Chapter 880: Left with Nothing
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Seeing such a situation, Gu Nianzhi took an intimidating step towards Gu Yanran. “Yes, I am a ghost! I’m here for vengeance on behalf of everyone you had murdered!”
Unable to take any more pressure, Gu Yanran screamed extremely loud and then fainted!
Jin Wanyi stood up immediately: “Your honor, the plaintiff’s intimidation of my client caused her to lose consciousness. Please bring her a doctor!”
Gu Nianzhi smiled. “In this honorable court of our country, you daresay I intimidated her? There are so many people here. Which of my words intimidated her, huh?”
Jin Wanyi controlled her anger and ignored Gu Nianzhi. She supported Gu Yanran by the neck and stroked the back of her head to soothe her. Gu Yanran had merely panicked. She regained consciousness in no time. However, the moment she set eyes on Gu Nianzhi, she looked frightened and didn’t even dare to look Gu Nianzhi in the eyes.
Gu Nianzhi shrugged. “You’ve done many terrible things to ever repent for all of them.” She then resumed her questioning. “Since that bed-ridden vegetable is not Gu Xiangwen, where did he go? Did you kill him as well?”
“I did no such thing!” Gu Yanran was totally broken now. “I didn’t kill him! I didn’t! I didn’t…”
Those were the only words she seemed capable of anymore. Her blank eyes stared straight ahead. The dream she’d held for so long had suddenly been crushed, and she couldn’t take any more.
At this point, there was no path left for the trial to take. Even if there were, there was no longer a need for it.
Gu Yanran’s biological father was the man in the persistent vegetative state. For seven years, she’d pa.s.sed him off as Gu Xiangwen so she could get her hands on the Gu fortune.. Just based on this, Gu Nianzhi felt extremely terrified.
The court took all the evidences and trial records into consideration and the procedures came to a close. “A judgment has been rendered in the civil matter of Gu Nianzhi v Gu Yanran over the inheritance of the Gu family. As Gu Xiangwen has been missing for seven years, this court considers him legally deceased.
“The death of Gu Xiangwen will serve as a predicate to contact Gu Xiangwen’s lawyers in America in order to determine if his estate had a will in place. If there is, we would request for them to surrender it to us.
“For the time being, the a.s.sets the Gu family shall be frozen and an announcement made of Gu Xiangwen’s death. Provided no further evidence arises to prove Gu Xiangwen still lives, the estate shall be bequeathed to Gu Nianzhi.”
Gu Yanran was also involved in the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination of Gu Nianzhi in Germany, with the motive being financial gain. She was also involved in the murder of all the Gu family servants. When Gu Nianzhi informed the police of this, not only was Gu Yanran deprived of any claim to the Gu estate, but she was to be remanded into police custody.
Of course, the Special Forces had also discovered that she had close relations with j.a.pan. They could not let her off easily anymore.
Seeing the dejected Gu Yanran being brought away by the police officers, Jin Wanyi felt extremely annoyed. Her lawyer fees would most likely be forfeited. Gu Yanran had already lost everything, and would now face a murder charge.
1The bodyguards, housekeeper and accountants who had been working for Gu Yanran were all in shock. Their employer had been taken away just like that. How would they continue to work? They went in the direction of Gu Yanran, hoping for an explanation.
The others in court slowly filed out. But Gu Nianzhi remained seated behind the plaintiff stand, her thumping heart now slowly beginning to calm. This trial had been like running a marathon. Gu Nianzhi had been pushed to her physical and emotional limits.
While interrogating Gu Yanran, she was still attentive and energetic. But the moment the trial ended, she realized that her legs had gone so wobbly that she could not manage to walk anymore.
She had no choice but to sit there and pretend to pack her things as well-wishers came to pa.s.s on their congratulations.The first of these was Secretary Cao.
He pa.s.sionately shook Gu Nianzhi’s hand. “You were better than in the previous trials! I was right about you. Learn well, and contact me when you are free. We shall discuss your career prospects after your graduation, okay?”
Gu Nianzhi did not expect such an offer from Secretary Cao. Working for the army as a lawyer had never even crossed her mind before. But it would be an amazing opportunity.
She nodded politely and replied, “Thank you, Secretary Cao. I will contact you as soon as I’m able.”
After Secretary Cao left, Song Jinning walked over and caressed her head. “Nianzhi, the trial is over. What are your plans after this? I just bought a new house. You and Shaoheng should come over for dinner when you’re free.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled so much that her face started to cramp. She nodded. “Of course. We’ll come when we have some time.”
Song Jinning continued to praise her. “You’re quick on your feet and you have a great memory. The bar chart a.n.a.lyzation of East Asians was only released a few days ago, and it was the least interesting portion of the news. I didn’t expect you to have noticed it.”
Gu Nianzhi felt embarra.s.sed by the praise. “It was a coincidence. I just happened to read the article.”
To be honest, she’d followed the debate closely. Towards the end, everyone had sought the expert opinions on j.a.panese reproduction genes. As an internet-dependent child, Gu Nianzhi watched the entire debate with great interest, and therefore remembered it clearly. Gu Yanran’s production of the j.a.panese adoption certificate triggered Gu Nianzhi’s memory.
The DNA sequencing in the reports only contained the percentages of the different types of genes in the person’s DNA. They didn’t indicate what it meant. That’s Because when Chen Lie did these tests, the bar chart a.n.a.lyzation for East Asians had not yet been released to the public.
After the bar chart a.n.a.lyzation had been completed, everyone realized that the Chinese of the Huaxia Empire had a genetic makeup that was 95% 0-M175 yellow genes. It meant they were the real, pure Asians. Mongolians, on the other hand, were not the representatives of Asia. The Chinese were. It was this piece of news that made Gu Nianzhi feel so proud of who she was, and thus left an impression on her.
After discussing some other genetic issues with Gu Nianzhi, Song Jinning left with a happy heart.
Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying came over together to thank Gu Nianzhi next.
“Nianzhi, this is my business card. Please give me a call when you are free. No matter what, I am your uncle and Qingying is your cousin. We are your only living relatives now.”
Xie Dezhao had already related himself as her elder, and wanted to look out for her. This was the only living relative of his beloved wife. She had lost her parents, too. Therefore, Xie Dezhao felt like he was Gu Nianzhi’s maternal family.
Xie Qingying handed Gu Nianzhi a business card as well and shook her hand. “Nianzhi, I have to come to your school in a few days. Let’s go out for a meal to know each other better, okay?”
“Definitely, cousin.” Gu Nianzhi smiled sweetly at Xie Qingying. Turning around, she nodded politely to Xie Dezhao as well. “Thank you, uncle.”
After Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying had left, Yin s.h.i.+xiong went over happily to knock on her table. “You’ve become a big shot, Nianzhi! You were sitting even when Secretary Cao talked to you!”
Gu Nianzhi merely smiled bitterly. She was embarra.s.sed to tell Yin s.h.i.+xiong that her legs were so weak that she couldn’t even stand anymore…
Ma Qiqi smiled and pushed Yin s.h.i.+xiong away. “What are you talking about? Our Nianzhi is very capable! She was treating them like friends by staying seated. What do you know?”
Gu Nianzhi laughed and chased them away. “Get lost! Go on ahead of me. I’ll be along once I’ve finished packing up my stuff.”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong was too eager to report back to Huo Shaoheng. Knowing that Gu Nianzhi had come to the hearing with He Zhichu, he said, “All right then, we’ll go. Give Mr. Huo a call when you get back.”
The lawsuit was over. Huo Shaoheng did not need to keep his distance anymore.
“Okay, sure! I’ll call when I’m free…” Gu Nianzhi said.
After Yin s.h.i.+xiong and Ma Qiqi had left, the lower-ranking a.s.sistant from Senior Speaker Long’s office couldn’t hold himself back and went over to praise Gu Nianzhi. “You’re very capable! Keep up the hard work!” With that, he left.
Only He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi were left in the empty court room.
He Zhichu only walked slowly over at this moment. He knelt down with one knee and placed his hand on her knees and began to ma.s.sage them.
It was like he knew that Gu Nianzhi could not stand up.
Gu Nianzhi looked at He Zhichu in shock: “Professor He…?”
“Your legs have gone so weak that you can’t stand anymore, correct?” He Zhichu asked casually.
Gu Nianzhi nodded with enthusiasm. “How did you know?!”
“…I’ve had that happen to me before.” He Zhichu’s voice sounded far away, like he was reminiscing. His mind went back to that time. When he had snapped back to his senses back then, he fell so hard that he ended up in a wheelchair for half a year.
Of course, what Gu Nianzhi was experiencing now was not as serious as what he did, but the situations were similar. Gu Nianzhi began telling He Zhichu about the case as he ma.s.saged her knees and ankles.
“Professor He, Gu Yanran was able to do so much and over such a long period of time. There had to have been a team behind her in order to put all that into action.”
“Of course.” He Zhichu was casual in his a.n.a.lysis. “Think—where would she most-likely transfer the Gu family fortune over all those years?”
The likeliest suspect was whoever benefited the most. This was a simple case of cause and effect, and there was one organization that had already been suspected in many crimes.
“Do you mean Angel in the World, that j.a.panese charity?”
“Who else?”
Gu Nianzhi had it all figured out. “Professor He, I want to get your law firm in America to represent me in a suit against Angel in the World for my fifteen billion dollar inheritance.”
He Zhichu laughed as he caressed Gu Nianzhi’s head. “You are clever. Did I teach you this as well?”
“It’s common sense.” Gu Nianzhi batted her eyelashes. “The entire world knows the Americans are stronger than the j.a.panese, so that’s who I should turn to in order to get my money back.”
Gu Nianzhi knew that if she fought this on her own, there was too high a chance of the j.a.panese courts being biased against her because of her nationality. If she wanted a j.a.panese organization to cough up an amount that large, she’d need American a.s.sistance.
He Zhichu nodded with a smile. “Sure. I’ll make the call as soon as I get back. I’ll say we’ve just been handed a huge business opportunity.”
With fifteen billion dollars at stake, how could it be anything else?
This was working exactly how Gu Nianzhi planned—she’d wanted an American law firm to be the ones who returned the money stolen from her by a ‘j.a.panese charity organization.’
As for recovering the money that was ‘donated’ to Prime Minister Tan, Gu Nianzhi had planned to get He Zhichu to just send them a letter. She didn’t believe at this juncture that the Tans would dare go to court against her…
…
After He Zhichu had ma.s.saged Gu Nianzhi’s knees for a good while, she was finally able to stand while leaning against the table. However, walking still proved tough. He Zhichu supported her by holding onto her arm as he helped her out.
Once they left the courtroom, Gu Nianzhi saw a military car with a red flag. It was not the one that Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying had taken in the morning. This one had a license plate that looked foreign to her.
She began to think it was Huo Shaoheng. Until the door opened and Zhao Liangze stepped out of the car. He waved at her and said, “Nianzhi, I’ve been sent to retrieve you.” With that, he winked at her to hint that Huo Shaoheng was in the car.