Excuse me?
The evidence was irrefutable. She still dared to plead not guilty?
She really dared to say so.
If it wasn’t for the fact that this was her first time in court and she had to pay attention to her image and etiquette, Gu Nianzhi really wanted to roll her eyes in public.
The judge and the jury in the courtroom also heard Jin Wanyi’s plea.
They frowned as they looked at the file in their hands, gavelled and said, “Defense lawyer, are you sure you want to plead not guilty?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Jin Wanyi replied in a steady voice. She did not even look at Gu Nianzhi.
The judge continued to ask, “So you’re denying all of the plaintiff’s charges?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Jin Wanyi nodded again and said in detail, “Your Honor, my client did not violently kidnap the plaintiff eight years ago, so I’m pleading not guilty on their behalf.”
The judge put down the file and asked in a low voice, “Then are you saying that the He family reported a false case back then? Or is the plaintiff falsely accusing your client?”
Jin Wanyi was stunned.
Blinking her almond-shaped eyes, Jin Wanyi carefully organized her words, “Your Honor, just because I plead for my client’s innocence doesn’t mean that the He family reported a false case eight years ago.”
“… But you said you want to defend her innocence.” The judge was also puzzled and frowned even more. “Defense lawyer, do you understand what you’re saying?”
“Your Honor, you’re very sharp. This is where I want to seek justice for my client.” Jin Wanyi slightly nodded in the direction of the trial bench and bowed with a graceful and thoughtful manner.
“Eight years ago, the He family did not file a false report. At that time, the plaintiff did leave the He family without the He family knowing. Therefore, the He family thought that she ‘disappeared’
“However, her departure was not caused by my client’s ‘violent’ kidnapping.”
Jin Wanyi emphasized the word ‘violent’.
It was because the use of violence against minors, the legal consequences of physical and mental injury were very serious.
“Please state your opinion, counsel.” The judge made the final decision, sat up straight and began today’s trial with great interest.
Jin Wanyi walked out from behind the dock and said to the crowd in the courtroom, “This case is actually very simple. I don’t understand why the unharmed plaintiff would sue my client again and say that they used ‘violent’ method.”
“Objection.” Gu Nianzhi raised her hand calmly. “The defense lawyer used false and imaginary words to describe the plaintiff’s situation, which is suspected to be misleading.”
“Sustained.” The judge looked at Jin Wanyi with displeasure. “Defense lawyer, please use the facts to speak. Don’t make any value judgments without any evidence.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Jin Wanyi looked like she was being kind, but this was actually all a lawyer’s trick.
How could she not emphasize her value judgment in court so as to impress people?
Jin Wanyi returned to the back of the dock and pulled out the chain of evidence for the case from her laptop.
She connected the laptop to the big screen in the court room and put the evidence directly on the big screen.
“Everyone, please take a look. The reason why I want to plead my client’s innocence is because they are truly innocent in this case. Not only are they innocent, but they are also good citizens who are willing to help others.”
“We can’t let good people be disappointed, and we can’t let false accusations become the norm. This will have a huge impact on society’s ethos.” Jin Wanyi glanced in Gu Nianzhi’s direction and spoke sternly, as if she was the one who had “caused false accusations to become the norm”. She was the main culprit that had a negative impact on society’s ethos.
Gu Nianzhi looked at her expressionlessly, as if she was saying, “I’ll quietly watch you act like a b*tch.”
Jin Wanyi laughed coldly in her heart. I’ll see how long you can stay calm.
She pointed at the first piece of evidence that appeared on the big screen with a laser pointer and said passionately, “Everyone, look! This is the most important piece of evidence in this case, and also the key to exonerating my client’s wrongs.”
The big screen in the courtroom displayed the note signed by Gu Xiangwen. “You don’t have to look anymore. I have taken my daughter away!”
The handwriting was elegant. It was clear that it was fine writing.
Lu Jin lowered his head silently and looked away from the big screen guiltily.
Lu Yuan snorted and glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.
This was all the stupid thing he had done all those years ago!
“Everyone,” Jin Wanyi’s voice trembled slightly, and her eyelashes fluttered. She seemed to be in a state of extreme excitement. She turned and stared at Gu Nianzhi like a cat staring at a mouse, “Lawyer Gu, you’re familiar with the name ‘Gu Xiangwen’, aren’t you? Can you tell everyone who Gu Xiangwen is and who you are?”
Gu Nianzhi shifted her gaze to Jin Wanyi’s face and looked at her expressionlessly for a while. It was only when she felt a chill run down her spine that she slowly smiled, she said, “Why don’t you tell me, Lawyer Jin, who is Gu Xiangwen is and who am I? Wouldn’t that be better?”
Jin Wanyi was stunned. “You refuse to answer my question?”
“Does this question have anything to do with this case?” Gu Nianzhi said slowly. “I refuse to answer questions that have nothing to do with this case.”
Jin Wanyi laughed heartily and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Gu Nianzhi try to shirk her responsibility.
That was all to it. When it came to the time for court debate, Gu Nianzhi’s eloquence could not be taken seriously.
She actually refused to answer her questions?!
A trace of contempt flashed across Jin Wanyi’s eyes. She calmly turned her eyes to look at the note displayed on the big screen and answered her own questions, “Everyone, the name Gu Xiangwen is very familiar in our country.”
“He was once the most famous scientist in our country. He was also a two-time Nobel laureate. He also won Nobel prizes in different fields. This is unprecedented in the history of science in the world.”
“But…” Jin wanyi changed the subject, and her tone became sharp. “He is also a wanted criminal in a human-life lawsuit. He went from being a scientist who looked down on people from above to running around like a rat in a ditch with a human-life lawsuit on his back…”
“Objection!” Gu Nianzhi couldn’t control herself anymore. She stood up from the plaintiff’s seat and said loudly, “Objection to the defense lawyer using insulting words to describe people who have nothing to do with this case!”
The judge in the courtroom hadn’t had time to judge whether her objection was valid or not, Jin Wanyi had already spoken first, “Lawyer Gu, you’ve repeatedly evaded the issue and refused to talk about this Gu Xiangwen. Is it because he’s your father?! Your so-called violent kidnapping eight years ago was actually you being taken away by your biological father!”
She walked out from the defendant’s stand and walked closer to Gu Nianzhi. “Lawyer Gu, admit it! You’re falsely accusing my client!”
“Your father was obviously the one who missed his daughter, but he had a wanted notice on him and didn’t dare show himself in front of the He family. He asked my client to help him take you away to see him. How was this a violent kidnapping? They did it for the sake of helping your family to reunite!”
Jin Wanyi’s face was red and her eyes seemed to burn with fire. She looked at Gu Nianzhi with sparkling eyes. “Do you want to continue listening?”
She turned around and used the remote control to play her chain of evidence.
“This note was written by Gu Xiangwen himself. It has been authenticated by a famous forensic handwriting expert in our country. It has full legal effect.” As she spoke, she walked back to her seat and handed over the original copy of the note, “This is the original copy of the handwriting I pulled from the police’s cold case file.”
Due to cold case being reiterated, all of the evidence had to be submitted to the court.
The judge and the jury on both sides examined the piece of paper carefully.
Jin Wanyi picked up the laser pen, she pointed at the chain of evidence on the big screen and continued, “Eight years ago, the He family held a birthday party for the plaintiff, Gu Nianzhi. Gu Xiangwen took this opportunity to share about his feelings for his daughter to my client. He begged them to bring her out to meet him.”
“My client is a good person. He’s been in the He family for so many years, and he has never had any arguments or grudges with anyone.”
“Gu Xiangwen knew that it’s useless to look for help from others. It’s only useful to look for them.”
“He cried and complained many times. My client finally relented and agreed to bring her out to meet him, but he had to send her back as soon as possible.”
“So on the day of her birthday, after they explained the situation to the plaintiff, Gu Nianzhi, the twelve-year-old plaintiff agreed on the spot and took the initiative to leave with their help.”
Jin Wanyi finished speaking confidently and looked triumphantly at Gu Nianzhi. “How was it? Gu Nianzhi, you agreed to leave on your own to see your father. How did it become a violent kidnapping?!”
“You still refuse to admit that you’re falsely accusing my client?!”
“Oh, yes, I heard that you lost your memory. You completely lost your memories before you were 12 years old, so you can’t remember how you left the He Family?”
Gu Nianzhi looked at Jin Wanyi calmly. She thought to herself, if she hadn’t known her father and learned about the twists and turns behind the scenes, she would have believed her lies.
The story was made up, with a cause and effect, actions and logic, and physical evidence to support it. It was a completely a different thing.
She raised her eyelids slightly and saw that most of the people in the courtroom seemed to have convinced.
The juror on the left side of the courtroom kept nodding his head…
Gu Nianzhi looked down calmly to hide the sarcasm in her eyes.
