The eyes of everyone in the court were once again focused on Cai Shengnan.
Her expression was serious as she looked directly at Auntie Xing. No one could tell what she was thinking.
Auntie Xing said nervously in a low voice, “Lawyer Cai, what do you mean? When did I attempt to murder Ms. Song?”
She was still used to calling Song Jinning Ms. Song. Even though Song Jinning had already left the Huo family, she could not change her habit.
“Did you not?” Cai Shengnan tilted her head and looked at Auntie Xing with her hands behind her back. “Then why didn’t you take good care of Ms. Song? Why did you make her stay in rooms that got more cramped, refuse to talk to her, and force her to stay in attic alone all the time?”
These were the examples of “psychological abuse” that Luo Jialan had inflicted on Song Jinning according to the lawsuit filed by Gu Nianzhi.
Auntie Xing cried out in frustration, “How can you blame me for this?! I’m just a caretaker! A housekeeper! It was my employer who ordered me to do all of this!”
Gu Nianzhi immediately replied, “You mean Luo Jialan — no, Huo Jialan — asked you to do all of this?”
Cai Shengnan turned to look at her, “Lawyer Gu, I’m the one asking the questions now. Can you not interrupt me when I’m asking questions?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled, “Then can lawyer Cai not say ‘Objection’ when I’m asking questions?”
Cai Shengnan, “…”
“You can’t do that, can you?” Gu Nianzhi said in a serious tone. “Actually, we’re all trying to get to the bottom of this. I know that lawyer Cai is willing to defend Luo Jialan because you believe that she’s not the murderer, right?”
It was Cai Shengnan’s turn to be confused.
What was Gu Nianzhi doing?
Was she going to switch sides? Was she not going to defend Song Jinning?
Gu Nianzhi calmly continued, “So when I prove to lawyer Cai and the court that Luo Jialan really intended to murder Ms. Song Jinning, you won’t defend her anymore, right?”
“Of course not!” Cai Shengnan instinctively objected. “Luo Jialan is my client, no matter what she does …”
As soon as she said that, Cai Shengnan knew that she messed up.
She quickly glanced at the four military personnel in the gallery.
Sure enough, she saw them furrowing their brows and looking very dissatisfied with her.
In fact, her behavior was completely blameless in the eyes of the law.
As a lawyer, when Cai Shengnan chose to defend Luo Jialan, she had already decided to defend her to the end regardless of whether Luo Jialan was guilty or not. This was the professional ethics of this line of work.
As for whether Luo Jialan was guilty or not, it was not up to the lawyer to decide, but rather, the court.
However, because Gu Nianzhi brought this matter up, Cai Shengnan’s blind loyalty to her client did not seem so righteous anymore.
Actually, the most correct answer was that she believed that Luo Jialan was innocent, so she had chosen to defend her.
She could not say that she would defend Luo Jialan regardless of whether she was guilty or not.
“No matter what she does, lawyer Cai will defend her? So what Lawyer Cai really means is that even if Luo Jialan is the real murderer, you will defend her to the end, right?” Gu Nianzhi once again used her words to set a trap for her.
This was how Gu Nianzhi had set up a verbal trap for her.
Cai Shengnan composed herself and forcibly gathered her thoughts back from Gu Nianzhi’s interruption. He turned around and continued to ask Auntie Xing.
“Auntie Xing, just now you said that your employer ordered you to do it. May I ask who your employer is? Is this person in the courtroom?” Cai Shengnan turned his body to the side and no longer stood in front of Auntie Xing.
Auntie Xing’s gaze shifted to Luo Jialan.
Cai Shengnan followed her gaze, “So was it Luo Jialan, no, Miss Huo Jialan, who asked you to do this? Auntie Xing, before you answer yes or no, I have to remind you that you are testifying in court. If your testimony is not true, you could possibly be charged for perjury.”
“Objection. The defense lawyer is threatening the defense witness.” Gu Nianzhi raised her hand lazily, unexpectedly speaking up for Auntie Xing.
Auntie Xing looked at Gu Nianzhi in surprise and then at Luo Jialan, and carefully recalled the situation at that time.
After a while, she said, “This person is not in court.”
“Oh? Then who is that person? Is it a man? Or a woman?” Cai Shengnan’s smile was faintly discernible, and his attitude softened. The way he said it made it seem like he was trying to induce a particular answer out of Auntie Xing.
Gu Nianzhi furrowed her brows.
Could it be that Cai Shengnan’s goal was not to blame Auntie Xing for the murder, but to keep targeting Huo Guanchen?
To be honest, Gu Nianzhi did not believe that Huo Guanchen had any intention to kill Song Jinning.
Yes, Huo Guanchen was a terrible person. What he had done to his wife who was seriously ill was inhumane.
But that did not mean that he wanted Song Jinning’s life.
If Cai Shengnan still wanted Huo Guanchen to be the scapegoat, Gu Nianzhi would wait and see just what other concrete evidence Cai Shengnan could reveal.
Gu Nianzhi had already denied that Huo Guanchen was the murderer and refuted Cai Shengnan’s evidence.
If Cai Shengnan wanted to drag Huo Guanchen in again, he would have to have new evidence.
Gu Nianzhi looked at Cai Shengnan and Auntie Xing even more intently.
Auntie Xing unexpectedly said, “… it’s Miss Bai. It’s — it’s Bai Jinyi who has already been sentenced.”
“She asked you to do this?” Cai Shengnan was excited. “Tell me, what exactly did she ask you to do?”
Auntie Xing said honestly, “Miss Bai said that every day, Ms. Song will always forget what happened the day before, so she needs to be given more familiar things to be kept by her side to help her recover her memory.”
So was this the reason why her room was getting more crowded, and there were more things in her room?
“One more thing. Miss Bai also said that Ms. Song’s brain had been severely injured before, and she was afraid of light and noise. That’s why we normally didn’t dare talk to her.”
So was this the reason why they didn’t talk to her, and left her alone in the attic, inflicting isolation abuse on her?
Gu Nianzhi cursed silently as she listened, but she was also very surprised.
It seemed that the real target of Cai Shengnan’s scapegoat was Bai Jinyi?!
However, it cannot be denied that Cai Shengnan’s target was quite accurate.
Gu Nianzhi had mixed feelings as she silently looked in Cai Shengnan’s direction.
If what Auntie Xing had said was true, then Luo Jialan could really be acquitted.
Bai Jinyi had indeed been Song Jinning’s primary psychiatrist at the time. Before she had been convicted last year, Gu Nianzhi had mocked her for “practicing medicine without a license” and for being a fraudulent Mongolian doctor.
Therefore, it seemed like these were all arrangements made by Bai Jinyi. Luo Jialan, like Auntie Xing and Auntie You, were only taking suggestions from her. In that case, Luo Jialan suspicion was almost completely cleared of suspicion.
Gu Nianzhi looked at Luo Jialan with a complicated expression. She suddenly noticed that Luo Jialan had raised her head and was quickly looking in her direction.
Then, Luo Jialan raised the corner of her lips and revealed a half-smile.
Her provocative expression was like a bucket of cold water that had been poured on Gu Nianzhi’s head that caused her to be suddenly aware of something.
Something was wrong. There was one part of Cai Shengnan’s question that was unclear. Not only had he misled Auntie Xing, but he had also misled everyone in the courtroom.
Even someone as vigilant as Gu Nianzhi had almost been fooled.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t imagine Bai Jinyi speaking to Auntie Xing and Auntie You in such a way when she remembered how arrogant Bai Jinyi used to be
In that instant, Gu Nianzhi had already thought of Cai Shengnan’s carelessness and had prepared her questions.
Cai Shengnan broke into a wide smile and said to the judge, “Your Honor, it is evident that this matter has nothing to do with my client. Bai Jinyi did it all by herself.”
“Bai Jinyi was already convicted of murdering Luo Xinxue last year. In my opinion, we have left out one more charge –the attempted murder of Ms. Song Jinning. My client is completely innocent.”
Cai Shengnan concluded his questioning of Auntie Xing with a decisive tone. “Your Honor, I’d like to call the next witness.”
Gu Nianzhi raised her hand and calmly said, “Wait. Your Honor, I have something to ask Auntie Xing.”
Cai Shengnan had already cross-examined Huo Guanchen, the prosecution witness. Now it was Gu Nianzhi’s turn to cross-examine Auntie Xing, the defense witness.
The judge nodded in approval, “The prosecution lawyer may begin questioning.”
Gu Nianzhi walked up to the witness stand and asked only one question, “Auntie Xing, just now you claimed that Miss Bai was the one who instructed you. May I ask, did Miss Bai ‘personally’ tell you these things?”
Gu Nianzhi emphasized the word ‘personally’ and explained, “When I asked if she said those words herself, I meant to ask, were you two like us right now, talking to each other face-to-face, when she instructed you on how to take care of Song Jinning?”
Cai Shengnan’s heart skipped a beat, and he frantically dragged out his words, “Bai Jinyi is in charge of Ms. Song Jinning’s health, so of course they’ll listen to Bai Jinyi. What’s wrong with that?”
She did not believe that Gu Nianzhi would be able to see through the language screen that she had set up…
Gu Nianzhi did not look at her. She just stared intently at Auntie Xing, not letting her have any chance of exchanging glances with Cai Shengnan.
“Auntie Xing, please think carefully about how Bai Jinyi had asked you to take care of Ms. Song in such a manner.” Gu Nianzhi was implying something again.
Auntie Xing’s eyes sparkled, but she didn’t dare say anything. She quickly glanced at Cai Shengnan.
Gu Nianzhi understood. Without waiting for Cai Shengnan to speak, she quickly said, “Auntie Xing, do you know what the crime of perjury is?”?
“According to the criminal law of our country, perjury is punishable by up to three years in prison; if the circumstances are serious, it is punishable by a minimum of three years and up to seven years in prison. Do you really want to go to prison?”
“No, no! I don’t want to go to jail!” Auntie Xing quickly waved her hand, in a hurry to confess. “Miss Bai didn’t tell us these things herself. She basically never spoke to us directly. Miss Bai told Miss Huo all these things, and Miss Huo told us these.”
That was more like it.
Gu Nianzhi smiled, “How did you know Miss Bai asked Miss Huo to tell you?”
“Because that’s what Miss Huo said!”
“Miss Huo? which Miss Huo? Is she present in court?” Gu Nianzhi swept her gaze across the courtroom.
Auntie Xing pointed nervously at Luo Jialan, who was sitting in the dock.” … It’s her. She’s in charge of me and Auntie You. She’s the one who instructed us to do all these, but she said it was all Miss Bai’s medical advice.”
Both Auntie Xing and Auntie You had professional licenses to take care of special mental patients, so they took any “medical advice” very seriously.
“In that case, it was Luo Jialan who was the one who actually told you what to do, wasn’t she?” Gu Nianzhi emphasized further, “She said that it was Bai Jinyi’s medical advice, but Bai Jinyi had never said anything like that in front of you, had she?”
Auntie Xing shook her head and said, “Miss Bai is a very busy person. She doesn’t spend much time at the Huo Family’s residence, and most of the time she’s with Mr. Huo. When she talks to Ms. Song, she chases us out, and only the two of them will talk in the room.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. This was probably when Bai Jinyi was getting information from the mentally disturbed Song Jinning, gaining her trust, and getting her handwriting from her.
Thus, although Luo Jialan was the mastermind in the murder of Song Jinning, Bai Jinyi had been an accomplice, even if she had been an unwitting one.
Gu Nianzhi turned to look at Cai Shengnan. She pointed at Luo Jialan and said to her, “Lawyer Cai, the truth is out now. Your client used ‘medical advice’ as an excuse to commit murder. The evidence is irrefutable!”
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