Chapter 299: Chapter 211: Victory? Defeat! [3/4!]

One cause for one effect; the kinds of factors that can produce a given type of injury are actually just a few.

Abrasions, blunt-force trauma, stab wounds...

All of these have very distinct ways they’re made!

And the "finished product" that Zheng Shijie and his people made is something ordinary people could never get from any so‑called accident!!!

To put it this way.

At those rural "big fairs," the people who slide with their bodies laid out on flat carts—how twisted their bodies are is often downright horrifying!

For example, a severely twisted waist, bent backwards the wrong way, head tucked down between the thighs!

Seeing that, your first instinct is to think they fell, or something else happened, but if you really think about it...

What kind of accident could make a person’s waist bend backwards the wrong way like that!?

Falling from a high school building?

Hit by a car?

An earthquake? Or some so‑called fire?

No. None of those can create that kind of gruesome condition!

Only...

Only using hands, using tools, and forcibly snapping a person’s waist in two!

"Human agency!!!"

On the bench, someone’s brow suddenly twitched, and they frowned.

If there really are marks that cannot possibly be caused by accidental factors...

Then the doubts in this case just got a lot bigger!

"That’s right. I’ve already had these injuries verified by an out‑of‑town forensic institution. There is no way they were caused by accidental factors!"

Xu Liang nodded and said in a deep voice.

"An out‑of‑town institution? Which one?"

Presiding judge Liu Shennan suddenly spoke up to ask.

Xu Liang paused for a moment, then replied:

"The Hanhai City Boshai Forensic Appraisal Institution. It and the Hanhai City Intermediate Court..."

But then.

Before Xu Liang could finish, Liu Shennan spoke again:

"Before trial, during the evidence‑producing period, did you submit this evidence to the court for review?"

Evidence...

Evidence period!?

On the defendant’s side, Zhao Hailong froze, then instantly reacted. He didn’t care about courtroom decorum anymore and blurted out in rebuttal:

"Your Honor, opposing counsel has conducted an illegal investigation!"

"The Jiang City Forensic Appraisal Institution has never released the body. The data they have on the body must either be fabricated or obtained in violation of the rules!"

"Given that opposing counsel did not submit this during the evidence period and did not allow the court to conduct cross‑examination, I have every reason to suspect that counsel is..."

"Forging evidence!"

Forged evidence?

The moment those three words fell, the atmosphere in the courtroom instantly turned grave.

Forged evidence—this already crosses into criminal territory!

Even if you fabricate evidence in a civil case, you still bear criminal liability!

Liu Shennan completely ignored Zhao Hailong. She stared at Xu Liang, that stern, rigid face full of impatience, and spoke heavily:

"Plaintiff’s counsel...do you or do you not have a suspicion of fabrication hanging over you!?"

Xu Liang’s brows furrowed.

Fabrication?

The document contains detailed appraisal data—how could that possibly be fabricated!

This piece of evidence is something he derived using the autopsy report provided through official channels...or rather, by the court and the institution.

The conclusion in the autopsy report is wrong, but the process—the autopsy data—is correct. Anyone with a bit of expertise who compares the data and the conclusion can immediately spot the problem!

"The defendant is slandering me!" Xu Liang replied in a low voice.

Beside him, Yang Ruoxi suddenly tensed up. Her fists clenched unconsciously under the table, and even her breathing grew slightly heavier.

"Present your evidence," said Liu Shennan.

Present the evidence?

Xu Liang was stunned, watching the furrow between Liu Shennan’s brows deepen and deepen.

Since ancient times, the rule has been: he who produces the evidence is subject to challenge.

When have you ever seen someone ordered to prove their own evidence to be real!?

Self‑proving will never clarify anything!

"Your Honor, may I ask, with regard to this autopsy report...is there something the defense or the court does not understand?"

He asked.

As for "not understand"...

"I mean: can you present evidence to prove that this autopsy report is genuine!"

Unmoved, Liu Shennan kept questioning.

"Not just explain it!"

Xu Liang was speechless—he almost laughed from sheer anger.

This is like asking you to prove that you’re a human being!

How are you supposed to prove you’re human?

What?

You say you can talk, you can think, you look like a human? Then how do you prove that besides those things, in every other respect you’re also human!?

The same goes for an autopsy report!

Seeing Xu Liang remain silent, Liu Shennan turned her head toward the defense table.

"Defendant, with respect to the plaintiff’s above statement...do you wish to refute it?"

Zhao Hailong spoke up at once:

"I move to strike the evidence submitted above by the plaintiff!"

"Opposing counsel has clearly conducted an illegal investigation and is engaging in an evidence ambush, and on top of that, the evidence in question cannot be verified in such a short time!"

As he spoke.

Zhao Hailong hurriedly submitted the series of clues he had collected.

"And this so‑called human agency is laughable!"

"According to the appraisal report submitted by the Jiang City Forensic Appraisal Center, the deceased, Qi Yu, clearly suffered injuries entirely consistent with accidental fall death, including to the skull and the lumbar spine!"

"As for the so‑called corrosion marks..."

Speaking of this.

Zhao Hailong paused, then produced another statement.

"According to our investigation, these did not appear at Jianghe Pickle Plant."

"They were caused by the testing institution during autopsy, where improper operation led to acidic liquids corroding the body!"

Corroded by improper operation during autopsy?

How is that even possible!?

Setting aside whether there was actually improper operation.

During an autopsy, how could anyone be holding a testing solution directly over the body!?

Xu Liang simply could not imagine what kind of acidic liquid would be used to examine a corpse—and even applied to the face, no less!

"That’s impossible!"

Yang Ruoxi couldn’t stand it anymore. The evidence Zhao Hailong submitted was pure nonsense!

She glared furiously at Zhao Hailong.

"The traces left by corrosion before death and after death are obviously different!"