Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi coolly turned around to look at the defendants.
Hmph! Those two vile creatures still have shame?! They dared to cover their faces with paper bags to conceal themselves! How can this be acceptable?!
Gu Nianzhi didn’t hesitate to attack. “Your Honor, I am the lawyer representing the parents of the victim, Li Haiqing. I ask the court to have the two defendants reveal their faces to prove their identity.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know German, so she spoke English with an authentic Oxford accent. German was typically spoken in the German courts, but if the lawyers didn’t know German, the courts would find an interpreter. Li Haiqing’s parents had their own German interpreter, but most Germans knew English. When Gu Nianzhi made her request in English, the judge didn’t ask for the interpreter but indicated that he understood her request and agreed to it.
The judge spoke to the defendants in German. “The court agrees to the request from the plaintiff’s lawyer. Defendants, please reveal your faces. Concealing your face in court can result in a charge of contempt.”
The two defendants were a man and a woman named Seth and Niya. They had large, clumsy features, and upon removing the paper bags, they looked to be in their 30s or 40s—hardly “young and foolish,” as the German media had proclaimed. It had been said that the man had just turned 22, while the woman was only 21.
Gu Nianzhi shot them a disdainful glance and turned to question the parents of the male defendant, Seth. “Is the male suspect sitting on the dock your son?”
Seth’s mother Ramona had a face that was normally red like boiled beef, and it only flushed redder with her question. Lifting her chin, she asked haughtily, “Who are you? How dare you speak to me?” Ramona spoke in German even though she knew English because she wanted to pretend she didn’t understand.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know German and was looking at her interpreter for help when He Zhichu walked over to coldly rebuke Ramona in German. “Earlier, the judge already confirmed her as the lawyer entrusted by the plaintiff’s parents. It’s one thing to pretend to not know English, but you do not know German, either? How does someone who doesn’t understand German end up at a Senior Lieutenant in Roslau? Did you even graduate high school?”
Ramona’s arrogance withered under He Zhichu’s lambasting. She fidgeted in her seat and rolled her eyes, then said, “…Yes, he’s my son.”
“Are you sure? You didn’t find some random person to frame, right?” Gu Nianzhi was relentless and asked sharp questions.
Ramona was completely enraged by Gu Nianzhi. She stood up with clenched fists and said, “He’s my son! Do you want to do a DNA test?!”
“Of course.” Gu Nianzhi shot back snappily and turned back to the judge. “Your Honor, the defendant’s parents have requested a DNA test. I ask that Your Honor comply to this request.”
The judge raised a brow and turned to look at Ramona. “Ramona, you want to do a DNA test?”
Ramona had clearly said this because she’d been provoked by Gu Nianzhi. How could she volunteer to do a DNA test?! Also, they had been planning to have someone else take the blame—she would be shooting herself in the foot to request this!
At those words, Ramona shook her head guiltily. “Your Honor, there is no such regulation in the protocol, we don’t—”
“Hmm? You don’t agree to a DNA test? That’s rather strange. Why not? Why not? Why not?” Gu Nianzhi repeated “why not” to cut off Ramona and looked at the judge. “May I ask if the German courts have a procedure for verifying the defendant’s identity?”
The judge considered it a bit and nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Then we request the initiation of verification of the defendant’s identity.” Gu Nianzhi turned a half circle where she stood, her piercing glance locked on Ramona. “Senior Lieutenant, as a law enforcement officer, you dared to disregard the procedural justice of the court, break the law knowingly, and confuse the public. You are interfering with our legitimate request to verify the defendant’s identity—may I ask what your motives are?”
Gu Nianzhi finished speaking, and the German interpreter immediately repeated her words in German. Some of the staff members in attendance who didn’t speak English were extremely shocked and pointed at Ramona with distaste.
Ramona was extremely angry, but she knew she couldn’t agree because that meant her son would have to go to jail. They wouldn’t be able to find someone to take the blame anymore…
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Can you choose to be silent in court?” Gu Nianzhi raised her voice. “Senior Lieutenant, please answer me.”
“Ramona, please answer the question from the plaintiff’s lawyer,” the judge said with a cough, unwilling to let Ramona off the hook.
Since the judge asked her, too, Ramona had no choice but to agree. She nodded unwillingly. “Do the test if you wish.”
Gu Nianzhi exhaled sharply and secretly wished she could let Chen Lie out right now. Unfortunately, Brother Chen wasn’t there at the moment, so someone else would be the one to do the DNA test. She was a bit worried, but there was no other choice. All she could do was work a bit harder and watch carefully. The judge summoned the court doctor to take a vial of blood each from Ramona and Seth. He didn’t take blood from Ramona’s current husband York because Seth was only his stepson, so they weren’t biologically related.
Gu Nianzhi watched from the side unblinkingly and frantically motioned when the court doctor took two vials of blood. “Stop there. Please take two more vials. I need to make a record.”
“What are you doing?!” The court doctor was shocked. “Why would an American law firm need to keep a record of their blood?!”
They knew the plaintiff’s parents had hired the top lawyer from the largest American law firm and thought nothing of it since even the most powerful outsider was no match for a local in his hometown. But the main lawyer hadn’t even made a move, and his young female assistant was being so aggressive. They were finally starting to worry.
He Zhichu replied coolly, “Whether the blood needs to be archived depends on the case. Due to the defendant’s parents’ past history of obstruction of justice, we must tread cautiously.”
The words were like a whip that stunned all the Germans in attendance. They were all mortified—everyone from the judge to the court guards flushed red from He Zhichu’s words. He wasn’t wrong that Ramona the Senior Lieutenant and her husband had actually attempted to conceal their son’s evidence of a crime after it occurred. Afterward, they couldn’t cover it up anymore, and Ramona had arranged for her son to turn himself in. After he’d turned himself in, they had immediately used the scandalous excuse of “threesome” to slander the unfortunate victim.
Gu Nianzhi had grown up with Huo Shaoheng and his men, so she had been raised as a very righteous girl. She fiercely hated such unfairness and disregard for other people’s lives. He Zhichu had chosen her out of his several assistants to appear in court in order to hone her ability and also to allow her natural emotions to influence the judge. Such was the importance of appeal and personality. Gu Nianzhi could also sense He Zhichu’s unyielding aura and straightened her own back.
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