novelraw Chapter 288 - 186. The performance was wonderful, but it didn’t impress the young master (first update)
Chapter 288 - 186. The performance was wonderful, but it didn’t impress the young master (first update)
Chapter 288: 186. The performance was wonderful, but it didn’t impress the young master (first update)
Xiang Yuan was taken aback: "What did you say?"
In fact, it wasn’t just Xiang Yuan; even An Cheng, along with Shi Nian and Tang Yanqing in the gallery, were also taken aback.
Huangfu Huazhang himself was even more at ease, with a slight smile.
Xiang Yuan’s look of astonishment was the bonus for his lengthy speech.
"To be honest, I only decided to testify today on a whim. The prosecutor and the police have contacted me several times before, but I have declined every time." His gaze went straight past Xiang Yuan in front of him, drifting towards the crowd and landing on Shi Nian’s face in the gallery.
"One reason I didn’t testify was because I am a low-key person and have never liked appearing in the media for years; the other reason is that I did not want my personal identity to affect the justice of the court—because I have a familial relationship with the defendant."
"Oh?" The courtroom was again taken aback.
The judge also hesitated a little: "The law in this state has a principle of exemption for relatives, so how did the prosecution witness pass identity verification?" The judge directed this question to the court clerk, as this kind of identity verification should have been completed before the witness testified.
The clerk hurriedly stood up to explain: "Although Mr. Fude had marital ties with the defendant’s family years ago, the familial relationship between the witness and the defendant is now beyond three generations, and does not violate the relevant regulations of this state."
The judge nodded towards Huangfu Huazhang, "The prosecution witness may continue to testify."
Huangfu Huazhang sat on the chair, propped up by a cane, slightly nodding to the judge.
He couldn’t help but smile: "This case is indeed interesting, as if all the key characters are intrinsically linked through some familial connections. I heard that the defense witness who testified before was the girlfriend of the prosecutor’s father, and I myself am distantly related to the defendant. Even more intriguing is that the defense lawyer was once married to the victim Shi Nian... It’s one thing with Ms. Huo and I, as we are indirectly related, but it’s another level with the direct relationship between the defense lawyer and the victim."
"Luckily, the court has discernment and did not disqualify me from testifying. Otherwise, I would have to ask the court, how can the victim’s ex-husband appear as the defense lawyer in court?"
The courtroom erupted in murmurs again.
After all, in this world, there are not many divorced couples who can coexist peacefully; more often, they become adversaries post-divorce.
Reflecting on all of Xiang Yuan’s defenses before, those targeted against Shi Nian to protect Mark now seem like a public display of settling personal scores.
Xiang Yuan fixed his eyes on Huangfu Huazhang, and even though he stood with his back to the gallery, he could still feel numerous gazes like sharp arrows shooting at his spine.
He took a deep breath and smiled as calmly as he could at the judge and the jury: "The prosecution witness is not wrong; Shi Nian and I were once married. But we divorced before the case entered litigation. According to the law in this state, this does not affect my ability to appear in court as a defense lawyer."
The judge also nodded, "The jury can disregard the fact that the defense lawyer was once married to the victim. Their past relationship does not affect the conviction and sentencing in this case."
Huangfu Huazhang did not mind and continued to look quietly at Shi Nian: "What Lawyer Xiang did is naturally legal, but if it were me, if I had sincerely loved a woman once and someone dared to harm her, I would never spare the culprit."
"Let alone defend that culprit in court and have to confront that woman in the courtroom for the sake of defense. As her husband at the time, I couldn’t protect her promptly; after she was harmed, I would still help the defendant further harm her in court... Lawyer Xiang, I genuinely admire your ability to uphold righteousness over familial ties."
.
As Huangfu Huazhang’s words fell, the courtroom was abuzz with whispers.
Xiang Yuan instantly turned pale, his ten fingers gripping the witness stand’s railing tightly, and his mind went blank.
Law and emotions are always a pair of contradictions, seemingly conflicting, yet always inseparable. This is also true in court; sometimes winning a case is not about how solid the legal evidence is, but rather emotions take the lead. After all, humans are flesh and blood, and the outcome of the trial is determined by twelve ordinary jury members.
At this moment, although his identity was not illegal, he clearly lost in terms of emotions. Huangfu Huazhang’s pinpoint jab would have a tremendous impact on the court’s sentiment. One can imagine that, between these few sentences, he might have already lost the support of some jurors.
He never thought that today in court, he wouldn’t lose to An Cheng but might lose to a witness. This, for a lawyer, is truly a great humiliation.
But at this point, he couldn’t turn back time; he could only try his best to salvage the situation.
He smiled, "Mr. Fude, aren’t you doing the same? Although your familial relationship with my client does not violate the legal provisions, you are still relatives. You hold a significant number of shares in Ford’s family business, and you are also a major shareholder in the Lin Qi Group. So your public testimony against my client today is no less than a grand gesture of righteousness over familial ties. I can’t help but wonder what caused relatives to turn against each other. Could it be economic interests? Is Mr. Fude’s sudden decision to testify also because of this?"
The courtroom was again filled with whispers.
An Cheng hurriedly stood up: "Objection! Your Honor, I object to the defense lawyer’s baseless speculations and slander of my witness!"
The judge nodded, "Objection sustained. Defense counsel, please pay attention to your words."
Xiang Yuan quickly raised both hands in a surrendering gesture: "Okay, okay. I’ll retract my previous comments. Mr. Fude, let’s return to the previous topic: why did you say you are also a witness to Sean’s murder case?"
Huangfu Huazhang replied calmly, "There are two reasons: firstly, I am the chairman of the board of trustees of Kangchuan University and have the right to inquire into all matters of the university; secondly, it is because of the familial connection I just disclosed to the court."
Huangfu Huazhang slowly turned his gaze to Mark: "Because of this familial relationship, I personally care about this cousin’s academic and personal life during his time at university, so I often had video calls with him. On the night of Sean’s murder, I was on a video call with the defendant."
Xiang Yuan squinted his eyes tightly.
After Sean’s murder, the students involved were all intervened by the police, and Mark was asked where he was at the time. Mark used this video call with Huangfu Huazhang as his alibi. After contacting Huangfu Huazhang, who also confirmed it, Mark’s alibi was established, excluding him from traditional criminal investigations.
So when Huangfu Huazhang began to talk directly from this alibi, if the previous evidence is overturned, then Mark’s cleared suspicion would no longer exist.
Xiang Yuan sneered coldly: "Mr. Fude was indeed on a video call with my client that night. You already admitted this to the police. How come now Mr. Fude wants to retract his previous statement? Wouldn’t that mean admitting in front of everyone here that you lied to the police back then, committed perjury, and obstructed judicial justice?!"
A lawyer in court, some say, should be like a mosquito constantly seeking blood; as soon as it smells a hint of blood, it should pounce fiercely, leaving the opponent bleeding profusely.
Even though he was at a disadvantage earlier, Xiang Yuan’s counterattack was effective. The jury and judge were astonished and turned their eyes to Huangfu Huazhang, waiting for his response.
Huangfu Huazhang remained composed, just slightly raised an eyebrow. At the same time, a subtle expression appeared at the corner of his lips, slightly pointing downward, which Tang Yanqing keenly noticed.
Tang Yanqing turned to look at Shi Nian sitting across the aisle, both seeing each other mouth a word: [Contempt].
— Huangfu Huazhang showed Xiang Yuan a look of contempt.
As they simultaneously mouthed the word, both looked at each other and couldn’t help but laugh.
Shi Nian was the first to avert his gaze, leaning back into his chair, using the person beside him to shield his view.
But he did not withdraw his gaze, nor did he change his posture, still leaning forward, tilting his head towards her.
As if the tense atmosphere in the courtroom had not affected him in the least, neither win nor loss had anything to do with him. In this court, amidst this crowd, the most important thing for him was to be able to tilt his head and see her, and smile approvingly at her.
He behaved like this, making Shi Nian even more uncomfortable, with shyness quietly climbing onto her cheeks and her palms slightly sweating.
The "shield" beside her also seemed to notice something was amiss, turned to look over there, then turned back to look at her.
Shi Nian was thoroughly embarrassed, quickly extending a fist to shake as a warning to him, telling him not to do things that would make her shy.
He saw it but still intentionally leaned even more towards her side, then leisurely sat back up, letting her escape.
The performance on the stage was undeniably brilliant, and the protagonists were undeniably captivating, but unfortunately, they failed to entirely capture the attention of this audience member offstage. He simply didn’t care how hard they worked to perform; he was only there to see the most beautiful sight in his mind.
It had nothing to do with anyone else.
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[Second Update of the Morning~]