The middle-aged man who walked in with an umbrella under his arm didn't need to introduce himself. Xu Le already knew who he was. This was the son of the Chief Justice of the Federation, the most famous lawyer in the capital ring, Lawyer He. The worry in his words made the atmosphere in the room tense and silent.
Water dripped from the umbrella and dyed the precious carpet on the ground a dark color. Xu Le put down the chopsticks in his hand and stared blankly at the gradually wetting carpet on the ground. He wasn't good at legal matters, but he knew very well that if those old fogeys of the Cillin Zhong Family really resorted to underhanded means like a custody fight, then Little Watermelon would be in great trouble.
At this time, the last participant of tonight's gathering finally pushed open the door and walked in. The young man's body was still slightly thin, and his face was still that unhealthy pale. Braving the rain, his hair was wet, tangled into a few strands of somewhat embarrassing black hair. The water droplets on the thin green camel hair windbreaker were rolling down, hitting the blanket softly and silently.
Li Xiaotong reacted immediately. He bowed seriously with a rare trace of cautiousness and put his hands on his abdomen. He said respectfully according to some old etiquette, "I'm Li Xiaotong. Thank you very much for coming to my house."
Lawyer He reacted very quickly. He immediately stepped aside and pulled out the golden silk chair that was said to be big enough to replace three of the latest cars. He said submissively, "Prince, this way please."
Xu Le was still frowning and worrying about his own troubles. For him, Tai Zhiyuan was a very good friend, that was all. However, the cold and arrogant Li Xiaotong and Lawyer He, who he had just met but was free and straightforward, showed such serious reactions to Tai Zhiyuan's arrival. It suddenly made him think of Tai Zhiyuan's true identity.
He looked up curiously at Tai Zhiyuan who was taking off his windbreaker. He silently thought that even if the Tai family was the descendant of the former royal family, many years had passed. In the current situation where crystal mines were scarce, the Tai family's influence on the Federation should be far less than it used to be. Why did the other families of the seven major families still show so much respect to the lady in the back mountain and his thin and weak prince friend? This kind of respect with a strong sense of inequality, or even … some kind of fear.
They had known each other for many years. Probably only people like himself and Mr. Shi dared to not take Tai Zhiyuan seriously.
…
…
The night was dark. After dinner, Xu Le and Tai Zhiyuan held their glasses of red wine and leaned against the transparent railing of the top floor of the apartment. They looked down at the crowd of people walking around in a hurry and were silent for a long time.
"You looked like a mess when you walked in just now." Xu Le said, "In my memory, other than when you were in a coma, your appearance was always impeccable. From the villa to the gold pin on your collar, everything was clean and tidy. How could you be so wet?"
"Yuzi should have told you that I had a falling out with my family." Tai Zhiyuan smiled and said, "It happened recently … During this time, I learned a lot of things, such as how to open a personal account in the bank, how to squeeze into the subway with other people, and how to use an umbrella to cover my face when the rain is too heavy without caring about my clothes."
"How do you feel?" Xu Le turned his head and looked at him curiously. "I remember you said before that you can experience the life of the common people, but you don't have the extra time to learn or feel."
"I don't feel good." Tai Zhiyuan looked at the rippling red wine in his glass and said with a smile, "Fortunately, you're back. Naturally, I'll leave the matter of the West Woods to you. Tomorrow, I'll go back to the back of Mochou Mountain to cry and be a filial son again … Oh right, I'll get married next autumn."
"Thank you first. I'm referring to the matter of the West Woods." Xu Le looked at him and said seriously, "If it weren't for you, the Zhong family's old mansion would have had a harder time this year. To be honest, I really didn't expect that a confident and arrogant guy like you would have this so-called cheap sympathy."
"At that time, everyone thought you were dead. They were a little shocked, so they occasionally went crazy," Tai Zhiyuan replied indifferently.
"Then, congratulations." Xu Le raised his wine glass and teased, "I only hope that after you get married, you won't hand over the responsibility of taking care of Miss Bai Qi to me."
"You seem to have been busy since I met you." Tai Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at him, "Now that you've come back alive, you must be even busier. Busy attending the press conference, busy going to Philadelphia to meet the old man, and busy taking care of that little girl in the future. You don't need to worry about my matters. You just need to worry about your own trivial matters."
"Just now, Lawyer He said that we're facing a big problem now. This trivial matter is really difficult to deal with. What I'm most afraid of is that we have the qualifications to deal with this matter. According to the Federation's laws, there are many problems."
Tai Zhiyuan suddenly smiled and said, "Back then, Zhong Laohu pushed that good-for-nothing Erlang to the forefront. It was a very old-fashioned but very wise method. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he didn't expect to die so early and so suddenly. Otherwise, the situation of the Zhong family in the West Woods wouldn't be in such a mess now."
"It's indeed a mess." Xu Le thought of the hearing that was about to begin at the Supreme Court of the Federation and the elders of the Zhong family who were rushing over from the West Woods. He frowned deeply.
"But you don't have to worry about anything. I've already arranged everything that needs to be arranged." Tai Zhiyuan slowly took a sip of red wine, then took out a few pills from his jacket pocket and swallowed them.
"You're still taking pills? Red wine is bad for your health. " Xu Le shrugged and said, "Since you want to go back and be the Crown Prince, it's better for you not to get involved in the matters here."
"You don't believe that I can arrange it?" Tai Zhiyuan looked at him with a faint smile.
Xu Le said in confusion, "No lawyer dares to take over, and there's that damn custody battle. You already have arrangements?"
"Although I haven't been as dazzling as you, Xu Le, in my short youth, anyone who has come into contact with me would never dare to deny my excellence." Lie Zhiyuan looked at him with a smile. "You're the only one who doesn't seem to have thought about this. Instead, you're used to treating me as someone to be protected … Do you know that this feeling is equivalent to humiliation for a man?"
Xu Le was stunned. He carefully thought back on their friendship over the years and realized that what Tai Zhiyuan said was not wrong. He smiled a little embarrassedly, scratched his head, and said, "Your body is weak, so you're used to it."
"Don't forget, I was also an outstanding soldier in the army. In the Federation's military assessment, my total score was the highest. My estimated score was even higher than Zhou Yu's."
Tai Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes and stared at Xu Le's face. Like a stubborn youth who was competing to see who could climb the fastest in the forest, he said mockingly, "This lawsuit will take at least three months, but I can tell you the result now. As long as Justice He Ying doesn't die of old age, that little girl of yours … will definitely win."
"You're that confident?" Xu Le stared at him.
"Of course." Lie Zhiyuan gently coughed twice, then drank a mouthful of red wine that was brighter than blood. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "I'm best at analyzing people. If you have analyzed Chief Judge He Ying, you will know the reason."
"What reason?"
"The old judge likes beautiful girls."
Tai Zhiyuan looked into his eyes seriously and said word by word.
…
…
On the west side of Rabi Avenue in the Capital Special District was a green forest. Even though it was winter, this building complex, which covered an area of about six square kilometers, was still shrouded in a solemn yet lively atmosphere formed by pine and cypress. The statue of the scales that represented fairness was in the corner of the building, supporting the pure white snow. The stone First Charter Ceremony was faintly discernible at the end of the forest.
The Supreme Court of the Federation and its three subordinate procedural courts, as well as the two levels of circuit courts that were set up here due to historical reasons, were in this forest, in this historical building complex. For the citizens of the Federation, this place represented fairness, justice, and the most important law.
In the spacious Second Courtroom, the sunlight shone in through the huge glass window more than ten meters high, illuminating the dozens of rows of pure black seats in the courtroom. However, Lawyer Xiao Wenjing, who was sitting in the front seat, had an unusually gloomy expression.
At this moment, in the gallery of the Second Courtroom, there were 17 founding members of the Zhong family who came all the way from the West Woods. Sitting in the front seat was the second young master of the Zhong family, Zhong Ziqi, and in front of them was a terrifying legal team composed of 24 famous lawyers of the Federation.
There were only three people on Xiao Wenjing's side. One was himself, one was a harmless fat man who looked like a big white steamed bun, and one was a cute and innocent little girl who looked like she was carved out of ice. The huge difference in the number of people on both sides clearly reflected the serious situation he was facing at this moment.
The Xizhou Law Firm, which was said to have a very deep background, withdrew from this family property lawsuit that shocked the Federation for unknown reasons. And the most outstanding lawyer in the Federation, He, was forced to leave the legal team in the old house of the Zhong family for well-known reasons.
Under the pressure of those big families, under the vague hints of the Federation government, no law firm dared to take over this case. When Xiao Wenjing received the agency contract, he couldn't help but doubt his eyes.
His beautiful new wife, Xu Songzi, had a deep and worried talk with him all night, but there was no way to overturn his decision.
Xiao Wenjing's teachers and classmates were all over the legal system. Even though no one was willing to stand in front of the stage to help him, there was still a lot of information secretly gathered in his hands. Although he was facing the most terrifying legal team in the Federation, he still had the confidence to fight this case.
More importantly, he was now Lawyer Xiao Wenjing. A few years ago, he was the most famous Prosecutor Xiao Wenjing in the District Prosecutor's Office. He had once assisted his teacher in presiding over the investigation of the Medellin Project. Even when the Federation government shamelessly compromised for benefits, he still tried to continue his own investigation in secret. It was just that in the evening of that day, he was put in prison by several Federation Investigation Bureau officials on the charge of molesting a young girl …
At that time, Prosecutor Xiao Wenjing didn't know if he thought of the words that the small-eyed man named Xu Le once said to him in a spring in full bloom, those words about law and morality.
But Xiao Wenjing didn't give up his respect for the law. He left the District Prosecutor's Office and became a truly independent lawyer. Today, he was going to fight a case that was destined to go down in history for the West Woods orphan.
…
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
