novelraw Chapter 285 - 183. Never Admit Defeat (Chapter 2)
Chapter 285 - 183. Never Admit Defeat (Chapter 2)
Chapter 285: 183. Never Admit Defeat (Chapter 2)
The judge, also a husband and father, could empathize with Du Songlin’s situation. Moreover, Du Songlin was a renowned doctor in the city, so the judge did not rush him and waited patiently for Du Songlin’s response.
Years ago, the judge had suffered from a bone spur on his foot, making it excruciatingly painful to stand or walk. Western medicine suggested surgery, but given his age, recovery from surgery on his bones would not be easy. Desperate, he visited Du Songlin’s clinic upon a friend’s recommendation.
Du Songlin was in M Country, where he earned a doctorate from a local medical college and acquired professional qualifications; however, his family had a strong tradition in Chinese medicine, so he simply combined both Western and Chinese medical practices.
Later, using Chinese medicine without surgery or oral medication, merely with patches, Du Songlin cured the judge’s bone spur, leaving the judge astounded. Thus, over the years, he became a loyal customer of Du Songlin’s clinic.
At this moment, someone knocked on the door.
The bailiff opened the door and found An Cheng.
An Cheng tilted his head, seeing the judge holding the phone. Relieved, he smiled and said, "Your Honor, there is no need to verify with my father. I retract my previous statement and no longer question Huo Danru’s identity and testimony as a witness."
"Oh?" The judge was surprised but also relieved, quickly speaking into the phone, "Oh, thank you, Doctor Du. Since the prosecution retracts the previous statement, my question is no longer relevant. Goodbye, Doctor Du. I will still need your help with my old cold leg next time."
Du Songlin was overjoyed, quickly saying, "No problem, no problem."
The judge heaved a sigh of relief and hung up the phone, turning to An Cheng, "Prosecutor, by retracting your previous statement, does that mean you’re ready to concede?"
"Of course not." An Cheng replied with a dazzling smile, "It’s because we have found another heavyweight witness. Your Honor, I request a new witness to testify."
The judge called the clerk to process the witness paperwork for An Cheng and was startled when An Cheng named William Ford as the witness, immediately asking, "Is this William Ford, the same Ford of the Ford Group?"
An Cheng smiled smugly, "Of course. Otherwise, how could I call him a heavyweight witness?"
Over the years, there have been countless news stories about the Ford Group, yet William Ford himself remained elusive. In recent years, no media had succeeded in capturing a photo of William Ford. Some say it’s not that they couldn’t, but even when they did, they dared not publish it, as his PR team would have it removed early on.
Low-profile and mysterious, that’s the unanimous impression the public has of him.
Who would have thought that such a mysterious figure today would willingly appear in court and publicly testify!
After completing the paperwork, the judge and An Cheng walked out, and the judge couldn’t help but say to An Cheng, "An, to invite this person, you must have great influence."
An Cheng smiled and denied it, "It’s not my influence. If I invited him, he wouldn’t do me the honor."
It’s needless to say, it must be Shi Nian’s influence.
Even An Cheng was quite curious as to why this was the case. During several interactions with Huangfu Huazhang, the other party always implied that he’d testify as long as Shi Nian mediated... An Cheng couldn’t help but wonder what kind of relationship Shi Nian had with this Huangfu Huazhang, for such a long-standing low-profile mysterious figure to agree to step out into the public for her?
.
As An Cheng entered the judge’s office, Tang Yanqing also strode forward, using his height advantage to block Shi Nian’s path.
Looking down at her eyes, "You’ve got some nerve to show so much interest in another man right in front of me."
He spoke in a lowered voice, but after all, the corridor was crowded and filled with media.
Shi Nian warned him with her eyes, then lightly snorted, "In front of Mr. Tang, so what? Or did Mr. Tang forget, the defense lawyer is still my ex-husband! To succeed in identifying the murderer, I don’t care about who is who!"
Tang Yanqing gritted his teeth in frustration, "Sure, is he the only one who can testify? I can do it too, let me put myself on the witness list right now."
Shi Nian couldn’t help but sigh, "What would you say? That your police failed to collect any effective direct evidence at the scene of Sean’s death? Then what would be used to identify Mark?"
Tang Yanqing’s eyebrows twitched in response.
"Mr. Tang, stop fooling around, okay? Huangfu Huazhang is different; as an eyewitness, his testimony might directly convict Mark!"
With that, she pushed his hand away and called Jian, heading outside to welcome Huangfu Huazhang.
As they brushed past each other, knowing time was tight, Jian simply explained to him, "I should take this time to brief him quickly; there’s no time for arguing, okay?"
Watching her busy yet orderly figure, Tang Yanqing could only shrug his shoulders, "Wow, what a righteous tone. I’ve lost to you again, I admit it."
But when it comes to Huangfu Huazhang, he refused to concede.
Mark, it wasn’t what he wanted.
.
Huo Danru finished her testimony and left first.
Tang Yanxi, feeling somewhat exhausted, walked over to her brother and noticed that Shi Nian and Jian brought Huangfu Huazhang in, directly leading him to the prosecution’s lounge, where they locked the door.
Tang Yanxi couldn’t help but be surprised: "He actually came to testify; could it really be Shi Nian who invited him?"
Saying this, she looked sympathetically at her brother.
Tang Yanqing snorted and tilted his head to look at his brother: "Got into a fight with Auntie Huo?"
"It’s not really a fight. I’m just puzzled why my mom got so close to Xiang Yuan and Mark." Tang Yanxi glanced at Tang Yanqing, implying there was more unsaid.
Tang Yanqing nodded: "I have the same question. Over the years, Xiang Jingsheng and Du Songlin have also gotten close to Auntie Huo; Du Songlin is now Auntie Huo’s boyfriend, and Xiang Jingsheng’s relationship isn’t much different."
The initial confusion, after a bit of deeper thought, reveals Xiang Jingsheng’s influence in the situation; otherwise, Huo Danru wouldn’t have done such a thing.
Tang Yanxi also nodded: "In the years following Dad’s departure, my mom carried a heavy burden in her heart. During those years, thanks to Xiang Jingsheng and Du Songlin’s lasting friendship, they helped my mom get through it. My mom is a strong woman, but also sentimental, so if Xiang Jingsheng asked her for a favor, she couldn’t refuse."
Tang Yanqing stood up, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder: "...Hearing about Auntie Huo and Uncle Du, it must have been quite a shock, right?"
Tang Yanxi sighed deeply: "It’s partly my own fault for being slow to realize and not noticing the feelings between my mom and Uncle Du."
Even though Huo Danru had been divorced from Tang Mingyi for years, the annoyance from back then still stuck in her heart, so she never wanted the Tang Family to know about her relationship with Du Songlin. Her emotional knots were well understood by Du Songlin, so they always acted in front of others, except being found out by An Cheng and someone as slick as Xiang Jingsheng, but the younger generation honestly never thought in this direction.
Although Tang Yanxi was Huo Danru’s son, he was actually raised by Shen Wan, and tended to be polite with his mother, so he was also slow on the uptake.
However... he finally realized why An Cheng was so cold to him.
He used to think An Cheng was competitive and held grudges from their past courtroom battles, thus opposing him; now he understood that An Cheng had quietly swallowed this bitterness alone...
Tang Yanqing chuckled gleefully: "I figured it out long ago, but it wasn’t appropriate to tell you directly."
"You figured it out long ago?" Tang Yanxi was startled: "When did it happen?"
Tang Yanqing squinted, recalling the day he took Shi Nian to Du Songlin’s clinic. When he returned in the evening, long after business hours, Du Songlin was still there. And in that room, there was clearly the scent of a woman’s perfume, and a woman’s handbag was on a shelf leading to the lounge.
From the handbag’s color and style, he could deduce the woman’s age, taste, and even professional background. Cross-referencing women with similar characteristics around Du Songlin, it wasn’t hard to guess that it was Huo Danru.
After hearing this, Tang Yanxi could only sigh repeatedly and then more: "Master, were you just waiting for today to see me in disarray and surprised eyes? Master, I concede, I admit you’ve pulled one over on me again, is that okay?"
Tang Yanqing laughed as well: "Humbly accepted."
Then he leaned close to his brother’s ear: "Don’t be so worried; An Cheng didn’t do it on purpose. She just set a logical trap. Even if it forces Auntie Huo to say she and Uncle Du are in the past, it doesn’t mean they can’t be together again—’Once separated, they could reunite later, who would stop them? Not even the court can."
Finally, Tang Yanxi understood and laughed with relief: "No wonder you two mutually refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, you really do have a connection."
Tang Yanqing shrugged: "But I’m ’Nian’ with no connection. So the connection stuff, leave it to you, my big brother. It’s enough for me to have my heart set."
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[What will Huangfu Huazhang say in court? See you tomorrow~]
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