Chapter 143 - 95: Announcement: Taking on All Comers

"Your Honor, there’s a reason we’re presenting this evidence mid-trial. It’s like this..."

"As for this case, our side only began investigating the defendant, Liu Jingqi, after the first hearing concluded on December 17th."

"In the legal world, the difficulty of investigating abduction and missing persons cases is common knowledge, so it took us some time..."

"But thankfully, we were still able to contact the witness, Sun Miaohua, on the 23rd."

"However, for the sake of judicial rigor and the credibility of the evidence, we did not rush to present it. Instead, we first conducted our own private verification."

From the prosecution’s stand.

Xu De spoke slowly, his tone full of sincerity and earnestness.

He met the skeptical gazes of everyone in the room and said,

"And so, on December 27th, just six hours before today’s hearing began, we finally obtained this piece of evidence."

"The very document you are holding, Your Honor."

"And it was clear we had already missed the discovery period and had no time to submit it, so..."

"We had no choice but to present it during the hearing!"

As his voice fell, a wave of realization washed over the courtroom.

’In other words...’

’Xu De was forced into this ambush?’

’So you can be *forced* into a surprise attack during a trial...’

’Seriously, how can you say that with a straight face!?’

At the defendant’s table.

Veins bulged on attorney Zhang Wei’s forehead. His hands were clenched into tight fists, the muscles in his forearms taut. His ashen face resembled an ancient bronze mask, and he ground his teeth with an audible GRIND.

’Shameless...’

’Absolutely shameless!!!’

’Where the hell does he get the nerve to say that!?’

’Putting aside everything else, Zhang Wei wouldn’t believe for a second that his opponent had improvised this plan on the spot—a scheme to get him to admit guilt, only to then produce this evidence to be used for sentencing...’

’It was definitely premeditated!’

"Your Honor, this is clearly a premeditated evidence ambush!"

Zhang Wei simply couldn’t hold it in any longer. His lips trembled with rage as he gasped for air.

"The agent has been illegally obtaining evidence and conducting unauthorized tests from the very beginning! He is showing a blatant disregard for the rules of this court!!!"

On the bench.

The three judges’ minds were already reeling. Hearing the outburst, Zhao Xing’s expression immediately soured, and he snapped,

"Counsel for the defendant, please maintain courtroom discipline!"

"If it happens again, I have the authority to have you removed from the courtroom!"

As he finished speaking.

Though simmering with resentment, Zhang Wei could only bite the bullet and shut his mouth.

At this moment.

On the bench.

Zhang Bingxin, Zhao Xing, and Lu Guowei now wore troubled expressions.

It was clear their minds were reeling.

To be honest.

Initially, they had thought this case would conclude after the second hearing.

After all, the case was exceedingly simple. The facts were clear, especially after considering the testimony from Lv Guangjun, which Xu De had presented during his *first* evidence ambush.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that Lv Guangjun could not stand trial at the time...

...it would have been fine to pronounce a verdict and close the case after the first hearing. It just would have seemed less than rigorous.

Therefore, a verdict could easily have been delivered during the second hearing.

But...

But someone just had to throw a spanner in the works!

’What is this nonsense? The agent finds the defendant’s biological mother in just eleven days and brings her to court to claim there’s a problem with her age?’

’And what’s this? They even had time to get a biological test done beforehand!?’

’And what the hell is this? The excuse he gives is so perfect you can’t even warn or reprimand him!?’

In a daze.

The three judges stared at the bottom right corner of the report, at the date "December 27th"—the date the test report was issued—and fell silent.

’An anonymous test from the Medical University?’

’That’s right, the testing facility at Lusen Medical University... the court has commissioned them before...’

Lu Guowei felt like he was starting to suffocate.

He had been a judge for decades, from a common judge at the Basic Court to a senior judge at the Intermediate Court, and he could even serve as a presiding judge now.

Was there any kind of difficult, high-pressure case he hadn’t seen?

But...

This case truly left him with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was exhausted and weary; on the other, he was filled with rage. Yet, after hearing the agent’s explanation, he was powerless and could only stare blankly!

The most crucial thing was...

’An anonymous test with no legal standing?’

’It doesn’t even have an official seal...’

Zhao Xing stared at the test report, a vein throbbing in his temple. The hand hidden beneath his robe was clenched into a tight fist.

"Seriously, if you have evidence, give us the good stuff! The kind that’s legally admissible!"

Hearing his low, angry muttering,

Zhang Bingxin sighed, seeming to age ten years in an instant. He shook his head but said nothing.

’Legally admissible evidence?’

’If he had it, don’t you think Xu De would have provided it!?’

’The problem is, he doesn’t have it. He can’t provide it.’

Zhang Bingxin saw the situation with perfect clarity.

If Xu De had submitted the evidence earlier, the court and the prosecutor’s office would have had to contact the police. They would have needed to send people two thousand kilometers away to Lianshan County, coordinate across provinces, and conduct an initial investigation.

The police would then try to catch the human trafficker. If they couldn’t, they’d have to go to the orphanage.

They’d get a physical description of the trafficker from the orphanage, then use that to find the person’s identity in Lianshan County to complete the chain of evidence. Finally, based on the multiple points of suspicion, they could compel a judicial identification test.

And with the upcoming New Year holiday requiring staff leave,

the whole process would push the case to March of next year, at the very least.

But Xu De’s current maneuver...

...was to present the invalid evidence first, forcing the court to cross-examine it!

If the court didn’t verify it, they couldn’t refute the evidence and move the case forward. But if the court *did* verify it, they would have to skip the three-month investigation process and expedite a legally binding DNA test.

And the report from that test would have legal standing, requiring no particularly meticulous chain of logic to back it up.

The points of suspicion Xu De had already raised would be enough to form an ironclad case!

This was... an open conspiracy. A blatant, overt scheme. The moment Xu De put it on the table, no one could stop what would inevitably follow!