At the defendant’s table, Xu De stared directly at the judge on the bench.
He was refuting the charges...
He had to refute the charges!
Why?
After all, theoretically speaking, you only needed to offer an "explanation" for the prosecution’s claims. Why go head-to-head with the prosecutor? Why was it necessary to insist on completely invalidating the charges?
Because that course of action would only lead to a reduced sentence!
As for the prosecutor’s office, once they filed charges, they were perfectly capable of accepting a reduced sentence for the defendant in special circumstances. They might even be happy to see the other party receive a lighter punishment, or even be exempted from it in a case of excessive self-defense.
But... that did not include a "not guilty" verdict!
The prosecutor’s office, and even the court, found it very difficult to accept those two words: "not guilty"!
That was why "justifiable self-defense" had practically become a "dormant clause" in the law; a single court might not see one such case in a year!
And yet, Xu De was mounting a "not guilty" defense...
The two sides were like two repelling magnets, as incompatible as fire and water. There was no room for bargaining, no possibility of coexistence. Every statement was an assault on the other’s bottom line!
"Your Honor, the evidence is more than sufficient."
At the defendant’s table, Xu De stood up, his back ramrod straight. He scanned the courtroom and began to speak:
"The prosecution’s two charges, ’intentional injury’ and ’excessive self-defense,’"
"are unsubstantiated, whether by objective evidence, subjective testimony, or real-world experience..."
"The defendant Wang Qiang’s actions were in complete accordance with ’justifiable self-defense’!"
His voice faded.
Only then did the air in the room, previously thick and stagnant, begin to flow again.
Everyone’s eyes flickered, their breathing growing labored, as if a fire were consuming the very oxygen in the air.
What the witness had just said... "Wang Qiang was possibly hit with a club."
Taken alone, this one "possibly"—a piece of information where even the witness wasn’t sure of the point of impact—didn’t seem to affect the prosecution’s case much.
But when combined with everything Xu De had said since the trial began...
It became a whole different story!
On the bench.
The presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, darted his eyes. His lips moved for a moment before he raised his gavel.
"BANG!"
"Order, order!"
Zhang Bingxin took a deep breath, repeating the two words to maintain order.
Then, his brow furrowed. He looked at Xu De and said in a low voice,
"The defense will refrain from disrupting the court’s proceedings."
After speaking, he turned to the prosecution.
"Counsel for the prosecution, do you have any questions for the witness?"
At the prosecutor’s table.
Wang Wei felt an immense weariness, as if the air were heavy and suffocating, making him breathless with even the slightest lift of his hand.
He fought through the exhaustion, initially wanting to just shake his head. But after thinking it over, he spoke:
"Witness."
"Please tell me, during the incident at the scene, did the defendant display any excessive behavior?"
"Such as verbal abuse, aggressive pursuit, or loss of emotional control."
Li Li processed the question.
She looked puzzled, thought for a moment, then gave a crisp shake of her head. "I don’t remember."
It was something that happened a month and a half ago. Especially with a dead body stealing all the attention, it was indeed hard to remember such minor details.
Wang Wei continued,
"During the incident, at what point did the police fire the warning shot?"
Li Li replied, "While they were fighting."
The police have strict standards for firing warning shots. Every single bullet must be accounted for, and they generally don’t fire unless a riot is breaking out.
But then again,
Since firing a shot is meant to quell a riot, one could basically assume the scene was brought under control after the shot was fired.
"In other words, was it only after the warning shot was fired, after the police had controlled the scene and the riot had stopped, that the defendant walked towards the police car?"
Wang Wei asked, approaching from a different angle.
Li Li heard him, considered for a moment, and said,
"I don’t remember."
Wang Wei fell silent. After a long moment, he looked at the presiding judge and said,
"Your Honor, I have no further questions."
With that,
He plopped back into his chair and said no more.
It was just as he and Hu Guang had discussed before.
A case has continuity. The subjective intent of an action can be inferred from the action that preceded it.
Although Li Li had said ’I don’t remember’ to this question,
one mustn’t forget her answer to the previous question, which was that ’the defendant, Wang Qiang, was possibly unable to get away because he had been struck’.
Building on that foundation, the judge would likely interpret her "I don’t remember" to the second question as a "yes."
Which meant...
Defendant Wang Qiang had turned himself in voluntarily *before* the scene was under control!
In other words, they had been defeated by their own logic...
It was as if the other side had performed a Tai Chi move, using their own force against them. Their attacks felt like punching a wad of cotton.
Powerless... utterly powerless!
"Very well."
On the bench.
Zhang Bingxin nodded, about to move the proceedings along.
But unexpectedly, at that very moment...
"Wait."
"Your Honor, the plaintiff has something to say!"
A sudden, urgent voice rang out, shattering the established rhythm of the trial.
Everyone turned to look, hundreds of pairs of eyes landing in unison on Chen Wei, who was seated next to the prosecutors as the victim’s legal representative.
Chen Wei was getting anxious.
No... he was *very* anxious!
He wasn’t part of the prosecution, but his own interests were tied to theirs. That was why, during the first hearing, he had clashed with Xu De on the criminal matters, which only led to him being ensnared in the other man’s trap.
Now, in this second hearing, Chen Wei had learned his lesson. He was being extremely cautious, not planning to speak rashly.
So cautious that he hadn’t said a word since the trial began.
But... ’Why do I feel like if I’m any more cautious... we’re going to lose the case!?’
’Unbelievable! The defense attorney is taking all the existing evidence and forcibly paving a road to a not-guilty verdict!’
’If the defendant is found not guilty... my civil suit will be a complete and utter failure! Combined with the public opinion on this case, my career will go right off a cliff!’
At this moment, Chen Wei’s face was a mask of anxiety. He was practically bursting with impatience as he said urgently,
"I have questions for the witness!"
He added hastily.
Hearing this, Zhang Bingxin nodded.
"The plaintiff may proceed."
With that,
Chen Wei took a deep breath, ignoring the pressurizing stares from around the courtroom. He fixed his gaze on Li Li in the witness box and, after a moment’s thought, asked in a low voice,
"Witness..."
"Tell me, after the warning shot was fired, was anyone at the scene still holding a weapon?"
Someone holding a weapon would mean the threat was merely paused, not eliminated. And if it wasn’t eliminated, it would mean the scene hadn’t actually been brought under control.
And if there wasn’t... then he could at least negate the claim of voluntary surrender!
As long as the defendant’s act couldn’t be framed as a voluntary surrender, he could still argue the case and at least secure a conviction for a lesser crime.
"Yes, I remember that very clearly!"
Li Li nodded.
Chen Wei’s expression turned ugly. Unwilling to give up, he posed a trick question. "Do you remember who specifically?"
A specific person?
Theoretically, it would be difficult to know. Everyone’s attention at the scene had been drawn to the police’s gunshot and the dead body; there was no reason to pay attention to who else was or wasn’t holding a weapon.
It was a trap question.
Unfortunately for him,
the other party understood this even more clearly!
Li Li nonchalantly pointed a finger at herself.
"Me. I was still holding my hoe then. But I didn’t hit the police or that Wang Qiang."
Chen Wei: "..."
Suddenly, Chen Wei felt a rush of blood to his head, as if something was caught in his throat, rendering him speechless.
’She was part of the non-liable crowd at the scene. She could get away with that kind of behavior without any consequences and even come to testify in court!’
However...
"Your Honor, my point is this."
"The witness, Li Li, gave the prosecution and the plaintiff a completely different testimony before the trial began. But in court, she has changed her story, denying her previous statement. She is constantly recanting, proving to be utterly inconsistent!"
"I contend that the witness’s testimony..."
Chen Wei took a deep breath. He looked up at the judge’s bench, no longer questioning the witness, but instead...
Choosing to discredit her!
"Is not credible!"
Not far away.
At the defendant’s table.
Xu De, sitting at the table, watched Chen Wei’s passionate and agitated performance. After a moment, a grin suddenly spread across his face.
’I was so focused on dealing with the two prosecutors.’
’I almost forgot...’
’I still need to deal with this bastard!’