Chapter 1613: I’ll Back You up
Gu Nianzhi was reminded by He Zhichu. She perked up and said, “Young Master He, don’t worry. I’ll do my best to make her lose her desire to live.”
He Zhichu couldn’t help laughing. His almond-shaped eyes curved, and his cold aura suddenly disappeared. He smiled gently and said, “Okay, don’t go easy. I’ll back you up.”
With He Zhichu’s words of a.s.surance, Gu Nianzhi became even bolder.
Her fingers snapped and she said, “Then Young Master He, do you want to sit in?”
He Zhichu nodded. “Of course. Last time, I didn’t go because I didn’t want the Wen family to have the wrong impression. This time, I was the one who personally captured Qin Yaoguang. How can I not go?”
Gu Nianzhi suddenly understood and quickly nodded. “I forgot about that. Young Master He is also the main witness.”
..
Two days pa.s.sed in a flash, and soon, it was time for Gu Nianzhi to go to court.
It wasn’t her first time in court here, so she wasn’t as nervous anymore.
She got up in the morning and calmly finished her breakfast. She put on her business suit “battle robe”, grabbed her laptop bag and briefcase, and went downstairs to drive to the court.
The court martial in the Imperial Capital was not far from the Imperial City Intermediate People’s Court of the Imperial Capital. They were all on the same street.
When Gu Nianzhi arrived at the court martial, she noticed that it was surrounded by a lot of media reporters.
Of course, the media could not enter, but they were all carrying all kinds of live broadcast and webcast equipment. They were on the street opposite the court martial and were aimed at the gate.
In order to maintain order, the court martial sent out soldiers for the first time. They set up a temporary checkpoint at the end of the street, just like a toll booth on the highway. Only the plaintiff, the defendant, the lawyers, and their families were allowed to enter. Only those who had special permission to listen in could enter.
Gu Nianzhi stopped at the temporary checkpoint and showed her lawyer’s license and court martial doc.u.ments. She asked curiously, “What’s going on over there? I thought the court martial didn’t allow people to watch?”
The soldier checked her credentials and returned them to her with a smile. He said, “The media reporters are smart. They’re just waiting at the designated spot. We can’t close the entire road, can we? They’re right across the street. It’s not our court martial’s territory.”
Gu Nianzhi looked back and memorized the names of the media outlets. While she was waiting to drive into the parking lot, she also checked the media outlets’ backgrounds.
The media outlets had their own backers.
As expected, she found out that the media outlets were mostly foreign-funded and not local-funded or government-dominated.
Only the people of Country X had the guts and motive to come to the court martial to wait for Qin Yaoguang’s trial.
Gu Nianzhi snorted lightly, started the car, and drove towards the parking lot.
After parking the car, she came out and saw a large group of people walking towards her. They surrounded an old man with white hair and a ruddy face.
Gu Nianzhi saw from the corner of her eye that these people were Old Master Qin and Wen Shouyi’s group of people. She quickly turned around and pretended not to hear the people behind her calling her. She strode into the elevator and pressed the b.u.t.ton to close the door.
She then waved at the people who had rushed over and said, “See you all in court.”
She was either cowardly nor did she want to ruin her good mood before the court session.
Gu Nianzhi did not know how to deal with this feeling of powerlessness that was bound by family ties. She was only 20 years old.
She took the elevator to the court martial’s trial room. Gu Nianzhi pa.s.sed through stricter security before entering the court martial’s room.
This was her first time in this dimension’s court martial, but judging from the layout, she saw it was almost exactly the same as the court martial when she had faced Bai Jinyi in the other dimension.
Her nervous mood instantly relaxed.
It was as if she had returned to the other dimension. The power of habit was terrifying.
He Zhichu was already sitting in the court. He waved at Gu Nianzhi when he saw her enter.
Gu Nianzhi hurried over and smiled. “Young Master He, you’re here so early.”
He Zhichu nodded. “I just got here too. My father will be here to listen in later. There might be a lot of people, so don’t be nervous.”
“Oh, I won’t.” Gu Nianzhi sat down next to him and glanced at everyone in the courtroom.
There were already quite a few people sitting in the gallery behind the dock.
Other than Old Master Qin and Wen Shouyi, who Gu Nianzhi knew, there were also a few men who looked like members of the Qin family, because their posture was different from those servile subordinates.
He Zhichu pointed out to her. “The man on Old Master Qin’s right side is Qin Yaoguang’s eldest cousin. He isn’t young, and he already has a grandson.”
“The two young men next to Qin Yaoguang’s oldest cousin are his sons, who are also Qin Yaoguang’s nephews on her cousin’s side, and Old Master Qin’s grandnephew.”
“The others are all senior executives of the Qin Corporation, as well as lawyers, accountants, and private doctors.”
Gu Nianzhi clicked her tongue. “They’re all here…”
They were looking over there, while the Qin family members were also looking at the plaintiff’s side.
It was the first time Old Master Qin’s two cousins had seen Gu Nianzhi, so they were somewhat curious about her.
The two of them poked their father and asked in surprise, “Dad, is that young lady over there Auntie’s daughter? is she really going to sue Auntie for kidnapping her?”
Old Master Qin’s nephew glanced at Gu Nianzhi and nodded. He said snappily, “It’s her, so it’s really unfilial of the daughter to cause such a ruckus. If she was my daughter, I’ll break her legs!”
Old Master Qin frowned. “Don’t say that. Yaoguang is more to blame for what happened between them.”
“So what if she’s wrong? Can’t a mother educate her own child?” Qin Yaoguang’s oldest cousin was quite supportive of her. “I think her daughter is even more to blame. My cousin was set up by her own daughter.”
Old Master Qin sighed softly and shook his head. “Don’t talk anymore. The court is about to begin.”
Wen Shouyi stood up and said, “Old Master Qin, I’ll be going up first.”
She had to sit next to Qin Yaoguang at the dock.
“Go on, go on. We’ll see what lawyer Wen can do later.” Qin Yaoguang’s oldest cousin quickly nodded at her. “Lawyer Wen was a top student at Harvard Law School in the United States. Sje won’t let us down!”
Wen Shouyi smiled. “I’ll do my best. Gu Nianzhi is also an excellent lawyer. I don’t have much of an advantage.”
“Lawyer Wen, aren’t you being too modest?” Qin Yaoguang’s oldest cousin blinked. “Being too modest is the same as being arrogant.”
Wen Shouyi stopped smiling and said sternly, “I’m telling the truth. Gu Nianzhi not only inherited Aunt Qin’s IQ, but she’s also very talented in the legal field. I can only say that I’ll do my best.”
Old Master Qin, a little displeased, waved his hand. “We understand. You can go.”
Being cautious was a good thing, but it didn’t mean that it would boost the morale of others and destroy one’s own prestige.
In Old Master Qin’s opinion, Wen Shouyi didn’t have as much of an imposing presence as Gu Nianzhi did. If she couldn’t even be confident, would there still be any hope of winning the lawsuit?
Wen Shouyi noticed Old Master Qin’s change in mood. She bit her lip, grabbed her laptop and briefcase, and walked out.
Qin Yaoguang was brought over by the military police from the court martial.
She saw that her side was filled with people. Not only her father, but even her oldest cousin and his two sons were here. She was very touched. She turned around and waved at them, then gracefully sat down behind the dock.
Wen Shouyi sat next to her and whispered, “Auntie Qin, are you ready? Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what you’re going to say in advance?”
Qin Yaoguang glanced at her, then said aloofly, “I told you. I’ll only say it in court. I’m done, so it’s up to you. Gu Nianzhi is younger than you, has less experience, and didn’t go to a school as good as yours. If you still can’t beat her, then all these years I’ve held you in high regard for nothing.”
She looked over at Gu Nianzhi and snorted scornfully.
Gu Nianzhi was sitting in the gallery with He Zhichu. It couldn’t compare at all to the crowd Qin Yaoguang was surrounded by.
Wen Shouyi’s eyes dimmed. She turned her head away and said in a low but firm voice, “I can only do my best. Lawyers aren’t omnipotent.”
She couldn’t possibly defend Qin Yaoguang no matter what she said, could she?
Qin Yaoguang refused to cooperate. Wen Shouyi had made up her mind to protect herself first, then to defend Qin Yaoguang.
Soon, the presiding judge came over with two judges and sat in the courtroom. In front of them, there were two court clerks, who were responsible for the paperwork.
In the courtroom, the gavel rang. The presiding judge said in a clear voice, “The trial of Gu Nianzhi v. Qin Yaoguang for kidnapping a minor eight years ago has officially begun.”
Just as he was about to let the prosecution and defense make their statements, the door to the courtroom suddenly opened. A man rushed in and whispered something into his ear.
The presiding judge quickly stood up and said, “All rise! General He Chengjian is welcome to instruct us!”
Everyone in the courtroom stood up in a flash.
The soldiers all saluted in a standard military salute. Those who were not soldiers stood up straight and paid attention.
Gu Nianzhi had already known that He Chengjian would come to listen in. He Zhichu had told her.
However, no one on Qin Yaoguang’s side had known in advance.
When she realized that He Chengjian had come, Qin Yaoguang was the first to be so touched that her whole body trembled. She covered her mouth with her hand and almost cried.
Old Master Qin was slightly stunned. He exchanged a look with Qin Yaoguang’s oldest cousin and was a little confused.
What was He Chengjian doing here?
Was he still in love with Qin Yaoguang, or was he here to support Gu Nianzhi?
It was important to know his position, but who could?
Old Master Qin watched as He Chengjian Strode in with a bunch of attendants and personal secretary.
He waved at the crowd in the courtroom and said amiably, “I’m just here to listen in. After all, it was a kidnapping case that happened at my house eight years ago. My family is unfortunate, my family is unfortunate…”
As he spoke, he walked over to Gu Nianzhi and sat next to He Zhichu.
He Chengjian’s entourage sat around them and quickly filled Gu Nianzhi’s side of the gallery.
The light in Qin Yaoguang’s eyes quickly dimmed. She looked down at the table in front of her and took a deep breath.
In the courtroom, the presiding judge once again announced the start of the trial.
He first reached out to Gu Nianzhi. “The plaintiff, Gu Nianzhi, is also a lawyer. Please state your case.”
Gu Nianzhi stood up, bowed to the people in the courtroom, and said calmly, “This is the second trial today.”
“The first trial was held in the Imperial City Intermediate People’s Court. It confirmed the conviction of the He family’s gardener, Wen Dayou, and Liang Meili.”
“However, during the trial, an important piece of evidence was found in the kidnapping case. A note written by Gu Xiangwen was actually not written eight years ago to the he family, but 14 years ago to Qin Yaoguang and the people in her lab.”
“Therefore, the case was reversed. I applied to the court to sue Qin Yaoguang and the people in her laboratory
“After discussion, the court agreed to my request. Due to the security level of Qin Yaoguang and her laboratory, the case was eventually transferred to the court martial for trial
“The specific details of the case have been submitted. Today, I hope to interrogate Qin Yaoguang in person. Why did you set up a scheme to kidnap me when I was twelve years old eight years ago and frame my father, Gu Xiangwen?”
The presiding judge nodded and looked at the defendant’s side. “Please answer the question.”
Generally speaking, the defendant’s lawyer had to answer the question on behalf of his client first.
Wen Shouyi knew nothing about what Qin Yaoguang wanted to say, but she also had her own professional qualities.
Seeing that the presiding judge had s.h.i.+fted the question to the defendant’s side, she stood up and said unhurriedly, “Presiding judge, just based on a note, it is not certain that my client was the main suspect in the kidnapping case.”