Immediately afterward, the collegial panel left the court. Cheng Chuxiao watched as several bailiffs approached Liu Chengqiang and Wu Yun. Then, the live broadcast suddenly went dark, and nothing could be seen. This also meant... this court trial had come to an end.

Cheng Chuxiao sat on the sofa for a long while before realizing what had happened. A new criminal fact! The words the Judgment Chief had uttered before the recess kept echoing in her mind. The criminal fact was now linked to criminal cases! It seemed... her two lawyers had already become involved because of this! Then, as the client... wasn’t she also likely to be implicated and end up in prison?

With that thought, she felt her mouth go dry and became increasingly restless. She had just been sued by Qin Mu. That problem hadn’t been resolved, and now it seemed like another charge had been added?

She swallowed hard. Taking out her cellphone, she opened the core rights protection group. She planned to ask others for help, but discovered... since Lin Gang and the others had reported them in court, no one in the group had spoken. It was silent.

"Everyone, you all watched the live broadcast just now, right?" she thought for a bit and asked in the group. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

A few minutes later, nobody in the group spoke up.

She clenched her teeth and asked again, "Nobody has anything to say? @Han Tianming, are these the lawyers you recommended to me?"

These people... They’d suddenly clammed up when it mattered most. Just fifteen minutes earlier, they had confidently claimed in the group that the case was secure and Qin Mu had no chance of winning. But now... they didn’t say a word and just vanished.

"Will someone please speak up?! What do we do now? Have Liu Chengqiang and the others committed some kind of perjury or something? Am I going to prison?" Seeing that everyone still remained silent, Cheng Chuxiao sent a voice message, her tone desperate as she demanded an answer.

She didn’t understand the law very well. She didn’t know what crimes the actions of Liu Chengqiang and Wu Yun might constitute. She just wanted to know... what impact this would have on her.

"Sister Cheng, I’m not a law student either; I really don’t know about this matter," Han Tianming finally surfaced in the group chat, sending a wry smile emoji.

Gradually, other people also began to speak up, advising her.

"Sister Cheng, this was an accident, absolutely an accident! It’s just a recess now; we haven’t lost the case yet!"

"Right, we can hire another lawyer. I know a few brilliant lawyers, definitely more dependable than Liu Chengqiang and his partner!"

"This time it definitely wasn’t Qin Mu’s brilliance; it was Lawyer Liu and Lawyer Wu who completely capsized in an easy situation, and the other party just got lucky."

"As for whether you need to go to prison, Sister Cheng... I suggest you quickly find a lawyer and ask about the situation."

"..."

In the group chat, everyone was chiming in, all recommending new lawyers to Cheng Chuxiao. As for whether she needed to go to prison... nobody dared to speak carelessly again. Earlier, they had all guaranteed that these two lawyers were amazing and the case was a sure win. But now... the trial had only just reached the evidence presentation and examination stage, and the lawyers were suddenly taken away. The free debate stage hadn’t even begun. They no longer dared to make such bold promises.

Another lawyer recommendation? Cheng Chuxiao looked at the recommendations from her ’friends’ in the group, her expression turning cold. This time, she no longer trusted this group of people. These people were so eager to recommend lawyers to her... there must have been a kickback involved. Take Lawyer Liu and Lawyer Wu, for example; their fees started at fifty thousand! There was definitely something fishy about it. Although she was wealthy, she wasn’t foolish.

"It seems... it’s more reliable to find a lawyer in Jin City," she murmured to herself. Lawyers from other places... two had already been taken away. This might implicate her as well. She didn’t dare to take such risks again. As far as she knew, the firm in Jin City that had dealt with Qin Mu the most... was the Legal Pioneer Law Firm. At least they were more reliable than these so-called lawyers from other places.

As she was considering which law firm to approach, another message suddenly popped up in the core rights protection group: "Damn! The postal service just called me; I received a subpoena too!"

Following the message was a photo of the subpoena’s content and a copy of the complaint. The cause of action... was for recklessly spreading false information in a pet communication group, which damaged another person’s reputation and constituted defamation. The lawsuit demanded he be sentenced to three years in prison and pay compensation.

"Sister Cheng, when you look for a lawyer... please ask about my case too," he pleaded anxiously in the group.

When the matter hadn’t affected him directly, he could treat it as a spectacle, consoling Cheng Chuxiao and Han Tianming. But now that it had landed on him, he realized the severity of the situation. If things went badly... he might end up in prison!

He complained resentfully in the group, his words tinged with despair, "I was just helping Sister Cheng out, setting up a group to help spread the word and advocate for our rights. Why am I being sued too? Is Qin Mu some kind of mad dog?"

Meanwhile, in the villa, Cheng Chuxiao saw this and her expression soured. She typed back, "How can you talk like that? What did dogs ever do to you?"

Her Binbin had died not long ago. She now hated it when people dragged dogs into their insults.

"Sister Cheng, my apologies, I was just too anxious. You must help me! Find a reliable lawyer—just not another one like Lawyer Liu, please!"