MWC – Chapter 1 Adulterer**?

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

Feeling dizzy.

Yesterday, Han Anni still hadn’t accepted my invitation. Then, I ended up drinking alone, not sure how I got home or fell asleep.

Various unfamiliar images surged up in my mind—mine, others’, men’s, women’s, tall buildings, small houses by the river, old-fashioned buses, open-top jeeps, black-box TVs from the 1950s, record dance halls, and so on.

It felt like dreaming, yet also like slides flickering in my mind.

“Dang,” the sound of a gavel in the courtroom.

I instinctively sat up straight, looking around in confusion.

“The defendant, be mindful of your words and actions in this court. Don’t make any strange moves, or else, this court will charge you with contempt!”

It was a very old-fashioned courtroom, the kind you’d only see in movies or TV dramas, probably styled after the 1940s or 1950s.

The witness stand was still surrounded by a wooden fence.

Speaking was the one in the middle of the three judges sitting in the judge’s seat, a Westerner with a hooked nose, a short, thin, elderly man in his fifties.

At this moment, he was sternly looking at me, pointing and speaking.

Looking around, it seemed like this was the trial of some case.

My position should be the defendant’s seat. To my right sat a glamorous woman in classical attire, and to my left was a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. In front of him, the sign read “Defense Counsel.”

On the right side, in the prosecution’s seat, sat a row of police officers dressed in black.

Behind them, rows of long wooden chairs were filled with spectators, all of them seemed to be celebrities, dressed in extraordinary manners.

On the far right, it seemed to be the jury’s position, eight or nine jurors of all ages.

Where is this? Am I in a movie shoot? Or some short video skit?

I rubbed my eyes, quite certain that this wasn’t a dream because in a dream, rubbing my eyes wouldn’t give me such a clear sensation of touch.

The Western judge in the courtroom nodded towards the prosecution’s bench. “Proceed, prosecution!”

Immediately, a graceful female police officer stood up, her voice cold. “The first and second defendants…”

A prosecutor wearing a police uniform? I was just startled when I heard the female police officer’s voice, suddenly jolted, and looked up.

But seeing that policewoman, who was as beautiful as a painting, wearing a black police uniform, she looked even more heroic, with a different kind of charm.

Isn’t she Han Anni?

At this moment, Han Anni’s face was filled with indignation as she used words like “despicable” and “shameless” to describe the first and second defendants.

Suddenly, she turned to me and the glamorous woman beside me and said, “It can be said that the first and second defendants are a pair of adulterers!”

“Objection! I object to the prosecution using derogatory terms to describe my client!” The “defense counsel” next to me stood up, habitually tapping his gold-rimmed glasses with his finger.

I was already dumbfounded. So, the “first defendant” being vehemently criticized was me? And who was the “second defendant”?

I looked to my left at the glamorous classical woman sitting beside me. Is she the “second defendant”?

Are she and I adulterers?

“Objection sustained…” lazily responded the judge in the courtroom.

“I withdraw my previous statement. The first and second defendants have been delaying this case for a long time. If they have no new witnesses, I request to present the closing arguments today!” Han Anni slightly bowed to the judges.

I suddenly stood up. “Han Anni, what are you doing?! Where am I?”

This scene is just too strange.

In the courtroom, there was suddenly silence, everyone staring at me as if I were some kind of monster.

Han Anni was glaring at me with disgust.

“Silence, first defendant, sit down!” It took the judge a while to regain his senses before loudly pounding his gavel.

Several fierce-looking black-clad bailiffs had already surrounded me. I tried to resist but suddenly found myself too weak, being pressed down like a chick on my seat, handcuffed and shackled, even my mouth gagged with cloth.

Han Anni had already walked away. She was the deputy prosecutor. Sitting in the main prosecutor’s position was a handsome police officer, elegant and full of refinement.

He stood up at this moment. “In court, I request the immediate imprisonment of the first defendant and the closing arguments for both the prosecution and defense!”

The three judges on the high bench were whispering to each other.

I felt depressed. Wasn’t this illegal detention and bodily harm?

Struggling, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head, as if a needle were piercing through it, unbearable. The slideshow of various images appeared again, flashing before my eyes.

“In court, the first defendant seems to be unwell. I request a temporary recess…”

“Your Honor, the other side is again delaying time…”

I felt dizzy, everything here gradually slipping away from me.

…

In the lounge next to the courtroom,

I sat silently.

Seeing me foaming at the mouth and fainting, the judge finally decided to recess for an hour.

The doctor had just left, saying that I wasn’t seriously ill, but smoking too much had weakened my body, resulting in occasional fainting spells.

Several people were sitting around the round table in the lounge: my defense lawyer, the one with gold-rimmed glasses named Xie Youquan, a prominent lawyer from the provincial capital.

No one spoke at the moment.

Finally, I picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

The tea was cold, a hint of chill entering my stomach. I knew I could only accept this reality.

The slideshow was fragments of memory of this “self” in this world.

This is probably a parallel world, with various races, forming the Federal Empire of the Five Federations.

This is a small city on the border of the northern frontier of the empire.

I, a prodigal son who indulges in eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

Also named Lu Ming.

Now, I am accused of conspiring with the victim’s aunt to murder the victim.

According to the laws of this world, once convicted, the punishment is execution by hanging.

The victim was well-known in the city, the head of the largest social organization, the Shuanglong Society, known as Dragon Lord Long Daxing.

Indeed, an adulterer?

I looked helplessly towards the beautiful woman sitting timidly beside me.

Am I an adulterer, and is she my mistress?

Just now, I was too busy admiring Han Anni,

Now carefully scrutinizing her, I have to say, she truly is a peerless beauty. She was born with enchanting features, dressed in exquisite crimson silk jacket and emerald satin skirt. Amidst the skirt hem, there faintly revealed a pair of alluring petite embroidered shoes.

Her snow-white jade hands, with long slender fingers, were unexpectedly painted with a rare and bright rose-black color. Truly, she’s a worldly-wise and captivating woman. This rare black gem-like nail polish of the era brings an indescribable visual stimulation to men, extremely enticing, arousing their primal desires.

Her beauty is extremely stunning, with a delicate and fair egg-shaped face that seems like it could be shattered by a breath. Every corner of her eyebrows and eyes exudes charm.

At this moment, appearing fragile and timid, she ignites a protective instinct in men, yet also evokes an impulse to bully her.

The term “femme fatale” truly describes her, right?

Her delicate beauty contrasts sharply with Zhen Shi, Zhen Hanzhu.

The money tree of the largest brothel in the city, Wanshan Tower, nurtured by the East House through careful selection from childhood.

A Qing performer who sells her art but not her body, she plays the pipa skillfully, her singing is like celestial music, her dancing like that of a celestial maiden.

The most famous young talent in the city, Li Mingxuan, who is also the lead prosecutor in this case, fell in love with her at first sight.

He vowed to redeem her and marry her as his legitimate wife.

This matter is well known throughout the city’s upper class.

However, where would the boss of Wanshan Tower be willing to sell a goose that lays golden eggs? The price quoted was astronomical.

Li Mingxuan could only seek help everywhere, and it seems he even borrowed from loan sharks, but he still couldn’t gather enough money for the redemption.

Then, Long Daxing, the Dragon Lord, intervened and coerced the boss of Wanshan Tower into half-forcing, half-buying Zhen Shi back to his home.

But myself, I really didn’t conspire with her to murder the Dragon Lord.

Because the Dragon Lord bought her just to give her to me.

Who made Li Mingxuan and me enemies since childhood? The two families have been at odds, and the Dragon Lord deliberately humiliated the other side.

The Dragon Lord’s family has been friends with my family for generations. A few generations ago, the ancestors of the Long family were servants in my family.

Because the close relatives around me have passed away one after another in recent years, the Dragon Lord became my elder and took great care of me.

But unexpectedly, something happened on the day the Dragon Lord sent Zhen Shi to me.

I still remember the Dragon Lord inviting me to his mansion, letting the maid bring out Zhen Shi, and smilingly saying, “Young Master, you know I’ve been practicing martial arts since I was a child, where would I have these thoughts? I think this Miss Zhen is not bad, and since there’s no one around you to take care of you, let her serve as your foot-washing maid!”

His appearance and demeanor are still vivid in my mind, but he’s already dead.

His driver, who sent me and Zhen Shi home, had a collision with a detective riding a bicycle along the way.

The Dragon Lord’s driver insulted the detective, and in his anger, the detective searched the car and unexpectedly found the Dragon Lord’s body in the trunk. Moreover, the murder weapon, later found to have my fingerprints on it.

And so, myself and Zhen Shi became the accused accomplices of the Dragon Lord’s murder in court.

The Dragon Lord’s driver became the tainted witness.

Lu Ming pondered the case, and in his mind, it was as if the events of that day were being replayed like a picture.

This is his talent, innate.

…

There were many people in the lounge, but the atmosphere was oppressive, and no one spoke.

Lu Ming understood.

Xie Wenquan was using delay tactics. He didn’t say it outright, but obviously, he was trying to prolong my life by a day with each delay.

But there will always come a time when the case cannot be delayed any longer. Several months have passed, and today is the day for closing arguments and jury deliberations.

I probably won’t live for many more days either. Everyone in the room knows this, so no one speaks.

Xie Wenquan’s mood was obviously not good either. The case was already lost, but the cruel reality is that, even now, he can’t find any legitimate grounds for an appeal. Even if he does appeal, it will probably be quickly rejected.

After the provincial high court confirms it, I should be executed very soon, according to the normal procedure, I won’t live for more than a month.

Not to mention, if I’m sent to prison, it’s said that the Shuanglong Society has already sent many thugs in there. They can’t wait for me to be executed. As long as I’m imprisoned today, my life will be over.

Everyone in the room knows this.

Lu Zhong and Jin Bao’er, the two loyal servants standing aside, were both wiping away tears.

Lu Zhong is the steward and general manager of the Lu family’s business. He helps me manage the business, but his ability is limited, and he cannot go against my reckless decisions, so he can only delay, but not prevent, the rapid decline of the Lu family’s wealth.

Jin Bao’er, whose chest was exposed with thick black hair and many scars, is a playmate and bodyguard given to me by the Dragon Lord since childhood.

As the Dragon Lord’s closed-door disciple, only he still believes that I absolutely am not the murderer, but he is also considered a traitor by the Shuanglong Society.

Looking at Xie Wenquan, Lu Ming suddenly asked, “What’s the name of the female police officer sitting as the deputy prosecutor? Where is she from?”

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Young Master Lu’s focus is always so strange.

Even though he’s about to die, his eyes are still only on beautiful women.

Xie Wenquan was full of helplessness. “Didn’t you already call out her name? Han Anni. I heard she came down from the provincial hall for training, at a young age, she’s quite powerful, so the prosecution often lets her take the lead, almost overshadowing the lead prosecutor, Li Mingxuan.”

Lu Ming nodded. In this world, the prosecution and the police have not yet formally separated, and the police station has a special prosecution department for criminal cases.

Han Anni…

The same name?

But she’s obviously not like me, possessed by another soul, so why did I encounter her? Is it a coincidence?

Or is it, like some theories of parallel worlds, each person exists in countless different worlds?

“Master Lu, don’t think about anything else. I’ll try to delay the trial again, tonight, have some good food…” Xie Wenquan’s voice was somewhat bitter. Facing this mess left by the master, I am truly powerless, I can only indirectly tell this young man, who is still relatively decent, to enjoy his last moments.

Originally hired by Lu Zhong, the steward of the Lu family, Xie Wenquan, a Western barrister named Donald, is also the number one barrister in the provincial capital.

But half a month ago, seeing that the lawsuit was lost, Donald suddenly claimed illness and sent this proud disciple of his to take over, undoubtedly to avoid affecting his extremely high success rate.

Xie Wenquan also understands this point.

Listening to Xie Wenquan’s words, Lu Ming nodded and looked at his pocket watch. “There’s still some time. Come, let me see the trial dossier of this case, including the testimonies of the main witnesses for the prosecution. Bring them to me, I’ll take a look…”

In the fragments of memory, there are some memories of the legal system of this world that I’ve learned. Here, the legal system is similar to the maritime law of my world, emphasizing precedents, but many legal concepts are still in their infancy and not as developed as in my world.

Let me take a look and see if I can save myself?

Xie Wenquan was stunned, wondering if you can understand it?

But at this point, let him do whatever he wants.

Xie Wenquan nodded to the clerk on the side, and the clerk hurriedly searched for the trial records and testimonies that Lu Ming wanted to see.

On the table, there were several legal magazines distributed by the capital, and Lu Ming saw a headline on the latest issue cover that caught his eye, so he picked it up to read in detail.