Chapter 161 - 104: Reporters Outside the Court

They would just get bogged down in the details of the crime, focusing on Liu Jingqi’s methods, her attitude, and her inner thoughts.

Miss by an inch, miss by a mile.

A single lapse in judgment when taking the case would have led to a completely different outcome!

Not to mention, even if another lawyer had wanted to pursue the death penalty... it would have been impossible.

From the first adjournment on the 17th to the trial reconvening on the 28th, there was only a ten-day window for investigation.

In those ten days, you would need to confirm old director Zheng Tong’s crimes at the orphanage, then drive more than two thousand kilometers to Yan’an City.

Then you’d have to find Lianshan County, and in the end...

You’d even have to unearth the identity of Zhang Yueyue without any "Search for Zhang Yueyue" lead to begin with!

Then there’s persuading Sun Miaohua, gathering evidence from the police, and a whole series of other steps, all before driving another two thousand kilometers back to Lusen City.

And on top of all that.

You’d still have to set aside at least three days for a paternity test report!

Doing all that in just ten days!

It’s impossible, you know...

Let’s not even talk about the intellectual gap.

Just consider the physical stamina required.

A normal person would spend four days on a round trip flight to Your Province alone, to say nothing of investigating and gathering evidence. They’d probably have a breakdown halfway through, with no leads on the case, before they even got anywhere...

Let alone driving a round trip of over four thousand kilometers, trekking over mountains and wading through rivers to investigate, all while engaging in intense mental work.

You’d need the constitution of a Dongguo Superman, the legal world’s version of a triathlon!

Wang Chao prided himself on his physical fitness, but after following Xu De through this ordeal, he could only call him an ’iron man’ in sheer despair!

That’s why...

"If it had been any other lawyer, I never would have been able to avenge them!"

Yang Huan immediately spoke up, his face filled with emotion as he addressed the crowd.

He was a person with a strong moral compass, and sometimes, seeing Xu De made him feel deeply indebted.

’Why?’

Because his own demands had been excessive, and the case could genuinely end a lawyer’s career. In theory, the best possible reward was nothing more than an ’unremarkable’ victory for the plaintiff.

He had no way to repay him, but... now that he had the chance, he would naturally praise him as much as he could.

And he meant it from the bottom of his heart!

Yang Huan declared emphatically,

"No... I might not even have been able to find a lawyer!"

"Mr. Sun told me that at first, he went to other lawyers with three hundred thousand yuan, but not a single law firm in Lusen City was willing to take the case."

"Even the ones who were willing to consider it would only do so if I lowered my expectations—from pursuing criminal charges to just seeking financial compensation..."

"Only Lawyer Xu was willing to take it. Without him, my mother and sister would never have been able to rest in peace..."

"If it weren’t for him, that Liu Jingqi might not have even gotten ten years."

The surrounding reporters understood what he was saying.

Whether it was about no one taking the case or his family not being able to rest in peace... every single word was exactly what they wanted to hear!

Most importantly...

Yang Huan’s attitude clearly implied that Liu Jingqi had been sentenced to death!

But that raised a question... how could Liu Jingqi possibly be sentenced to death?!

This was the Intermediate Court, a place that ran on law. The judge wasn’t a fool, and the prosecutor and defense counsel were both elites. How could they let one attorney run wild?

And yet, that was the result. So... what on earth had happened?!

But just as the crowd was about to press for more details...

Xu De gently restrained Yang Huan, putting on a polite smile as he led his group away.

"He’s just a kid, don’t mind him."

"As for the details of the case, you will all know when the court makes its official announcement. It’s getting late, so we’ll be leaving now."

With that,

Lin Yue and Wang Chao quickly followed, making their way through the crowd.

What Yang Huan had said basically confirmed the nature of the verdict. Theoretically... he had crossed a line.

But then again...

Yang Huan was a minor!

He was a minor—a fourteen-year-old minor at that. He could say whatever he wanted. If the court had a problem with it, they were free to hold him accountable, but they’d have to silently recite the ’Juvenile Protection Law’ to themselves before they even tried!

Besides, he wasn’t a lawyer, just a family member. So what if he leaked some information?

That’s why Xu De didn’t say anything more and simply led his group away.

Watching them leave,

the reporters felt an unbearable itch of curiosity, as if a cat were clawing at their insides. They were burning with impatience.

"The death penalty... it’s almost certainly the death penalty!"

"Nothing less than the death penalty would have made Yang Huan that satisfied. But a death sentence... how is that even possible? Did the laws regarding minors change? No, that can’t be it..."

"What about an appeal? Will the defendant appeal for a second trial?"

"Let her appeal. You know how these appeals go, don’t you?"

"..."

The group of reporters discussed anxiously among themselves.

It looked like the prosecution had achieved a total victory in the first trial. Conversely, that meant a crushing defeat for the defense.

Although they didn’t know how it happened, it was clear that after such a loss, someone would be unwilling to accept the result. The defendant, at the very least, would not take it lying down.

And that unwillingness would inevitably lead to an appeal.

But that raised another question...

An appeal?

Appeal for a second trial?

Most people might think that since the first trial is in an intermediate court and the appeal is heard by the High Court, the appeal is more important.

And in fact, that’s true.

The appellate court is indeed a higher authority with ’final decision-making power.’ If it finds errors in the first trial, it can overturn the verdict and order a retrial.

But that’s just the theory!

In practice,

when a case reaches the appellate level, the court generally won’t interfere with the first trial’s verdict, unless one specific situation occurs.

And that is a clear procedural error in the first trial!

For example, if an intentional homicide case was wrongly judged as negligent homicide, the appellate court would order a retrial.

But for minor sentencing adjustments, the appellate court wouldn’t get involved.

Therefore,

so long as Zhang Bingxin’s ruling wasn’t completely arbitrary and fell within a reasonable scope, an appeal from Liu Jingqi would be useless. There was a 98% chance the appellate court would simply affirm the original verdict.

The only real concern was the Supreme Court!

All death penalty sentences must be reviewed and ultimately approved by the Supreme Court.

If they didn’t approve it, all their work would be for nothing.

But regardless,

at the very least, they had won the case for now—and won a resounding victory at that!

So, for the reporters...

"Should we write up a story?"

In the crowd, Zhang Wang, the younger brother of Phoenix Newspaper reporter Zhang Xia, couldn’t help but whisper the question.

’Write a story? That would mean reporting the death sentence.’

’But the prosecution hadn’t confirmed the death penalty, and the court hadn’t made a public announcement. Reporting it now... felt a bit like pushing their luck.’

’Still...’

Zhang Xia was hesitant at first, but seeing the looks on the faces of the other reporters, she instantly made up her mind.

"Write it!"

’The trial was over. They would merely be ’speculating ahead of the official announcement.’ The court holding them accountable? It had happened before, but this kind of report wasn’t something they could truly be held liable for!’

"What time is it?"

Zhang Xia asked urgently.

"Five-thirty p.m.," Zhang Wang replied.

’Five-thirty...’

’The last report on one of Xu De’s cases had a shocking impact. Now... if the newspaper dedicated an entire page to this story, what kind of effect would that have?’

’And what’s more, this was the No. 18 Middle School case!’

’Forget the difficulty—in terms of public interest alone, it would far surpass the Li Family Village case!’

At this thought,

Zhang Xia gritted her teeth and hurried away.

"Get a story written tonight! We need to get it into tomorrow’s morning edition!"

...

...

「Meanwhile.」

After leaving the Second Courtroom, Xu De rounded a few corners and finally reached the main lobby.

The courthouse lobby was as quiet as ever, but since it was closing time, there were a fair number of people milling about.

The surrounding area, which had been buzzing with reporters, had now quieted down.

Xu De took a deep breath, allowing his mind to settle.

Just then,

he caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye.

There, on a few public benches in the main hall of the courthouse,

sat the three prosecutors: Huang Shi, Wang Mang, and Zhang Qing. They were hunched over, shoveling food from takeout containers into their mouths.

Seeing this, Xu De hesitated for a moment before walking over.

The trio, who had been eating in silence, felt a shadow fall over them and instinctively looked up.

Their expressions were all different upon seeing who it was.

Prosecutor Zhang Qing looked wary. Before Xu De could say a word, he quickly began shoveling as much food as he could into his mouth.

’If I remember correctly...’

’After the Li Family Village case concluded, I was just trying to eat at the entrance, and before I’d had two bites, he sent me scrambling off to investigate something!’

’What’s he trying to pull this time? Is he here to torment me again?!’

Huang Shi, on the other hand, wasn’t overthinking it.

He simply looked up and asked casually,

"What do you want?"

Xu De replied,

"What are your thoughts on the appeal?"