Fifteen minutes after the court session began, Zeng Han finally saw her lawyer.
Director Zhang assured him that he would not bear criminal responsibility, and at most the judgment would be a civil dispute, settled by paying compensation.
I don't need to worry about the money; Director Zhang said he's already found a way to get it.
"Defendant's lawyer, please take a seat."
Upon seeing Ding Zhao, the audience was somewhat in an uproar. They hadn't expected Zeng Han to be able to hire a top lawyer like Ding to defend her. It seemed the defendant had a sure win in this case.
Ye Huanhuan glanced worriedly at her daughter, who was quietly reading, and asked in a low voice, "Chenchen, the person they've invited is Attorney Ding."
"fine."
Ruan Chen closed the book, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her bag. Her naturally cold eyes swept across half the courtroom, meeting Ding Zhao's gaze from afar.
She nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Ding Zhao gave a helpless bitter smile, knowing that his next words would likely end his professional career.
But no matter what choice he makes today, his future will not be easy.
If he had proceeded with the original plan to defend Zeng Han, he would have been imprisoned for fabricating evidence back then.
He chose to defend Ruan Chen, which would save him from imprisonment, but it would also ruin his reputation in the industry.
He deserved to have been blinded by those three million.
Ding Zhao sighed in a voice only he could hear and said, "Today I am here as the lawyer for the plaintiff, Ruan Chen, to attend this trial."
Zeng Han suddenly stood up from the defendant's seat!
How could this be!
I have been communicating with Ding Zhao recently. Director Zhang also said that Ding Zhao was a lawyer he hired at great expense. Just yesterday, they even checked Ding Zhao's defense statement one last time.
But what is he saying now?
Ruan Chen's lawyer?
"Ruan Chen, what did you do to my lawyer! I clearly hired Attorney Ding!"
The bailiffs immediately shouted and pushed Zeng Han back down.
"Defendant, would you like the court to appoint a legal aid lawyer for you?"
Zeng Han gritted her teeth and said, "No need, I request a postponement of the trial!"
Before the judge could speak, Ding Zhaoxian spoke first.
“According to the law, changes in lawyers do not fall under the scope of applying for a postponement of the trial,” he said, looking at the judge with undeniable professionalism, “I request that the defendant’s claim be dismissed.”
Ding Zhao knew he only had this morning to handle the case, and after that he would leave Jingzhou immediately and never come back.
The court hearing proceeded normally.
With almost no effort or time spent, Ruan Chen's evidence was clear and coherent, involving a significant amount of money. Furthermore, given that Ruan Chen was a minor, and with Ding Zhaofu's skillful defense, the case was handled severely.
Ding Zhao had thought it through clearly: since the Ruan family had already been offended, he would offend them to the end.
However, Ruan Chen and Nan Jing can treat it as doing each other a favor and making friends, in case they can help them out in the future.
When the final verdict was handed down, Zeng Han collapsed into her chair in disbelief, unable to recover for a long time.
Her best friend, Du Lengxi, was secretly taking photos from the audience, preparing firsthand materials for the live broadcast.
Zeng Han's incident brought unprecedented attention to her account.
She no longer cares about the life or death of her so-called "best friend".
Anyway, Zeng Han won't be released for another ten years.
After the court hearing ended, Ding Zhao picked up his briefcase and left immediately, as he needed to catch the 12 o'clock flight out of Jingzhou.
Ruan Zhengde had already instructed his assistant to return the money without touching a single penny.
In the lobby, Ye Huanhuan called out to him.
"Mr. Ding, thank you very much for today."
Ye Huanhuan handed over a check.
Ding Zhao initially wanted to push it back, but upon seeing the six million yuan amount on it, he hesitated for a moment and then accepted it.
But he still explained, "It was Director Nan Jing of the First Academy who asked me to defend Ruan Chen, so you don't need to thank me."
"I still need to thank you," Ye Huanhuan said gently. "Mr. Ding, are you in a hurry to leave? Our Ye family's car is right outside. I'll arrange for you to leave now by private jet, is that alright?"
"Thank you for your help."
Ye Huanhuan bent down slightly and gave Ruan Chen a few instructions, intending to personally see Ding Zhao to his car—she also knew that Ding Zhao's reputation in the industry was ruined from now on.
But Ye Huanhuan was quick-witted; she wanted Ding Zhao to remain behind the scenes and contribute to the Ye family.
Aside from the Ye family, there weren't many people who dared to take in Ding Zhao.
The Ye family's car dropped Ruan Chen off at her apartment building. Ruan Chen thanked them politely and skipped upstairs—she was in a very good mood.
Zeng Han had been making things difficult for her at No. 1 Middle School for almost two months, and this matter is finally over.
The elevator doors opened, and Ruan Chen walked towards the entrance.
She suddenly caught a faint smell of blood—her heart clenched.
Ruan Chen looked up at the surveillance camera installed in a hidden location; it had been sabotaged, and the method was very professional.
Ruan Chen took a deep breath to calm herself down and reached out to open the door.
In those few seconds, she made a clear decision: if anything happened to Jianzhi and her grandfather, she would make Ruan Zhengde live in hell for the rest of his life.
She opened the door.
The smell of blood suddenly became stronger.
Fu Jianzhi, half-covered in blood, knelt on the ground, desperately pressing a towel against a large bloodstain on Ruan Wenlou's chest. "Grandpa, hang in there! I've already called an ambulance, and my sister will be back soon..."
His voice trembled, choked with fear and tears, "Grandpa, if something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to my sister...?"
Ruan Chen swayed slightly and quickly walked over.
Hearing the door open, Fu Jianzhi turned around warily. Only when he saw Ruan Chen did he relax and burst into tears.
What he feared was not the bloody scene before him.
What he feared was that if anything happened to Ruan Wenlou, Ruan Chen would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
The ambulance arrived almost immediately after Ruan Chen, and Ruan Chen and Fu Jianzhi got into the ambulance.
Ruan Wenlou was wheeled into the emergency room. After the doctor performed a simple examination on Fu Jianzhi and confirmed that he was alright, Ruan Chen finally asked what had happened.
“This morning, when I was in the study, I suddenly heard my grandfather outside asking me loudly who I was and how I got in. I immediately ran out of the study and saw my grandfather lying on the ground, covered in blood. I went to the bathroom to get a towel to stop the bleeding and then called an ambulance.”
Ruan Chen asked coldly, "Did you see who it was?"
Fu Jianzhi shook his head. "No, the door was open when I came out, and there was no one in the living room except for Grandpa."
As he said this, his fingers unconsciously pressed lightly against the silver-gray button on his sleeve.
Not only did he see clearly, he also killed that person.
Even the corpses were completely disposed of by Zhanlu.
But Fu Jianzhi dared not tell Ruan Chen.
He couldn't tell her that he had already killed someone, even if the reason for the killing was for her.
He thought somewhat despondently that Ruan Chen liked his obedient and sensible younger brother, and if she knew what kind of monster he was, she would despise him.
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