Chapter 150: Chapter 121: Do you think we need a lawyer?_5
The will of these two people was simply too unshakable. Once they made up their minds, nothing could sway them. Regardless of how he tried to persuade them, it was all in vain. They even stated that they didn’t plan to hire a lawyer at all.
Truly brave warriors, he mused. That was his four-word assessment as he turned and left the detention center.
Having been a criminal defense lawyer for so many years, he’d always thought he had seen it all, but his recent clients continually challenged his worldview, making him marvel at the vast and varied world. His experiences were, after all, too limited. First, there were Yang Minghui and others, absent from their court hearings. Then there were Lin Zhen, Gao Feng, and others, who improvised as they pleased. There was also Liang Shuqi from the previous case who cursed at the judge, and the one who committed perjury in court... This time, with Jia Zuoying and his wife, their self-confidence had skyrocketed. They scorned the court’s verdict. Refusing to be cheated out of money, they adamantly refused to hire a lawyer. They even unleashed a tirade of insults at him.
「...」
「The nursing home.」
After the arrest of Jia Zuoying and his wife, the smile on Zhang Qingyuan’s face had noticeably increased. He no longer looked worry-stricken and stopped sighing heavily every day. He occasionally played chess with the other elderly residents.
And as the case progressed, the court also set a date for the hearing, scheduling it for five days later.
In the meantime, Qin Mu went about his daily routine, taking some time to look into his "blind spots" in legal knowledge to prevent himself from being inadvertently put away because of ignorance. He browsed through all sorts of legal books.
His account on a certain website... hadn’t been updated for half a month. Hundreds of messages from fans clamoring for updates flooded in daily. Even Qing Lan sent a message through WeChat, pressing him for updates.
"Up, I’m asking on behalf of my viewers. They’re also curious about what you’ve been up to these days that you haven’t posted any new videos. Have things been going too smoothly for you lately?"
Looking at the message sent by Qing Lan, Qin Mu was somewhat speechless.
His original purpose for posting videos was to rectify injustices and spread positivity. Being able to live a peaceful and comfortable life... was something he could only wish for. But now, his fans... seemed to hope every day that he would run into some vexing person or situation.
"I’ll update in five days."
After a brief moment of contemplation, he replied to Qing Lan, announcing the update time for his next video.
This current case... should be concluded with a verdict in five days. The outcome of the verdict would break the record for sentences in all his past videos, leaving behind a legend that might never be surpassed.
「...」
「Time slowly ticked by.」
The day of the hearing finally arrived.
At nine o’clock in the morning, Qin Mu, Wang Dachui, Zhang Tao, and a group of elderly residents from the nursing home gathered at the entrance of Jin City Court.
"Mr. Li, should we make a bet on who can guess the sentence correctly?"
"Finally, we get to see a sentencing again. It should be quite thrilling. I couldn’t sleep at all last night."
"I want to see what the people who occupied Old Zhang Family’s house for three years look like!"
"These two people are just too detestable..."
Before even entering the court, the group of elderly residents was already excitedly discussing among themselves. After moving into the nursing home, attending court hearings had become one of their regular activities. Having participated in so many "activities," many of them were quite familiar with court proceedings and courtroom etiquette.
"Let’s go."
Qin Mu led them into the court and confidently made his way to the Second Criminal Court. The court was expansive, but he was well-acquainted with both the civil and criminal courts inside, feeling as if it were his own home.
Then, along with Zhang Qingyuan and others, he sat in the public gallery, waiting for the session to start.
This case... strictly speaking, it had nothing to do with him. He hadn’t yet obtained his lawyer’s license and couldn’t participate in the defense process. And he was certainly not the plaintiff. So all he could do was sit in the public gallery.
What surprised him was that in the public gallery, he saw a familiar face.
"Long time no see, Mr. Qin."
Dressed in professional attire, Zhang Wei was sitting not far from him on his left. He took the initiative to greet him.
Qin Mu was surprised. "You... why are you in the public gallery this time?"
Typically, Zhang Wei would be found at the defendant’s bench.
When asked this by Qin Mu, the corners of Zhang Wei’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Bringing up this matter raised his ire. A few days ago, he had approached Jia Zuoying and his wife to offer his services for mitigating their sentence. The result... was a ruthless rejection. He also suffered both emotional and verbal blows. After returning, he pondered over it but couldn’t swallow his pride. Hence... he decided to attend the hearing and see for himself what kind of fate awaited these two "brave warriors" without a lawyer’s defense.
What surprised him was that he ran into the familiar Qin Mu in the public gallery. Momentarily, an idea dawned on him. He couldn’t help but ask, "You... why are you in the public gallery too?"
Qin Mu simply shrugged. Without any concealment, he pointed to the plaintiff’s bench and said, "My nephew has a case today; I came to watch."
Zhang Wei was speechless.
In that moment, he suddenly realized. So this major case, with a potential twenty-year sentence, was actually orchestrated by Qin Mu!
But this time it was different from before. They weren’t opponents. Instead, they were both bystanders, watching from the public gallery.
For a time, the two stared at each other, speechless.