Inside the elevator, Zhao Liangze glanced at her, shaking his head and keeping silent. When it stopped at the ground floor, the pair walked out of the apartment to see a yellow Hummer parked in front of the entrance. He Zhichu had especially sent a car to take them to the courthouse, and Zhao Liangze helped Gu Nianzhi get in the car.
Zhao Liangze squinted at the vehicle and raised his brows mischievously at Gu Nianzhi, “This is not just any car.”
Gu Nianzhi touched the chassis and windows, laughing quietly as she mouthed silently at Zhao Liangze, “Bulletproof…” Looks like He Zhichu had become more vigilant after the last collision. However the person tracking them hadn’t interested in taking their lives and merely wanted to know their whereabouts. Zhao Liangze was the truly lethal one… Gu Nianzhi felt that He Zhichu was being paranoid. A throng of people had arrived to the entrance of the Juvenile Court, and He Zhichu was already waiting there. He wore a light grey three-piece wool suit with a silver tie and striped ivory iron-free shirt. The ensemble was so well fitted it appeared tailor made.
Gu Nianzhi walked towards him, “Professor He.”
“You’re here.” He Zhichu nodded at her, “Let’s go in.” He reached out and placed one hand behind Gu Nianzhi, while sheltering her with the other as he walked her into the courthouse. The onlookers were in awe. It was rare that an established lawyer like He Zhichu would be as caring to his client as a newly licensed one. The crowd immediately saw Gu Nianzhi in a different light. After Gu Nianzhi went inside, she sat with He Zhichu at the dock.
On the plaintiff’s seat, Xin Xinggao appeared dull and was accompanied by a nurse, lawyer and prosecutor. Judge Judy then announced the court was in session and the doors to the courtroom closed. It was prohibited to take photos or recordings, and cell phones were banned inside.
Gu Nianzhi rose and placed her hand on the Bible to swear to speak the whole truth and only truth. After she completed the oath, she glanced at Xin Xinggao and wished that the plaintiff would swear as well… Of course, Xin Xinggao was a “fool” who couldn’t speak and had the lawyer and prosecutor speak on her behalf.
The bailiff removed the Bible and Judge Judy looked at Gu Nianzhi with disgust. Her face was stony as she asked, “Gu, do you plead guilty?”
Gu Nianzhi looked down and kept silent. Her lawyer would speak for her now.
He Zhichu stood up and inclined his head at Judge Judy, “Your Honor, my client does not plead guilty. I want to defend my client’s innocence.”
Judge Judy shifted her gaze to He Zhichu, her expression easing considerably as she spoke in a softer voice, “Mr. He, are you certain about this? I don’t think there’s any possibility of denial in a case with irrefutable evidence like this.”
“Denial?” He Zhichu’s shimmering and sultry eyes flashed, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, “I never deny in face of fabricated evidence, but only refute.”
A layer of frost formed on Judge Judy’s face, “Refute? What piece of evidence can you possibly refute? I’m all ears.”
“This first requires the prosecutor to read out their ‘irrefutable’ evidence.” He Zhichu coldly gazed at the plaintiff before sitting down.
Realizing that she had committed a procedural error, Judge Judy immediately coughed as she urged the prosecutor, “What does the plaintiff wish to say?”
The prosecutor promptly rose from the plaintiff’s stand and read from the prepared indictment, “…On July 16 at 10am, at a baseball game, the defendant Gu Nianzhi used a baseball bat to assault and seriously injure the plaintiff, Xin Xinggao. Her right wrist was fractured and a heavy head injury resulted in a concussion, which later turned into irreparable damage. The plaintiff’s IQ has dropped to that of a three year old and became mentally disabled. This constitutes as serious injury.”
After reading the indictment, the prosecutor proclaimed to Judge Judy, “Gu Nianzhi’s behaviour is especially heinous. She assaulted and caused serious injury a fellow student without provocation. Although she is still a minor, this is crime cannot be pardoned.”
Judge Judy nodded, “It is truly heinous.” She looked at He Zhichu, “Mr. He, are you certain you will not plead guilty?”
“Of course.” He Zhichu rose, shaking his head at the plaintiff stand as he sighed, “You’ve been paid by the government and military, yet failed to do your job properly and put together a faulty indictment. What a shame.”
“Personal attacks will not be tolerated!” The prosecutor nearly lost his temper and jumped up, “Where is the fault? Isn’t it true that your client assaulted mine? Isn’t it true that my client has been seriously injured by assault?”
“The two points you’ve made are certainly true.” He Zhichu spread his palms.
“What?!”
“Ha! Your Honor, you see? He’s confessed, what else is there left to try? They’ve pleaded guilty!” The prosecutor was so excited that he finally knocked down the undefeatable He Zhichu he lost all composure!
He Zhichu sneered, “Prosecutor, I haven’t finished speaking yet. Why are you talking to yourself?”
“…Not finished speaking? What else do you have left to say?” Judge Judy frowned, “You’ve admitted it’s the truth…”
“Your Honor, I admit the fact my client in fact assaulted someone, as evidenced by the medical report. It’s also a fact that the plaintiff can be considered mentally disabled, as evidenced by medical proof.” He Zhichu paused as he scanned the courtroom, “However, I ask the prosecutor to prove that his client’s declining IQ is a direct consequence of assault by my client.”
“What?”
“Do you not understand legal terminology? I really am not sure how you graduated from law school and obtained your lawyer’s license.” He Zhichu taunted, “Allow me to translate for you, please prove that the assault by Gu Nianzhi directly caused Xin Xinggao to become mentally disabled.”
“Direct consequence? Isn’t it because she was assaulted that she became mentally disabled? She received a concussion…”
“Prosecutor–after the lawsuit concludes, I will submit a formal complaint to the Law Commission about your professional qualifications. You do not possess any professional qualities of a lawyer.” He Zhichu’s voice was icy as he turned to Judge Judy, “Your Honor, the altercation occurred on the baseball field. I had already said it when the university was investigating the incident, as long as no serious injury is sustained, altercations during a sporting event is exempt from prosecution.”
“But it became a serious injury…” Judge Judy’s eyes flickered as she looked at He Zhichu. She was confident he would finally lose the case.
He Zhichu’s couldn’t bear it and coldy laughed, “If I kick you today and you die 20 years from now, can you say my kick caused your death?”
“Of course not.” Judge Judy instinctively retorted, “A lot can happen in 20 years, the chain of logic has been broken.”
“This is exactly the case.” He Zhichu turned and pointed to the plaintiff stand, “The altercation occurred on July 16, and on August 15, nearly one month later–it was said that Xin Xinggao’s condition deteriorated and her IQ declined. May I ask, isn’t it possible that something else happened in the month that caused her intelligence to be damaged?”
“…That’s only on month. It doesn’t compare to your earlier example.” Judge Judy gave her rebuttal.
“Can’t it? Is there an essential difference between one month and 20 years? Well even if you claim there is an essential difference, many people had been in her room since she was hospitalized. Within all those people, any one of them could have hurt her and caused a second injury that led to serious injury.” He Zhichu produced a list of names, “I request to summon all the people named on this list to question them about what they did in Xin Xinggao’s room.”
“No need for all that trouble.” Judge Judy waved in dismissal, “It’s sufficient to view the surveillance footage in her room. We will see if any one caused a second injury.”
He Zhichu frowned, there was actually surveillance in Xin Xinggao’s room? This meant the Military truly valued her… But she was a nobody, why did they go to this extent? He Zhichu was thoroughly perplexed.
Lieutenant Colonel Peter sat in the back row of the courtroom and smiled proudly. The surveillance footage was his trump card. Initially, he installed cameras because he didn’t fully trust Xin Xinggao and was worried she would contact other people and betray their agreement. The other reason was to guarantee her safety, so all the people entering her room were also subject to investigation.
The courtroom grew silent. Judge Judy ordered the bailiff to retrieve the surveillance footage from Xin Xinggao’s room. For sake of propriety, He Zhichu also sent one of his employees over to prevent the plaintiff’s side from pulling any tricks. There were a total of 28 days from the time Xin Xinggao was admitted to the hospital to until her IQ deteriorated. A full box of videos recorded all 28 days. The judge announced a temporary adjournment to await the her and the defendant’s lawyer to completely view all the surveillance footage and come to a decision. The videos were made into three copies–one for court records, one for the judge and the defendant’s lawyer to view together, and one for the plaintiff’s lawyer to keep.
He Zhichu’s employee carried the box of videos out of the courthouse.
Gu Nianzhi was silent as she walked behind He Zhichu.
He Zhichu stopped and turned around to pat her head, “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way.”
“…Professor He didn’t consider this?” Gu Nianzhi asked softly. Although He Zhichu appeared normal and didn’t express any emotional change in the courtroom, Gu Nianzhi was able to detect that he had grown moody.
He Zhichu looked at her in surprise, neither admitting or denying anything before he dryly remarked, “…I can’t think of what remaining value Xin Xinggao has to the Military or why is she worth all this effort to protect.”
“In other words, she still has some remaining value, but we have no idea what it is.” Gu Nianzhi suddenly worried, could Xin Xinggao still possess something that could harm the national interests of the Huaxia Empire? Last time, Xin Xinggao’s betrayal had caused the 6th Military Region’s Europe mission to fail and almost cost Huo Shaoheng and his men their lives…