Chapter 111 The comment was posted by my uncle who had just started elementary school.

"We have no objections."

From the defendant’s seat, Zhang Wei glanced at Yang Lina and immediately stood up. As a defense attorney, he could answer any questions in court on behalf of his client.

Afterward, he took a deep breath and began his defense, "However, regarding this incident, our client was unaware of what was happening. The content of her account was not posted by her personally, but by her twelve-year-old nephew after he used her phone to watch a video. Our client has not committed slander."

Zhang Wei’s voice was clear and forceful, echoing in the courtroom. He had confirmed this point with Yang Lina through multiple inquiries and could even present corresponding evidence.

Immediately afterward, he produced home surveillance footage and submitted it to the judge and adjudicators. The surveillance video clearly showed her cooking lunch at home at the time. Meanwhile, her older nephew, who happened to be visiting and playing at her house, was using her phone. During the time frame the video comment was posted, she was cooking, providing a perfect alibi. Although the video didn’t clearly show what the nephew commented, the vitriolic nature of the comment suggested it was unlikely to have been posted by a middle-aged woman like her.

"Concerning this case, I hope the collegial panel will review it carefully and ascertain the truth." Zhang Wei paused, looked deeply at his client, Yang Lina, and added, "Our client has also brought her nephew; we hope he can be called to the court as a witness."

Actually, this was something he hadn’t anticipated. After Yang Lina received the subpoena, she came to Jin City to answer the charges... and actually brought her older nephew with her! It showed a resolve to sacrifice family ties for justice. And due to juvenile protection laws, her twelve-year-old nephew wouldn’t face severe punishment. At most, he’d have a criminal offense on his record. He even suspected Yang Lina had an expert advising her behind the scenes.

"Bring in the witness."

Zhou Quanmin, after listening to Zhang Wei’s arguments, exchanged glances with the other judges and decided to call the witness to the stand.

A few minutes later, Yang Lina’s twelve-year-old nephew took the stand, nervously looking around.

In the gallery, Zhang Qingyuan, who was dozing off, was suddenly woken up by Song Tiancheng.

"Holy shit! Old Zhang, wake up! There’s drama unfolding—someone’s actually selling out their nephew!"

Zhang Qingyuan, confused, lifted his head. He saw a twelve-year-old child standing before the fifty-six defendants.

"Selling out their nephew? How did this turn into human trafficking?" he muttered, rubbing his bleary eyes.

Song Tiancheng rolled his eyes and quickly explained in a hushed tone.

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Qingyuan was instantly wide awake. The other elderly people were the same, their eyes wide as they watched the gripping scene unfold in the courtroom.

「An hour later.」

After questioning and deliberation, Yang Lina’s nephew unreservedly confessed to his "commenting behavior," admitting he was the one who had posted the comment.

THUMP—

Zhou Quanmin struck the gavel and asked again, "Regarding this case, do the plaintiff and the defendant have any further statements to make?"

From the plaintiff’s seat, Qin Mu looked at the series of conclusive evidence and shook his head.

To gather such comprehensive evidence... it indeed proved the comment wasn’t made by Yang Lina. His targets were only those internet trolls.

"Since that is the case, then I ask both the plaintiff and the defendant to make their final statements," Zhou Quanmin nodded and looked toward Qin Mu.

Dark lines appeared on Qin Mu’s forehead; he was rather speechless. But he still stood up and repeated his final statement once more, only this time, the subject was Yang Lina.

Moreover, it was highly likely he would need to make fifty-six more final statements, repeating the same words fifty-six times.

"The hearing of this case now concludes."

"Proceed to the next one."

After both sides had made their statements, Zhou Quanmin picked up another file and continued the hearings. There were simply too many cases to hear this time.

If he didn’t speed up, he probably wouldn’t finish even in half a month. Fortunately, the other cases were relatively straightforward. After handling Han Suiyue’s and Yang Lina’s cases, he could simply apply a template for the rest.

For different cases, Zhang Wei proposed different mitigating circumstances, requesting discretionary consideration. The clerk beside him was responsible for recording these defense arguments for later sentencing deliberations.

「Another two hours went by.」

The efficiency of the hearings increased, but they became correspondingly monotonous and tedious. The most direct proof of this was in the gallery, where Zhang Qingyuan and the others had fallen asleep again.

At the plaintiff’s bench, Qin Mu gradually felt himself becoming an automaton, standing up every fifteen minutes or so to deliver a final statement.

And in his observation, Zhang Wei’s performance this time was also outstanding. For each different case, he presented appropriate mitigating circumstances, reminding the collegial panel to consider them. His defense of Yang Lina’s innocence was also flawless. Looking at it now, if nothing unexpected happened, Zhang Wei’s defense this time should be very successful.

But when the hearing reached the thirteenth defendant, Qin Mu had just made his thirteenth final statement, and it was the defendant’s turn to speak.

He heard this defendant begin to plead, "Judge, I’ve been wronged! Actually, there’s something I didn’t mention. Just like Yang Lina, my phone wasn’t with me at that time; I didn’t post the comment. As an adult, how could I possibly post such a comment? It was posted by my young uncle, who just started elementary school..."

Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. He looked at the defendant in surprise.

He hadn’t expected to encounter a situation similar to Yang Lina’s again. Such cases were very troublesome to adjudicate, requiring complete evidence to prove one’s innocence. It was time-consuming and laborious and would slow down the court’s proceedings.

At the same time, at the defendant’s bench, Zhang Wei, who had perfectly mastered the rhythm of the defense, suddenly paled. He stared incredulously at the defendant beside him. This defendant was named Jiang Lin.

Not only had he not followed the prepared statement, but he had also improvised and started proclaiming his innocence! The key point was, Jiang Lin hadn’t discussed any of this with him beforehand! Regardless of whether it was true or false, even if it were true, speaking like this in court completely disrupted his rhythm and was beyond his expectations. This case was different from Yang Lina’s. He had prepared a full set of arguments and a chain of evidence for Yang Lina, sufficient to prove her innocence. But now, he was completely in the dark about the details of this case. If Jiang Lin was lying... lying in court was entirely different from lying elsewhere. It would constitute perjury! For this crime, if the circumstances were ordinary, the sentence was up to three years of fixed-term imprisonment. If the circumstances were serious... three to seven years!

"Judge, I really have been wronged! My young uncle came over to my place to play, and I just gave him my phone..." Jiang Lin continued to plead his case.

With Yang Lina’s case as a precedent, and in a moment of desperation to avoid imprisonment, he had thought of his young uncle, who had just turned six.