Chapter 86 - 72: The Trembling Lv Guangjun

Outside the courthouse, by the main entrance.

"What’s going on in there? Sounds like they’re arguing!"

"A case like this is bound to have arguments. The fiercer, the better. Otherwise, who’s going to protect the rights of the deceased...?"

"But a heated argument means the defendant has grounds, too..."

"..."

In the corridor.

Staring at the tightly sealed main doors of Courtroom Two, the crowd of reporters grew restless and couldn’t resist speaking out.

After a long moment, a few reporters at the very front suddenly spoke up, blurting out:

"I heard something! The defense is claiming self-defense!"

The corridor fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into an uproar.

"Self-defense? A bully kills someone and gets to claim it was self-defense?! What kind of lawyer is defending the accused?!"

"Damn it. I’ve been thinking... perfect self-defense is impossible, but a claim of excessive force is highly likely!"

"Are you kidding? If they really rule it was excessive force, do you know what the maximum sentence is?!"

"Three years... and it’ll be a goddamn suspended sentence! The kind where she just dusts herself off and goes right back to school!"

"..."

The crowd was shocked.

They were reporters, usually covering cases for the sake of their careers, so in theory, they should have just been objective observers.

But then again...

Reporters were people, too!

And being human meant they had hearts. This was especially true for reporters in ’02, most of whom still possessed a strong sense of justice, not yet having adopted the future trend of chasing clicks by any means necessary.

So, even as they were documenting the case,

they couldn’t help but feel enraged by the situation!

If they could cast aside their roles as reporters, people like Jiang Yu and Qiao Wang... they would have gladly cursed the defendant to her face and demanded the judge sentence her to death!

Unfortunately, they were not the judge, nor could they cast aside their professional identities.

They fell into a somber silence, which was broken when a sudden voice cut through their thoughts.

"Make way. Do not interfere with the trial proceedings."

The crowd subconsciously parted to either side of the hallway.

They looked up to see two bailiffs escorting a middle-aged man toward the courtroom.

As he passed the crowd, the man buried his head even lower, his heart racing in a panic.

The reporters only snapped back to their senses after the man had entered the courtroom.

That man was...

"A witness?"

One of the reporters frowned and muttered, ’If he’s a witness... who is he here to corroborate?’

...

...

Inside Courtroom Two.

Under the watchful eyes of all present, Lv Guangjun was led by the bailiffs to the witness stand, placing him at the center of everyone’s attention.

He felt the gazes of the three judges from the high bench fixed upon him.

Lv Guangjun swallowed hard, feeling an immense pressure weighing down on his shoulders...

"Your Honor, the witness is present!"

At the defense table.

Zhang Wei looked at Zhang Bingxin and spoke.

"Any doubts concerning the claims we’ve made can be addressed by questioning the witness."

At his words,

all eyes converged on Lv Guangjun.

The members of the prosecution frowned. In their minds, Wang Mang and Huang Shi recalled questioning this man just a few days ago.

As the deceased’s teacher, Lv Guangjun had, of course, been interviewed by the police and the prosecutor’s office more than once.

But during those previous interviews...

he hadn’t said a single word about the issues the defense was now raising!

’What... is going on?’

The judge, however, was oblivious to what was running through their minds.

Zhang Bingxin didn’t waste any time. Once the man reached the witness stand, he immediately held up the notebook in his hand.

"Witness, do you know who is the owner of this notebook I am holding?"

’A notebook?’

Hearing this,

Lv Guangjun looked up, stared at the familiar notebook for a long moment, and finally spoke.

"I do. It belongs to Yang Jiale."

’It really is Yang Jiale’s!’

At the prosecutor’s table, Huang Shi’s heart skipped a beat.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin continued.

"Tell me, where was this notebook collected from? And how was it confirmed to belong to the deceased, Yang Jiale?"

Lv Guangjun began to explain.

"I confiscated it myself back in September."

"It was during the monthly exams. Yang Tongxue wasn’t answering the questions. When I approached her, I found she was just scribbling in her notebook, venting her emotions..."

"I was alarmed, so I confiscated it."

"I had planned to return it to her after graduation, but who would have thought... that something would happen to her on the 17th."

As he spoke, a noticeable tremor entered Lv Guangjun’s voice.

If you weren’t listening closely, you might have mistaken it for sadness.

’September... an emotional state that appeared one month before the incident...’

On the bench, the three judges frowned, conferring with one another.

After a moment of thought,

Zhang Bingxin again turned to Lv Guangjun to question him.

"Witness,"

"Regarding the relationship between the deceased, Yang Jiale, and the defendant, Liu Jingqi... how much do you know?"

At these words,

every eye in the courtroom instantly fixed upon Lv Guangjun.

Even the reporters outside, who could faintly hear through the door, now wore serious expressions and listened intently.

Lv Guangjun took a deep breath, then spoke in a heavy voice.

"Their..."

"The conflict was originally started by Yang Tongxue. I remember it very clearly."

"It was on a Monday, not long after they started their senior year. Yang Tongxue had claimed to be sick and skipped the flag-raising ceremony. When the classes were dismissed, the other student, Liu Jingqi, discovered that the pocket money she had left in her desk had vanished."

"It was ultimately found on Yang Jiale..."

"And that is how the conflict between them began."

Which meant...

’Theft?!’

Everyone’s expressions shifted, a mixture of reactions rippling through the room.

The prosecution team’s faces grew grim, and the three prosecutors’ breathing became heavy.

If the conflict had truly started this way, it was an indirect testament to Yang Jiale’s poor character.

What did this prove?

On its own, nothing.

But it could serve as corroborating evidence for the ’notebook’ and for the argument against ’intentional homicide’!

"This..."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Zhang Bingxin’s eyes; he still couldn’t make up his mind.

Until...

"Objection!"

It came from the representative’s table again!

Xu De had suddenly spoken up again in a loud voice, drawing everyone’s gaze. Once all attention was back on him, he declared: