and advised her that reporting Ye Meizhen would have little effect.
• Wang Qirui thanked Zhang Mengwei and asked him to use his discretion to reduce the compensation award.
• Su Bai received the judgment, which rejected Liu Wenya’s education-rights claim and awarded 5,001 yuan for the infringement of her right of name.
• Su Bai handed the judgment to Li Xuezhen and told her to file an appeal with the Provincial High Court.

After Ye Meizhen celebrated the first-instance judgment that awarded Liu Wenya only five thousand and one yuan, Su Bai and Li Xuezhen appealed to the Southern Province Provincial High Court. The court decided to seek guidance from the Supreme People's Court on whether the Constitution could serve as the basis for a ruling, leaving the appeal pending.

• Ye Meizhen mocked Liu Wenya's five-thousand-and-one-yuan award and said she would delay payment unless Liu came to beg her.
• Wang Qirui warned Ye Meizhen not to flaunt the outcome, and she agreed to keep quiet.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen submitted Liu Wenya's appeal to the Southern Province Provincial High Court and discussed the possibility of seeking Supreme People's Court guidance.
• Duan Chaohai told Su Bai that the High Court would not reject the case outright but would apply to the Supreme People's Court for guidance on constitutional adjudication.
• Su Bai promised that Liu Wenya's side would make no negative online statements while the guidance request was pending.
• Li Xuezhen asked Su Bai whether they should get a room because it was too late to return to Southern Capital.

The Supreme People's Court issued guidance allowing Liu Wenya's constitutional right to education to support a civil-liability ruling against Ye Meizhen. At the second-instance hearing, the High Court ruled against Ye Meizhen, leaving her lawyer Zhou Liang unable to challenge the ruling after seeing the guidance.

• The Southern Province Provincial High Court asked the Supreme People's Court whether the Constitution could be applied judicially in Liu Wenya's case.
• After debate, the Supreme People's Court decided Ye Meizhen should bear civil liability for infringing Liu Wenya's right to education through a violation of her right of name.
• Duan Chaohai informed Su Bai of the guidance and scheduled the second-instance hearing, while Ye Meizhen decided to attend with Zhou Liang.
• At the hearing, Zhou Liang argued that the Constitution could not serve as a basis for the ruling, but Duan Chaohai rejected his submission and found Ye Meizhen liable.
• Duan Chaohai gave Zhou Liang the Supreme People's Court's guidance, and Zhou Liang realized the defendant was likely to lose.