The opening statement of the prosecution and defense took more than an hour, mainly by Liu Hanhuan, and his opening statement took almost fifty minutes.
Lu Ming only spent ten minutes.
After the opening statement, Cao Guan temporarily adjourned the court for ten minutes. Next, it was time for the prosecution and defense to cross-examine witnesses.
In the outer corridor, a female lawyer wearing a gray skirt uniform stood in front of Lu Ming, "Lawyer Lu, would you like to chat?"
The female lawyer was Liu Hanxuan's assistant. Of course, Lu Ming also found out clearly that Zhang Jingjing, an outstanding young lawyer with a good family background, was Liu Hanxuan's apprentice and a trainee lawyer who had just joined the job this year.
She had an oval face and was a little charming. She handed over a business card and said, "Lawyer Lu, when this case is over, you are welcome to join Liu Hanxuan Law Firm, and in the second year, you will be guaranteed to become a junior partner. The specific conditions, we will We can discuss it in detail.”
Lu Ming looked at the business card and smiled: "Can you make the decision?"
"If you are really interested, my master will talk to you when the case is over." Zhang Jingjing looked at Lu Ming and felt very strange. She didn't know why her master valued him so much. A rookie lawyer would become a junior partner in his second year. , which is also unique in the history of our firm.
"Okay, I will consider it!" Lu Ming nodded.
…
The prosecution first called witnesses. The first one was Du Laifu, the witness who discovered the body. He was the manager of Jincheng Hotel and the cousin of the deceased Li Er's wife.
It was he who led Li Mingxuan into the second concubine Li's room and found Li Mingxuan leaving in a hurry.
It was also he who discovered the body at 5am and then called the police.
When Liu Hanhuan interrogated him and guided him to tell what happened, Lu Ming just listened quietly.
When it was his turn to cross-examine the witnesses, he only asked two questions. One was that Du Laifu was the first to find the body at 5 a.m.; the second question was whether anyone else discovered the body with him at that time.
The second prosecution witness was forensic doctor Liu Kuang. Under the guidance of Liu Hanhuan, he explained the cause of death of the deceased. His skull was fractured by a heavy blow with a blunt instrument. Hematoma caused by hard brain trauma caused severe compression of the brain tissue and herniation of the brain. According to the shape of the wound and the impact on the brain, he died. The examination of multiple blunt objects at the scene determined that the iron flying eagle sculpture found at the scene was the murder weapon.
Lu Ming only asked one question, which was whether anyone's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.
Liu Kuang replied, no.
The third witness, the police representative who arrested Li Mingxuan, told the story of the arrest of Li Mingxuan and the several precious items found from Li Mingxuan, two of which had been collected by the deceased Mrs. Li Er for many years.
Lu Ming asked three questions. The first question was, did Mr. Li Haoran resist? Second question, does Mr. Li Haoran look like he is about to run away? The third question is where to place those precious items.
The detective answered no to the first two questions.
For the third question, the detective recorded clearly that some of these precious items were in the bed cabinet and some in the safe. He answered the exact location of each one.
The three witnesses finished testifying. It was already past five o'clock. Cao Guan was about to adjourn the court and continue tomorrow. Lu Ming stood up and said, "Your honor, I request to summon the witness. Wang Xiaocui, the waiter who works at Jincheng Hotel, should be called It won't take long, and I hope this case will be heard as soon as possible to save taxpayers' money."
Guan Cao glanced at him and said, "Are the witnesses here?"
"Just in the gallery."
Cao Guan nodded: "Witness Wang Xiaocui, enter the witness box."
After being reminded by Chen Qinghua who was sitting next to her, Xiaocui suddenly came back to her senses, stood up, and saw everyone in the court looking at her. She immediately turned pale, lowered her head, and walked onto the witness stand.
Lu Ming looked at her quietly, with encouragement in his tone, "Miss Wang Xiaocui, you have already sworn an oath, so you understand the consequences of perjury in court, right?"
Xiaocui didn't dare to raise her head and just said "hmm" softly.
"Let's talk about your job first."
Xiaocui timidly said: "I, I am a waiter at Jincheng Hotel. I have been working there for more than a year."
"What is your relationship with the victim, Ms. Li Xiaoyan?"
"Me, because Mrs. Li often goes to the hotel and likes the coffee I brew, Manager Du usually asks me to serve Mrs. Li."
"Ms. Li Xiaoyan, do you often go to your hotel?"
"Yes, it is."
"The conditions at Jincheng Hotel are very simple. Ms. Li Xiaoyan, who lives in high society, why would she like to go there?"
"I, I don't know."
"Is it because Manager Du Laifu is Ms. Li Xiaoyan's cousin, and Jincheng Hotel is very remote, so Ms. Li Xiaoyan can do things in Jincheng Hotel that she doesn't want others to know about?"
"Objection, speculative induction question!" Liu Hanxuan raised his hand casually, facing these tricks with familiarity and basic conditioned reflexes.
"The objection is valid, and the witness does not need to answer!" Cao Guan nodded.
"What happened at around eight o'clock in the evening on April 25, the day this case occurred?"
Xiaocui's face turned paler and she looked down at the table in the witness box. "That day, that day, the second wife came to Jincheng Hotel again. It was brought by Fourth Brother Li and the others. Then, then, the second wife gave me a gift. , let me go to Brother Li and ask Brother Li to go to her room..."
"Brother Li, what's your full name?"
"Yes, it's Li Haoran..."
"That's Li Haoran in the dock, right?"
"Yes……"
Lu Ming raised his voice slightly: "Ms. Li Xiaoyan, what is the thing that you are asked to hand over to Mr. Li Haoran?"
Xiaocui hesitated, looked down at the table, and said nothing.
Lu Ming looked at her, "Miss Wang, this is a murder case, so I hope you can tell the truth, otherwise, you will be uneasy for the rest of your life."
Xiaocui gritted her teeth, "Yes, yes, what the second wife gave me was a pair of underwear..."
In the auditorium, someone immediately started whispering to each other.
Liu Hanhuan frowned, but did not react.
"Ms. Wang, please tell me again, whose underwear belongs to these?"
"Yes, it's the second wife's underwear. She took it off and gave it to me, asking me to give it to Brother Li..."
The auditorium and the jury box were all in uproar.
Even Wang Daan was stunned and looked to the side at Li Mingxuan.
At the prosecution's seat, Zhang Jingjing glanced at her master, her face feeling slightly warm.
"So, did you give the underwear to Mr. Li Haoran?" Lu Ming asked.
"No, no... I, I threw it away..." Xiaocui lowered his head even lower, "I, if I had given it to Brother Li, maybe, just, this wouldn't have happened..." As she spoke, she gradually began to sob.
Lu Ming turned around, "According to what the witnesses said, it is clear that Ms. Li Xiaoyan is willing to date Mr. Li Haoran. If she wanted to, Mr. Li Haoran would not have to rape or kill her."
When Lu Ming returned to the defense table, Liu Hanhuan slowly stood up and walked to the witness table.
"Miss Wang, please raise your head and answer the question." Liu Hanzhen's tone was gentle, but his eyes were extremely sharp.
The jurors could not see his gaze, but could only hear his gentle voice.
Xiaocui slowly raised her head, but was so frightened that she quickly lowered her head under his intense gaze.
"You are lying, so you don't have the courage to raise your head, right?" Liu Hanxuan asked with a sigh.
"Objection, object to the prosecution's baseless speculation!" Lu Ming raised his hand.
Cao Guan nodded: "The objection is valid."
"You like Brother Li Si in your mouth, the defendant Li Haoran, right?" Liu Hanhuan asked suddenly.
Xiaocui was stunned and stammered, "I, I..."
"So, in order to help Li Haoran escape guilt, you lied and slandered the victim, right?"
"I didn't, I didn't..." Xiaocui shook her head and shed tears.
Lu Ming stood up, but Cao Guan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to object, and any objection would be dismissed.
"Then tell us, do you like Li Haoran? I want to remind you that if you lie on the witness stand, you are guilty!"
Xiaocui just shook his head and said nothing.
Lu Ming rubbed his nose. This Liu Hanhuan was indeed no ordinary person. The tone of Xiaocui's address to Li Mingxuan made him have some guesses. Now, it has been confirmed.
"In court, I have no problem!" Liu Hanhuan bowed slightly.
Obviously, questioning a witness who looks like a frightened bunny won't score points with the jury.
But now, it seems like this girl really lied in court for the sake of love.
Lu Ming stood up at this time and walked to the witness stand, "Miss Wang Xiaocui, why do you like Li Haoran?"
Xiao Cui was stunned and looked up at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming continued to ask: "He was very handsome before his face was injured, right?"
Xiao Cui hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Please answer yes or no."
"Yes, yes..." Suddenly catching a glimpse of Li Mingxuan's gaze looking over at the dock, Xiaocui quickly lowered his head.
Lu Ming nodded, "So, when Ms. Li Xiaoyan handed you her underwear and asked you to hand it over to Mr. Li Haoran, you were jealous, right?"
Xiao Cui lowered her head and murmured, "No, it's not that, I, I don't know what I was thinking at the time, it was just that I didn't want to, I didn't want to hand over... to Fourth Brother Li..."
Biting her lip, she secretly looked at Li Mingxuan again, but immediately looked back in panic.
Lu Ming nodded and walked back to his seat.
Zhang Jingjing watched her master sit still for a long time, feeling horrified. It was the first time she saw her master so hesitant in court.
But that rookie lawyer was really good. It turned out that the master discovered that there might be an emotional component between the witness and the defendant, so the possibility of lying was very high.
But unexpectedly, he was quickly led by a rookie lawyer to become the defendant who was handsome before. In this way, if the victim, Mrs. Li Er, seduces him, it is not impossible that a young girl can have a handsome guy in her forties. What is impossible about a purdah woman being tempted?
Especially when the rookie lawyer questioned her, the little girl's reaction was so natural, shy, embarrassed, etc. It was obvious that she was not pretending.
Master will practice countless times with his witnesses in the mock court before each of his witnesses comes to court.
Every word, every answer, every detail is strived to be perfect.
Even though the master didn't pay much attention to this case and only read the files briefly, he still practiced the confessions of the witnesses with them.
I have always admired him. Despite his reputation, his master was still serious about such a small case involving a rookie lawyer.
But today, everything seems to have changed. If a witness who doesn’t need any preparation tells the truth, maybe it would be better to just put him on the witness stand?
Because her true reaction and emotional expression are more convincing.
At least, I believe in this little girl now.
"Your Honor, I have no questions to ask." Liu Hanhuan finally stood up.
Zhang Jingjing opened her mouth wide. There was no doubt that the master had given up in this round of offense and defense.
At this time, on the judge's bench, Cao Guan picked up the gavel and banged it, "Adjourn the court and continue at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon!"
