Chapter 150 - 99: Adjudication Committee, Credibility Bankrupt, Court is in Session

So...

Xu De had held onto it this whole time, planning to drop it on them after the hearing started if things looked bad.

He just never expected that Huang Shi would bluff it out of him first...

’I’ll definitely have to be more careful about this in the future!!!’

"So that’s what it was."

Huang Shi was lost in thought.

But...

He suddenly paused, narrowing his eyes. Staring at Xu De, he scanned him from head to toe before suddenly speaking again:

"What else?"

Xu De: ?

"That’s it, there’s really nothing else! You could tear my whole firm apart and you wouldn’t find anything more!"

Xu De’s face was a mask of bitterness. It was the first time he’d ever experienced such a complete loss of credibility.

Huang Shi didn’t believe him.

But it was obvious he wouldn’t get anything else by staying longer, and time was of the essence. Deciding to remain on his guard, he finally gathered up all the evidence.

"Later, bring the witness with you and we’ll go get a forensic evaluation. We need to give this DNA test legal standing."

"I’m leaving now. The evidence from Lianshan County needs to be analyzed."

With that,

Huang Shi gathered the evidence and headed out without a second glance.

He quickly reached the front door, put out a hand, and pushed it open.

CREAK~

The door opened, and they all slowly walked out.

Huang Shi glanced back at the law firm’s sign.

"Houde Law Firm..."

He murmured the name. The evidence he’d just pried from Xu De flashed through his mind, and a sudden smile touched his lips.

It was a smile of understanding.

’Maybe... his understanding of "great virtue" is a little different from most people’s.’

Huang Shi shook his head, ready to leave.

But as he turned, a figure in his peripheral vision caught his eye.

Huang Shi paused. Turning his head, he saw Wang Chao still standing in the exact spot where they had spoken. He hadn’t moved an inch.

Wang Chao stared silently at the group, a look of clear dissatisfaction on his face.

Huang Shi paused.

Then he walked back to the firm’s entrance and closed the open door.

Wang Chao was satisfied.

Wang Chao left, heading home.

...

...

「December 28.」

That afternoon, at six-thirty.

Xu De took Sun Miaohua, accompanied by Huang Shi and his team, for a DNA test. When they tried to collect a hair sample from Liu Jingqi for the test, she resisted violently.

But obviously, with a mandatory court-ordered collection of evidence like this, her reaction was irrelevant.

At seven o’clock, the forensic evaluation report was underway, with the procuratorate pushing for it to be expedited.

Meanwhile,

the three prosecutors didn’t take a break. They began an all-night session to verify the various pieces of evidence related to the case from Lianshan County.

...

「December 29.」

The police contacted authorities in Lianshan County and completed their verification of the evidence.

It was confirmed that twelve years prior, Zhang Yueyue, who had disappeared from Lianshan County, had indeed lured away a three-year-old boy, causing his disappearance.

This had also indirectly led to the death of the boy’s stepfather, Tao Ming, from illness.

With this revelation,

Liu Jingqi was now implicated in at least four deaths.

Namely: the direct murder of Yang Jiale; the indirect deaths of Zhao Li and Tao Ming; and the case of the young boy, who was most likely deceased but could only be officially classified as missing.

After this evidence was verified,

everyone at the Lusen City Police Department was stunned. Even the police chief couldn’t believe that the young-looking Liu Jingqi, who appeared so harmless, had committed such a staggering number of crimes.

The prosecution submitted this evidence to the court under Xu De’s name.

That day,

the defense lawyer, Zhang Wei, was under immense pressure. He chain-smoked five packs of cigarettes in a single day, leaving his throat parched.

And that night,

the final straw that broke the camel’s back arrived.

A mere twenty-four hours later,

the forensic evaluation agency issued its report.

Both the prosecution and the court obtained the evidence with the utmost speed.

It was a "biological parentage test"—not an anonymous one, but a DNA test with legal standing. The result was...

[Based on the results of this DNA analysis, the evidence supports the existence of a relationship between the subjects ’Liu Jingqi’ and ’Sun Miaohua’...]

[A BIOLOGICAL MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP!]

Bloodline... confirmed!

...

「January 1.」

The Intermediate People’s Court urgently convened its judicial committee.

At the Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court, President Zhang Rong, Vice President Qian Hu, the chief judge of the civil tribunal, the deputy chief judge of the criminal tribunal, and numerous other senior judges...

...were all squeezed into a single conference room to discuss the final verdict for the case.

"Four lives... and two of those were indirect."

"No matter how you look at it, the lightest sentence would be a death sentence with a reprieve. A standard verdict would be immediate execution!"

"Lianshan County is at least two thousand kilometers away. Is it possible there was some ’distortion during information transmission’?"

"It’s possible, but... a biological test can’t be faked."

"So what’s the verdict?"

"It’s difficult. The deceased, Tao Ming, you could argue ’died from illness.’ And the three-year-old boy... is officially classified as missing, not dead!"

"In other words, the actual sentence... will still have to be based on the consequences of the 18th Middle School case..."

"If we have to, we can give a suspended death sentence. That way, if something turns up later, we have some leeway..."

"..."

Inside the courthouse, opinions flew back and forth within the judicial committee.

The facts of the case were clear, but deciding on a sentence...

...was proving to be incredibly difficult.

Even the two presidents had been tossing and turning for the past two nights, unable to sleep.

"Death penalty. The consequences of this case already meet the standard for capital punishment. Since she’s now an adult, we should sentence her as one!" someone proposed.

Someone else shot back:

"Her status changed from minor to adult. Sentencing her with full adult responsibility puts us under immense pressure. What if the evidence is wrong!?"

"How could it be wrong? Two separate agencies verified the relationship between the witness and the defendant. They are mother and daughter!"

"They haven’t even found the human trafficker. The chain of evidence isn’t solid enough..."

"It’s not like this is unprecedented! What about Ma Wenzhong in ’98, or Wei Xueyun in ’99? Those were precedents!"

"Those cases were before the year 2000. Look at the judicial environment back then versus now. Can you even compare them?"

"Besides, it’s hard to assign responsibility for the two deaths related to the Lianshan County incident. And as for the 18th Middle School case, sentencing her as an adult is..."

"..."

The discussion in the conference room lasted from morning until noon.

Then from noon until night.

After an entire day, they hadn’t even reached a potential conclusion.

...

「January 2.」

It was a little later than Xu De had anticipated.

The judicial committee hadn’t been as efficient as he’d imagined.

The court didn’t send out the notice until the third day after the adjournment, and it was delivered to both parties on the fourth.

A new hearing date was set.

It was set for...

January 4!

...

「January 3.」

The judicial committee ceased its deliberations. It seemed an answer had been reached, but the actual verdict still depended on the three judges presiding over the case.

Everyone began preparing for the hearing.

...

...

「January 4.」

At twelve-thirty in the afternoon.

"Whew, it’s freezing. That wind feels like a knife cutting right through me."

"Lawyer Xu, how are you not cold dressed like that?"

"You’re made of iron. Sometimes I wonder if you’re actually Superman from the movies!"

"..."

In the Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court.

Three figures walked silently into the courthouse, Wang Chao remarking on the cold as they went.

The January weather was exceptionally cold. It hadn’t snowed yet in Lusen City, but a cold front had already rolled in.

Lin Yue was bundled up in a scarf, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. Tiny, neat beads of condensation from her breath clung to the velvet fabric.

Wang Chao, on the other hand, was frozen stiff.

Xu De paid them no mind, striding toward the pre-trial waiting room.

Before the hearing, the defense had tried every trick in the book to obtain a letter of forgiveness from Yang Huan, but Xu De had blocked all their attempts, and no such document was submitted as evidence.

Barring any surprises, this hearing...

...would not be adjourned again.

With this in mind, Xu De pushed open the door to the waiting room.

CREAK~

The door opened.

Inside, the three prosecutors were already seated. Hearing the sound, they turned to look at Xu De.

Xu De walked silently into the room. He looked at them, and they stared back.

Huang Shi’s gaze was filled with vigilance, suspicion, and a thick layer of disbelief.

Xu De sat down beside him.

After a moment,

Huang Shi finally opened his mouth to speak. Just as Xu De was expecting him to discuss possible sentencing outcomes,

to his surprise,

Huang Shi said:

"So... are you planning another ambush this time?"

Xu De: ?

Xu De suddenly felt a lump in his throat. It was usually him leaving others speechless; now he was getting a taste of his own medicine.

He started to speak, then stopped. After a long moment, he said resignedly:

"I really don’t have any more evidence. You have to believe me. We’re the prosecution, we’re on the same side..."

But his credibility was clearly shot. His words went in one ear and out the other.

Huang Shi was clearly unconvinced. His skeptical eyes scanned Xu De for a good while. Then, after a long pause,

"So what evidence are you ambushing us with this time?"

Xu De: ...

Sometimes,

he thought, there really ought to be more trust between people... especially trust in him!

’My credibility can’t be *that* shot, can it?!’

...

...