Chapter Summaries

Su Bai argued that Ye Meizhen’s university place and later public-sector job came at Liu Wenya’s expense, urging the court to award the requested compensation. The second-instance trial concluded with the ruling document due within seven working days, and Su Bai said Liu Wenya could then seek further remedies from administrative departments.

• Zhou Liang told Ye Meizhen that Supreme People's Court guidance made a defense victory unlikely, and Ye Meizhen said they should try to reduce the compensation.
• Duan Chaohai opened the final court statements, and Zhou Liang argued that Liu Wenya’s compensation claim exceeded what was warranted.
• Su Bai described how Ye Meizhen took Liu Wenya’s university place and argued that the requested compensation was reasonable.
• Duan Chaohai adjourned the trial and said the ruling and judgment document would be issued within seven working days.
• Liu Wenya smiled after the trial, while Su Bai said she could pursue compensation enforcement and further administrative remedies once the judgment document arrived.

After Ye Meizhen lost her appeal, Wang Qirui advised her to seek Liu Wenya’s forgiveness or bait her into making demands that could be framed as extortion. Ye Meizhen tried to lure Liu Wenya into a settlement at her home, but Liu Wenya recognized the trap and refused, leaving Ye Meizhen’s plan exposed.

• Su Bai told Liu Wenya which administrative departments and procedures to use to report Ye Meizhen’s illegal university admission and employment.
• Ye Meizhen told Wang Qirui about the second-instance ruling, and he warned her that Liu Wenya could report her and suggested either apologizing or gathering evidence to accuse Liu Wenya of extortion.
• Ye Meizhen recruited Ye Yuandong and relatives and friends to accompany her to Liu Wenya’s home, where she offered the court-ordered compensation plus extra money in exchange for forgiveness.
• Liu Wenya refused the extra compensation, but Ye Meizhen knelt and repeatedly raised her offer while the gathered relatives urged Liu Wenya to accept.
• Liu Wenya recalled Su Bai’s warning about settlement traps and asked Ye Meizhen whether she was raising the offer to provoke an extortion accusation.

After Ye Meizhen failed to trick Liu Wenya into accepting compensation, Liu received the final ruling and used it to seek consequences through schools and administrative authorities. Public attention led to Ye Meizhen’s dismissal and a supervisory investigation that also targeted her husband, Wang Qirui.

• Ye Meizhen admitted to Ye Yuancheng that she had offered Liu Wenya compensation to provoke an extortion charge, then warned him not to act recklessly.
• Liu Wenya received the Provincial High Court’s final ruling and submitted it to Ye Meizhen’s former schools, workplace, and relevant administrative authorities.
• Li Xuezhen posted the case and ruling on the White Jun Law Firm’s short-video account, prompting widespread discussion and calls for departments to investigate.
• Local authorities confirmed irregularities in Ye Meizhen’s university admission and public-sector appointment, dismissed her, and sought to revoke her student registration.
• Principal Lin refused to intervene as Ye Meizhen was dismissed, and Supervisory Department staff summoned her over reported promotion irregularities and an investigation into Wang Qirui.

After the authorities confirmed Ye Meizhen’s unlawful admission and dismissed her, Liu Wenya thanked Su Bai and Li Xuezhen for winning her case. Li Xuezhen kissed Su Bai and later pursued a new case partly because it could give them another long business trip together, leaving Su Bai to decide whether to take it.

• The Zhou City Administrative Departments confirmed Ye Meizhen’s violations and stripped her of her professional title and established post, while Wang Qirui and others faced internal disciplinary measures.
• Liu Wenya visited the White Jun Law Firm to thank Su Bai and Li Xuezhen for securing justice in her case.
• After Liu Wenya left, Li Xuezhen kissed Su Bai, and he responded by kissing her forehead.
• Wang Kexin teased Li Xuezhen about the kiss and told her about a difficult new case that might require an extended business trip.
• Li Xuezhen brought the case information to Su Bai and asked whether he wanted to travel with her; Su Bai asked whether she wanted him to take the case.

Su Bai accepted a complicated murder case and prepared to travel to Sichuan Province with Li Xuezhen, while learning he had been selected as a national model for young lawyers. On their trip, Li Xuezhen contrived to share Su Bai’s bed and edged closer to him as she asked whether he was asleep.

• Li Xuezhen eagerly anticipated a business trip with Su Bai, and Su Bai explained the murder case involving a man killed by his father-in-law and the client’s demands over sentencing, inheritance, and custody.
• Su Bai agreed to accept the case and told Li Xuezhen to book a twin room; she delighted in the prospect of traveling together.
• Feng Lijian told Su Bai he had been selected as a national model for young lawyers and asked whether he planned to expand White Jun Law Firm, but Su Bai said he was not short of funds and had no plans for more branches.
• Old Li called Li Xuezhen and, convinced she and Su Bai had kissed, happily offered her money and told Feng Lijian he believed the two were getting closer.
• Su Bai decided to travel to Sichuan Province to investigate the case, while Li Xuezhen booked a romantic suite before changing it to an ordinary twin room after Su Bai checked it.
• At the hotel, Li Xuezhen claimed her bed was wet, climbed into Su Bai’s bed, and slowly edged toward him before asking if he was asleep.

Li Xuezhen happily remembered growing closer to Su Bai before joining him to meet Liu Xuewei’s family about his murder case. Liu Xuezhi described troubling marital and financial conflicts involving Xie Lirong, leaving Su Bai and Li Xuezhen suspicious of the apparent motive as they headed to review the case file.

• Li Xuezhen woke up pleased after spending the night cuddling and kissing Su Bai, and looked forward to continuing their casework together.
• Liu Hengjun grieved as he told Su Bai about Liu Xuewei’s death, while Liu Xuezhi explained that Xie Lirong had given conflicting accounts of how Xie An came to kill him.
• Liu Xuezhi described Xie Lirong’s unhappy marriage to Liu Xuewei, her demands for divorce and property, and her family’s hostility toward him.
• Su Bai considered whether Xie Lirong’s family might have had a financial motive, but said he needed to examine the case file before drawing conclusions.
• Li Xuezhen told Su Bai that the case felt strange, and Su Bai agreed that killing Liu Xuewei over a minor dispute seemed like an implausible motive.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen went to De City Intermediate Court to review the criminal investigation and case details.

Su Bai found contradictions in Xie Lirong’s changing statements and suspected that she and others had concealed the truth about Xie An’s killing of Liu Xuewei, so he appealed for a second-instance trial. As Li Xuezhen moved into his spare room, Xie Lirong learned the appeal had been accepted and confronted her ex-husband Liang, fearing the hearing could endanger her father.

• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen reviewed the case files and found that Xie Lirong had repeatedly changed her account of what she told Xie An before Liu Xuewei was killed.
• Su Bai suspected that Xie Lirong and others had deceived investigators, and he and Li Xuezhen prepared an appeal to the Provincial High Court.
• After returning to Southern Capital, Li Xuezhen used a supposed leak at her home as a reason to move into Su Bai’s spare bedroom.
• The Provincial High Court approved Su Bai’s request for a second-instance trial and notified the parties.
• Xie Lirong called her ex-husband Liang and urged him to return after receiving the hearing summons, but he dismissed her concerns and focused on claiming Liu Xuewei’s remaining assets.
• Xie Lirong threatened to expose Liang’s role in the plan unless he came back, then regretted the deliberate murder and their pursuit of Liu Xuewei’s property.

Liang Xinglong reassured Xie Lirong that Xie An’s appeal would not result in a death sentence and urged her to keep demanding money from Liu Xuewei’s family. After Liu Xuezhi told Su Bai that Xie Lirong wanted 200,000 yuan in exchange for custody, Su Bai advised the family to wait for the second-instance judgment and seek protective care for the child if needed.

• Liang Xinglong comforted Xie Lirong and reminded her that Xie An had killed Liu Xuewei to protect her finances after Liang suggested the plan.
• Liang Xinglong told Xie Lirong to demand Liu Xuewei’s family property and another 200,000 yuan, and Xie Lirong called Liu Hengjun to press for payment.
• Liu Xuezhi called Su Bai to report Xie Lirong’s demand and ask whether Liu Xuewei’s family could obtain custody of his son.
• Su Bai advised Liu Xuezhi not to agree to the demand before the second-instance judgment and suggested applying for protective care if Xie Lirong threatened the child.
• Su Bai suspected that Xie An had killed Liu Xuewei to secure more property for Xie Lirong, but he waited for the trial to clarify the facts.

At Xie An’s second-instance hearing, Su Bai questioned whether Xie An had acted alone or conspired with Xie Lirong and others to kill Liu Xuewei. His questions unsettled Xie Lirong and exposed that investigators had not deeply examined that possibility, leaving her anxious about what Su Bai might uncover.

• Liu Xuezhi rejected Xie Lirong’s demand for payment in exchange for custody, and Liu Hengjun agreed to wait until after the hearing before giving her money.
• The Sichuan Provincial High Court opened a public second-instance hearing, where the prosecution repeated its case and recommended the death penalty for Xie An.
• Xie An confessed, accepted punishment, and claimed he had killed Liu Xuewei in a rage after hearing that Liu Xuewei had hurt his daughter.
• Su Bai asked Xie Lirong why she issued a letter of forgiveness, and she refused to explain her reasoning.
• Su Bai asked Xie An whether Xie Lirong’s family knew he planned to kill Liu Xuewei, then asked investigators whether they had examined the possibility of a conspiracy.
• Xie Lirong became flustered when she realized investigators had not thoroughly explored Su Bai’s allegation.

Su Bai argued that Liu Xuewei’s death was a premeditated conspiracy rather than a heat-of-passion killing, citing unanswered questions about Xie An’s motive and Xie Lirong’s changing statements. When Hu Yuxiang asked why they would conspire to kill Liu Xuewei, Su Bai said they wanted his remaining assets, leaving Xie An and Xie Lirong visibly alarmed.

• Chen Bing said investigators had treated the killing as an intentional crime committed by Xie An in the heat of passion and had not deeply investigated a conspiracy.
• Su Bai questioned Xie An’s alleged motive, Xie Lirong’s contradictory statements, and the lack of a plausible reason for Xie An to kill Liu Xuewei, then argued the crime was premeditated.
• Su Bai asked Hu Yuxiang to order a detailed investigation into the unresolved issues, while Xie An grew uneasy that investigators might uncover the truth.
• Hu Yuxiang asked what motive there could have been for a conspiracy to kill Liu Xuewei, and Su Bai answered that it was to obtain Liu Xuewei’s remaining assets.
• Xie Lirong looked panicked, and Li Xuezhen told Su Bai that her reaction suggested he had correctly identified the motive.

During Xie An’s second-instance trial, Su Bai challenged the claim that Liu Xuewei’s murder was a crime of passion and prompted the court to suspend proceedings for a supplementary investigation. The investigation began as Xie Lirong and Liang Xinglong worried their involvement would be exposed.

• Su Bai argued that Xie An may have killed Liu Xuewei over property or as part of a conspiracy, and Presiding Judge Hu Yuxiang adjourned the trial to consult the other judges.
• Su Bai told investigator Chen Bing that he had a lead and believed further interrogation would uncover the truth, while Liang Xinglong feared the investigation would implicate him.
• Hu Yuxiang and the other judges agreed to suspend the hearing and direct law enforcement and the prosecution to investigate the doubts Su Bai had raised.
• After the court approved the supplementary investigation, Su Bai explained his investigation plan to Chen Bing, who returned to prepare for it.
• Xie Lirong asked Liang Xinglong what to do, and he reassured her that they would be safe if they stayed silent.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen returned to White Jun Law Firm, where Li Xuezhen followed the investigation and expected those involved to go to prison.

After the second-instance trial was suspended, Chen Bing investigated Xie An and confronted him with evidence that he had killed Liu Xuewei to protect Xie Lirong’s assets. Xie An stayed silent, but Chen Bing planned to rely on Liang Xinglong, leaving Xie An afraid that Liang Xinglong would confess.

• Public discussion of Liu Xuewei’s murder shifted to Su Bai’s claim that Xie Lirong had helped plan it for financial gain.
• Chen Bing interrogated Xie An and presented evidence that Xie An knew he was ill and had killed Liu Xuewei to keep Xie Lirong from repaying marital assets.
• Xie An refused to confirm Chen Bing’s account, believing silence would protect both himself and his daughter.
• Chen Bing told Xie An that Liang Xinglong would reveal what happened and left the interrogation room.
• Xie An’s defenses crumbled as he recalled Liang Xinglong’s greed and gambling, and he worried that Liang Xinglong would not remain silent.

Chen Bing questioned Liang Xinglong, whose confession confirmed that Xie Lirong and others had conspired to kill Liu Xuewei. The trial resumed with the case reclassified as conspiracy to murder, and Su Bai prepared to present the victim’s claims.

• Chen Bing questioned Liang Xinglong with his lawyer friend present, and Liang confessed to the crime and promised a full account.
• Chen Bing told Su Bai that Liang’s statement and the evidence supported charges against Xie Lirong and the others.
• Su Bai explained to Li Xuezhen that Liu Xuewei’s family could seek custody of the child and a favorable property division.
• Law Enforcement and the Procuratorate Department reorganized the case materials, and the trial resumed amid a crowded livestream.
• Judge Hu Yuxiang announced that the court would hear the case of Xie An, Xie Lirong, and others conspiring to murder Liu Xuewei, while Su Bai prepared the victim’s claims.

At the hearing, Xie An and Liang Xinglong blamed each other, while Xie An tried to deny that Xie Lirong and his wife knew about the murder. Su Bai presented the victim family’s civil claims, and the judge weighed the evidence pointing toward a death sentence for Xie An and prison terms for the other conspirators.

• Xie An and Liang Xinglong accused each other of instigating the crime and shifting blame during the hearing.
• Xie An claimed Xie Lirong and his wife knew little or nothing about the case, but Hu Yuxiang rejected his unsupported statements and ordered him to stop speaking without permission.
• Hu Yuxiang invited Su Bai to present the victim family’s claims.
• Su Bai requested severe criminal sentences, dissolution of Xie Lirong’s marriage to Liu Xuewei, return of their marital property, and custody of their child for Liu Xuezhi.
• Hu Yuxiang considered the case evidence and the likelihood that Xie An would receive the death penalty while Xie Lirong and Liang Xinglong received prison terms.

The Sichuan Provincial High Court sentenced Xie An to death and sentenced Xie Lirong, Wang Mengyao, and Liang Xinglong to prison for their roles in Liu Xuewei’s murder. The court also granted the victim’s family’s civil claims, leaving Xie Lirong with no marital assets and awarding custody to Liu Xuezhi, as Xie An protested and Xie Lirong sank into regret.

• Lin Xiao recommended the death penalty for Xie An and prison sentences for Xie Lirong, Wang Mengyao, and Liang Xinglong.
• Liang Xinglong confessed and accepted his sentence, while Su Bai argued that the defendants deserved severe punishment.
• Hu Yuxiang overturned Xie An’s first-instance judgment and sentenced him to death with his political rights deprived for life.
• The court sentenced Xie Lirong to five years, Wang Mengyao to five years and six months, and Liang Xinglong to three years in prison.
• The court granted the victim’s family’s civil claims, ordered Xie Lirong to leave the marriage without assets and compensate for marital property, and awarded custody to Liu Xuezhi.
• Xie An protested the sentences for his family and struggled against the Court Police, while Xie Lirong looked at Liang Xinglong with regret and self-loathing.

After Xie Lirong and Xie An were taken away following the trial, Su Bai received thanks from Liu Xuewei’s family for securing justice and custody of her child. As Li Xuezhen hoped for another case that would let her travel with Su Bai, a new defendant sentenced to death insisted on innocence and asked whether the law could deliver a fair outcome.

• Xie Lirong accepted the verdict and left the courtroom in tears, while Xie An stopped resisting after seeing her reaction.
• Chen Bing thanked Su Bai for completing the case, and Su Bai returned to Southern Capital with Li Xuezhen.
• Liu Hengjun and Liu Xuezhi visited White Jun Law Firm to collect the judgment and thank Su Bai for helping their family obtain custody.
• Li Xuezhen reflected on her admiration for Su Bai and hoped a new case would give them a chance to travel together.
• A defendant in another case was sentenced to death for intentional homicide but refused to plead guilty and asked the presiding judge whether the law could give the defendant and their family a fair outcome.

Su Bai accepted the defense of Zhang Kou, a man sentenced to death for killing one of the men who had helped bully his mother. After hearing Zhang Kou’s account, Su Bai learned that his client wanted him to pursue justice for his mother’s killing, and the chapter left that request as the focus of their case.

• Su Bai reviewed his past cases and learned that the system’s progress had reached ninety-five percent.
• Duan Liang told Su Bai about Zhang Kou’s death-penalty case, and Su Bai agreed to represent him after reading the case materials.
• Su Bai asked Li Xuezhen to organize the case details, and she was delighted to travel with him to meet the client.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen traveled to Shi City and met Zhang Kou at the detention center.
• Zhang Kou told Su Bai that he had witnessed his mother being beaten to death when he was fifteen and wanted the people responsible, especially Zhang Chuancheng, brought to justice.

Zhang Kou hired Su Bai to seek justice for his murdered mother, and Su Bai began investigating the local bully who had escaped punishment for her death. Su Bai learned that Zhang Chuancheng had used local connections and intimidation to suppress complaints, and planned to examine the case further before preparing Zhang Kou’s appeal.

• Zhang Kou signed White Jun Law Firm’s engagement agreement after Su Bai promised to do everything possible to fulfill his commission.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen discussed Zhang Kou’s prospects for a reduced sentence and planned to review the case files and visit his hometown.
• Su Bai disguised his connection to the case and visited a local woman known for gathering village gossip, while Li Xuezhen played along as his wife.
• The woman told Su Bai that Zhang Chuancheng had beaten Zhang Kou’s mother to death over her land and avoided punishment through connections.
• The woman explained that Zhang Chuancheng had intimidated people who tried to report him, leaving the murder unaddressed for years.

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen reported Zhang Kou’s mother’s old murder to the Law Enforcement Department, then prepared to appeal Zhang Kou’s death sentence. Zhang Chuancheng learned someone wanted the murder investigated but remained confident that the passage of time had erased the evidence.

• Auntie told Li Xuezhen about Zhang Chuancheng’s land seizures, harassment, and other abuses of villagers.
• Su Bai explained that Zhang Kou’s old evidence could support opening a case, though the long delay would make investigation and conviction difficult.
• Su Bai submitted the evidence to the Law Enforcement Department, whose staff said the case needed verification and gave no timeline for a decision.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen left to file Zhang Kou’s second-instance appeal at the Provincial High Court, seeking a reduced sentence.
• Peng Yuhang warned Zhang Chuancheng that someone wanted to investigate Zhang Kou’s mother’s death, and Zhang Chuancheng admitted he had beaten her to death but dismissed the danger.

Zhang Chuancheng learned that officials might reopen the case of Zhang Kou’s mother’s killing and tried to arrange for the investigation to be delayed. At Zhang Kou’s public appeal hearing, Su Bai acknowledged the murder but argued that Zhang Kou’s motive for revenge made the circumstances less serious, seeking a death sentence with reprieve.

• Zhang Chuancheng told Peng Yuhang that the old case lacked evidence and persuaded him to ask his contact to delay its reopening.
• The Northern Province Provincial High Court agreed to hear Zhang Kou’s appeal publicly, and Su Bai prepared him to confess and accept punishment.
• Su Bai told Zhang Kou to behave properly at the hearing and said he would request a death sentence with reprieve.
• Presiding Judge Wang Youwei opened the public appeal hearing, where Prosecutor Lin Yuan argued that Zhang Kou’s planned killing of multiple people warranted a death sentence.
• Su Bai accepted that Zhang Kou had committed murder but argued that avenging his mother made his motive understandable and the circumstances less serious.