The trial had been going on since nine in the morning and continued well past seven in the evening, indicating that Zhong Wenyi put great emphasis on this case and ca prepared with abundant testimonial and material evidence. Regrettably, none of these could change the outco.
After a grueling ten hours of proceedings, intense debate by attorneys on both sides, and a ten-minute recess, the trial finally entered its sentencing phase.
Thump...
Zhang Tianhua imdiately hamred the gavel and loudly commanded, "All rise."
Rustle...
Because the debate was so compelling, these law students were almost universally familiar with Zhong Wenyi; now having the chance to witness his debate in person was an eye-opener for them. They were so excited and agitated that they remained present to observe Zhong Wenyi's debate even after a continuous ten-hour trial.
Shortly after, Zhang Tianhua announced, "After ten hours of deliberation, the debate by attorneys on both sides, and the evidence presented, this court declares an imdiate verdict on this case..."
It took Zhang Tianhua another twenty minutes to narrate the case details, and upon conclusion, he solemnly stated, "Given the heinous nature of the case, causing severe social impact and sparking societal conflicts, this court, according to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, sentences Lin Chuan to death, to be executed imdiately, deprives him of his political rights for life, and imposes a fine of 20,000 Yuan."
Whoosh...
The courtroom instantly erupted into noise.
"How could this be?"
"What kind of judgnt is this? On what basis?"
Several law students asked curiously, naively believing that justice should be administered according to the law. They overlooked personal feelings and the web of connections inherent in the bureaucracy. The very nature of this case was a case within a case, yet the judge had repeatedly rejected the defense attorney's statents. Even though they were refused, Zhong Wenyi managed to cleverly disclose the details of the case, and everyone present was aware there was more to the case. However, the judge chose to see nothing, hear nothing.
Bang bang bang...
Zhang Tianhua hamred the gavel three tis in succession, shouting, "Silence, keep order!"
Yet, the noise in the room continued unabated, the buzz of conversation not quieting down.
Beads of sweat appeared on Zhang Tianhua's forehead.
Although they had foreknowledge of the outco, the sudden proclamation was still too much for Tang Yung and the others to accept. Zhou Rui and Nuo Xiaoxi imdiately clung to each other, crying. Song Xiaojia stood up and slowly walked towards Zhang Tianhua.
"Stop, you may not approach." The bailiffs hurried to block Song Xiaojia.
Song Xiaojia glared at the bailiff, then flashed her United Nations peacekeeper badge, "Take a good look."
"International Police?!" The bailiff was taken aback.
Song Xiaojia shoved the bailiff aside, then bypassed the clerk, and walked straight to the presiding Judge Zhang Tianhua. She let out a cold laugh, "Lin Chuan told , not all those who do bad things are bad people, and not all those who do good things are good people. I never understood that before, but now I finally comprehend the aning of those words. So people wear sheep's clothing but commit acts more despicable than wolves; so wear the honorable uniform of the police but are more disgusting than hooligans; so robe themselves in a judge's garb but carry out deeds unfit for the light of day. I guess it's about ti I stop being a cop."
Having said that, Song Xiaojia took off her police uniform and threw it heavily onto the judge's desk. She also took off her cap and tossed it towards Zhang Tianhua.
Rustle...
The courtroom imdiately burst into vigorous applause.
"Well said, well said."
"These bastards, wearing judges' robes and doing the work of thugs."
So began to make a racket, which, in fact, were all people that Huang Bo had arranged to instigate commotion at a crucial mont, creating chaos to facilitate Zhou Kai and others' escape. However, unable to contain themselves, they began to cause disturbance ahead of ti.
"Silence! Be quiet!" Zhang Tianhua shouted repeatedly, but to no avail.
In desperation, the bailiffs took action, arresting a few ringleaders and expelling them from the courtroom, which finally quieted down.
Outside the courtroom, dozens of people had been waiting at the door for a long ti, where over ten ard police officers stood guard, lined up at the entrance of the courtroom. Zhou Kai and his group lingered across the street from the courthouse, puzzled, after much hesitation, as to why the trial had taken so long.
"Kai, why isn't it over yet?" Lu Dapao asked with confusion.
"How should I know?" Zhou Kai shook his head, "Didn't our inside guy tell us through WeChat? They're still in session."
"Damn it, I really want to rush in there and break him out," Lu Dapao said irritably.
"You think I don't?" Zhou Kai said impatiently, "But look at all those cops at the door, guns in hand."
A group of people waited outside the door.
Suddenly, several bright lights shone through the darkness as a military Humvee roared toward them, stopping by the stone lions at the entrance.
An elderly man with white hair jumped out of the vehicle, his face glowing with health and vitality, resplendent in his military uniform.
"Is this the place?" the elderly man asked.
"Yes," the middle-aged man behind him nodded.
"Let's go, follow inside and see for yourself," the old man barked fiercely.
But as they approached the entrance, over ten policen imdiately blocked their way and questioned, "What are you here for?"
Slap...
The old man swung a slap at them, cursing angrily: "What are we here for? I'm here to fuck you up."
The policen looked eager to react, with aggression written all over their faces. This scared Li Xiangguo out of his wits. If the General had an accident here, he feared his own head wouldn't be enough to take the fall.
"Who dares make a move, lay down your arms and get arrested," Li Xiangguo ordered imdiately. Two police guards behind the General rushed forward at once.
"Don't, don't, don't!" Seeing this, the group of policen imdiately realized sothing was amiss; these people seed to have powerful connections. The old man leading them seed to be wearing three shiny gold stars. The head policeman was stunned – isn't that a General?! He hastily said, "Old comrade, we're really... really sorry, we didn't recognize Mount Tai right in front of our eyes."
"Useless cowards!" The old man saw the policeman backing down and beca even angrier.
"Old chief, let's go inside," Li Xiangguo said. "It looks like the verdict is about to be announced."
"Let's go!" nodded the old chief.
Inside the courtroom, after the recent turmoil of arresting and expelling people, the scene finally quieted down.
"If the defendant has any objections, within fifteen days after this court's verdict, an appeal can be filed with the Jiangbei City higher people's court," presiding judge Zhang Tianhua imdiately said. "You can even appeal on the spot."
"No need," Lin Chuan shook his head.
Song Ming's face imdiately showed a trace of a smile.
He seed to see Lin Chuan being taken to the execution grounds, and on that day, he would personally go to the execution grounds to watch Lin Chuan being shot. He'd never imagined that in his quest to get rid of Lin Chuan, ultimately, although he succeeded, it ca at the cost of his son's life. Song Ming couldn't help but choke back tears.
Thud...
Zhang Tianhua knocked the gavel once more, saying, "Since the defendant has no objections, he will be remanded in custody for now. The execution date will be set later."
Bang...
A loud noise ca as the door of the courtroom was kicked open, and then an old man with white hair entered, fuming, "I want to see who dares to kill Lin Chuan!"
Whispers...
Everyone turned around to see what was happening at the door.
"Who are you?" Zhang Tianhua was flabbergasted, the light behind him was too dim, he couldn't see clearly what was going on, and he looked puzzled and surprised.
"Who we are is not important; what's important is that Lin Chuan cannot die," said the General with a cold smile as he walked over.
Upon hearing this voice, Lin Chuan's body trembled. As he slowly turned around and saw a familiar face, he imdiately burst into tears. Never had anyone touched him so deeply, except his mother. This old man was like his own grandfather, his dearest grandfather.
Lin Chuan trembled all over, tears in his eyes, speechless.
"You rascal," the General approached Lin Chuan and scolded angrily, "Every ti you get into trouble, you make wipe your ass."
Slap!
Lin Chuan imdiately stood upright and saluted the General, saying, "General, I was wrong."
"Hahaha..." The General laughed heartily, "You boy, to recognize and correct your faults is a great virtue. You just killed a person, so I want to see who dares to touch you!"
The scene erupted into a buzz of shock.
"This old man seems to be very powerful."
"Indeed, he talks so boldly as if killing a person is a trivial matter to him."
The crowd was abuzz with discussions.
At that mont, soone exclaid, "My God, look... look at the stars on his shoulder. Three gold stars. Isn't that a General?"
"Indeed," others nodded in agreent.
Zhang Tianhua was not a fool; although he didn't recognize the person before him, he knew his status and rank were certainly not low. Such people were generally within the red walls, way beyond his scope of acquaintance. Zhang Tianhua looked at the old man awkwardly, saying, "This is a court trial, please maintain the dignity of the law, if you would, General?"
"Nonsense!" The old man glanced at Zhang Tianhua annoyed and roared, "From a personal standpoint, this kid is my grandson, and today I absolutely cannot let him die. From a legal standpoint, Lin Chuan is a military man; even if he has erred, he should be tried by a military court, which is none of your business, is it?"
Whoosh...
The scene was once again filled with an uproar. Indeed, from a legal perspective, if a military person committed an offense, it should be tried by a military court, and not by a civilian court. Originally when Lin Chuan killed Chen Tianxiu, it was a military court that tried him.
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