Chapter 202 - 123: Magic Bombardment

Which is more important: money or actions?

In the eyes of the law, the line is often blurry.

The three on the bench, upon hearing this, immediately understood.

Yang Chunping hadn’t caused direct harm, but she was the one who had brought Guo Tu into the picture. Since she found him, she had to be held responsible!

And Sun Li’s talk of companionship and the like did indeed obscure Wang Yu’s contributions.

In contrast, regarding the custody ruling...

Without Yang Chunping, the child could still have formula that cost two hundred yuan a can, totaling eight hundred yuan a month. Funds were ample.

Even with his own cognitive abilities declining, once Wang Yu was promoted, he could completely provide a safety net for Wang Xiaoyu’s future, even elevating her to a very high standard of living!

But what if they were without Wang Yu?

If the child went with Yang Chunping, her standard of living—food, clothing, housing, and transportation—would plummet. Furthermore, if Yang Chunping could fall for one Guo Tu, she could easily fall for a second. The risk was simply too great, not to mention she was clearly at fault...

Just as the three were wavering in their thoughts,

Xu De spoke again.

"Your Honor, esteemed People’s Assessors."

"Please review the evidence my client has submitted."

"Specifically, Guo Tu’s personal confession!"

’A... a confession?’

’Does that mean Guo Tu pleaded guilty?’

At the defendant’s table, Sun Li froze. Instantly, her face darkened, and she gritted her teeth.

’If Guo Tu confessed, then the contents of his statement could only mean one thing... an accusation!’

And just as she expected.

"Your Honor."

"The following are direct quotes from the police interrogation of the suspect, Guo Tu, describing Yang Chunping herself."

Xu De stood up, holding a document.

He took a deep breath, steadied his breathing, and then began to speak:

"Guo Tu said: ’I was just one of Yang Chunping’s lovers. I only did those things because I wanted more money and wanted to show off... Think about it. I’m a painter, she’s a dancer. There’s no reason for her to cross professions to find me, especially when the guys in the dance department are in great shape...’"

"’She’s very generous; few people turn her down. This watch on my wrist, I heard it’s worth a full two thousand yuan. That’s two-thirds of her husband’s salary, and she just gave it to me without a second thought...’"

"’I’ll be honest, she also told me she could get a huge sum of money from the divorce, and once she had it, she would...’"

Xu De read out all the information from the document.

With every word he spoke,

Sun Li’s expression grew uglier, while Yang Chunping’s initial fear had morphed into seething rage.

An accusation...

A complete and utter accusation!

Guo Tu had sold her out completely.

He had even fully exposed her motive for the divorce.

One had to understand.

In a divorce case, it could be an unspoken understanding that you wanted a divorce for the money, but you could never say it out loud.

Yang Chunping hadn’t said it.

She had even used other behaviors to force Wang Yu to be the one to file for divorce, painting herself as the victim.

If Xu De hadn’t gotten involved, causing her to be caught red-handed by the police at the Home Like a Hotel, she could have walked away with a huge sum of money!

But now, with what Guo Tu had done...

"Your Honor!"

"After police verification, the defendant, Yang Chunping, has been confirmed to have committed adultery during the marriage, and not just once, nor with just one person. This constitutes gross fault in the marriage!"

"Furthermore, allowing a strange man to take the child away alone demonstrates an extremely irresponsible attitude towards the child, which constitutes gross fault in the marriage!"

"The defendant feigned ignorance of the child’s injuries, which touches upon the factors of ’abandonment, abuse, and confinement’ within a marriage. This constitutes gross fault in the marriage!"

"Moreover."

"My client, the plaintiff, has suffered severe damage to his reputation as a result of the police report. The entire city is treating him as a laughingstock. And with a police record on file, this damage to his reputation will last for decades, causing severe psychological and reputational harm!"

"This constitutes gross fault in the marriage!"

"Also, according to the confession."

"The defendant, Yang Chunping, transferred tens of thousands in marital assets. This is an even more egregious case of gross fault in the marriage!"

"And, her motives for divorce are impure. Therefore, my client hereby requests..."

Xu De took a deep breath.

The way he relentlessly repeated the phrase "gross fault in the marriage" as if it were a comma made People’s Assessor Liu Guo’s eye twitch.

’My God.’

’One accusation after another...’

Forget Sun Li; even Liu Guo was stunned as he listened.

’Is this a civil case?’

’In some ways, this is more intense than a criminal case!’

’Since when can a civil case have criminal proceedings attached?!’

Xu De clearly had no intention of answering his unasked questions.

He simply continued speaking:

"My client requests."

"That the defendant, Yang Chunping, be stripped of her legal custody rights, that the divorce between the plaintiff and defendant be granted, and that the marital assets be divided according to the law."

"Furthermore, that the defendant, Yang Chunping, provide emotional distress compensation to the victim of this case, Wang Xiaoyu!"

"And that she provide emotional distress compensation to the victim and plaintiff of this case, Wang Yu!"

Stripping of custody, divorce, division of marital assets according to the law...

Especially that last part!

What did "divided according to the law" mean?

It meant a division from a fair and impartial standpoint!

In most divorce cases, the woman received a larger share. This was because, from a practical standpoint, judges tended to favor the woman, considering the difficulties she might face supporting herself.

But if it was strictly by the letter of the law... there could be no favoritism!

And beyond that...

’There’s also compensation?!’

Oh, right. The plaintiff, Wang Yu’s, reputation had indeed been severely damaged.

He had reported his child abducted by a human trafficker. The police went to catch the culprit, only to find him in a hotel... with his wife. The "trafficker" was her lover, and he’d been publicly and thoroughly cuckolded!

The hotel receptionist and the taxi driver had already spread the story like wildfire.

In terms of legal precedent for reputational damage, this... was about as severe as it gets.

The child’s psychological trauma was also her fault, so...