Chapter 149: Chapter 121: Do you think we need a lawyer?_4
"Now that the other party has been detained, the next step is for the court to schedule the trial. As the plaintiff, remember to arrive on time..."
Afterward, Qin Mu, from the perspective of someone who had been through it before, explained the details of the trial process to Zhang Tao.
This time at the trial, he was neither the party involved nor the plaintiff. Therefore, he would sit in the gallery and would not participate in the litigation. However, he had already conveyed everything necessary to Wang Dachui. The evidence in this case was conclusive; losing was not a possibility. The only debatable point was how many years the opposing party’s lawyer could shave off their sentence.
「The next day.」
「Jincheng Detention Center. In a certain holding cell.」
"I heard you’re in need of a lawyer. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Wei, and I specialize in criminal litigation, especially in sentence reduction," Zhang Wei, dressed in a suit, stood before Jia Zuoying and his wife, pitching himself.
During this time, he had been keeping a close watch on new criminal cases in Jin City, as well as those related to Qin Mu. It was just that lately, the frequency of Qin Mu’s ’activities’ had significantly decreased. It seemed he was living quite comfortably. Criminal cases in Jin City were few and far between, so he hadn’t found a suitable ’client’ yet. But just yesterday, he had learned from an acquaintance in the court that a major case was likely to go to trial soon. Therefore, he had taken the initiative to approach them. Although this case had no relation to Qin Mu, it was still a criminal case and fell within his area of expertise.
However, after he introduced himself, the couple showed none of the fear typical of criminal defendants, not even a hint of panic.
"A lawyer? Do you think we need a lawyer?" Wang Fenlan sneered disdainfully.
Zhang Wei was taken aback. He couldn’t understand where Wang Fenlan’s inexplicable confidence came from.
"Your case involves four charges, all very serious," he couldn’t help but remind them. "It’s best to hire a lawyer to help reduce your sentence."
And these weren’t ordinary charges; several carried potential sentences of over ten years each.
"So you’re charging attorney’s fees?" Jia Zuoying, who was handcuffed, interjected coolly.
Zhang Wei’s lips twitched. "Of course," he answered seriously. That’s how he made his living. He wasn’t running a charity.
But their next words left him utterly dumbfounded.
"Then we don’t want one. It’s just a lawsuit. If we lose, we lose; we’ve lost before."
"Exactly. If they hadn’t forcibly taken us away this time, we wouldn’t have even wanted to attend the lawsuit."
"All I want now is to get this lawsuit over with as soon as possible and go home..."
Their words were filled with contempt for the legal process, giving them the air of outlaws who considered themselves above the law. If he hadn’t learned some basic details about them from the case source, he might have assumed they had some extraordinary backing. Otherwise, how could ordinary people be so composed when facing a lawsuit, especially a criminal case? Anyone else would have wet their pants from fear.
"I should probably remind you both that the consequences of losing this lawsuit are very serious," he said gravely, swallowing hard.
Wang Fenlan scoffed. "Of course, we know. Isn’t it just about paying money or returning the house? I’ve seen the judgment before. We don’t have a penny to give!"
"The house is half ours. They can’t have it unless they give us money for our half!"
She spoke with clear, albeit flawed, logic, completely disregarding the court’s judgment. Two years ago, she had gone through a similar ordeal. But hadn’t she emerged unscathed? Although she had been forcibly taken away this time, she was confident that once she got out... That house will still be ours! She was absolutely sure of it!
"Do you... not understand the difference between civil and criminal litigation?" Zhang Wei asked, several dark lines appearing on his forehead. For the sake of his potential clients, he patiently explained, "The previous judgments you ignored were civil judgments. This time, however, you’re facing criminal charges. They are not the same thing. If you lose, it won’t just be a matter of whether you pay money. It will be a question of where you’ll be living for the next twenty years..."
Looking at the couple before him, he tactfully implied they could be facing twenty years in prison.
When he finished speaking, he saw their expressions noticeably change.
"So now you desperately need a reliable lawyer to help reduce your sentence."
Seeing they didn’t respond, Zhang Wei pressed on while the iron was hot. "Your case is one of the most serious I’ve ever seen. There’s significant potential for sentence reduction. Other cases might only get a year or two shaved off, but yours could potentially be reduced by five years! Are you sure you don’t want to try and save yourselves?"
In the holding cell, Jia Zuoying and Wang Fenlan exchanged a look.
Then they scoffed, "You unscrupulous lawyers! All you know is how to scare people!"
"You can’t fool us. We haven’t killed anyone or committed arson. We’re clearly innocent! How could we possibly get such a long sentence?"
"You’re just making things up! Last time, we didn’t even show up for court, and they couldn’t do anything to us, could they?"
"Get lost! We’re not paying you any lawyer’s fees!"
The couple stared at Zhang Wei with cold eyes, not believing a single word he said. They were already convinced Zhang Wei was just trying to con them out of their money.
Listening to them, Zhang Wei nearly exploded with frustration. In just half an hour, he had nearly lost his composure several times.