Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Gu Nianzhi needs to prove her identity as an adopted daughter?” Gu Yanran’s mind quickly worked it out. Suddenly, her heart jumped, and she bit her lip as she contemplated for a while before probing, “Does that mean if she can’t provide legal documents to prove her identity as an adopted daughter, then she is not eligible to dispute the family estate with me?!”
“Well, of course. Do you have any questions?” Jin Wanyi’s eyes sparkled. “Could it be that Gu Nianzhi doesn’t have any official legal adoption documents to begin with?!”
Gu Yanran concealed the excitement in her heart and replied dryly, “That I’m not too sure about. When my parents adopted Gu Nianzhi, I wasn’t that old, so I’m not sure about the legal aspects. I’d have to find the lawyer who worked with my father all those years ago and see if he knows anything in that regard. However, this is an extremely important matter, and I don’t want Gu Nianzhi to be ashamed for the rest of her life. Can Lawyer Jin request that the court close the trial to the public? Otherwise, the media will be hounding us for reports all day, regardless if it’s me or her. It will be very annoying.”
“That’s right!” Jin Wanyi clapped her hands together. The sound was deafening to the heavens and earth. “I was just saying! How could there be such a thing?! How dare an ineligible, fake adopted daughter dispute an estate with the legitimate daughter?! She really doesn’t know her own limits! For humans, the worst thing is to be greedy and covet things that don’t belong to them! Careful to not get struck by lightning from the heavens as punishment!”
Gu Yanran’s smile stiffened for a second, but she quickly composed herself, and there was a trace of a demure smile on her lips. “Lawyer Jin really knows how to make a joke. Actually, this is an understandable part of human nature. I can see where she’s coming from. But regardless if there are legal documents or not, she is my sister after all, and someone that my father and mother treasured all those years ago. I don’t mind giving her a few million US dollars. I can just pretend it’s a gift to her to make her life easier from now on.”
Jin Wanyi heard what Gu Yanran was implying—that she seemed to want to settle with Gu Nianzhi out of court. She couldn’t help patting Gu Yanran’s shoulder emotionally. “Yanran, I didn’t think that you were actually so kind-hearted. You care about this fake sister to this extent, even though she is maliciously disputing the estate with you and doesn’t care about your feelings at all. Fine, you’re my friend for sure now!”
Gu Yanran smiled politely with a cock of her head. “It’s my honor to earn the respect of Lawyer Jin.” As she spoke, she stood up to go to the liquor cabinet and take out a bottle of Bordeaux wine from France. She poured some into crystal glasses and toasted Jin Wanyi. “Cheers, I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you, too.” Jin Wanyi lifted her glass and finished it in one gulp. Then she took out a lawyer’s contract and read every paragraph to Gu Yanran before asking her to sign it.
After signing the full authority retainer contract, Gu Yanran wired another 100,000 RMB to Jin Wanyi’s law firm as a deposit and to use as the initial funding for the lawsuit.
…
Intermittent sounds of doors opening and closing emanated from the creamy white Bluetooth speakers. Afterwards, there was only silence.
Gu Nianzhi sat alone on the couch and began to muse.
After Huo Shaoheng finished his cigarette, he walked back into the apartment to see that the Bluetooth speakers had already gone silent. He sat down to press the stop button and asked, “They finished talking?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. Her expression was much more normal now as she smiled happily. “I didn’t expect Jin Wanyi to be quite so formidable this time around. She’s going to knock me down from the very beginning.”
In the face of Jin Wanyi’s increasing fighting power, Gu Nianzhi didn’t feel frustrated but was actually excited and giddy. As soon as she focused her energy on her profession, her entire being sparkled with dazzling brilliance.
Huo Shaoheng supported himself on the couch’s armrest and propped a hand under his chin.
He leaned on the couch to watch her quietly and buried all his emotions in a bit of surprise that flashed across his eyes. “What did she say?”
“First she’ll ask me to prove that I’m an adopted daughter and then fight the lawsuit.” Gu Nianzhi beamed. “This is a very good entry point. If I were the one helping Gu Yanran fight this lawsuit, I would also start from this aspect.”
Huo Shaoheng stiffened. He straightened his back in the seat. “Yeah, Jin Wanyi is pretty good this time. This is getting interesting. So what are you going to do? There’s no way you can present that sort of thing.”
They all firmly believed that Gu Nianzhi wasn’t adopted, so how could a real daughter present evidence that she was adopted?
Wasn’t this leading her right into a trap?
But upon careful thought, this was truly a good way to defeat enemy soldiers without a battle.
Gu Nianzhi propped her chin up with both hands and leaned forward on the couch. She stared straight at the Bluetooth speakers with the trace of a subtle smile on her face. She nodded slowly. “I’ll naturally consider it…”
Huo Shaoheng patted her head with a smile, yet still reminded her, “We still don’t have a way to prove that Gu Xiangwen is a fake right now, so if they insist that you aren’t related to Gu Xiangwen at all…”
Gu Nianzhi raised her brow with disapproval. “At least I have identification documents from the Barbados government to prove that I am Gu Xiangwen’s daughter. At the same time, Gu Yanran also is. If they are only going to get stuck on the adoption documents, then I will make Jin Wanyi and Gu Yanran suffer a humiliating defeat.”
“It’s good that you are prepared.” Huo Shaoheng was very reassured about Gu Nianzhi’s professional abilities. “You don’t have to fret, even in the case they still have other evidence. I’ve already contacted Xie Dezhao. Once he’s here, he can at least prove that you are related to his daughter, Xie Qingying. His deceased wife, Gu Tian, was allegedly Gu Xiangwen’s biological sister.”
“Ok, I’ll be careful.” Gu Nianzhi nodded hard, her eyes glittering and cheeks rosy.
Huo Shaoheng’s fingers trembled, but he still controlled his own desire to touch her. He stood up to ask, “It’s already late. Do you want to have dinner here or go back to campus to eat?”
Gu Nianzhi also stood up and pursed her lips. “It’s more convenient to go back to campus.”
This time, Huo Shaoheng didn’t force her but took out his car keys. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you.” Gu Nianzhi sighed in relief as she followed him out of the apartment and headed back to her campus.
…
Because the Imperial Capital High Court gave Huo Shaoheng great respect, and also because the case itself involved a huge monetary sum and interests, the court scheduled a particularly early start date for trial.
The first day of the trial would be in one week on the following Wednesday.
After Jin Wanyi’s discussion with Gu Yanran, she also requested that the court close the trial to the public on the grounds of protecting her client’s privacy.
“Nianzhi, do you accept this?” Huo Shaoheng especially called Gu Nianzhi and mentioned Jin Wanyi and Gu Yanran’s request for a closed tiral.
“I don’t really care.” Gu Nianzhi also wore a Bluetooth headset as she typed on her computer and spoke with Huo Shaoheng. “Huo Shao, are you specifically calling because of this? Do you want a closed or open trial?”
“Smart girl.” Huo Shaoheng complimented her with a smile, then said, “After we had our discussion, we also think that a closed trial would be better.”
Since the contested estate belonged to Gu Xiangwen, then everything related to Gu Xiangwen would also be exposed—especially his patents and inventions.
If the trial wasn’t closed, then they would not be the only ones to learn about these things, but the enemies who lurked in the darkness would as well. Also, Gu Xiangwen had lived in seclusion since his sister Gu Tian died many years ago, so it was enough to show that when it came to his situation, it was best to keep things confidential.
Gu Nianzhi understood what Huo Shaoheng meant, so she nodded. “Ok, I’ll express to the court that I agree to a closed trial.”
Huo Shaoheng grunted before setting down the phone and beginning to conduct background checks on the people from the courthouse who would be participating in the trial. Their enemies not only existed externally, but internally as well.
…
The Wednesday one week after that was the first day of the trial for the estate dispute between Gu Nianzhi and Gu Yanran.
Because the request for a closed trial was made very early on, the case was basically confidential to everyone except for relevant personnel.
Some senior media executives knew about it, but because the Special Operations Forces and Secret Service had already greeted them politely regarding the matter, they would not take the risk in order to create big headlines.
On this day, Gu Nianzhi wore a proper black professional suit to the courthouse.
She came with He Zhichu, who sat in the family section on the plaintiff’s side.
Huo Shaoheng didn’t come, but he used a direct stream to watch the entire trial. It was filmed by special equipment used by personnel sent out to the courts by the Special Operations Forces.
Aside from Huo Shaoheng, there was also General Ji and Speaker Long, as well as the members of the Standing Committee of the Supreme Military Council inside the conference room of the Special Operations Forces building.
When the judge announced that court was in session, Gu Nianzhi calmly gave a simple description of her own requests: as the daughter of the Gu family, she had the right to obtain a portion of the Gu estate, unless there was a will to prove there was another estate distribution plan.
Jin Wanyi got excited listening to her. This time, she would wipe away all her previous humiliation and make sure Gu Nianzhi was defeated at her hands!
Jin Wanyi thought about this excitedly, so her voice trembled slightly when she stood up to state her own requests. “Miss Gu Nianzhi’s request is both bold and shameless. May I ask how an adopted daughter is eligible to dispute the family estate with the Gu family’s biological daughter? Also, can you present legal proof to prove your identity as the Gu family’s adopted daughter?
“Your Honor, if Miss Gu Nianzhi is unable to present proof that she is the Gu family’s adopted daughter, then I request that the court declare this case invalid since she doesn’t have any eligibility to make any requests for the Gu estate in the first place!”
Jin Wanyi’s words echoed throughout the courtroom, and all the people on Gu Yanran’s side smiled suggestively. Everyone looked at Gu Nianzhi with pity, like she was a little clown who didn’t understand her own limitations.
The military elite watching the trial inside the Special Operations Forces conference room were beginning to have dark expressions on their faces.
If Gu Nianzhi lost this lawsuit, then Gu Yanran would be sure to ask to take Gu Xiangwen away. They would no longer have a reason to make Gu Xiangwen stay, and the plan that had been in the works for so long would see all previous efforts wasted.
General Ji gave Huo Shaoheng a worried glance. However, Huo Shaoheng continued to calmly look at the big screen and appeared like he was very confident in Gu Nianzhi. General Ji felt a bit more reassured and resumed watching the trial.
On the big screen, Gu Nianzhi stood up. Her fair face was as luminous as jade as she smiled and looked towards Jin Wanyi. “Lawyer Jin, my estate dispute complaint never indicated that I am disputing the estate as an adopted daughter. May I ask your reason for saying that I am the adopted daughter of the Gu family?”
Jin Wanyi was speechless. Then she laughed and looked around at everyone inside the courtroom. “Isn’t that obvious? Everyone already knows this. Gu Nianzhi, why do you refuse to face reality?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled slyly and shook her head as she replied calmly, “That’s a shame, Lawyer Jin. We are discussing this problem in court, and everything we say or do must be according to the law. I am disputing the Gu estate. I am making this request for the Gu estate according to the identification document from the Barbados government which proves I am Gu Xiangwen’s daughter. But now Lawyer Jin is suggesting that I am an adopted daughter of the Gu family, and according to the principle of burden of proof, please prove that I’m adopted!”
