0008 Court Hearing (Part 1)
Qu Zhong soon received a copy of the indictment from the C District Court, which was written by Zhai Shi.
She flipped directly to the second page and read the last paragraph: "This court holds that the defendant Xue Bo, together with Zhang Honglin and others, organized others to engage in prostitution, which is a serious offense. His actions violated Article 358, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The facts of the crime are clear, and the evidence is conclusive and sufficient. He should be held criminally liable for the crime of organizing prostitution."
The facts of the crime are clear, and the evidence is sufficient. Qu Zhong immediately opened the chat interface with Zhai Shi with the mouse and typed "Since you are so stubborn, then we will..." She stopped halfway through the unfriendly words.
Thinking of the earlier mention of "avoiding suspicion," she chuckled dismissively, switched to her cell phone, and expertly dialed an eight-digit landline number.
"Zhai, your phone is ringing again."
After this happened so many times, everyone in the Third Department office now knows that when Zhai Shi's phone rings, it's definitely the defense lawyer from the prostitution case calling again.
Zhai forced a smile, trying to appear natural, and answered the phone on the third ring: "Hello, who is this?"
You know the answer already, so who else could it be?
“Qu Zhong.” She seemed to be in a good mood, the slight upward inflection at the end of her sentence carrying a playful, girlish charm. Of course, this tone was fleeting; the next second she reverted to the decisive defense attorney, “Prosecutor Zhai, I have received your copy of the indictment. See you in court.”
She didn't say much, but Zhai seemed to see the smugness in her lips, the haughtiness in her eyes, and the winning gleam in her brows—she wouldn't give up until she achieved her goal.
He wasn't given a chance to react before the call was disconnected.
She was deliberately trying to provoke him, hoping to throw the prosecutor off balance before the trial—a valid defense strategy. Zhai, however, had no intention of complying; his expression changed as he hung up the phone.
Even the prosecutor's assistant, who was obsessed with fitness and didn't care much about the case, found it strange. She said in a high-pitched voice, "We handled a legal aid case before. The defense lawyer kept disappearing. We finally managed to arrange to go to the detention center with him. He persuaded the defendant to sign the plea agreement in just a few words."
"That was a murder case, and it wasn't this difficult. I'm saying, isn't your lawyer being a bit too obsessive?"
Zhai remained noncommittal.
Having achieved her provocation, Qu Zhong leisurely scrolled up her chat history with Zhai Shi. Several pages of location sharing and transfer records showed no further interaction.
Finally, her fingertip stopped on the two words "avoid suspicion" that she had uttered in a fit of pique on the subway, and she felt even more ironic and amused.
After sleeping together once, Qu Zhong and the prosecutor began frequent "in-depth exchanges".
The prosecutor is good at securing evidence, and the lawyer is good at clearing the name of the suspect. When the two of them team up, they tacitly choose to use multiple methods to destroy the evidence.
Qu Zhong sent him the locations of major hotels in Zone C, and he didn't miss a single night.
When Lin Qianqian and Feng Jing asked Qu Zhong at her house if she was having casual sex, Qu Zhong readily admitted it. She had no interest in marriage or romance; it was exhausting and draining. Once the initial excitement faded and the hormones dissipated, she would end up with nothing.
“It’s not illegal to do things where each party gets what they want.” As a criminal defense lawyer, Qu Zhong’s most frequent task is to find legitimate excuses for the evil that roams the world. This is the justification she found for her relationship with Zhai Shi.
"Is your bottom line really that low as not breaking the law?" Zhai had asked himself this question more than once when they started their relationship. But he couldn't control himself from going on dates with her. Submitting to her was like a kind of psychotropic drug for an addict—too tempting.
A prosecutor handling a criminal case insisted during the day that he would avoid suspicion from her, but at night, with red eyes, he pinned her down and fucked her repeatedly. He had no bottom line whatsoever; if you had to say he had one, it was only a tiny bit.
That is, whenever Qu Zhong tries to talk to him about the case afterward, he will turn his back, close his eyes, and refuse to communicate. If Qu Zhong asks again, he will continue to do it with her until her soul and body separate and she no longer has the strength to speak.
The court's notice of hearing was quickly delivered to Qu Zhong at Guanzheng Law Firm.
At 9:30 a.m., the fourth criminal court of District C.
Qu Zhong was already sitting on the metal bench outside the courthouse before nine o'clock, waiting. Arriving early was her first advantage, something the lawyer "Car God" had taught her when she was still an intern. In a legal negotiation, the party that arrives late is at a huge disadvantage. So after she started practicing law, whether it was meeting clients, meeting the opposing lawyer, or going to court, she would always arrive earlier than the agreed time. Of course, before coming, she still went to the law firm, hoping to hear Car God say, "May you have a successful start."
Like a student about to enter an exam hall, Qu Zhong quickly went through the question outline, cross-examination opinions, and defense statement. Seeing that time was almost up, she got up to go to the restroom to touch up her makeup one last time.
As soon as Qu Zhong opened the door, he saw a woman applying lipstick in front of the mirror. Her makeup was glamorous, with exaggerated brown waves in her hair, an expensive watch on her wrist, and the scent of her designer perfume blatantly permeated the entire bathroom.
Qu Zhong only glanced at her briefly in the mirror before recognizing her.
You Qingchun was one of the prostitutes involved in Xue Bo's organized prostitution case. Today, she is a witness brought in by Zhai for the prosecution, and Qu Zhong's adversary.
Qu Zhong walked past her, made sure the sink was clean and free of water stains, placed the commission materials he was holding on it, and took out a cushion from his bag.
Because the C District Court and Guanzheng Law Firm are only one street apart, she walked directly from the law firm to the court.
Wearing high heels and carrying several stacks of materials on her shoulder, she inevitably broke out in a sweat along the way. She carefully and gently pressed the areas on her face where her makeup had worn off with a cushion foundation.
After confirming that her face was flawless, she was about to leave when she heard You Qingchun beside her say in a sarcastic tone, "Everyone says that the top lawyers in Shanghai are all incredibly rich, but to me they don't seem that impressive."
There was no one else there. She was clearly talking to Qu Zhong. She must have seen the materials Qu Zhong had left on the sink, the first page of which was a photocopy of Qu Zhong's lawyer's license.
Before today, Qu Zhong had only seen You Qingchun's interrogation record and the photos of her and her client in the teahouse elevator taken by surveillance video in the case file.
Unexpectedly, this person spoke so rudely. Qu Zhong let out an enigmatic laugh, staring at the nitpicking face in the mirror, and casually said, "Indeed. I'm just a small-time lawyer, how could I possibly earn as much as Miss You? With Miss You's abilities, earning tens of thousands a day wouldn't be a problem, would it?"
You Qingchun knew she was implying something, but she laughed even more wildly: "What I do is what I want, and my clients want to do it too. They pay and I put in the effort, what business is it of you police officers and lawyers, trying to cut off someone's livelihood like this?"
Qu Zhong instantly realized that she was venting. Unfortunately, she had messed with the wrong person.
Qu Zhong maintained a calm smile, but what she said next was like a cold weapon being drawn from its sheath, an arrow leaving the bowstring: "You really want to? Then how come I saw this sentence in your first interrogation record, 'When to take customers and what kind of customers to take are all decided by the store manager Zhang Honglin. Once I was unlucky enough to be chosen by a greasy middle-aged fat man.' And I saw in Xue Bo's interrogation record that you had refused to take customers more than once."
Qu Zhong laid bare the facts she knew, and as You Qingchun's face grew paler, Qu Zhong delivered the final blow: "Miss You, you are the one being exploited, yet you are speaking up for exploitation itself. People can't be so despicable, and money can't be earned like this."
The first legal right violated by the crime of organizing prostitution is the sexual autonomy of the prostitutes.
Qu Zhong turned and left. You Qingchun completely lost control. She hysterically shouted at Qu Zhong, "You speak up for someone like Xue Bo. How are you any better than me?"
Qu Zhong paused, then looked back at her and said clearly, word by word, "If you give me money, I'll speak up for you too."
...
Zhai arrived at the Fourth Criminal Court at 9:30 sharp. The first person he saw was Qu Zhong, who was sitting in the defense counsel's seat, looking down at the materials.
She changed her usual attire, wearing a smart white shirt and black suit, with her hair tied in a ponytail, looking very dashing and unapproachable.
This was the first time Zhai realized she was a criminal defense lawyer. It turned out the professional photo she'd seen on the Bar Association's website was real.
"Both the prosecution and the defense have arrived, right?" His thoughts were brought back to reality by a male voice. The person who entered was wearing a black judge's robe; he was Gao Yi, the presiding judge of this trial.
Qu Zhong looked up upon hearing the sound, nodded to Judge Gao, and then glanced at Zhai Shi across from him.
He put on the same uniform he had worn in the reception room last time, the only difference being that this time he wore a five-star prosecutor's badge on his chest. This badge signified that he was sitting in the prosecutor's dock, with the entire nation behind him.
"I've read the indictment, and the evidence should be fine..." The actual trial is always delayed until the court clerk and all three judges are in place before the trial begins. Before the trial even starts, Gao Yi goes directly to Zhai Shi's seat and starts discussing the case with him.
They were speaking in dialect, as if Qu Zhong didn't exist. If this had happened before, Qu Zhong, the intern lawyer, would have definitely raised her hand and shouted "objection." Is it appropriate for the judges and prosecutors to collude behind the lawyers' backs?
But now she's used to it. Let them say what they want; they can't just rule first and then try. If that's really the case, she'll just file an appeal with the intermediate court.
Rather than making noise in secret, Qu Zhong took the initiative to join in, and without hesitation, he stepped down from the defense counsel's seat and walked to the other side.
"Yes, Judge Gao, I also think the basic facts of this case are very clear."
Most of the staff in Shanghai's public security, procuratorate, and judicial system are locals, and they communicate in their local dialect in their daily work. Qu Zhong specifically learned the Shanghai dialect to practice in Shanghai. After several years, she can basically understand it, but she can't speak it, so she still responds in Mandarin.
Gao Yi seemed surprised that Qu Zhong had come so quickly, and he immediately fell silent, maintaining the image of an objective and neutral judge.
Zhai looked at her, a subtle smile playing on his lips. A sly smile flashed in Qu Zhong's eyes. The prosecution, defense, and judge then parted ways, returning to their respective positions.
The three judges finally took their seats, and after the court clerk announced the court rules, the trial officially began.
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