Qin Yaoguang was not in a hurry to answer. Her voluptuous lips curved like a diamond. She slowly said, “Why did General He Chengjian want to capture Gu Xiangwen to pay for his wife’s death? Is that important?”
“Of course it’s important.” Gu Nianzhi was a little nervous. Her palms were sweating, and she quietly put them behind her back. “Because this will prove whether your motives are reasonable.”
Qin Yaoguang rolled her eyes and snorted. “You still need to prove whether or not it’s reasonable? You can understand it with your knees.”
“First of all, after the death of General He Chengjian’s wife, Gu Xiangwen was wanted because he was the last person to see her. And after Gu Xiangwen was wanted, he chose to hide instead of denying guilt. Wasn’t he running away because he was guilty?”
Qin Yaoguang’s words were firm and decisive.
Her fiery gaze was on He Chengjian.
He Chengjian’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. His fingers were tightly clenched into fists. He used all the self-control in his body, but he could not suppress the grief and regret in his heart.
He Zhichu sighed softly, reached out his hand, and gently held He Chengjian’s hand.
He Chengjian only calmed down when he felt his son’s comfort and support.
His arrogant face cold and fierce, he raised his head.
..
Gu Nianzhi’s heart trembled.
Many clues that she had vaguely felt were suspicious before were now clear.
Although she was sure that this was not Qin Yaoguang’s real reason, it had opened a new trail, allowing her to unravel something that she had never been able to unravel before.
She could not help but look at He Zhichu and He Chengjian, who were sitting silently in the audience seats.
No wonder He Zhichu and He Chengjian were so furious whenever Gu Xiangwen was mentioned…
No wonder they had such a deep prejudice against him.
No wonder Gu Xiangwen had been hiding his identity and even used the fire to burn himself to make himself look ordinary through plastic surgery. He even gave himself the nickname “Lu Jin.”.
Was it because the name Gu Xiangwen was too burdensome?
At that moment, Gu Nianzhi really wanted to go back to Lu Jin and tell him sincerely that no matter what the truth was, she would bear it with him.
To reach the peak, one must endure the pain.
To wear the crown, one must bear the weight.
Running away would not solve any problems.
Gu Nianzhi had thought about it so much, but it had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Her mind raced, and she quickly refuted Qin Yaoguang, “Wrong! Even if Gu Xiangwen was the last person to see General He Chengjian’s wife, Qin Suwen, it still doesn’t prove that he had a direct connection to her death. If I remember correctly, General He Chengjian’s wife wasn’t murdered, so why was there a warrant for Gu Xiangwen’s arrest? Is this warrant legal?”
Gu Nianzhi turned around and looked directly at General He Chengjian and Major General He Zhichu, who were in the gallery.
She was about to question them when Wen Shouyi stood up again. She said weakly, “Objection. The warrant for Gu Xiangwen’s arrest and the death of General He Chengjian’s wife, Qin Suwen, have nothing to do with this case. Please, counsel, don’t ramble on and get off topic.”
The presiding judge quickly rapped his gavel on it and said, “Objection sustained. Gu Xiangwen’s arrest warrant and Qin Suwen’s death are separate cases and have nothing to do with this case. — Plaintiff’s lawyer, do you have anything else to say?”
Gu Nianzhi retracted her gaze and shot a quick glance at Qin Yaoguang. She saw that she still had a stiff and numb expression on her face.
Who was she trying to impress by putting on an expression that said, “nothing is more wretched than apathy”?
Gu Nianzhi spat at her in her heart.
“Your honor, I think there’s still room for discussion about the motive of the defendant, Qin Yaoguang,” Gu Nianzhi said confidently, “She said before that she kidnapped me to lure Gu Xiangwen out, but in fact, I remember that she ordered someone to bring me to the airport with the intention of smuggling me out of the country. Excuse me, if she only wanted to lure Gu Xiangwen out, is it necessary to smuggle me out of the country?”
“Gu Xiangwen was in the country at the time, not abroad.”
Wen Shouyi’s eyes flashed and she immediately asked, “Lawyer Gu, How did you know that Gu Xiangwen was in the country and not abroad? Did he tell you in your dreams?”
How could Gu Nianzhi let her get information out of her?
She curled her lips in disdain, and she said mockingly, “Lawyer Wen, aren’t you too forgetful? Even if you don’t believe me, your client, Qin Yaoguang, said that she lured Gu Xiangwen out, that Gu Xiangwen intercepted her at the airport and took me away. Later, he burned himself to death in front of everyone.”
“The place where he burned himself was at the intersection of a downtown area in C City.”
“Doesn’t that prove that he was in the country at the time?”
Wen Shouyi was rendered speechless by Gu Nianzhi.
She opened her mouth and racked her brains for a moment before saying, “My client has already confessed. According to our country’s legal policy, leniency will be granted if there is a confession. I request that the court…”
“I object.” Gu Nianzhi immediately interrupted Wen Shouyi. She calmly said, “Qin Yaoguang only confessed to kidnapping, but her motive is still a mystery. I have reason to believe that she is trying to confess to a lesser crime to cover up a bigger conspiracy. I beg the court not to close the case easily. Give me some time, I will find more evidence!”
“I did it for Big Brother He!” Qin Yaoguang stood up with her hands on the table. Her face was flushed red, and her plump lips were trembling as she said hoarsely, “I’ve only loved one person in my life… But he didn’t love me… But I can still live and die for him.”
Wen Shouyi quickly patted her back to comfort her, then pleaded with the court, “Your Honor, I’m sorry that my client is a little emotional.”
Then she quickly began her closing statement, “Your Honor, all the people in the court, my client, Ms. Qin Yaoguang, has had a smooth life. She has experienced many ups and downs in her relationship, but she didn’t give up. Instead, she turned her feelings into love and devoted herself to scientific research and medicine
“In the past 30 years of research, Ms. Qin Yaoguang has made a total of 43 important breakthroughs. She came up with the concept of ‘gene editing’ and made research findings worthy of a Nobel Prize.”
“I believe that she set up the kidnapping of her biological daughter, Gu Nianzhi, eight years ago, just for a relationship that she couldn’t get.”
“There’s no doubt that my client, Ms. Qin Yaoguang, also has shortcomings and has done something wrong.”
“This is because she has always been a person who lacked love. Nearly 40 years of bitter love have put heavy pressure on her. Everything she has done was for love.”
“I hope the court will consider all factors and carefully determine the sentence. — Thank you, Judge. Thank you to all the people present.”
Wen Shouyi finished speaking and helped Qin Yaoguang, who had calmed down, sit down.
Gu Nianzhi tried her best to control her anger. Her pretty face was as radiant as the red clouds in the sky.
Her eyes sparkled as she enunciated each word, “So what if she lacked love? Has she gone insane from lack of love? She can commit a crime just because she lacks love and think she can get away with it?”
“I also need money, but I didn’t rob a bank!”
“So, what she did was wrong. Don’t make any excuses for her. She will be punished by the law if she commits a crime.”
“I don’t want to know what your client went through. I don’t want to hear about it either. I only hope that she will receive the punishment she deserves.”
Gu Nianzhi turned to look at the presiding judge and asked again, “So I request that the presiding judge consider the complexity and seriousness of this case carefully and postpone the retrial.”
He Zhichu stood up at that moment and nodded at the judges’ bench in a handsome manner. He said, “As an important witness in this case and the person who reported the case back then, I agree with Lawyer Gu’s request. Because of the defendant’s new motive for kidnapping in this case is related to the murder case of my mother who died suddenly back then, it has already been pushed to the stage of a serious criminal case.”
“Whether it’s the conviction, the sentence, or the punishment, it is far from the stage of closing the case.”
The moment He Zhichu spoke, the nature of the case completely changed.
The presiding judge nodded. “We will adjourn for fifteen minutes to discuss this.”
With that, the presiding judge and the two judges left the courtroom again, then went to the conference room next door to discuss the progress of the case.
They also had some doubts about Qin Yaoguang’s motive.
Just as Gu Nianzhi had said, if it was just to draw Gu Xiangwen out, they should have informed the He family immediately after Gu Xiangwen had taken Gu Nianzhi away, but they did not.
It could be said that this motive had been hidden for eight years. When it was revealed that the note was not left by Gu Xiangwen to the He family eight years ago, but was written by Gu Xiangwen to Qin Yaoguang 14 years ago, the entire case was overturned.
Qin Yaoguang’s new motive under such circumstances was very touching, but it was illogical.
In a court case, direct evidence, indirect evidence, and logical connections were needed to corroborate each other in order to form a complete chain of evidence.
This chain of evidence had once directly pointed to Gu Xiangwen.
However, after Gu Nianzhi pointed out that the direct evidence pointing to the note was wrong, the entire chain of evidence was broken and reorganized.
“I agree with the plaintiff’s lawyer and the witness, He Zhichu,” one of the judges said seriously. “Moreover, this case involves the truth BEHIND Qin Suwen’s death. I think we can postpone the retrial.”
The other judge also agreed, but he also had concerns. “But I’m afraid the Qin family won’t let this go. The defendant, Qin Yaoguang, has a very high social status, and it involves her personal relationship with General He Chengjian…”
The presiding judge pondered for a long time and made a decision. “Then we’ll postpone the trial and wait for the plaintiff to present more evidence. If the Qin family and General He Chengjian blame us, I’ll bear the responsibility.”
The three of them made up their minds and quickly returned to the trial court.
The presiding judge knocked on the gavel and announced, “Because the new motive proposed by the defendant is not consistent with the direct evidence and indirect evidence, the court will adjourn temporarily and wait for the plaintiff to present more evidence.”
At the same time, he announced, “The defendant, Qin Yaoguang, has been found guilty of kidnapping. She will be temporarily detained in an independent cell in the military prison and will be retried.”
Qin Yaoguang looked up abruptly and looked at the presiding judge in disbelief. She then turned her head to look at He Chengjian.
The presiding judge had already walked out of the courtroom and was shaking Gu Nianzhi’s hand affectionately with a smile on his face.
As for He Chengjian, He Chengjian’s face was already dark. He did not even look at her as he strode out of the courtroom surrounded by the crowd.
The last glimmer of hope in her eyes disappearing bit by bit, Qin Yaoguang slumped into her seat.
A few military police officers walked over and took her to an independent cell in the military prison.
Wen Shouyi deliberately followed her. After confirming that she had settled down there, she left the heavily guarded military prison.
When she came out of the military prison, she saw that the sky was already filled with sunset. The evening of the last day of the calendar year had quietly arrived just like that.
