Chapter 104 - 79: The Death-Exemption Gold Medal Breakthrough

7:30 PM.

Night had fallen.

Lusen City. Intermediate People’s Court.

In the infirmary.

"Ugh..."

On the infirmary bed, Gold Medal Lawyer Zhang Wei’s eyes fluttered in his pained face as a sound escaped his throat.

A moment later.

He opened his eyes and subconsciously pushed himself up, leaning against the headboard. He was about to look around, but the next second...

Zhang Wei felt a stabbing pain, as if a blade was twisting inside his brain. It was excruciating!

His movement instantly alerted everyone else in the infirmary.

Several lawyers in suits, who had been resting, saw this and their faces lit up with joy.

"Lawyer Zhang! He’s awake!"

"Thank goodness. He just fainted. It’s nothing serious..."

"Lawyer Zhang, you should rest. The doctor’s orders were to avoid straining your brain for the next couple of days if you can."

"..."

The crowd gathered around, looking at Zhang Wei with faces full of respect.

To be honest, Zhenghe Law Firm was a ’boutique’ law firm—not in the same league as firms like Jinmao, but in the most literal sense.

The firm only had about twenty people, divided into three teams.

Zhang Wei and Sun Bing each led a team. It was just that this particular case was so high-profile and well-known, and on top of that, Liu Hao was paying an exorbitant amount.

So, the firm decided to have the two Gold Medal Lawyer teams, Zhang Wei’s and Sun Bing’s, merge by selecting senior lawyers to form a temporary joint team.

Led by Zhang Wei.

Initially, a few people from Sun Bing’s team were unconvinced. ’After all, we’re both Gold Medal teams, so why should he get the lion’s share for doing the same work?’

But now...

They were convinced.

They were truly and utterly convinced.

Lawyer Sun Bing looked at Zhang Wei, her tone noticeably softer than during their previous discussions.

She spoke up:

"Lawyer Zhang, please rest for now. Don’t worry about the case. Court won’t be back in session this week."

The others also added respectfully:

"That’s right, Lawyer Zhang. You’ve sacrificed too much for the firm. You need to prioritize your health!"

"You know, Lawyer Zhang, I’ve always admired you."

"Honestly, I don’t think those Gold Medal Lawyers from the Red Circle Law Firms are necessarily better than you, Lawyer Zhang. Staying in Lusen City is a waste of your talent!"

"..."

Everyone chimed in, one after another. There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in their words—only genuine admiration.

How could they not be impressed?

That prosecuting attorney, Xu De...

The man was absolutely ruthless, vicious beyond measure. To pull a surprise evidence attack with something that damning!

He even did it quietly, waiting until they had presented all their defense evidence, had Lv Guangjun take the stand to deliver testimony favorable to their side, and only then did he drop the video recording...

The lie was exposed in front of everyone!

Just that alone would have been enough to leave someone with weaker nerves speechless and unable to counter.

And yet, Zhang Wei, under that extreme pressure...

...had somehow managed to debate relentlessly against a perfectly composed Huang Shi...

...in a legal clash that lasted for three whole hours!

"Lawyer Zhang, your performance... was worthy of the name ’Gold Medal’!"

Sun Bing couldn’t help but praise him.

Hearing this, Zhang Wei, whose headache had subsided slightly, gave a bitter smile.

"There’s nothing to say."

"I was pushed into a corner..."

’Sometimes life is like that. You never know your own potential until someone pushes you.’

’Xu De forced my hand. I had to fight back. If I had taken even one step back, I could have been accused of suborning perjury!’

’Vicious... too vicious.’

"What about Lv Guangjun? How is he?"

In a daze, Zhang Wei remembered Lv Guangjun and quickly asked about him.

Lv Guangjun...

’He was taken away, so he’ll definitely be investigated by the police.’

’He could even become an accomplice in this case!’

’Of course, since the trial has already started, they’ll probably open a separate case for him, but that still means he’s guaranteed to face criminal charges.’

’If that guy... starts pointing fingers and accuses us of fabricating evidence at a time like this, we’ll be in big trouble.’

’We coordinated our testimonies, but we never actually fabricated physical evidence.’

’Besides, we already had a clear advantage, so there was no reason to take such a huge risk and create false evidence.’

"Lv Guangjun?"

Sun Bing replied, "He was taken away for questioning after leaving the courtroom. He hasn’t been making wild accusations. Our people have already spoken with the police."

’Good, as long as he’s not pointing fingers...’

Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

His focus then returned to the case itself, and he fell silent.

"What about their counsel?"

he asked suddenly, the image of that quiet, turtle-likely patient lawyer, Xu De, appearing in his mind.

"What’s he doing now?"

’Lv Guangjun’s situation would probably take a week and a half to investigate. Correspondingly, the trial should resume in about a week and a half.’

’We still have the upper hand, though.’

’But...’

’...that’s what they thought before the trial started, too.’

’God knows if the other side will pull another big stunt!’

"He left the courtroom with the prosecutor," Sun Bing responded, her tone deferring to Zhang Wei’s lead role.

"He has most likely left the courthouse and returned to his firm."

"Lawyer Zhang, you don’t need to worry. Even though we suffered a setback in the first hearing,"

"the inherent advantages our defendant has in this case are just too significant!"

"First, the responsibility for the homicide is shared among three people."

Second,

all three of them fall under the protection statutes due to their age!

The defendant, Liu Jingqi, isn’t even seventeen. The kind that can’t even be sentenced to life in prison!

Never mind Lv Guangjun telling the truth.

Even if Xu De managed to find a security camera on a rooftop that filmed the entire incident, I’d still dare to say we have the advantage in this case!

"No matter what,"

"the courtroom confrontation is a battle between standard charges and the ’Juvenile Protection Law’."

Sun Bing said comfortingly, a faint smile on her face:

"The advantage is ours!"

"All you need to do is rest, Lawyer Zhang."

"As for what comes next, when the police go to the school... the other lawyers on the team will handle it."