Chapter 52: Arresting Li Youcai and Liu Cui |
"A promissory note?"
He was well-informed and experienced. Even without reading the text, his seasoned instincts had already guessed what it was.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
Hu Guang stuffed a large mouthful of boxed lunch into his mouth, set the container on the ground, and unfolded the overlapping pages with both hands. He mumbled as he read:
"[I, Li Youcai and Liu Cui of Lijia Village, Greenwood City...]"
As he read, he suddenly froze. Even the chewing motion in his mouth ground to a halt as a prolonged silence stretched over him.
Beside him, Wang Wei, who was still gorging himself, leaned over curiously.
"What are you looking at?"
Wang Wei tilted his head toward Hu Guang and glanced at the paper. In just a single glance, his pupils instantly contracted. The text starkly declared...
This was...
Li Youcai''s promissory note.
A ten-year-old promissory note for the one thousand yuan they used to buy Wang Mei, complete with crooked handwriting and their fingerprints at the bottom!
"Hiss!"
Hu Guang and Wang Wei snapped their heads up, their expressions severe. They stared fixedly at Xu De, their breathing growing slightly ragged.
This was... irrefutable, ironclad evidence of Li Youcai and Liu Cui''s crimes!
The prosecutor''s office already believed Li Youcai and Liu Cui were guilty. After all, the five thousand yuan used to buy Wang Mei ten years ago was not a small sum.
But... Li Erniu was already dead.
Dead men tell no tales!
Aside from Wang Mei''s solitary testimony, there was no evidence whatsoever to prove they had committed a crime ten years ago!
But right now...
Hu Guang''s throat bobbed. When he spoke again, his voice was unexpectedly hoarse.
"Where did this come from?"
"I found it in Lijia Village."
A gentle smile graced Xu De''s face. As he spoke, he casually lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, filling his lungs with nicotine.
With the exhale, his breathing steadied slightly. He looked at Hu Guang and said, "Two promissory notes in total, and one eyewitness."
"You just need to find the witness, Li Li..."
With a single glance, the chain of evidence fully formed in the minds of the two prosecutors. It was no exaggeration to say that this thing... could put Li Youcai and Liu Cui behind bars for the rest of their lives!
"Found it in Lijia Village?"
Hu Guang was stunned. "How long did you search?"
"Half an hour," Xu De replied casually.
Half an hour...
Hu Guang and Wang Wei opened their mouths, hesitating for a long time, but unable to force out a single word. Eventually, they lapsed into silence.
This thing... was found in half an hour!?
If the villagers hid this even slightly and refused to admit it verbally, there would be absolutely nothing anyone could do. The prosecutors and police had investigated the situation in Lijia Village for nearly two months and found absolutely nothing!
And then you come over and say you found two promissory notes and an eyewitness in half an hour, involving three completely unrelated parties...
Hu Guang wanted to say something.
But after brewing over it for a long while, he couldn''t think of anything to say, ultimately resorting to a deep breath.
"Alright."
With that thought, Hu Guang stood up. By now, his complexion had turned extremely gloomy, his eyes brimming with anger.
He hadn''t wanted to prosecute Wang Qiang, but the very role of a prosecutor was to file public charges; it couldn''t be helped. The reason his relationship with Xu De had been so tense during the trial was purely because the other party was aiming for a ''not guilty'' verdict.
Even if Xu De had argued for excessive self-defense and sought an ''exempt from criminal punishment'' ruling, Hu Guang and Wang Wei wouldn''t have said much. But it had to be a ''not guilty'' plea—the most highly scrutinized verdict in the extremely cautious judicial environment of 2002...
And they had actually won the case!
Upon returning to the prosecutor''s office, their year-end performance reviews were more than likely ruined.
And all of this...
Was entirely caused by Li Youcai and Liu Cui!
Whether it was their initial crime of buying the victim, committing perjury, or even trying to clear their own names... all the conflict stemmed from those two!
"Lawyer Xu, is it? I owe you a favor."
Hu Guang spoke solemnly, his left hand clenching into a fist, clearly unable to suppress his fury.
Xu De merely smiled.
Look at this. He had beaten them in court, hadn''t even let them finish their meal, and despite all that, they still had to thank him!
"No need. Just save me a spot as the civil litigation representative," Xu De said casually.
Calculating the time, the trial for Li Youcai and Liu Cui would perfectly coincide with the opening day of his law firm. Keeping them as his inaugural case would be the perfect way for the firm''s staff to take over and build their reputation.
With those words, Xu De turned and left without the slightest hesitation, returning to Wang Chao and Lin Yue''s side in a few strides.
"Director, why did you seek out the prosecution?" Wang Chao asked suspiciously, his gaze darting between the two sides.
"It''s nothing," Xu De deflected casually. He then paused and looked at Lin Yue. "Lawyer Lin, how are the preparations for the law firm coming along?"
Hearing this, Lin Yue paused briefly before pulling the prepared materials from her bag.
"I resigned from the firm last night and transferred my files. Lawyer Wang has always been drifting around and never belonged to a firm to begin with."
"Now we''re just waiting on you. If you get your files transferred out... we can register tomorrow."
She was the major funder and primary source of connections within the office.
Whether it was the hundreds of thousands in registered capital or selecting a location for the firm, she handled it all in one night. She didn''t even want to wait for renovations, opting for a ready-made location instead.
The only thing left... was that Xu De hadn''t resigned yet.
Hearing this, Xu De nodded and turned to get into the car.
"Alright, I''ll return to the firm today and terminate my employment contract."
He had signed a short-term employment contract with the firm—a strict three-month limit, no more, no less. It happened to expire today, so handling the file transfer would be a convenient task to wrap up.
Having made up their minds, the group took Wang Qiang''s family of three and left the courthouse.
As for the three prosecutors...
Hu Guang stared at their retreating figures until they were completely out of sight, then took a deep breath.
"Get to work!"
With those words, the three abandoned the boxed lunches they had just bought and, wearing dark expressions, walked away while making phone calls.
......
4:30 PM.
Greenwood City, Municipal People''s Procuratorate.
Inside the Interrogation Room.
"What''s the meaning of this? Didn''t you say we were just coming back to do some paperwork? Why on earth did you bring us here!?"
"I''m still in a rush to get home and find my grandson! What are you making us sit around here for!?"
"..."
A cacophony of swearing and complaining filled the air.
Li Youcai and Liu Cui were currently seated in the suspects'' chairs in the Interrogation Room, incessantly cursing everything around them, their eyes filled with indignation.
They were extremely anxious.
The verdict had been announced, so Xu De needed to fulfill his promise and hand the child over to them!
Now these officials had forcibly brought them here...
Wasn''t this just delaying their business!
"Creak!"
The heavy doors of the Interrogation Room were suddenly pushed open.
Hu Guang strode in with long, commanding steps. His expression was so dark it looked as if it might drip water. In two steps, he sat down at the interrogation desk, three meters away from Li Youcai.
"What do you think you''re doing!?" Li Youcai shouted angrily, his furious, slanted eyes scanning the room.
Liu Cui also muttered under her breath, "I''m still waiting to go home and hold my grandson..."
Grandson?
Hearing those words, Hu Guang smiled.
A smile completely devoid of warmth!
His eyes grew cold. Without a word, he threw a photocopied piece of paper directly in front of the two of them.
"Do you recognize this!?"
This is...
Li Youcai and Liu Cui were bewildered. They looked down, picked up the paper, and let their eyes sweep over it.
"[I, Li Youcai and Liu Cui of Lijia Village, Greenwood City.......]"
This was...
In a daze, it was as if a memory had suddenly jolted awake in their minds. Their pupils violently shrank to the size of pinpricks, trembling uncontrollably.
This was... the promissory note from all those years ago!?
Where did they get it!
Li Youcai panicked internally. He was about to open his mouth to deny it, but unfortunately...
"Where did you find this!?" Liu Cui suddenly shrieked, her eyes brimming with terror.
Hearing her words, Li Youcai''s heart sank, and his face instantly turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.
"Heh, so you admit this is yours. That makes things easy."
Hu Guang chuckled. Then, his expression abruptly vanished, replaced by a terrifyingly dark scowl. He stared dead at the two people in front of him and enunciated every single word clearly:
"Are you going to talk, or... do we need to help you talk?"
......
......
Meanwhile.
Torch Road.
Jinmao Law Firm.
"Creak~"
The main entrance of the law firm opened.
Standing by the coffee machine, Director Han, who was pouring a cup of coffee, glanced back just in time to see Xu De walking toward him. His eyes instantly lit up.
He straightened his posture and looked at the other man with a beaming smile, his tone full of delight.
Director Han spoke up, "Lawyer Xu, you''re back?"
"How did the court trial go!?"
He thought highly of the man, but the difficulty of the case was obvious to anyone with eyes. Let alone complete exoneration, as long as Xu De could keep the defendant''s sentence under five years, it would be considered a victory!
If he could manage a three-year sentence, or even probation... it could absolutely be hailed as an overwhelming triumph!
Thinking that he would have such a capable right-hand man in the future... Director Han''s heart gradually warmed up.
Unfortunately...
"Director."
Looking at the firm''s director, Xu De offered a polite smile and said, "I came to the firm today to discuss... terminating my contract."
"I won''t be renewing with the firm."
Terminating the contract...
Director Han''s expression froze. In the next second, confusion washed over his face, and with a slightly anxious tone, he said, "Little Xu, is it a matter of compensation? The short-term contract was just my trial period for you; those benefits aren''t your final compensation package. If you''re dissatisfied, you can just bring it up. We can talk about it!"
Xu De shook his head.
Aside from not knowing how to utilize people and lacking the ability to judge character, the other man was alright. But then again, those were significant flaws.
Ultimately, the man lacked an eye for talent.
Xu De shook his head and said, "There''s no need. The contract has expired; I''m simply here to inform you."
"Director Han, your esteemed firm... isn''t quite suited for me."
Director Han paused.
The other man was... speaking with hidden meaning!
Immediately, Director Han furrowed his brows, his face darkening. A trace of seriousness appeared in his eyes as he asked sternly, "Not suited?"
"Lawyer Xu, what aspect of the firm are you... dissatisfied with!?"