"Now that the other party has been detained, the next step is for the court to schedule the trial. As the plaintiff, remember to arrive on time..."
Afterward, Qin Mu, from the perspective of someone who had been through it before, explained the details of the trial process to Zhang Tao.
This time at the trial, he was neither the party involved nor the plaintiff. Therefore, he would sit in the gallery and would not participate in the litigation. However, he had already conveyed everything necessary to Wang Dachui. The evidence in this case was conclusive; losing was not a possibility. The only debatable point was how many years the opposing partyâs lawyer could shave off their sentence.
ăThe next day.ă
ăJincheng Detention Center. In a certain holding cell.ă
"I heard youâre in need of a lawyer. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Wei, and I specialize in criminal litigation, especially in sentence reduction," Zhang Wei, dressed in a suit, stood before Jia Zuoying and his wife, pitching himself.
During this time, he had been keeping a close watch on new criminal cases in Jin City, as well as those related to Qin Mu.
It was just that lately, the frequency of Qin Muâs âactivitiesâ had significantly decreased. It seemed he was living quite comfortably. Criminal cases in Jin City were few and far between, so he hadnât found a suitable âclientâ yet.
But just yesterday, he had learned from an acquaintance in the court that a major case was likely to go to trial soon. Therefore, he had taken the initiative to approach them.
Although this case had no relation to Qin Mu, it was still a criminal case and fell within his area of expertise.
However, after he introduced himself, the couple showed none of the fear typical of criminal defendants, not even a hint of panic.
"A lawyer? Do you think we need a lawyer?" Wang Fenlan sneered disdainfully.
Zhang Wei was taken aback.
He couldnât understand where Wang Fenlanâs inexplicable confidence came from.
"Your case involves four charges, all very serious," he couldnât help but remind them. "Itâs best to hire a lawyer to help reduce your sentence."
And these werenât ordinary charges; several carried potential sentences of over ten years each.
"So youâre charging attorneyâs fees?" Jia Zuoying, who was handcuffed, interjected coolly.
Zhang Weiâs lips twitched. "Of course," he answered seriously.
Thatâs how he made his living. He wasnât running a charity.
But their next words left him utterly dumbfounded.
"Then we donât want one. Itâs just a lawsuit. If we lose, we lose; weâve lost before."
"Exactly. If they hadnât forcibly taken us away this time, we wouldnât have even wanted to attend the lawsuit."
"All I want now is to get this lawsuit over with as soon as possible and go home..."
Their words were filled with contempt for the legal process, giving them the air of outlaws who considered themselves above the law.
If he hadnât learned some basic details about them from the case source, he might have assumed they had some extraordinary backing. Otherwise, how could ordinary people be so composed when facing a lawsuit, especially a criminal case? Anyone else would have wet their pants from fear.
"I should probably remind you both that the consequences of losing this lawsuit are very serious," he said gravely, swallowing hard.
Wang Fenlan scoffed. "Of course, we know. Isnât it just about paying money or returning the house? Iâve seen the judgment before. We donât have a penny to give!"
"The house is half ours. They canât have it unless they give us money for our half!"
She spoke with clear, albeit flawed, logic, completely disregarding the courtâs judgment. Two years ago, she had gone through a similar ordeal. But hadnât she emerged unscathed? Although she had been forcibly taken away this time, she was confident that once she got out...
That house will still be ours! She was absolutely sure of it!
"Do you... not understand the difference between civil and criminal litigation?" Zhang Wei asked, several dark lines appearing on his forehead. For the sake of his potential clients, he patiently explained, "The previous judgments you ignored were civil judgments. This time, however, youâre facing criminal charges. They are not the same thing. If you lose, it wonât just be a matter of whether you pay money. It will be a question of where youâll be living for the next twenty years..."
Looking at the couple before him, he tactfully implied they could be facing twenty years in prison.
When he finished speaking, he saw their expressions noticeably change.
"So now you desperately need a reliable lawyer to help reduce your sentence."
Seeing they didnât respond, Zhang Wei pressed on while the iron was hot. "Your case is one of the most serious Iâve ever seen. Thereâs significant potential for sentence reduction. Other cases might only get a year or two shaved off, but yours could potentially be reduced by five years! Are you sure you donât want to try and save yourselves?"
In the holding cell, Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan exchanged a look.
Then they scoffed, "You unscrupulous lawyers! All you know is how to scare people!"
"You canât fool us. We havenât killed anyone or committed arson. Weâre clearly innocent! How could we possibly get such a long sentence?"
"Youâre just making things up! Last time, we didnât even show up for court, and they couldnât do anything to us, could they?"
"Get lost! Weâre not paying you any lawyerâs fees!"
The couple stared at Zhang Wei with cold eyes, not believing a single word he said. They were already convinced Zhang Wei was just trying to con them out of their money.
Listening to them, Zhang Wei nearly exploded with frustration.
In just half an hour, he had nearly lost his composure several times.