Chapter 532 - 216 Qin Mu: "Am I that famous now?

The words had barely left his lips.

Zhang Wei’s body jolted violently, his face showing a look of utter disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Zhang Kuang looked with some surprise at Zhang Wei, who had somewhat lost his composure yet whose expression remained serious.

He didn’t understand.

Why could a few old men cause such a significant emotional disturbance in Zhang Wei?

Logically speaking, Zhang Wei’s law firm was doing better and better, and he had handled an increasing number of significant cases. He shouldn’t be losing his composure like this.

"I mean, during my trial, a lot of old men suddenly appeared in court. The crucial thing is, neither Liu Qiao nor I recognize any of them..."

He swallowed hard and continued.

The next second, Zhang Wei’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Standing rooted to the spot, he murmured to himself, "So that’s it! I was wondering why this case felt so familiar. It’s related to Qin Mu!"

This case... It gave him the feeling of one wave crashing only for another to rise immediately. Take Liu Qiao, for example. His situation was like pulling a single hair and moving the whole body; it implicated the entire Sanhe Hospital.

After the judgment was issued, Liu Qiao even attempted to file for an appeal, vainly hoping to overturn the verdict. In the end, he embarked on the path of illegality and crime.

In the court of second appeal, an unusual scene unfolded where the defendant and his lawyer turned against each other. He had to admit, despite having represented so many criminal cases and encountered numerous problematic defendants, he had always upheld his professional integrity and never turned against his own clients.

The defendants’ actions repeatedly defied his understanding. Even though he exerted his utmost efforts each time, he was never able to secure a sentence reduction for them; on the contrary, their sentences were often increased.

Zhang Kuang’s case was a typical example of a lawyer defending a client only to end up incriminating himself.

"Qin Mu?"

Zhang Kuang shivered as he listened to Zhang Wei’s murmurs.

In the legal profession, Qin Mu’s reputation was immense. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the lawyers’ meal ticket.

A few months ago, when junior lawyers in the legal profession were struggling with a shortage of cases, it was Qin Mu who had single-handedly turned the tide, bringing in over three thousand defendants.

These over three thousand defendants were divided among all the lawyers in Jin City’s legal circles, allowing many of them to earn a substantial amount. He himself had been one of them, taking on over a dozen cases and earning more than a hundred thousand in just one month!

Unfortunately, in the days that followed, although Qin Mu often made moves, the number of people he implicated were only a few sporadic individuals. The scale was too small. Zhang Kuang couldn’t even make ends meet, which was why he had resorted to bribery.

"You mean... this case is related to Qin Mu?"

At this thought, Zhang Kuang swallowed hard and stared intently at Zhang Wei as he asked.

Zhang Wei nodded. "That’s right. These old men are Qin Mu’s friends. He works at a certain nursing home, and these old men have... rather peculiar hobbies. They enjoy attending court hearings as observers."

He had seen such scenes too many times. Every time he defended one of his clients, the public gallery would be packed exclusively with old men. It was always overcrowded, their collective presence imposing.

Moreover, this second appeal was being held in the Intermediate Court. Although these old men occasionally attended trials as observers, they would never go to the Intermediate Court without a specific reason. Therefore, he was certain this incident had to be related to Qin Mu.

"This Liu Qiao... he’s messed with someone he shouldn’t have. I’m afraid he’s in for a world of trouble," Zhang Wei sighed lightly and said earnestly.

"Based on my understanding of Qin Mu," Zhang Wei continued, his tone serious, "anyone who goes up against him in court never comes to a good end. Even I’ve had several close calls where I was nearly dragged down by my own clients. Fortunately, I managed to stay composed during those critical moments and wasn’t led astray."

"And this Liu Qiao... it’s clear that his other crimes will be uncovered one after another. The more criminal acts are found, the heavier his sentence will be. He might even get up to twenty years of fixed-term imprisonment!"

"It can’t be that bad... Is he really that formidable?"

Cold sweat broke out on Zhang Kuang’s forehead as he listened, and he felt a little weak-kneed.

What Zhang Wei said was just too incredible; it left him completely at a loss. If Liu Qiao was doomed, it meant he was doomed as well.

At this point, both he and Liu Qiao had become defendants, awaiting judgment in the next court session. If Liu Qiao’s sentence was approaching twenty years, then his own sentence... wouldn’t it also skyrocket?

"You don’t believe it?" Zhang Wei looked at the skeptical Zhang Kuang and raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise, where do you think all those failed cases in my law firm came from?"

"Every time, I identified the key defense points and was confident I could achieve the maximum possible sentence reduction.

"Yet in court, all sorts of unexpected things would happen.

"These defendants... they’re truly outrageous."

As he spoke, he recounted the defendants’ courtroom behavior incident by incident. There were those who defended themselves, using famous quotes from internet lawyers to refute the judge; those who argued and directly cursed the Judgment Chief in court; those who ignored court discipline, making it impossible for the trial to proceed; and those who attempted to evade guilt by committing perjury in court, among other things.

"These people implicated by Qin Mu all behaved despicably. Driven by an intense will to survive, they ultimately resorted to all sorts of outrageous actions."

"Take yourself, for example. You resorted to bribery to make some extra money and ended up as a defendant in court—a clear case in point." Zhang Wei lifted his head, looked at Zhang Kuang, and spoke gravely.

Zhang Kuang’s face grew increasingly pale as he listened.

What Zhang Wei was saying... it was truly frightening.

He had just been trying to earn a bit more money; who would have thought he’d be discovered so quickly? He had done this sort of thing twice before. Once he made the right connections, the lawsuits always went more smoothly.