0009 Trial (Part 2)
At the start of the trial, presiding judge Gao Yi first summoned the defendant, Xue Bo, to the courtroom.
Qu Zhong last saw Xue Bo a month ago during a visit to the C District Detention Center. When the bailiffs escorted him to the defendant's dock, she noticed that Xue Bo looked haggard and had become even thinner.
Seeing that the charges on the copy of the indictment were exactly the same as the charges suggested in the police's indictment opinion, he felt utterly hopeless, thinking that today's trial was just a formality and that the charge of organizing prostitution had probably already been proven.
Qu Zhong took a deep breath, sat up straight, and told herself not to let his emotions affect her. Xue Bo's eyes could be dull and lifeless, but hers couldn't, because she was his defense attorney.
There is a saying that lawyers are the mouthpiece of their clients, speaking out what their clients cannot say, especially in criminal defense.
If one is unfortunately caught up in a criminal case, it's like stepping into a pitch-black alley. The defense attorney's role is to light a way along the way, helping the defendant sift out a glimmer of hope from the seemingly hopeless situation.
The handcuffs on Xue Bo's hands were removed, and Gao Yi began to verify his identity. His ID number, date of birth, highest education level, criminal record, and so on were all information stated in the indictment. Xue Bo answered each question without objection.
After introducing the three judges and Zhai Shi, who appeared in court to support the prosecution, Gao Yi began the last procedure before the trial—recusal.
He first asked Xue Bo, "Does the defendant request recusal?"
Xue Bo shook his head, with a resolute air of "what's the use?": "I won't apply for recusal."
Gao Yi then asked Qu Zhong, who was on the defense table, "Does the defense attorney wish to request recusal?"
It's rare for a case to arise in court where a recusal request is made, but Qu Zhong quickly went through the legal grounds for recusal in her mind. She remembered one of them: if a prosecutor meets with their client in violation of regulations during prosecutorial activities, the client has the right to request their recusal.
Thinking of this, Qu Zhong looked straight at Zhai Shi opposite her and found that he was also looking at her.
They exchanged a knowing glance; he was probably thinking the same thing as her.
It's unclear whether a prosecutor and defense attorney having sex in private constitutes grounds for recusal in a case; legislators could never have imagined such a situation when drafting this clause.
Qu Zhong remained silent, and Gao Yi, assuming she was lost in thought, raised his voice impatiently and asked again, "Defense attorney, do you wish to request recusal?"
Qu Zhong then pursed her lips and spoke slowly, "The defense attorney will not request recusal." She said this while raising her chin towards Zhai Shi, and after she finished speaking, she could vaguely see his Adam's apple bob twice.
Qu Zhong turned her head to the side after speaking, secretly raising an eyebrow. She had no idea what Zhai was feeling right now, but she was certainly pleased to see him like that.
Soon it came to the court investigation stage, which, according to regulations, was to be started by Qu Zhong.
After receiving Gao Yi's instructions, she began questioning Xue Bo: "Defendant, what exactly did you do for a living in the teahouse?"
Xue Bo: "My main duties include cleaning, serving tea and water to guests, and occasionally helping guests with their shoes."
Qu Zhong: "To whom do you report your work?"
Xue Bo: "Zhang Honglin."
Qu Zhong: "Who pays the salary?"
Xue Bo: "It's also Zhang Honglin."
Qu Zhong: "What is your relationship with Zhang Honglin?"
Xue Bo: "He is my wife's older brother, that is, my brother-in-law."
Qu Zhong: "Do the other staff members in the store know about your relationship with Zhang Honglin?"
Xue Bo: "I know."
After all that buildup, Qu Zhong finally asked the most crucial question: "Are you in the Hunan Cuisine Restaurant's shareholder WeChat group?"
Xue Bo paused for a moment, then admitted, "Yes."
Qu Zhong: "Who added you to the group?"
Xue Bo: "Zhang Honglin."
Qu Zhong: "Do you even know who the other people in the group are?"
Xue Bo suddenly looked pained and refused to say those three words: "Shareholder."
Qu Zhong remained calm and continued to ask, "Did Zhang Honglin ever give you any shares from beginning to end?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Bo's eyes darted around occasionally, but he firmly denied it: "No."
Qu Zhong pressed on, asking, "Do you consider yourself a shareholder?"
As if guided by a divine hand, Xue Bo uttered the longest statement since the start of the trial: "I am not. You can check all my bank statements. I neither invested nor received any dividends. In 2020, Zhang Honglin transferred money to me twice. That was because the teahouse was poorly managed and suffered heavy losses. Many shareholders in the group were clamoring to withdraw their investment, so Zhang Honglin deliberately posted his and my transfer records in the group to stabilize morale. Later, I withdrew the cash and returned it without touching a single penny."
Qu Zhong put down the outline of questions in her hand with satisfaction and told Gao Yi that she had no other questions.
"Next, the prosecutor will ask questions."
When it was Zhai's turn, he asked a question that seemed trivial to Qu Zhong: "Defendant, how many WeChat accounts did you have while working at the teahouse?"
Without hesitation, Xue Bo replied, "One."
Zhai acted as if he hadn't heard him and repeated the question: "Defendant, answer me truthfully, how many WeChat accounts did you use in total?"
His voice was as calm as a still lake, but Xue Bo was inexplicably startled and immediately changed his words: "Two."
Qu Zhong sighed and cried out to her mother, "Damn it, how come I didn't see this in the review materials? Xue Bo didn't mention it to me during our previous meetings."
She immediately realized that this was not a trivial matter. Zhai was trying to use this to show that Xue Bo's testimony was unstable and unreliable, which was not good for Xue Bo.
Zhai continued, "Defendant, you just told your defense attorney that your job included helping customers with their shoes. Who are you referring to as 'customers'?"
Xue Bo stammered, seemingly finding it difficult to speak, but Zhai Shi's gaze was fixed on him, forcing him to say, "Yes... I am a client."
Zhai followed his answer: "Besides getting shoes, what else do you do?"
Xue Bo remained silent.
Zhai didn't intend to skip the question; he answered it for him with a rhetorical question: "You're the one who takes guests to the room to choose clocks and introduces the prices, right?"
Xue Bo remained silent, so Zhai asked three questions in a row: "You're also responsible for driving the prostitutes and their clients."
This unequivocal statement finally forced Xue Bo to speak, his tone somewhat agitated: "I wasn't driving; there was someone else driving."
Zhai seemed to be waiting for him to say: "So it was indeed you who took the guests to the room to meet the prostitutes."
He was stating a conclusion, a conclusion he had reached effortlessly just now.
Qu Zhong stopped the proceedings, gesturing to Gao Yi on the bench: "The prosecutor is suspected of leading questions; please, presiding judge, stop him."
Gao Yi glanced at her but ignored her: "Prosecutor, please continue with your questions."
Qu Zhong, filled with resentment, shut up: Fine, so the judges and prosecutors are in cahoots, huh? I'll definitely take this to the Intermediate Court after the trial.
She turned to look at Zhai Shi, trying to express her protest with her eyes, but he still looked straight ahead and asked Xue Bo, "You previously told the defense attorney that you were not a shareholder?"
Qu Zhongxin mentioned it with concern, fearing that history would repeat itself and Xue Bo would recant his testimony on the spot. Fortunately, he didn't: "Yes."
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I heard Zhai Shi still probing: "Do you even know what kind of group you're in?"
Xue Bo blurted out, "I know, it's the shareholders' group." Then, as if realizing something was amiss, he looked blankly at Qu Zhong. Before he could add anything, Zhai Shi's question abruptly stopped.
Gao Yi started to cue the next part of the process, but Qu Zhong became absent-minded.
She suddenly felt that Zhai, sitting in the prosecutor's seat, had become a complete stranger. She realized that she didn't know him at all. Or rather, just before that, her understanding of him was like that of the blind men and the elephant—partial, simplistic, and superficial.
She thought he was taciturn, aloof, and hypocritical, but had inexhaustible energy in bed. But what he was really like on a deeper level, she knew nothing of.
Qu Zhong was somewhat displeased. She had previously acted like a cactus, baring her teeth and claws, displaying all her sharpness to him. His avoidance of direct confrontation gave her the illusion that victory was assured.
Judging from the question just asked, she doesn't know how many more cards this person has up his sleeve.
However, Qu Zhong is the type who becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents, and she will not give up so easily.
During the cross-examination, Zhai originally intended to have the prostitute You Qingchun testify to prove that Xue Bo played a crucial role in the teahouse, going beyond simply serving tea and water. However, it seemed unnecessary now, so when Gao Yi asked the prosecutor whether they should still call a prosecution witness to testify, Zhai shook his head and refused.
"Does the defense have any further comments on the evidence?"
Qu Zhong cleared his throat and said, "The defense counsel acknowledges the authenticity, relevance, and relevance of all other evidence, but has only one question regarding Li Zhiyuan's statement."
Li Zhiyuan, the former manager of Xiangwei Xiaochu, has now left the company.
The entire courtroom fell eerily quiet after Qu Zhong's words, and everyone present turned to look at the defense counsel's table.
Qu Zhong put down the written evidence he had prepared in advance and slowly began to speak, without any hesitation or doubt: "In his second interrogation record, Li Zhiyuan mentioned that Xue Bo was the head manager of the teahouse, managing all the affairs of the teahouse."
At first glance, Xue Bo's face turned pale when he heard this as an admission of the other party's accusations. He thought his defense attorney had gone mad. But then Qu Zhong suddenly changed the subject: "However, during the time Li Zhiyuan worked at the teahouse, the teahouse was always doing legitimate restaurant business. It was only in the second half of 2019 that they started organizing prostitution on the top floor."
"In 2019, the defendant Xue Bo was serving time in prison for the crime of introducing prostitution, while Li Zhiyuan had already left his job before Xue Bo was released. Therefore, the defense counsel hereby requests the presiding judge to note that Li Zhiyuan's statement can only prove that Xue Bo was once the head manager of a legitimate teahouse, but cannot prove that Xue Bo was the head manager of the criminal gang that later organized prostitution."
Every word she uttered was resounding and powerful; Qu Zhong felt that her mission was now perfectly accomplished. As for whether she would receive support or achieve a resounding victory as the racing god had wished, that was no longer within her control.
She opened a bottle of water with a sigh of relief, tilted her head back and took two sips, then turned her gaze away from Zhai Shi and looked at the water bottle.
A seemingly unintentional action caused Zhai to suddenly freeze, his mind going blank.
The moment her red lips parted from the bottle, he clearly saw Qu Zhong stick out her tongue and lick the corner of her mouth. In that instant, the secret that belonged only to the two of them surged forth like a flood.
In this courtyard, only Zhai knew that this was her habitual action when performing oral sex.
She actually seduced him in public, right there in the solemn criminal courtroom.
No need to wait for the verdict; the outcome of this battle between the prosecution and the defense has already been decided at this moment.
"Does the prosecutor have any further comments?"
"The prosecutor?"
The sound of Gao Yi striking the gavel brought Zhai back to his senses. He spoke with great difficulty, his voice so low it was as if he couldn't really say it: "No... nothing."
The first-instance trial of the case ended with Gao Yi's words, "The verdict will be announced at a later date." Xue Bo was escorted back to the detention center by bailiffs. The defendant's seat was empty, and Zhai Shi was nowhere to be seen in the prosecutor's seat either.
When Qu Zhong opened his phone, the first message that popped up on WeChat was an ultimatum from the prosecution:
"Come here."
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