In the plaintiff’s seat, Ma Ming glanced at the public gallery, only to find it completely empty. Not a single person was in sight. ng Lei’s beautiful wife hadn’t even shown up.
...
「anwhile.」
「Jin City.」
「A nursing ho.」
Qin Mu had just finished setting up a projection screen in the courtyard, casting the live broadcast of the trial. He then saw Wan Zhongyuan very deliberately... carry over a small stool, sit right in the middle of the courtyard, and secure a pri viewing spot.
"COUGH, COUGH, I’ve pretty much finished my tasks for today. Since I’m free, I might as well learn so law," Wan Zhongyuan explained, his old face flushing red.
Qin Mu’s mouth twitched slightly. ...
It wasn’t even ten o’clock in the morning, yet Wan Zhongyuan claid he had finished all his work... He was clearly skipping his duties to watch the live broadcast.
Before long, Zhang Qingyuan and others also arrived one after another, taking their places in front of the projection screen and waiting quietly for the trial to begin.
Gradually, watching the trial broadcast had beco a regular entertainnt activity at the nursing ho, second only to attending in person.
"It’s starting, it’s starting! It’s about to begin!" Suddenly, a wave of excitent rippled through the elderly crowd.
Qin Mu, sitting beside Wan Zhongyuan, also looked up at the projection screen. He saw the black screen vanish and the courtroom scene appear.
In the solemn courtroom, the plaintiff, the defendant, and the lawyers for both sides were all seated and ready.
"Sothing’s not right. Why is the public gallery so empty this ti? Not even one person?" Zhang Qingyuan furrowed his brow, his face full of confusion.
In the public gallery... there wasn’t a single relative or friend present.
It was sowhat understandable for Ma Ming not to have any relatives present, as he had traveled from out of town. However, it was strange that even ng Lei’s relatives hadn’t appeared.
Upon seeing this, Qin Mu also frowned slightly, equally surprised. If I rember correctly... ng Lei’s wife even ca to observe the last trial.
At this mont, the trial footage showed the Judgnt Chief entering the courtroom with the collegial panel. Everyone stood up to greet them as they took their seats.
BANG— The gavel sounded.
The Judgnt Chief surveyed the people below and began in a grave voice, "Today, Yangcheng Court will openly try ng Lei on charges of fraud. I will serve as the Judgnt Chief, forming the collegial panel according to the law..."
After the routine declarations and the reading of court discipline, the trial proceeded directly to the phase where the plaintiff would read out the complaint and state the grounds for the case.
In the plaintiff’s seat, Ma Ming seed much more composed than last ti and imdiately stood up. He accused, "The defendant, ng Lei, during our four years of university, borrowed money from and thirty-three other classmates—a total of thirty-four people—an amount of 43,621 yuan, which he has not repaid to this day.
"Therefore, we accuse ng Lei of using borrowing as a pretext to illegally possess our property, refusing to return it, and thus committing fraud.
"Over these years, we have repeatedly asked him for the money owed, but each ti he would dodge the issue..."
During this statent, Ma Ming listed incidents brought up by other classmates, exposing all of ng Lei’s "misdeeds" to the public.
In the defendant’s seat, ng Lei listened to Ma Ming’s accusations, his expression growing dark, his face turning increasingly unpleasant.
In these past four days, he had experienced far too much. It felt like he had lived through the most extre vicissitudes of life.
Right now, I’m filled with regret. Not regret over not returning the borrowed money, but regret for trusting the wrong person. After I transferred my assets... Tian Shulan’s attitude towards grew increasingly cold and harsh; she stopped coming ho. She frequently went out shopping with her friends. When she heard I was being sued and might go to prison... she turned completely heartless, unwilling to give a single penny. That’s why I couldn’t afford a lawyer. I beca so desperate I had no choice but to apply to the relevant departnt for a legal aid lawyer. After all... those lawyers are free; they don’t cost anything. But the defense lawyer they assigned ... I heard he just finished his internship.
BANG— After Ma Ming finished his statent, the gavel sounded again.
The Judgnt Chief asked in a deep voice, "Considering the plaintiff’s accusations, does the defendant have any defense to offer?"
Upon hearing this, ng Lei couldn’t help but swallow nervously and turned to look at his defense lawyer.
But his lawyer... he seed even more nervous than ng Lei, looking around distractedly. He didn’t even notice ng Lei’s pleading gaze.
ng Lei inwardly cursed, What a useless hack!
He had no choice but to brace himself and argue, "I... I did borrow money, but definitely not from that many people. And I just borrowed it, planning to return it later. It’s definitely not fraud! If I wanted to commit fraud, why would I do it by borrowing? Why target classmates? I was in trouble before, and those funds... I... I will return them all in a few days!"
Facing the Judgnt Chief’s piercing gaze, ng Lei no longer dared to use his previous shaless defense tactics.
This trial is different from the last one. Losing the previous lawsuit wouldn’t have been a big deal; at worst, I’d just have to pay so money. But this lawsuit... if I lose, I’m really going to jail! With my legal aid lawyer being such a huge liability, I have to do everything in my power to save myself.
In the courtroom, the Judgnt Chief pondered briefly and sumd up, "Based on both sides’ statents, there are two focal points in this case. First, whether the act of borrowing constitutes fraud. Second, whether the failure to repay the borrowed money is deliberate or unintentional."
After he finished summarizing, the core dispute of the case erged: if the act of borrowing was indeed fraudulent, then ng Lei’s actions would undoubtedly constitute fraud.
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