Chapter 88 - 72: The Trembling Lv Guangjun

"And..."

"How much money was stolen!?"

The moment he spoke.

At the defendant’s table.

Alarm bells went off in Zhang Wei and Sun Bing’s heads. This question was clearly far more pointed than the last.

But it seemed he had anticipated this.

Xu De didn’t give anyone a chance to speak, cutting in directly:

"Don’t say it out loud!"

As he spoke.

He reached for the notebook on the table, tore out two sheets with a sharp RIP, and pulled out two black pens.

He then had the clerk distribute the paper and pens to Lv Guangjun and Liu Jingqi respectively.

Finally.

Xu De stared intently at Lv Guangjun and the defendant, Liu Jingqi.

"Both of you, please write the amount on the paper!"

The amount...

That’s right.

Theft was a point of conflict so visceral that one would naturally remember the amount of money involved. It wasn’t a matter of having a good or bad memory; the human brain simply prioritizes and locks onto such ’key details’.

If the theft had actually occurred, then...

"Don’t communicate with each other. Write the amount on the paper," Xu De repeated.

Hearing this.

The judge didn’t intervene. Instead, his gaze shifted between the two.

But unfortunately...

"I..."

Lv Guangjun held the black pen, staring at the blank sheet of paper before him. His face flushed red, but he couldn’t bring himself to write a thing.

’Theft?’

’This whole thing was a lie, a piece of "unrefutable" false testimony cooked up because Yang Jiale was dead and couldn’t deny it.’

’They hadn’t even thought to get their stories straight on the amount!’

’And now he wants me to write it down... How is that possible?’

’Should I just write a random number?’

Lv Guangjun turned to look at the defendant, Liu Jingqi.

’God knows what number she’ll write!’

’If I write a hundred and she writes ten thousand, the numbers will be worlds apart. Even a complete idiot will see something is wrong!’

The defendant, Liu Jingqi, had realized this as well.

Her expression was grim and her eyes were fixed on Xu De with a dark glower. The hand gripping her pen squeezed so tightly that her knuckles turned white, as if she wanted to devour him whole.

Unfortunately, what she was met with...

...was only a sharp rebuke.

"Please stop looking around."

Xu De said coldly, "Please write down an approximate amount!"

Lv Guangjun’s hand trembled as he held the pen. Sweat dripped from his cheek onto the paper, yet he hadn’t managed to write a single digit.

Until...

"This was a year ago, how could I possibly still remember!?"

In a flash of frustration.

From the defendant’s table, Liu Jingqi suddenly slammed the pen and paper onto the floor and shouted angrily:

"You’re just deliberately nitpicking and trying to cause trouble! Yang Jiale stole my money, and that’s a fact!"

At this.

The atmosphere in the courtroom instantly grew heavy.

"This..."

On the bench, the three judges exchanged thoughtful glances.

’Her reaction... is a little extreme.’

The lawyers at the defense table clenched their fists, suppressing their anger but not speaking. They knew that while Liu Jingqi’s attitude was far from perfect, her excuse was reasonable enough. There was no need to argue the point.

"Forgot?"

"That’s fine."

Xu De smiled, unfazed by their inability to produce a number.

Then.

"My third question!!!"

Xu De’s smile vanished. His eyes narrowed, revealing an unprecedented level of aggression.

He stared at Lv Guangjun in the witness box for a long moment before finally speaking:

"Witness, prior to this trial, on December 5th, my team and I visited you at 18th Middle School. We asked you similar questions, but your answers then were completely different from your testimony today."

"So my question is..."

As he spoke.

Xu De’s eyes narrowed, and his hand, hidden from view, tightened its grip on a bulging briefcase.

’When is evidence most effective?’

’When the opposing party gives a completely different testimony, and you get to pull out the proof!’

Then.

In a sharp voice, Xu De demanded:

"Why did you change your testimony for this trial!?"