Last night when she called, she clearly remembered there weren't this many cigarette butts.
What is this…
Did a thief break in?
No, no, what thief would break in to smoke, and the expensive brand Murong Cheng usually smoked at that.
Is this the cigarette Murong Cheng smokes?
What kind of work troubles could make this man smoke so many cigarettes in one night?
Jiang Shiyu's breathing hitched, and she couldn't help but take out her phone and send Murong Cheng a WeChat message.
"Smoke less, it's bad for your health."
After typing, she clicked send.
Unexpectedly, a red exclamation mark appeared behind the chat box.
Murong Cheng…
Had blocked her!
What was wrong with this man now?
He smoked all night and then blocked her!
Jiang Shiyu was going crazy. She grabbed her phone and called, but as expected, it went straight to voicemail.
Murong Cheng had blocked her number too!
Was this man a child? It was one thing to block her last time, but now he was playing this trick again.
She was both angry and worried about Murong Cheng, but she still had a lawsuit today, so she could only temporarily suppress the myriad thoughts in her heart.
On the way to the court, Jiang Shiyu's mind was filled with Murong Cheng.
He was clearly peeling grapes for her last night, and then in the blink of an eye, he blocked her.
Unable to swallow her pride, she frantically tried to add Murong Cheng as a friend, but all her attempts were in vain.
Jiang Shiyu was so angry she wanted to smash her phone.
By the time she arrived at the court, it was already ten o'clock.
Reporters were gathered outside, forming an impenetrable crowd. They were blocking the entrance, holding up their long lenses and short guns, as if they wanted to shove their cameras into her face.
"Miss Jiang, why did you file a lawsuit against your sister-in-law?"
"Miss Jiang, are you and Murong Xue at odds at home?"
All sorts of bizarre questions followed.
Jiang Shiyu, protected by court staff, was finally able to enter the main courtroom.
After the plaintiff took their seat, court staff also began to file in one after another.
Then, Murong Xue, dressed impeccably, was escorted into the main courtroom by staff. Even though the lawyer's letter had been issued, the court had not issued an arrest warrant, so Murong Xue was still living freely.
If the matter hadn't caused such a stir, she probably wouldn't have appeared in person today.
Is this the power of capital and the dark undercurrents?
Jiang Shiyu's expression was cold.
Whether it was Murong Xue or the Gu family who had snatched her maternal grandfather's inheritance, she wouldn't let any of them go!
The trial began quickly. The lawyer Jiang Shiyu had hired stood up, explained all the circumstances, and presented all the evidence to the court.
After the judge and the two associate judges reviewed the evidence, they gave the defense a chance to argue.
The lawyer hired by Song Yu was clearly an experienced hand.
He deliberately downplayed the serious issues and focused on the fact that Jiang Shiyu only had a recording and no substantial evidence.
Jiang Shiyu glanced coldly at Murong Xue opposite her.
Murong Xue raised her eyebrows.
Her gaze seemed to be a provocation, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
Jiang Shiyu remained unfazed and shifted her gaze.
After the defense lawyer finished speaking, and the judge allowed her to speak, Jiang Shiyu produced a repaired mobile phone.
The phone had been found at the police station and was shattered.
Although it had been repaired, some things had vanished into thin air.
It was clear that Song Yu had already sent people to tamper with it in secret.
Upon seeing this, Murong Xue showed no panic and even smiled at Jiang Shiyu.
Jiang Shiyu ignored her and said, "Your Honor, please examine this. All the evidence is in the phone."
Before leaving, Song Yu had told Murong Xue that everything was arranged.
Although Jiang Shiyu had the recording, all the on-site evidence at the police station had been thoroughly destroyed by her.
With only a recording, Jiang Shiyu would absolutely not be able to win the lawsuit!
From childhood to adulthood, she had never been afraid of anyone.
What was Jiang Shiyu? As long as she was in Haicheng, she could do whatever she pleased.
The staff placed the evidence before the judge. The judge looked at it but couldn't find anything unusual. "Please state the actual connection between this phone and the defendant hiring someone to commit murder."
Jiang Shiyu stood up and said calmly to the cameras in the gallery, "There is no connection."
The judge frowned, but before he could speak,
Jiang Shiyu smiled slightly. "It's because the evidence was destroyed by the defendant long ago. Fortunately, I found a memory card in the police station. Although this phone was disposable, there was still a memory card inside that wasn't destroyed. The police station just finished repairing it last night."
Jiang Shiyu took out the memory card in front of everyone.
The moment she saw the memory card, the provocation and smugness on Murong Xue's face instantly vanished.
She placed the memory card on a tray, and a staff member handed it to the judge.
The judge then inserted it into the phone and played the recording.
As the recording played, Murong Xue's face lost all color.
Jiang Shiyu simply watched the ashen-faced Murong Xue with indifference.
Yesterday, finding Zhao Shuyao wasn't just a simple meal; Zhao Shuyao was a computer expert.
Murong Xue had bribed an assassin to commit murder. The assassin died unexpectedly, and no trace of him was found, nor any evidence left behind. With only the recording, it was impossible to establish guilt. Therefore, she had found Zhao Shuyao, who hacked into the local network and precisely located the recording of Murong Xue and the assassin.
Presumably, this recording was still on Murong Xue's phone.
In court, evidence obtained through improper channels would be deemed invalid. Even evidence obtained through hacking would be considered invalid.
So, she had already called the police station. This memory card was destroyed and then repaired, and this recording was uploaded.
Zhao Shuyao's superb computer skills modified the recording's encoding.
Even if the court investigated, they wouldn't be able to find out that this recording had been re-inserted.
Furthermore, because it was a genuine recording, even if the court hired a voice recognition expert, they would be able to identify the authenticity of this recording.
Before the recording finished playing, Murong Xue completely lost control.
She slammed the table and screamed hysterically.
"This isn't me! This isn't me! This isn't my voice! Jiang Shiyu, you damn woman! You actually faked the recording! May you die a terrible death! May you go to hell!"
Murong Xue tried to lunge and grab Jiang Shiyu's hair, but in the next second, she was restrained by court staff.
Jiang Shiyu watched Murong Xue with cold eyes, not moving, not even flinching.
But in the next moment, looking at the frantic Murong Xue, she suddenly thought of something.
Oh no…
As expected, in the next second, Murong Xue was taken away by the staff.
The judge delivered the verdict on the spot. Murong Xue was arrested and imprisoned for intentional homicide, sentenced to five years in prison.
Looking at Murong Xue's uncontrolled behavior, although she had achieved the desired outcome, something still felt off, a strange feeling she couldn't quite explain.
After the trial ended and she returned to Jingyuan, Jiang Shiyu checked the news.
She hadn't received any news about Song Yu filing an appeal for the second trial.