Chapter 229 - 134: Accident

He looked up.

He gave Huang Shi, who was on the stage, a smile.

But Huang Shi felt a chill run down his spine. The smile made him extremely uncomfortable.

In the next moment, Feng Ji suddenly spoke up.

"Leaders, fellow lawyers."

"Regarding this case..."

"I would like to express my personal opinion."

As he spoke...

Feng Ji paused. His tone was level as he continued in a slow, deliberate manner:

"As far as this case is concerned."

"Does this lawyer’s method—opportunistic evidence gathering, withholding evidence for a surprise attack—violate the basic principle of litigating in good faith? Can it be considered speculative litigation?"

"How can a case that relies solely on courtroom tactics to win, while disregarding statutes and compliance procedures, become a classic model for our profession to learn from?"

As his words fell...

An uproar went through the conference room.

’What does he mean by that... Is he dissatisfied with this case!?’

In the experts’ section.

The invited experts from various institutions, university professors, and senior professional lawyers from different firms...

...all paused their hands, which had been ready to score the case. Their expressions were inscrutable, their eyes flickering with uncertainty. They looked up at Feng Ji, awaiting his lead.

"What’s going on? Did you offend him?"

In the back row, Zhang Bingxin frowned deeply and turned to Xu De to ask.

Xu De didn’t know the reason either. He stared at Feng Ji with a heavy brow before finally shaking his head after a long moment. "I don’t know him."

’You don’t know him?’

’Then why is he raising questions for no reason!?’

...

On the stage.

The host paused, collected himself, and asked:

"Excuse me, does the handling lawyer wish to participate in the rebuttal?"

His voice echoed through the conference room. The crowd quieted down, and not long after, a voice came from the back row.

"I do."

In the back row.

Xu De stood up, but he didn’t walk forward. He remained where he was, his gaze cutting across dozens of people to lock onto Feng Ji, who had also risen from his seat in the front row.

The lawyer for a case didn’t have to be present at the selection conference, but if they weren’t... and a situation like this arose, they would have no choice but to swallow it.

The officials had no right to defend the case on the lawyer’s behalf!

"I am Xu De, a lawyer from Houde Law Firm in Lusen City."

"I am the handling lawyer for the No. 18 Middle School case. If Chairman Feng has any questions, he can direct them to me for inquiry and discussion."

Xu De spoke slowly, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet it carried clearly to everyone’s ears.

As his words fell.

Feng Ji, in the front row, turned and instinctively glanced at Xu De.

Then, he spoke in a gentle tone:

"Lawyer Xu."

"I merely wish to ask: in the role your side played in this case, were you not setting a misleading example?"

As he spoke...

His voice rose a few notches.

"Classic cases are not just for public officials to observe; they concern the entire judicial profession."

"And in the No. 18 Middle School case, this behavior of withholding evidence for a surprise attack, of irregular evidence collection..."

"If it is selected as a classic case, won’t other lawyers be encouraged to learn from it?"

’A misleading example?’

’He talks as if trial ambushes don’t happen now!’

’You can’t just spring a trial ambush whenever you want. The things you pull out are fundamentally evidence; it’s just a matter of whether it’s minor evidence or ironclad proof.’

’If you ambush for no good reason, you’d be lucky if the judge doesn’t penalize you!’

’So-called ’misleading guidance’ wouldn’t actually cause any problems, but if you bring it up as a talking point...’

’...it becomes difficult to argue against.’

"First."

"I can tell Chairman Feng very clearly that we did not violate procedure. As the prosecutor stated, the submission of evidence was merely delayed."

"This was only because there was clear evidence of collusion to provide false testimony and destruction of evidence in this case."

"Second..."

Here, Xu De paused, then changed his tone and continued:

"Furthermore."

"All private audio recordings, video footage, and witness statements were preserved objective facts, obtained without inducement, coercion, or any editing or tampering, and they did not infringe upon the legal rights of others."

"At the same time."

"Litigating in good faith does not mean allowing criminals to collude and conceal their crimes."

"A lawyer’s primary duty is to protect the legal rights of the vulnerable. When faced with a miscarriage of justice that blocks all paths, leaving no recourse for rights protection, it is our duty to reasonably apply litigation strategies and uphold justice without crossing the bottom line of the law."

"I believe this serves as an extremely positive example."

Sometimes.

’When a case seems to have no possibility of success on the surface, you have to consider where the boundaries of the law lie, and whether you can win the case without completely breaking the law!’

Take the No. 18 Middle School case.

If any other lawyer had taken it, the defendant, Liu Jingqi, would have had a 100% chance of avoiding the death penalty!

’Fifteen years?’

’They’d have been lucky to get twelve!’

’After sentence reduction, under current law, she might not even serve six years!’

That’s what happens when you play by the book. But Xu De chose to toe the line, exposing the truth within the bounds of legal validity...

’Is publicizing this really such a terrible thing to do!?’

"I do not agree."

In the front row.

Feng Ji shook his head slightly, a gentle and polite smile on his face.

"If we set this practice as a benchmark, it could easily trigger a trend of imitation within the profession, fostering an unhealthy atmosphere of irregular evidence gathering and manipulation of procedures!"

"This goes against the original intent of classic cases. The message it sends is clearly unbalanced!"

"Everyone, I urge you to examine this case with caution."

With that said.

He didn’t even give Xu De a chance to rebut, sitting down directly, clearly unprepared to listen any further.

The various experts, professors, and lawyers present exchanged flickering glances.

Even some of the public officials who had initially been persuaded were now frowning, obviously lost in thought.

’This case...’

From the officials’ perspective, publicizing it would be a good thing for public servants.

But if you looked beyond the public officials and toward the legal circle...

Lawyers who saw the case would inevitably try to learn from Xu De.

But this kind of situation was not replicable. It would be impossible for anyone to learn how to do it properly; they wouldn’t even know where to start. And yet, what Feng Ji said wasn’t entirely without reason.

’So...’

"Will everyone please score Case No. 2 on your paper scoring sheets."

The host announced.

The people in the conference room were silent for a moment before they all began to fill out their scores.

Seeing this...

On the stage, Huang Shi opened his mouth, but in the end, he just took a deep breath and walked off.

"Next, let’s welcome Case No. 3 to the stage..."

...

...

「Five o’clock in the afternoon.」

The selection conference for January 20th had ended.

「Inside Lanhua Law Firm.」

When Feng Ji drove back to the magnificent office building and strode across the clean, tidy floors toward his office...

Sun Qiao, who was in the lobby, saw him and discreetly followed.

When Feng Ji entered his office, Sun Qiao followed close behind, immediately shutting the door. He then looked at Feng Ji and said with a neutral expression:

"Director, I just received some inside news."

"The Lusen City No. 18 Middle School case received a much lower average score than in previous years. Barring any surprises, it should be out of the running."

The lawyers and their peers controlled forty percent of the vote’s weight.

When the Chairman made a call, everyone answered.

To be honest, no case could stand against that.

Unless it was a case specifically designated for selection by the officials!

For example, cases involving crackdowns on organized crime needed to be made an example of for the entire province. The sixty percent of votes from public officials would band together and overpower them.

Of course, they wouldn’t object to cases like that anyway.

But the No. 18 Middle School case... that could be refuted at will!

"Heh, contact that lawyer."

Hearing about his success...

A smile appeared on Feng Ji’s face, but a dark, shadowy glint flashed in his eyes.

The decapitation strike had been achieved.

Logically, for anyone else who had put in so much effort only to find themselves powerless... the fighting spirit in their heart would most likely dissipate.

"He should know that the power of the Lawyer’s Association is not something an individual or a single law firm can fight against."

"Go. Drain the last bit of fighting spirit from him, and then negotiate!"

Feng Ji said without hesitation.

No lawyer didn’t want to win a classic case selection.

Since Xu De came, it meant he wanted it too.

He had two cases. One that was originally set to pass has now been shot down by the Association, leaving only one fledgling hope.

If they applied a little pressure now... the probability of him compromising was very high.

’But...’

"Go at a sensitive time like this?" Sun Qiao suddenly hesitated.

"Won’t it be too sensitive?"

’The "stick and carrot" approach only works if you’re sure you won’t get bitten.’

’It’s still the evaluation period. What if we get found out...?’

"If not now, should we wait until after the 15th, when the Li Family Village case has been judged?" Feng Ji retorted.

Sun Qiao froze.

’I see what he means.’

’Greed.’

’Greed!’

’Utter greed!’

’He doesn’t just want to suppress him; he wants to recruit him and pluck the fruit of another classic case for himself at the same time!’

Even if it meant taking a risk... Of course, the risk wasn’t huge.

A greenhorn lawyer like him couldn’t make any waves. This kind of thing... it wasn’t the first time Lanhua Law Firm had done it.

"Who should we send?" Sun Qiao asked.

"Is Lawyer Sun free?" Feng Ji asked.

Sun Qiao cursed inwardly. ’He’s obviously trying to make me take the risk. I’m not falling for that.’

"I’ll go make the arrangements."

Sun Qiao left the office with a neutral expression. He thought it over, then found an executive and gave him the instructions.

When the executive heard this, he also cursed up a storm in his mind.

’He never gets a piece of the good stuff, but he’s always the first choice for risky, scapegoat missions!’

The executive agreed on the surface, then went to find someone else...