Chapter 1358: Honesty, Simplicity, and Stupidity
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi narrowed her eyes, then stood up and said calmly, “Objection. The defense lawyer’s statement was misleading. My witness didn’t lie about the case. As for personal privacy, to be honest, the defense lawyer has crossed a line.”
She knew that Huo Guanchen was a jerk in this matter, but this was between a man and a woman. It was between Huo Guanchen, Bai Jinyi, and Song Jinning. It had nothing to do with the case of Luo Jialan’s intentional murder attempt on Song Jinning.
Cai Shengnan turned around swiftly and looked at her with her big, deep eyes. She said calmly, “Yes, the part where Mr. Huo Guanchen lied had little to do with his testimony, but the fact that he was able to lie in court, and in a way that proved his character, is enough to prove that his testimony isn’t credible.”
Gu Nianzhi understood now. Cai Shengnan had used the relations.h.i.+p matter between a man and a woman to induce Huo Guanchen to lie in order to disqualify him as a witness.
If a witness lied in court, it would be perjury if it was a lie related to the case.
If it was a lie unrelated to the case, it would directly affect Huo Guanchen’s qualifications as a witness.
The incident just now wasn’t a big deal, because, to put it bluntly, it was only an affair between a man and a woman from more than ten years ago.
However, it wasn’t a small one either. It could prove that Huo Guanchen had been having an affair with Bai Jinyi before the divorce. It was morally corrupt and his character would appear disreputable.
It also proved that Huo Guanchen’s testimony couldn’t be trusted.
For example, as for how Luo Jialan treated Song Jinning in her daily life, who was suspected of abusing her, who was suspected of seducing her, and who wanted her life, if Huo Guanchen said these things, his words would be judged as trustworthy.
Moreover, Song Jinning was in court. If she exposed this scandal in court, it would be enough for Song Jinning and Huo Guanchen’s relations.h.i.+p to be permanently ruined.
That was why Bai Jinyi was willing to tell Cai Shengnan about this matter. She probably had the same motive…
She couldn’t have Huo Guanyuan, and she couldn’t be with Huo Guanchen. However, there was no chance for Song Jinning to be with Huo Guanyuan, and there was no way she could get back together with Huo Guanchen.
Gu Nianzhi understood Bai Jinyi and Cai Shengnan’s sinister intentions regarding this matter, and became even more vigilant.
Not only was her opponent more capable than she had imagined, but she was also more shameless than she had expected.
A lawyer who had both ability but no bottom line was the most difficult lawyer to deal with.
Because they would do anything to win.
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips, and she insisted again, “The affair between Mr. Huo Guanchen and Bai Jinyi all those years ago had nothing to do with this case to begin with. The defense lawyer shouldn’t have asked at all. But you still insisted on asking. My witness has no obligation to satisfy your nefarious intention of prying into people’s privacy.”
“Is this privacy?” Cai Shengnan spread her hands out in amus.e.m.e.nt. She circled around the courtroom before walking up to Song Jinning. She looked at Song Jinning, whose face had turned pale and livid. With reigned regret, she said, “Ms. Song Jinning, I am very sympathetic to your plight, and I also hate those who mistreat you, but my client… ”
She turned around and pointed at Luo Jialan, who was in the dock. “She really didn’t want to murder you. She’s such an extremely simple-minded and stupid person. As straightforward as she was, she did hold a grudge against you, but after she hated you, when she saw what happened to you, she felt more sympathetic.”
Luo Jialan also looked at them. When she heard Cai Shengnan’s words, her eyes were immediately filled with tears. She clasped her hands together and made a pitiful gesture of begging for forgiveness.
Song Jinning’s face was frosty, and said coldly, “Sympathy? Don’t think that you can fool me just because I was out of my mind for more than ten years. My room in the Huo family is still sealed. It’s exactly the same as it was when I was living there. Under her ‘meticulous care’, my health condition had been deteriorating. It’s been proven by medical evaluation.
“Lawyer Cai, I’m a scientist. Tell me, do you think I believe the actual data, or do you think I’ll believe your blatant lies and insist that she didn’t try to murder me?”
Cai Shengnan was taken aback. Song Jinning was indeed sharp. It was rare for her to be so clear-headed, so it was hard for her to be controlled…
She took a closer look at Song Jinning’s face. Her skin was smooth and supple, without a single fine line. She looked to be in her thirties at most, the prime time for a woman’s skin to age.
Although her skin wasn’t as youthful as Gu Nianzhi’s, she was already past forty-nine and was about to turn fifty. It was truly heaven-defying.
She secretly began to wonder how Song Jinning was able to recover from such a severe brain injury?
The thought only flashed through her mind before she tossed it aside.
She wasn’t concerned about Song Jinning’s recovery at the moment.
The problem now was to continue their trial and eliminate Huo Guanchen, the most direct witness.
Apart from Luo Jialan, Huo Guanchen was the only one who knew how Song Jinning was treated in the Huo family.
He had never interfered with how Luo Jialan treated Song Jinning, but he had seen it all.
On Cai Shengnan and Luo Jialan’s list, Huo Guanchen was the most difficult witness to deal with. Not only because due to his high position and power, his words would greatly affect everyone, but also because he was providing direct testimony.
Cai Shengnan saw that Song Jinning wasn’t going to take the bait, so she turned to face the judge and took out another doc.u.ment from the translucent red folder.
“Your honor, this is an academic article published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, the world’s most authoritative Journal of Psychiatry. There was a case mentioned in it that was very similar to Ms. Song Jinning’s case. It was also caused by the trauma to the brain from an explosion, causing short-term memory loss and mental disorder. She thought that her age was stuck in a certain era in the past.
“According to this magazine, this type of case has never been cured in the world. Of course, Ms. Song Jinning’s case was the exception among the exceptions. She not only cured her mental illness, but also cured her damaged brain. This is indeed commendable.”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes grew dark as she stared at the folder in Cai Shengnan’s hands. No one knew what she was thinking.
Cai Shengnan turned to glance at the faces of everyone in the courtroom, she then turned to the judge and said, “This scientific doc.u.ment shows that this type of brain injury causes both mental and physical illness, and the patient’s condition would deteriorate little by little by itself. No matter how much you care for the patient, no matter how good your psychiatrist is, you cannot stop it from going its way.”
Heh, she’s really something.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows and sigh.
If Cai Shengnan won this battle, Luo Jialan would probably be released from court, and they would never be able to charge her with the same crime again unless they found new evidence.
However, they had spent almost a year searching for the evidence they had now.
If Luo Jialan escaped this time, where would they find a second set of evidence?
” … in other words, no matter how hard my client tried, Song Jinning’s condition would have continued to deteriorate. If that’s the case, how can the prosecution prove that Ms. Song Jinning’s deteriorating condition was because of my client’s intentional mental abuse? — We won’t take the blame. ”
Luo Jialan’s intentional murder would be abolished if she got rid of the witness first and then the evidence.
Cai Shengnan’s actions could be said to be remarkable.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were on opposing sides, Gu Nianzhi would have rallied for Cai Shengnan.