Chapter 228 - 134: Accident

Everyone was stunned, shock written all over their faces.

Wait, you can present a case like that at the review meeting!?

And he wasn’t saying it to just anyone... he was facing Lu Guohua! When did it become acceptable to challenge a man of his stature like that!?

At this thought, everyone present couldn’t help but turn in unison to look at Lu Guohua in the very front row.

Frankly, if the jab hadn’t been so blatant, most people wouldn’t have even caught it.

But... the year was 2003.

And this was the provincial review meeting!

This was a comprehensive provincial review meeting, organized and spearheaded by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Every delegation present was led by a division-level official at a bare minimum!

In fact, ninety percent of the attendees were full directors; deputy directors like Zhang Bingxin and Huang Shi were just supporting cast.

If you tried to lead a delegation as a mere section-level chief, the security at the door wouldn’t even let you in!

This wasn’t a joke; it was written into the official regulations.

As a result, the conference room was filled with seasoned veterans—dozens of full directors and several department-level officials, all with incredibly impressive and extensive careers.

Then again...

Experience and seniority are built over time!

There was hardly anyone under the age of forty present.

Go back twenty years, and you’d find a time when the judicial system was at its most stringent.

Take someone like the sixty-year-old Lu Guohua. If you turn back the clock forty years to when he was twenty, that would put you right in 1973.

The hundred-odd people in the room all froze, as if they hadn’t quite heard what he had just said.

In the back of the conference room.

"The taste of childhood..."

Lin Yue murmured.

Zhang Bingxin looked from Huang Shi on the stage to the department-level official, Lu Guohua, in the audience. His face was a mask of pure shock; the entire situation felt utterly unbelievable.

’Has he... always been this bold?’

’Doesn’t Huang Shi always call himself a scholar-general!?’

’I’ve never seen him act like this before...’

In an instant, the way everyone in the conference room looked at the man on stage shifted. It was now tinged with something different... a hint of mockery, perhaps?

...

On the stage.

"That concludes our presentation. I await your instructions, sir."

Huang Shi looked up, resolving not to glance at his notes again.

He was cursing up a storm internally. On the one hand, his response could be considered a direct and flawless answer.

But if one looked at it with prejudice... it was a classic example of political labeling!

It all depended on how the questioner perceived it. If he had happened to touch on a nerve... he would have to be prepared for the worst.

Fortunately, Lu Guohua didn’t press the issue.

From the front row, Lu Guohua, dressed in his uniform, gave Huang Shi a long, hard look before nodding and saying:

"Good."

"The authority of the law comes from the people, and the ability to identify evil is rooted in the people’s innate moral sentiments."

"The prosecution and the people are one big family, each exercising their rights within their own duties, conducting investigations and gathering evidence legally and by the book... Good."

Putting aside the political jab,

Lu Guohua was quite satisfied with the answer.

Huang Shi’s words had integrated "the masses" into the exercise of power, showing that those in authority were dedicated to practical work, not despotic or arbitrary rule.

It was akin to voluntarily submitting oneself to the supervision of others.

If this spirit could be widely promoted... the judicial environment would truly become better!

Lu Guohua nodded.

"I have no objections."

No objections...

All three branches—the police, the prosecution, and the courts—had no objections!

On the stage.

Huang Shi let out a deep sigh, feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted. A wave of relief washed over him.

The remaining public security and police departments had no direct conflict with the core of the case, so he wasn’t worried about them.

He had cleared the toughest hurdles: the police, the prosecution, and the courts!

Sure enough.

The representative from the Provincial Public Security Department asked a few perfunctory questions before announcing that the case had passed their review and that they had no more questions.

The defense was complete.

The host stepped onto the stage with a smile, microphone in hand.

"As we can see, review case number two has received unanimous praise from those present."

A good start would help everyone else relax, which would allow for better presentations as the conference continued.

If the first two presenters in a row were stumped by questions...

...then the following presenters might have become so nervous they’d start to stutter!

"This concludes the questioning from the Party, government, and judicial bodies."

The host announced, moving the proceedings to the next phase.

"Next, we will hand it over to the representative from the Bar Association for their professional review and questions."

A representative from the Bar Association!?

That’s right.

In addition to government officials, representatives from the Bar Association and other organizations also attended the review meeting.

In fact, excluding a few top leaders, the voting power of the government officials in the review process... accounted for a mere sixty percent.

For an event organized by the government, their scoring weight was barely over half!

Conversely, the civilian representatives—from the Bar Association, experts, professors, and retired cadres—held a combined forty percent of the power. If they could unite as a single bloc, they had enough influence to sway the decision on whether a case could even be considered for an award!

Of course, no one would deliberately exploit such a thing.

They usually just followed the lead of their superiors.

If the officials felt a case wasn’t up to snuff, then it wasn’t. If the officials gave it a pass, then everyone else would simply go with the flow.

Huang Shi’s defense had been excellent, earning the approval of all official parties. In theory, no one should have objected, but...

In the audience.

Just as everyone was preparing to give their scores, a hand suddenly shot up from the front row.

The host paused.

He looked at the person who had raised their hand and announced:

"Please allow the President of the Bar Association, Lawyer Feng Ji, to state his opinion."

The President of the Bar Association?

Feng Ji!?

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze. Everyone’s brows furrowed slightly.

"Feng Ji? Why would Feng Ji speak up at this critical juncture?"

Everyone was puzzled, their gazes turning toward the front.

There, in the front row,

Feng Ji—director of Lanhua Law Firm, a first-class lawyer, an honorary university professor, an official judicial consultant, and President of the Provincial Bar Association—slowly rose to his feet and scanned his surroundings.

Feng Ji was about fifty years old and in his prime. He had an ordinary appearance, yet he carried a scholarly air about him.