Chapter 87 - 72: Trembling Lv Guangjun

"Your Honor, we have some questions for the witness. We request permission to cross-examine!"

His words hung in the air.

At the defendant’s table, the lawyers exchanged solemn glances but said nothing.

The three prosecutors, on the other hand, resisted the urge to raise their own hands, waiting to see what he had in store.

Zhang Bingxin and Lu Guowei exchanged a look, then nodded.

"Permission granted."

The two words landed.

Lv Guangjun looked toward the counsel’s table, only to see Xu De, dressed in a black suit, staring intently at him.

That intense gaze made him panic. He instinctively averted his eyes, his heart pounding.

"Witness!"

"I have three questions for you."

"First, regarding the notebook... when you confiscated it in September, can you confirm that the text in question was already written in it at that time!?"

Xu De’s sudden question left everyone in the room a little baffled.

’What text?’

The emotional outburst about wanting Liu Jingqi to die, of course.

’But... what was there to question? Handwriting analysis could confirm who wrote it and when.’

Furthermore...

’And what’s this about having three questions!?’

’The judge only asked Lv Guangjun two questions, and his testimony hadn’t even lasted two minutes. How could Xu De possibly have prepared three distinct lines of inquiry already!?’

The seven defense attorneys were cursing under their breaths.

At the same time, they finally understood why someone had decided to max out Xu De’s ’Trial Skills’ on his stat chart.

But cursing aside, the defense team decided to wait and see how things would unfold.

On the witness stand, Lv Guangjun’s heart began to race. He swallowed hard and said:

"I’m certain."

The instant he uttered those two words, Xu De’s voice cut in.

"Good!"

His brow furrowed, and his gaze grew sharper, as if he had been lying in wait for that specific answer.

Xu De immediately followed up.

"In that case, let me ask you this..."

"Nearly three months passed between September and Yang Jiale’s death on November 17th."

"And you, as the homeroom teacher of Yang Jiale’s class at Number 18 High School, were aware of the intense and irreconcilable conflict between these two students..."

"What did you do about it?"

"In almost three months, tell me, why did you do absolutely nothing!?"

The moment the words landed,

Lv Guangjun flinched as if struck. His pupils constricted, his chest tightening as though an invisible hand had gripped his heart.

He was right.

If the notebook was confiscated in September... that left a gap of almost three months before the death occurred.

That was a full three-month gap. Any normal teacher, upon discovering a situation like this, would have certainly sat down and spoken patiently with both students.

If that failed, they would have contacted the parents.

And as a last resort, they could have discussed changing classes or even transferring schools.

Not just do nothing at all!!!

"I..."

"I..."

Lv Guangjun was at a loss for words. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he twisted the hem of his clothes in his slick, sweaty palms.

’Xu De had changed...’

’In his eyes, the lawyer questioning him had become a man-eating beast, radiating an aura far too powerful for a single person to possess!’

’He had been under immense pressure last time, but... this was pure oppression!’

"So I ask you, why!?" Xu De’s gaze was as sharp as a flash of cold steel.

At the defendant’s table,

Zhang Wei and Sun Bing immediately realized this was a loophole caused by a failure to properly align their stories. They moved at once to intervene.

"Your Honor!"

"Counsel is asking questions that are irrelevant to the case, causing emotional distress to the witness, and severely disrupting these proceedings!"

"We move for counsel, Xu De, to be recused from this case!"

Zhang Wei blurted out, using the motion for recusal as a way to shield Lv Guangjun.

Sun Bing added from his side, providing their reasoning.

"Whether or not the witness was derelict in his duties is irrelevant to this case!"

After speaking, Sun Bing stared grimly at the opposing counsel.

Xu De’s angle of attack was insidious; he had shifted the focus from Liu Jingqi and Yang Jiale onto Lv Guangjun.

’And what would that lead to?’

’The destruction of Lv Guangjun’s credibility!’

’And their entire defense of excessive force was built on Lv Guangjun’s testimony as its cornerstone!’

’If his credibility plummeted, would the judge still find his testimony—and the notebook—admissible?’

Zhang Bingxin realized this as well.

He hesitated for a moment, looked at Xu De, and said:

"Counsel, please refrain from asking questions irrelevant to this case."

In any normal court, this kind of questioning—which seemed designed to emotionally compromise the witness—would be grounds for having the lawyer thrown out.

Yet he hadn’t even given a formal warning, which was exceptionally lenient.

After all, the circumstances of the case were unique. If they lost their counsel... it would only make things worse for Yang Huan.

But Xu De was not about to accept the favor.

He looked at the judge, frowned, shook his head, and said bluntly:

"Your Honor!"

"This is a standard line of questioning. While the bench has every right to question me, I ask that you please wait until I have finished before making a judgment!"

"To the defense, do not interrupt my line of questioning."

"And that applies to the bench as well!"

His words stunned the room.

Forget the judge and the defense team; even the prosecutors—Huang Shi, Zhang Qing, and Wang Mang—couldn’t help but turn their heads and stare, wide-eyed, at this ’teammate’ of theirs.

’They hadn’t seen something like this in decades... no, they had never even heard of such a thing!’

’A counsel dressing down the presiding judge in a criminal court!’

’Arrogant... He was just too arrogant!!!’

Xu De, however, took a deep breath, turned back to Lv Guangjun, and continued with a sneer.

"Second."

"Let me ask... regarding the alleged theft by Yang Jiale, is there any objective evidence, such as surveillance footage, to support that claim?"