"I don’t think there’s any need to worry. Don’t let Qin Mu scare you. It’s a classic case of ’three men make a tiger’—rumors repeated often enough become accepted as truth, and you end up scaring yourselves."

"Qin Mu can’t even win this civil lawsuit, and he still wants to sue you?"

"With Lawyer Liu and Lawyer Wu here, he can’t turn the tide!"

"Just watch the live broadcast peacefully. After Lawyer Liu gets back, you can ask him; everything will surely be fine."

...

In the core rights protection group chat, there were 17 people in total. Besides Cheng Chuxiao and Han Tianming, the other 15 members were very optimistic. Even when two subpoenas appeared in the group, they still believed it was no big deal.

Cheng Chuxiao looked at these chat records and nodded silently. It’s no use worrying now. Qin Mu had already filed a lawsuit against them, and the court had summoned them to attend the trial seven days later. All she could do was wait for Lawyer Liu and Lawyer Wu to finish this case before inquiring about the specifics.

With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath, lifted her head, and looked towards the live broadcast displayed on the TV.

At this moment, the rebuttal phase of the trial had ended, and they had entered the second stage: the presentation and examination of evidence. Qin Mu stood beside Zhang Qingyuan and threw out multiple pieces of evidence, such as surveillance footage from the nursing home, an assessment of the combined combat prowess of her pet Binbin, and proof that she hadn’t used a dog leash. His attitude was very arrogant.

...

Jin City Court. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The First Civil Trial Chamber.

THUD!

After Qin Mu had presented the various pieces of evidence, the Judgment Chief struck the gavel and looked towards the two lawyers at the defendant’s bench, inquiring, "Does the defendant’s side have any objections to the evidence presented by the plaintiff?"

Just now, Qin Mu had laid out extensive evidence showing the other party hadn’t used a dog leash. This was enough to prove that the other party was solely at fault for the incident. In the division of civil liability for compensation, identifying the party at fault is crucial. Liability for damages is typically calculated based on the proportion of fault. If the other party was found entirely at fault, then Qin Mu’s side would indeed not need to offer any financial compensation for the dog’s death.

On the defendant’s side, the two lawyers listened, their expressions unchanging as they exchanged glances.

Liu Chengqiang was the first to stand. "Judgment Chief, esteemed judges, and members of the jury," he stated calmly, "while the evidence presented by the plaintiff is not inherently problematic, it is insufficient to prove that our client is solely at fault in this incident. As everyone knows, dogs kept in the city are pets, and the dog our client raised was very gentle. Before this incident, it had never bitten anyone. So, what could have caused the dog to suddenly rush at the plaintiff? We believe there must be something suspicious here!"

He raised his eyes, glancing at Qin Mu, and presented his point impassively. This point stemmed from his calculated speculation, intended to pave the way for Lin Gang and the others to recant their previous testimonies. Last night, he and Wu Yun had contacted the four nursing home employees. After considerable persuasion, they had finally convinced all of them. This time... they were assured victory!

As for Qin Mu, because everything had been too rushed, they simply hadn’t had time to gather information on him. However, from the lawyer introductions publicly available from the court, they had seen Qin Mu’s status: intern lawyer. That’s right, Qin Mu was listed as an intern lawyer. Typically, intern lawyers are those who have recently obtained their license to practice law and have not yet handled cases independently. This case originally had another lawyer besides Qin Mu, someone named Wang Dachui, but he too was absent from the trial for some reason.

Just an intern lawyer; this case won’t be that difficult, Liu Chengqiang thought to himself, completely underestimating Qin Mu. They had been prominent figures in court for over 20 years, involved in thousands of cases, both large and small. They had encountered countless distinguished lawyers; an intern lawyer like this... He wouldn’t even be qualified to carry their shoes! Coupled with the unexpected move they had prepared, there was virtually no possibility of losing this lawsuit.

"Indeed, Judgment Chief, esteemed judges," Wu Yun, who was standing beside Liu Chengqiang, then rose and submitted new documentary evidence. "Here is the information we have collected on the breed of our client’s dog and its vaccination records. This shows that our client’s dog was vaccinated yearly, ruling out the possibility of rabies. Furthermore, this breed is known for its gentle nature; it’s unlikely to run towards people without reason, let alone a stranger. Therefore, we speculate that the dog’s unusual behavior, as seen in the surveillance footage, was very likely caused by someone deliberately provoking or luring it."

Wu Yun’s voice echoed clearly in the courtroom. The two lawyers had successively presented their claims, suggesting that unresolved doubts remained in the case.

As soon as Wu Yun finished speaking, Old Zhang, at the plaintiff’s bench, immediately widened his eyes, trembling with fury. "Bullshit!" he exclaimed. "I was just passing by that dog! I did nothing! It charged at me on its own! It stood taller than me when it reared up! If I hadn’t had my walking stick, it surely would have knocked me over!"

In his agitation, he had blurted out a curse.

THUD!

Seeing this, the Judgment Chief immediately chided, "Please maintain decorum in court! This is a public proceeding. The entire trial is open to the public. If profanities are allowed, it will degenerate into a vulgar street brawl and have an extremely detrimental influence!"