0014 The Mother of All Laws
After finishing her shift at the procuratorate that day, Qu Zhong neither returned to the law firm nor went home. Instead, she waited for Zhai Shi to finish his shift nearby and then took him to a hotel.
When they got to bed, Zhai was surprisingly not in the mood, and Qu Zhong, exhausted from a long day, wasn't really in the mood either. But since they'd already paid for the room, they decided to just sleep in a plain bed.
When they were truly sleeping face to face, the atmosphere became very quiet, and Qu Zhong quickly became drowsy amidst their rising and falling breaths. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard Zhai Shi call out to her, "Qu Zhong."
As light as a firefly in the darkness, or a drop of rain under the eaves.
This was the first time Qu Zhong had heard her full name from him. She thought she had misheard, or perhaps she had heard some unreliable ramblings.
She opened her eyes somewhat blankly and found Zhai looking at her. His clear gaze indicated that he was fully awake. "What do you consider obscene material?"
Qu Zhong was now fully awake. She opened her eyes wide and propped herself up slightly: "Huh?"
"It's nothing, just a case."
Qu Zhong was shocked. Zhai Shi, the same Zhai Shi who had recently insisted on avoiding her, was now actively discussing the case with her, even in bed.
Moreover, he had just mentioned obscene materials, which alerted Qu Zhong: "Could this be a case of profiting from the distribution of obscene materials?"
Sure enough, when I looked at him again, he had a "how did you know?" expression on his face.
Qu Zhong not only knew the case details, but could also accurately recite the suspect's name: "Yu Wen?"
Zhai is: ...
As the prosecutor in charge of Yu Wen's case of profiting from the dissemination of obscene materials, Zhai had just summoned Yu Wen for questioning two days ago.
The original plan was to follow the normal procedure, ask her if she would sign a plea agreement, and confirm some details based on the police interrogation record.
But when Zhai actually saw her, his meticulously planned scheme was completely disrupted. Sitting in the interrogation room was an extremely respectable Yu Wen, unlike any of his previous criminal suspects.
He asked her questions, and she answered only with fragmented words. There was no rebuttal, no remorse, as if she didn't care about the outcome, her whole being as frail as a faded rainbow.
Zhai felt that she resembled him a lot, so he couldn't make any hasty decisions. Although he already had a general idea in mind, he wasn't sure if he was right, and he wanted to find someone to confirm it.
To his surprise, the person he sought help from was Yu Wen's defense lawyer.
Qu Zhong gave a speechless smile: "I was wondering if you were the only prosecutor in District C Procuratorate? How come I keep running into you in every case?"
Zhai Shi's expression was equally helpless: "So, is Guanzheng Law Firm the only law firm in District C? And there's only one lawyer in that firm named Qu Zhong, otherwise why is she the defense lawyer for every case?"
Qu Zhong was amused by his teasing remark, and she pointed out the key point in his words: "You do remember the name of my law firm very well."
Zhai neither responded nor denied it. After a few seconds of silence, he brought the topic back to the main point: "I'm telling you seriously."
Qu Zhong would never be impatient with a case, especially since this was Yu Wen's prosecutor in charge. How could she let such a case slip away now that it had come to her door?
She sat up abruptly, pulled him to sit with her, and they sat face to face, as formally as in a business meeting: "Okay, go ahead."
Is the novel "Please Enter the Urn" an obscene work? What do you think?
All three professions—lawyers, prosecutors, and judges—receive the same systematic legal education before becoming lawyers, prosecutors, and judges. However, their career choices after graduation differ, leading to divergent thinking. Judges remain neutral, while lawyers and prosecutors each take sides. Lawyers tend to use a mindset focused on acquitting the guilty, while prosecutors tend to use a mindset focused on indicting the guilty—both are understandable.
That's why Qu Zhong asked him that.
Zhai did not answer with a simple yes or no. Instead, he stated a fact that was undisputed by both parties: "I have read the novel," and he believed that Qu Zhong must have read it as well. "A considerable portion of it describes sexual acts, very... in detail."
He deliberately used a neutral term unrelated to value, subtly trying to please him, his hand wandering to his crotch, looking at him mischievously: "So what? Did I get hard looking at you?"
Zhai frowned and called a halt: "You promised to speak seriously..."
Qu Zhong let him off the hook, then scoffed in disappointment, "Can't I even make a joke?" Under his gaze, she regained her serious expression. "So, you're judging based on the percentage of obscene content?"
Do prosecutors all like to ask rhetorical questions, fearing that a yes or no answer might give them ammunition against them?
Anyway, Zhai liked it: "Do you have a better standard for evaluation?"
Qu Zhong shook her head and expressed her thoughts: "I don't think it's obscene material, because I was attracted by the story itself, not by the description of sex. I believe many readers of this article feel the same way."
She paused, then chuckled dismissively: "I've read the police's indictment. The definition of obscene materials there is truly laughable. What does it mean that any work that incites desire without cause is obscene? Don't you find that absurd?"
After a moment's thought, Zhai gave a fair assessment: "It has some reference value."
Heh, so the public security, procuratorate, and judiciary are in cahoots, huh? Qu Zhong was clearly very dissatisfied with his answer. She moved closer to him, like a cat showing its claws in a show of defiance: "What value? I can arouse someone's desire just by casually showing my chest. So, does that mean I'm obscene material?"
Not content with that, she raised her hands together in front of him and said, "Prosecutor Zhai, arrest me right now, immediately."
Zhai was both amused and exasperated by her unreasonable behavior. Helpless, he pushed her away and said seriously, "Qu Zhong, what do you really think of me? Do you think I can convict you so easily?"
She made a fist and pressed it against his chest, holding a grudge and bringing up old grievances: "Isn't that right? Who said it was unimportant?"
Zhai looked away, seemingly unwilling to hear the idiom from her mouth, nor to recall any scene related to it.
After a brief silence, Qu Zhong heard him let out a long, soft sigh, an admission, a sense of relief, yet also a defense: "That time was... a mistake."
He was clearly bad at exonerating himself, attempting to justify himself with a mistake that anyone could make. He finished speaking with a slight smirk, the evidence so weak even he himself didn't believe it.
The verdict was already in effect, and Qu Zhong hadn't really intended to pursue the Xue Bo case any further, but she hadn't expected his reaction to be so strong. She reached out to him and held up four fingers of her right hand: "Then swear by the Criminal Code that you will seriously consider my opinion in this case."
He wondered if he was overthinking it, but Zhai felt that what she was doing now was like coaxing a child, saying in a very playful way: "It's okay that you didn't do well on the test last time, try harder next time..." This association made a faint smile appear on his face.
Looking into her eyes, so close to his, clear as a crescent moon, he suddenly felt a surge of emotion and pressed her hand to his chest, as if making a grand promise: "I swear by the Constitution that I will seriously consider our conversation tonight."
It's possible, but unnecessary. The Constitution, the mother law of all laws—wouldn't it be too harsh to swear an oath based on it?
Qu Zhong paused for a moment, unable to answer anything else: "Oh, okay."
When she belatedly came to her senses, she realized how intimate their position was. She could even feel his heartbeat, which seemed to be increasing little by little, just like hers…
Qu Zhong felt the temperature on her face rising steadily, unsure if the color was also turning red. She pursed her lips somewhat awkwardly, trying to find an opportunity to pull her hand away.
Before she could even make a move, Zhai had already pushed her down, and her mouth was instantly filled with his taste.
"Um... what are you doing..."
What else can I do? I'll sleep with her.
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