Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 42 - Please be a character witness on the first day of the trial

He arrived at the Chunfeng Clinic located to the southeast of the Central Ring, but the clinic was closed for the day, and a “Closed” sign hung at the door.

The clinic’s main entrance was shut, leaving Zhang Wei lingering at the doorway for a moment.

Located in an old alley, the Chunfeng Clinic had few pedestrians passing by, though not far away, some elderly men and women were gathered together, chatting.

The elderly chatted away eagerly, having nothing to do with him, Zhang Wei.

Fortunately, he had asked Tang Chunfeng for a list of clinic employees in advance, which was worth a try.

Zhang Wei pulled out his mobile phone and began to dial numbers.

“Hello, is this Doctor Li?

I’m Lawyer Zhang for Doctor Tang.

I’d like to ask you…”

“I’ve told the Martial Association everything I know, don’t come looking for me again, beep beep beep…”

Staring at the disconnected call, Zhang Wei was baffled.

This Mr.

Li seemed to be another regular dentist at the clinic, but he hung up the phone as soon as Zhang Wei identified himself.

Clearly, Doctor Li must have been questioned by the serious crime team, and now he was eager to distance himself from Tang Chunfeng and the Chunfeng Clinic.

After all, being involved in a murder case was not good news to the peaceful Dragon Country.

“Let’s try someone else!”

Since Doctor Li was a no-go, Zhang Wei had no choice but to continue with the next contact.

“Hello, is this Financial Officer Madam Jiang?

I am Lawyer Zhang for Doctor Tang, and I’d like to ask you a few questions, if I may…”

“I don’t know anything, beep beep beep…”

Watching another call disconnect, the muscles at the corners of Zhang Wei’s mouth twitched.

“Next!”

He continued to dial, searching for the next person.

“Hello, is this Zhang the caregiver?

I am Lawyer Zhang for Doctor Tang…”

“I don’t know any Doctor Tang, I don’t know anything!”

Old Zhang on the phone yelled and then forcefully hung up.

“I refuse to believe it, you bunch really are heartless, not even caring about your own boss.”

Zhang Wei was furious and dialed another number.

“Hello, is this Auntie Lv, the cleaner?”

“Beep beep beep…”

“Hello, is this The Reception Miss Peng?”

“Beep beep beep…”

“Hello, is this Master Yu, the electrician?”

“Beep beep beep…”

“Hello, is this Miss Huang, the caregiver?”

“Yes, this is she.

Who may I ask is calling?”

In the midst of Zhang Wei’s numbness, a woman suddenly responded.

To his surprise, this caregiver didn’t hang up the call.

“Hello, Miss Huang, I’m Lawyer Zhang for Doctor Tang.

Is it convenient for you to find a place to chat?

I’d like to learn more about Doctor Tang’s situation from you!”

“Okay, okay, where are you?”

“I’m at the entrance of the clinic.”

“Understood, wait for me for 15 minutes…”

On the other end of the line, the call was disconnected, but for Zhang Wei, it was good news.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Wei was still waiting at the entrance of the clinic.

“Hello, are you the Lawyer Zhang I just spoke with?”

A timid female voice spoke up.

Zhang Wei looked in the direction of the voice and saw a round-faced girl with an “apple-head” haircut, wearing a fleece sweater and a pink scarf, looking no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

“Are you Huang Xiali, the caregiver from Chunfeng Clinic?”

“Yes, that must mean you are Lawyer Zhang!”

“Correct, let’s find a place to talk!”

Zhang Wei nodded, took Huang Xiali straight to a nearby coffee shop, and after they had ordered their coffee, they sat down to talk.

“I want to ask, why did so many people hang up on me, but you agreed to come and meet with me?”

Zhang Wei didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

“Because, I think Doctor Tang is a good person; he couldn’t possibly be a murderer…” Huang Xiali replied softly.

Zhang Wei narrowed his eyes and looked at the round-faced girl in front of him.

“Indeed, I also believe that Doctor Tang would definitely not kill anyone, but the other employees of the clinic don’t think so.

When they picked up my call, it was as if they had seen a flood or a fierce beast.”

People are so realistic, the other employees of Chunfeng Clinic had shown Zhang Wei what it meant to be abandoned once one’s usefulness had ended.

On the contrary, Huang Xiali, the caregiver, demonstrated a behavior that surprised Zhang Wei, a kind of inexplicable trust towards Tang Chunfeng.

“Let me ask you, the Doctor Tang you know, what kind of person is he?”

“Doctor Tang, he’s a very, very good person.

In the two years that I’ve known him, I’ve realized that not only is Doctor Tang a conscientious and responsible physician, but he’s also respectful and filial.

Although he can be a bit too by-the-book sometimes, but…”

As Huang Xiali recounted, all of Zhang Wei’s suspicions about Tang Chunfeng were being confirmed one by one.

Tang Chunfeng might have been a “mother’s boy” when he was young, heavily dependent on his family, but he had a sound character and a good nature.

After graduating from Medical University, he had always been committed to his professional work, lived with his family every day, and never picked up any bad habits.

This kind of person, who doesn’t even drink or smoke, or even have a single parking ticket to their name, is simply the ideal good citizen, the very model of someone else’s child.

“By the way, Lawyer Zhang, how is the doctor doing recently?” Huang Xiali asked after finishing, with a look of deep concern on her face.

“Fortunately, we managed to bail him out, but Doctor Tang is not doing well lately.

He has been falsely accused of a crime and has become a murder suspect.

No one would feel good in his place.”

“That’s true…”

Huang Xiali nodded, her face turning somewhat pale.

“Huang Xiali, if you were to act as a ‘character witness’ for Tang Chunfeng, would you be willing?”

“What, a character witness, what is that?”

“It’s simple, you need to tell everyone what kind of person Doctor Tang Chunfeng is, to make it clear to the public that he would never do something like murder.”

At this point, Zhang Wei looked at Huang Xiali: “The question now is, are you willing?”

“I…

for Doctor Tang, I am willing!”

Huang Xiali agreed to testify to Tang Chunfeng’s character.

Zhang Wei could see that Huang Xiali’s relationship with Tang Chunfeng was more than just that of a boss and an employee, perhaps one side held a certain affection for the other.

But Zhang Wei had no time to consider these things now, as he had another place to get to.

After finishing the conversation with Huang Xiali, he rushed to a comparatively desolate commercial street in Central Ring.

This commercial street, because there was no subway station nearby making overall traffic inconvenient, seemed not to have many people in it.

But for this very reason, many unlicensed hawkers and vendors gathered here, and even at the farthest end of the street, it was rumored that there were some grey industries.

This was also the place where the victim Chen Mou had worked part-time.

Looking inside from the entrance of the commercial street, Zhang Wei noticed some shifty-looking hawkers who seemed to have shady backgrounds.

“Huh, that’s strange.

If Chen Mou died, hasn’t Group 3 investigated this place?”

Zhang Wei seemed to realize something, a cold smile appeared on his lips, and then he stepped into the commercial street.

…

The next day, bright and early.

“Little girl, I’m in a hurry to go to court today, so I won’t be making breakfast for you.

Go eat a bowl of wonton at the breakfast stall on the adjacent commercial street!”

“I get it, no need to remind me every day, how annoying…”

Listening to the voices from upstairs, Zhang Wei’s lips twitched.

After rushing to get up, he only managed a quick tidy-up and didn’t even have time for breakfast.

But there was no helping it, as today was the day of the trial, and he had spent the previous night preparing for too long, even using his “Special Ability” to spend over ten hours simulating the court session.

Thus, he had slept late and got up late, and now he still felt somewhat drained.

“Zhang, you’re up so early?”

Zhao, the blacksmith from next door, was surprisingly around, and he even greeted Zhang Wei upon seeing him.

“Uncle Zhao, today’s not the weekend, and you’ve come back early?”

“Yeah, our project department’s not busy lately; the boss gave us a few days off.

By the way, you look rushed, heading out again?”

There are actually programmers who don’t work overtime!

Zhang Wei found it hard to believe, wondering if he had misheard.

But he responded, “Yes, I’m in a rush to go to court.

This morning, I’m pre-selecting the jury and the trial’s in the afternoon—there’s not much time!”

“It’s Doctor Tang’s case, right?

I’ve heard about it.

There’s a lot of noise about the case online.

I didn’t expect you, the defense attorney, to take on this case.

Aren’t you afraid of losing?”

“Uncle Zhao, I take on cases not for winning or losing, but for the truth.

Besides, I don’t think I will lose; I only know there’s an innocent person waiting for me to seek justice for him!”

Zhang Wei said, checking the time, then waved goodbye to Zhao Qingyan and hurried off toward the bus station.

“For the truth, huh?

Is the truth not as the Martial Association describes it?

Looking at him, does he really have confidence?”

Zhao Qingyan suddenly became interested and also pulled out his phone.

“Driver?

Come over.

I’m not planning to rest at home today.

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

Take me to the city court; I want to see a trial.”

If Zhang Wei knew Zhao Qingyan planned to go to the court, he wouldn’t have bothered waiting for the bus—he would have hitched a ride directly.

But now, he mingled with the swarming office workers, experiencing Dongfang Capital’s signature traffic service, the “people-packed-like-sardines massage.”

When he arrived at the city court, he felt as though his soul had been sapped away.

“Lucky I didn’t eat breakfast…”

He mumbled to himself, and at the breakfast stall by the court entrance, he bought a bun to quickly stave off the hunger.

As he bit into the bun, he began waiting at the entrance of the court.

As Zhang Wei waited, more and more people gathered at the court entrance, many of them reporters from TV stations.

They held their microphones, stood at the entrance, facing the cameras, and started the live broadcast.

“This is Dongfang Capital TV Station, I am the reporter from this station…”

“Good morning, everyone.

Dongfang Morning News brings you a live broadcast.

The trial we are covering today involves a dentist murder case that has stirred high public interest in our city recently…”

“The suspect, Tang Chunfeng, the chief doctor of a dental clinic in our city, graduated from Dongfang Capital Medical University, a native of Dongfang Capital through and through.

It’s hard to imagine that someone like him could commit murder, killing the father of an innocent child…”

Zhang Wei stood aside, somewhat speechless as he listened to the media’s coverage.

That’s how the media is, prone to exaggeration.

The crime wasn’t even proven yet, and they had already labeled Tang Chunfeng as the murderer.

As the media flocked in, Tang Chunfeng finally arrived.

Escorted by the Martial Association, he came from his home to the court, accompanied by Tang’s Mother and Tang Chunde.

Seeing one of the parties involved appear, the media swarmed like sharks smelling blood, surrounding the family completely.

“Doctor Tang, why did you commit murder?”

“As a doctor, aren’t you supposed to heal the wounded and rescue the dying?”

“As a dentist, what does it feel like to kill with a surgical knife?”

“Doctor Tang, do you realize the impact your actions have had on the Medical University and your former mentor?”

Faced with the media’s intense bombardment, Tang Chunfeng could only bury his head deeply and, protected by the Martial Association’s escorts, silently entered the court.

Zhang Wei nodded to Tang Chunde and Tang’s Mother, then followed them inside.

Due to the seriousness and the significant impact of this case, the city court had specially arranged for the trial to be held in the Central Courtroom on the fourth floor.

4th floor, preparation room.

Tang Chunde changed into a proper suit and, protected by Tang’s Mother and Tang Chunfeng, sat down alongside Zhang Wei.

“Lawyer Zhang, today is the day of the trial, right?

What do I need to do?”

“You don’t need to do anything, just act normally, and in fact, being yourself is actually more advantageous for me.”

Confronted with Tang Chunfeng’s concern, Zhang Wei however maintained sufficient composure.

“All you have to ensure is that when the jury looks over, they see a timid, gentle, and innocent person.

As long as you don’t appear particularly indifferent, you will have helped me enough.”

Zhang Wei said, picking up the witness list and starting to check it.

“Eh, why isn’t the victim Chen Mou’s son on today’s witness list?”

“Lawyer Zhang, isn’t it normal that the victim’s son doesn’t appear?

He is just a child…”

Tang Chunde, although perplexed, felt this was rather a positive development.

But Zhang Wei shook his head, disapprovingly saying, “You don’t understand, that child is the trump card, equivalent to a nuclear weapon in a trial.

If used, it’s a kill shot.

The prosecution wouldn’t miss the chance to use such a good witness, they must be scheming something.”

“Lawyer Zhang, you mean…”

“It looks like they’re preparing for tomorrow.

Before our cross-examination tomorrow, the prosecution will have that child come forth to point at your brother.

Regardless of our evidence, the jurors might not believe us anymore!”

“This…

what should we do now…” Even Tang’s Mother felt the situation was dreadful, showing worry on her face.

“Auntie, there’s no need to worry.

Since they’re not planning to use this tactic today, it’s an opportunity for me to effectively refute their other evidence!”

Zhang Wei spoke, his eyes flashing with confidence.

He had prepared for so long for today, just to rebut the prosecution in court.

“Let’s go, it’s almost time for court.

We should enter first.”

When Zhang Wei led Tang Chunfeng and the others into the courtroom, there were already quite a few people there.

Zhang Wei swept over the crowd and noticed several familiar figures in the spectator’s gallery.

Tan Yingying and Guo Wufeng from the Procuratorate Headquarters’s Minor Offenses Division had come; Tan Yingying was sitting next to Xiao Baihe, while Guo Wufeng was sitting next to a middle-aged man with a grim and authoritative face, half-bald, clearly a man of rank.

From Guo Wufeng’s subtle bowing and leaning in to talk, it was apparent that this middle-aged man’s position was higher than Guo’s.

Guo Wufeng spotted Zhang Wei and quickly whispered to the middle-aged man, pointing at Zhang Wei.

The middle-aged man turned his head and looked over with a curious and evaluating gaze.

Zhang Wei felt the sharp scrutiny, but stood unwaveringly.

He walked over to Prosecutor Xiao Baihe, smiling as he greeted, “Long time no see, Prosecutor Xiao.”

Tan Yingying, seeing Zhang Wei, was so frightened that she immediately lowered her head like a little ostrich.

“What are you doing here, the defense bench is where you belong!” Xiao Baihe, on the other hand, was comparatively tougher, standing up and glaring at Zhang Wei.

“Nothing really, I just came over instinctively to say hello when I saw Prosecutor Xiao Baihe,” replied Zhang Wei, completely unconcerned, but pointing at Guo Wufeng’s spot and asking, “By the way, who is that next to Guo Wufeng?

He’s been staring at me since I came in.”

“He is my boss, Zhao Chunming, the head of the Serious Offenses Division!” Xiao Baihe was not secretive at all, revealing the identity of the middle-aged man.

“Oh, so he’s the Procuratorate Headquarters’ Serious Offenses Division leader.

Looks like I’ll inevitably have to face him in the future.

So, is he here today to get a good look at me?”

Zhang Wei smiled, acknowledging the information.

He walked back to the defense bench, just in time to see Wang Can sitting on the prosecution’s side, smirking in his direction.

“A person who harms others covertly will never be reputable!” Zhang Wei watched him and silently sneered as well.

Having the Major Case Squad trip him up, it must be said that Wang Can is a despicable person.

He resolved to teach this petty person a lesson today.

While both sides were preparing, more and more people began to fill the spectator’s gallery, including the Martial Association, onlookers, and even lawyers and judicial system workers who had heard the news and came.

Of course, such a high-profile case also attracted plenty of media personnel.

The city court had somewhat miscalculated, not anticipating the high level of interest in the case, leaving the courtroom’s spectator’s gallery somewhat crowded.

“All rise for the judge!”

As everyone was bustling about, the preliminary hearing finally began with the entrance of the judge.

All became quiet and focused, looking towards the judge’s bench.

This time the judge was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, with neatly combed hair, appearing quite genteel.

“Considering the impact of the case, as well as the circumstances of the victim’s family, the municipal court has decided to expedite proceedings.

Thus, we’ll have the preliminary hearing this morning and the trial this afternoon.

Everyone got it?”

After sitting, the judge began immediately.

As for this, Zhang Wei naturally knew, and no one in the courtroom opposed.

“Let’s begin, then.

Please bring in the jury panel!”