Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 64 - 63 The Third Witness, Professor Tan, Luo Feixiang Takes the Stand

Consider the impact!”

This was a warning from the judge, and Zhang Wei naturally took the hint.

“Mr.

Yang, since the court has spoken, you won’t need to read the remaining letters.”

Yang Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Wei, on the other hand, put the letters back in his seat and continued his cross-examination, “Mr.

Yang, you just read one email.

Do you think the person who wrote it bore any murderous intent towards your brother?”

“The letter mentioned murder, so I guess so!”

Yang Qingshan didn’t think too hard.

Despite his animosity towards Zhang Wei, the impactful content of the letter left him unable to deny it.

“And I’m telling you, there are over twenty such letters.

Does that mean I can say that any of these twenty-some people might have been capable of murdering a congressman?”

“Objection!” Huang Fang stood up again.

“This is leading the witness to speculate.

Please ask the defense attorney to phrase the question clearly!”

Calm Bro gave Zhang Wei a meaningful look.

“Then I’ll put it another way.

Do these twenty people have a motive to murder your brother?”

“I can’t deny that!”

“One last question: the Martial Association classified these letters as evidence, but did they ever investigate the twenty-some people who sent death threats?”

“Objection, whether Wang Yuqing is convicted of poisoning and murder has nothing to do with other letter senders!”

“Your Honor, I believe these letters are highly relevant to the case because the previous witness, Deputy Head Lin Ruonan, has already proved this possibility.

Can the Martial Association really rule out these twenty-some potential suspects?

Perhaps one of them infiltrated the Medical University Laboratory, stole the mushroom, and sent the spore-laden mail with Medical University’s letterhead?”

Huang Fang opposed again, but Zhang Wei was well prepared.

Calm Bro remained relatively collected, but he was considering the arguments from both sides.

Huang Fang was correct, this case was about Wang Yuqing.

But Zhang Wei also made a valid point.

While he was speaking about possibilities that were almost theoretical, what if they were true?

Just like the last case, where the DNA evidence had pointed towards Tang Chunfeng until it shockingly turned out that he had an identical twin brother.

Remembering how he had bowed his head in apology to the defendant in the Tang Chunfeng case made Calm Bro all the more cautious.

After weighing the pros and cons, he chose to compromise, “The prosecutor’s argument is not without merit, but the case needs to consider all possibilities.

Otherwise, should an invalid judgment occur, how would we account for the waste of public resources?

On careful consideration, the court has decided to overrule the prosecution’s objection!”

Calm Bro looked at Yang Qingshan, “You need to answer the defense’s questions!”

Annoyed, Huang Fang sat down.

Zhang Wei, however, gave a slight smile, seemingly aware of the significant impact the Tang Chunfeng case had on Calm Bro.

Seeing that the judge had spoken, Yang Qingshan recalled the question and thought for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure, but I suppose not, as I have received no investigative feedback about the authors of those letters from the investigative department.”

“I understand.

I can only express regret for Mr.

Yang’s experience because, to me, it seems neither the prosecution nor the investigative department wants to find the actual murderer of your brother but rather to convict my client as a scapegoat, while ignoring these twenty-some potential suspects who may be the real killer!”

“Your Honor, the defense is…”

“My questioning is over!”

As Huang Fang heard Zhang Wei’s last words and was ready to erupt, Zhang Wei beat her to the punch and returned to the defense bench.

Calm Bro glanced at Zhang Wei and still addressed the jury, “Please disregard the defense attorney’s last statement.

That’s merely his speculation and the court chooses not to accept it!”

But with the judge emphasizing it so, would the jury listen?

The answer is, of course, no.

“Lawyer Zhang, what’s going on now?” Wang Yuqing leaned in again.

Zhang Wei glanced at the jury box and analyzed, “I’ve managed to sway two or three more votes, but the situation still isn’t very good!”

Although a few more jury members had begun to harbor doubts, the prosecution still had many witnesses to present, and one key figure had not yet taken the stand.

“Does the prosecution have any more witnesses?”

“Of course, Your Honor!”

After consulting with each other, Huang Fang and Zhao Jing rose again, “The prosecution calls the third witness, Tan Xiuwen, to testify!”

“Professor Tan?” Zhang Wei was slightly surprised.

This witness was originally listed last, meant to be the prosecution’s final witness.

It seemed his counterattack in the courtroom had disrupted the prosecution’s rhythm to the extent that they had to call this heavyweight witness earlier than planned.

The courtroom doors opened, and a man with silver-gray hair walked in.

He appeared to be under 50 years old, but his figure was exceptionally thin, and as he walked, his left and right feet were slightly uneven, revealing a slight limp.

This was Professor Tan, the financier of the Medical University Laboratory and the person in charge of the mushroom experiment project.

“Witness, please state your identity for everyone.”

“My name is Tan Xiuwen.

I’m the head of Medical University Affiliated Laboratory, an investor in the laboratory, as well as an honorary alumnus and a specially-appointed biology research professor at Medical University.”

“Thank you for your testimony, Professor Tan.

The person seated in the defendant’s box, do you know who she is?”

“Of course, she’s Xiao Wang from our team.

I think highly of her; among the four team members, I feel she is the most talented!”

Tan Xiuwen nodded in appreciation towards Wang Yuqing, actually giving her a positive appraisal.

“But are you aware that she is now a suspect?”

“This… There might be some misunderstanding in between, I’m not quite clear…” Professor Tan was slightly startled, finding it difficult to answer.

However, Huang Fang persisted, “Professor Tan, have you been in the laboratory recently?”

“Yes, the project has reached a critical moment, so I have been staying at Medical University.

I normally also visit the laboratory, especially over the past month, I’ve been there every night.”

“That’s good.

I have a video here; please help me watch it!”

Zhao Jing from the prosecution started operating equipment, and a video began playing on the projection screen behind Professor Tan.

The footage showed the laboratory’s culture room, where two people were working, one of whom was Professor Tan.

The timestamp on the screen showed it was the evening of the 13th, at 7:22 PM.

“Professor Tan, do you remember this day?”

“Of course.

That day Xiao Wang and I were both in the culture room.

We worked all day; I was responsible for extracting the mushroom bodies, and she was observing and recording data.”

“Then I want to ask, if someone wanted to take mushrooms out of the laboratory, what would they need to do?”

“Mushrooms cannot be taken out of the laboratory; that’s a regulation I and the Medical University’s leadership have established!”

“What steps would need to be taken if someone insisted on taking them?”

Seeing Huang Fang’s insistence on the question, Professor Tan thought for a moment and then answered, “First, you’d need to dry the mushrooms.

Mushrooms in liquid form can easily evaporate at room temperature and may cause airborne contamination.

You need to turn the mushrooms into dehydrated powder, which is easier to preserve.

However, the process requires special processing equipment and takes about 1-2 hours.

After the mushrooms are dried, you need to ensure they’ve lost their activity before sealing them in containers.

After these steps, they can be carried out.”

“Professor Tan, please continue watching the video.”

Huang Fang pointed again towards the projection screen, where Professor Tan appeared to take a phone call in the middle of the video and then left the culture room.

A few minutes later, he returned, said something to Wang Yuqing inside through the intercom, and then left directly.

The video stopped, and the timestamp showed 7:32 PM.

“Professor Tan, why did you suddenly leave that day?”

“Because Medical University’s leadership called me suddenly to attend an important social engagement, so I informed Xiao Wang and told her to get ready to wrap up work as well.”

“Did you then leave the lab and not return?”

“Yes, I drank quite a bit that night and was taken back to my dorm by friends.

I didn’t wake up until the next morning.”

“Do you think the defendant, Wang Yuqing, should have left the lab immediately after your order?”

“Yes, that’s the rule.

The culture room must have at least two people; this is also to prevent accidents.

If there is only one person, it could be dangerous.

And when there’s only one person, there could also be…”

Professor Tan stopped here, seemingly hesitant to continue.

But Huang Fang was not willing to let go and continued to press, “Professor Tan, what else could happen?”

“It might also be possible for someone to secretly take the mushrooms.

Hence, having two people oversee each other prevents such situations…”

Upon this statement, the courtroom stirred with commotion.

On the witness stand, Zhao Chunming and others had smiles on their faces; this witness’s answers were aligning perfectly with their expectations.

Didn’t they notice that many people on the jury were already moved?

Even a few jurors had begun to exchange glances, as the seeds of doubt had been sown.

On the defense’s side, this time it was Zhang Wei who leaned over to Wang Yuqing: “Does the laboratory have this regulation?”

“Yes, it was set up by Professor Tan and the university authorities.”

“How long were you in the lab that day?”

Upon being asked this question, Wang Yuqing fell silent.

Zhang Wei’s eyes narrowed, sensing trouble.

Why had the prosecution specifically pointed out this stretch of surveillance footage?

Clearly, there was something wrong!

In the courtroom, Huang Fang saw that everyone was affected by the witness’s testimony and continued to question: “Professor Tan, you believe that the defendant Wang Yuqing would only stay in the lab for a few minutes, right?”

“Yes!”

“It’s a pity she didn’t seem to listen to you.

Let’s continue watching the footage!”

This time, Zhao Jing clicked on fast forward, and the timestamp on the video began to accelerate, continuing until around 9:15 PM, when the door of the cultivation room finally opened again, and Wang Yuqing walked out.

In the end, the image froze at the moment Wang Yuqing left the laboratory, which was at 9:16 PM.

“Professor Tan, you said that drying the fungus would take approximately 1-2 hours, correct?”

“Right!”

“So is that enough time for the defendant to leave at that point?”

“Objection!” Right after Huang Fang’s question, Zhang Wei immediately stood up to interrupt: “Hearsay, speculation, leading the witness, Your Honor, do I need to add anything else?”

“Objection sustained!” Calm Bro glanced at Huang Fang, who instantly bowed her head in response.

After Zhang Wei’s objection, he immediately turned to ask Wang Yuqing: “What were you doing in the cultivation room that night?”

“At that time, some of the data regarding the fungus showed discrepancies, so I redid the experiment and corrected the data, which is why it took so long.”

Hearing Wang Yuqing’s explanation, Zhang Wei was speechless.

Because only Wang Yuqing herself knew about this matter, and the surveillance footage submitted by the prosecution showed her staying alone in the cultivation room for nearly two hours after the professor had left, which left a lot of room for the imagination.

What would the jurors think?

Would they believe that Wang Yuqing was working overtime in the lab, correcting data errors, or doing some unspeakable secret activity, such as drying the fungus and then taking it away?

Zhang Wei guessed that many jurors might have already started to imagine the worst possibility.

“Your Honor, I have finished my questioning of the witness!”

Huang Fang had achieved the desired effect and returned to the prosecutor’s bench feeling satisfied.

Zhang Wei stepped up, but thinking about Wang Yuqing’s weak explanation, he felt somewhat helpless.

“Professor Tan, earlier you mentioned that at least two people must be present in the cultivation room.

However, could there be a possibility that only one person might stay in the cultivation room under exceptional circumstances?”

“That should not be the case.

There’s a card punch record for the lab every day and records for entering and leaving the cultivation room.

I’ve reviewed the logs, and there has never been the situation you mentioned!”

“You’ve checked the logs?” Zhang Wei was slightly curious.

“Yes, I’ve also submitted the logs to the investigative department; they’ve analyzed them already.”

Zhang Wei thought for a moment, then asked, “If I were to ask whether Wang Yuqing stayed in the cultivation room on the 13th simply because the experimental records were incorrect and needed to be redone, would you think that’s a possibility?”

“Objection, leading the witness to speculate!”

This time, it was Huang Fang’s turn to strike back, she pointed at Zhang Wei and shouted, “Your Honor, leading the witness to speculate, hearsay, without factual basis.

Shall I say more?”

“Objection sustained!” Calm Bro pushed his glasses up and looked at Zhang Wei: “Lawyer Zhang, please base your questions on facts and not on hearsay evidence!”

Huang Fang gave Zhang Wei a cold smile and sat down with a sense of triumph.

She felt a deep satisfaction at having her revenge.

“Alright, my mistake, I shouldn’t have asked that way.”

Zhang Wei hastily apologized and was just about to reorganize his words.

But at this moment, Professor Tan interrupted, “The situation you’re describing is absolutely not allowed!”

“Because the rules of the laboratory are clear cut, even if there is an error in the experiment records, we cannot allow a researcher to stay alone in a culture room filled with fungi, it’s too dangerous.

Moreover, we can’t ensure that nothing unexpected will happen if a researcher stays alone in the laboratory, it is too dangerous, and I would never allow it!”

Professor Tan’s words took Zhang Wei completely by surprise, to the extent that he never expected such a response.

“Professor Tan, I haven’t started questioning yet!”

He quickly reminded him, and only then did Professor Tan stop talking.

However, his words still made a significant impact on the jury box.

The eyes of the twelve jurors looking at Wang Yuqing were filled with doubt and suspicion.

Though Zhang Wei felt somewhat reluctant, upon looking at Professor Tan in the witness stand, he fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he said, “Your Honor, my cross-examination is finished!”

Upon returning to the defense bench, he could sense that Wang Yuqing sitting beside him looked distressed, clearly aware that the court proceedings were not going well.

“Prosecution, do you have any more witnesses?”

“Of course, Your Honor, the prosecution has one final witness to call today!”

After standing up, Huang Fang looked towards the listener’s benches.

“We would like to summon Professor Luo Feixiang from East University Law School to testify!”

Though this tactic did not surprise Zhang Wei, he had to admit that the Procuratorate Headquarters had indeed borrowed a move from his playbook.

Summoning the opposition’s people to catch them off guard.

The Procuratorate Headquarters had learned some clever maneuvers from Zhang Wei.

In the spotlight, Luo Feixiang took his place in the witness stand.

“Professor Luo, even though your name has been on the trending searches several times these past few days, and many people are aware of your situation with the defendant, I still need to ask you, what is your relationship with the defendant?”

“We are friends, friends for over a decade.”

“What type of friends?

Ordinary friends, or the kind that share everything with each other?”

Facing Huang Fang’s inquiry, Luo Feixiang looked towards the defendant’s bench, Zhang Wei’s expression remained unchanged, but Wang Yuqing shook her head slightly.

It was clear from this gesture that she wanted Luo Feixiang to claim they were just ordinary friends, as after all, the nature of a friendship is something that cannot be proven.

However, contrary to Wang Yuqing’s expectations, after a brief pause, Luo Feixiang said, “We are close friends, we used to share everything!”

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“It seems, then, that you know Wang Yuqing better than many others.

Could you tell us what kind of person Wang Yuqing is?”

Faced with the prosecutor’s question, Luo Feixiang was slightly taken aback.

Not just him, even Zhang Wei at the defense bench found it strange.

This question essentially asked Luo Feixiang to vouch for Wang Yuqing’s character.

“Hmm, is the prosecution giving us an opportunity?

But no, Huang Fang appears quite competent; she wouldn’t easily give us a chance like this.

They must be hiding some sort of ace up their sleeve!”

Zhang Wei’s expression grew grave, but he still nodded at Luo Feixiang.

Seeing Zhang Wei’s signal, the latter relaxed and began to tell the court, “I met Wang Yuqing at a university exchange meeting where she was a first-year student, and I was a sophomore…”

Luo Feixiang recounted to everyone in the court all that had transpired in his acquaintance with Wang Yuqing.

Their friendship could be described as pure, without a hint of ulterior motive.

The two had known and kept in touch for more than a decade, but neither had crossed that invisible line, maintaining a relationship similar to that of a Platonic nature.

“Thank you for your testimony, witness.

I believe the members of the jury have learned enough,”

Huang Fang had to interrupt as Luo Feixiang continued his story, “But I want to ask you one more question: Do you truly understand Wang Yuqing?”

This question finally made Zhang Wei realize something was amiss.

It seemed the prosecution might indeed have a trump card hidden.

The knife was about to be unsheathed!