MWC – Chapter 33 Who am I?

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

These past few days, Lu Ming’s mind had been in a haze, but fortunately, there wasn’t much that required his attention. His tasks mainly involved exchanging evidence with the prosecution and providing a report on Li Mingxuan’s physical condition to the court, which would then determine the trial date. All these errands were handled by the clerk, Chen Qinghua.

Lu Ming also took a few days off from school.

Soon enough, the date for the first court session arrived. On May 21, the first hearing for the Li Si case took place.

In Courtroom No. 2 of the Ninth Circuit Court of Donghai (North Guan Court), Lu Ming and Liu Hanming were selecting members for the jury.

In the jury box, twenty candidates sat at a time. Both Lu Ming, representing the defense, and Liu Hanming, representing the prosecution, asked them questions. If both parties agreed, the candidate would become a member of the jury.

Ultimately, a ten-member jury was selected. In criminal cases, the jury must reach a unanimous decision; that is, their verdict is only valid if they all agree or disagree.

During the selection process, both the defense and the prosecution each had four peremptory challenges, allowing them to dismiss candidates without providing a reason. The number of challenges for cause was unlimited; as long as the court accepted the reason, they could dismiss as many candidates as needed.

Jury candidates needed to meet certain educational requirements and have no criminal record. Moreover, professionals such as lawyers, judges, doctors, firefighters, police officers, teachers, and government officials were excluded from serving as jurors. These individuals are considered too specialized and might unduly influence the rest of the jury, turning the jury deliberation into a one-person show.

During the jury selection, Liu Hanming preferred new immigrants, that is, those who had immigrated within the last generation. 

Lu Ming thought to himself that Liu Hanming was indeed astute. From previous readings on psychology, he knew that while one might assume new immigrants would sympathize more with fellow newcomers struggling to make a living in Donghai, the reality was often the opposite. New immigrants might resent individuals like Li Mingxuan, seeing them as lowering the overall standard of immigrants and thus subjecting themselves to discrimination.

Accurately grasping the prevailing psychological state of certain groups, Liu Hanming was indeed a formidable figure.

Lu Ming, on the other hand, favored individuals with strong logical and analytical abilities. He asked each candidate a question that tested their logical thinking, similar to the “cow in the field” problem, which involves someone mistaking a model cow in a field for their own cow, despite the real cow being hidden behind trees. He would then ask the candidates to justify their answers, assessing their objective understanding of matters.

As he posed this question to each candidate, Liu Hanming was somewhat surprised.

Relying on the jury’s logical reasoning abilities to analyze the case was a naive idea, typical of a rookie lawyer.

Liu Hanming wondered if Lu Ming actually believed his client was innocent.

A few hours later, the ten jurors were finalized, with both parties in agreement.

The judge banged the gavel, announcing that the trial would officially commence at 3 PM, entering the litigation phase.

……

Room 302 of the Husky Hotel had temporarily become the base for Lu Ming and his team.

Located not far from North Guan Court, it was a convenient spot for midday rest.

Their benefactor, Liu Laocai, had voluntarily covered the cost of the 302 suite for a month to aid Lu Ming in handling the case.

Inside the suite, Lu Ming felt somewhat speechless, seeing the ever-smiling Liu Laocai. He couldn’t understand why he liked to get involved.

By blood relations, the big boss of Mingjia Entertainment, Liu Shouye, and the second boss, Liu Shoucheng, were distant cousins to Liu Laocai. The prosecutor, Liu Hanming, was his nephew.

Even if their relationships weren’t harmonious, spending money just to watch the proceedings seemed excessively nosy, almost bordering on the ridiculous.

“Lawyer Lu, you go ahead with your business. I’m leaving now. I just wanted to check if there’s anything else you need from me!” Liu Laocai said, his face wrinkling less as he smiled. Before leaving, he whispered to Lu Ming, “Lawyer Lu, that Liu Shouye could use a bit of humiliation, please do me this favor!”

Lu Ming coughed.

Initially, he had many reservations. Although it was publicly known that Liu Laocai and the Liu brothers were not on good terms, they were still related. Who knew if Liu Laocai might be gathering intel under the guise of helping?

After all, people’s hearts are inscrutable. Whether it was helping with the case or being hired as the company’s legal consultant, when it came to deep-seated interests, he might still betray Lu Ming.

Now, seeing that he wasn’t staying to observe the trial strategy, Lu Ming felt relieved.

The suite was elegantly decorated, with a blue and white patterned Western-style sofa, a dark oval coffee table, and a 7-inch television.

In this upscale suite, a telephone was a standard feature.

Li Mingxuan, sitting on one side of the sofa, was taking painkillers. The stitches on his face had just been removed, leaving chaotic scars. He occasionally glanced at Lu Ming with confusion.

Perhaps even now, he didn’t understand what Lu Ming intended to do. Did he really want to help him with the case?

Wang Da’an and Chen Qinghua were present as well. Besides the receptionist Jiji, practically the entire office had mobilized for this high-profile case.

Additionally, near the door sat a burly, bald man with a multitude of earrings, giving him an imposing appearance.

He was called Datou, serving as a temporary bodyguard.

Hired through the intermediary Old Ghost from the detective agency, Datou had an impressive resume. He had served in the Imperial Marine Corps, participating in death explorations—a term for the empire’s relentless pursuit of exploring mysterious surrounding waters. From his squad, only Datou survived.

However, being a Central Plains native, he had limited prospects for promotion in the military and eventually retired. Lacking other skills, he became a bodyguard.

His services didn’t come cheap, costing 20 imperial yuan per day, with a minimum ten-day contract. Additional fees applied for using various weapons.

Hiring a temporary bodyguard was Old Ghost’s suggestion. Considering the case’s high profile, necessary security measures were needed to avoid harassment, even just to fend off journalists and protesters outside the court.

Thinking about the intruder that Zhen had dealt with, Lu Ming accepted Old Ghost’s proposal.

Now, glancing at Datou, Lu Ming couldn’t help but think of Zhen.

Perhaps Zhen really had a dual personality: one being Zhen Hanzhu, a gentle and kind woman; the other, Zhen Bizhu, although still recognizing him as her master, had a much fiercer temperament. Fortunately, it seemed Bizhu’s personality only emerged in response to threats, meaning Zhen should be safe at home. After all, she seemed like someone straight out of a wuxia novel.

Turning to look at Li Mingxuan, Lu Ming thought to himself that perhaps he had already saved his life. If he had actually married Zhen Bizhu, she might have clawed his head into pieces.

Of course, it seemed that Master Long would never have allowed such a thing to happen. Ultimately, the plan was always to send Zhen to his side.

Who, then, am I really?

Lu Ming shook his head helplessly.

At Furnad Academy, he hadn’t discovered anything out of the ordinary yet. He was being extremely cautious, simply learning about the academy’s history from various aspects, but nothing special had come up.

The Furnad Charity Foundation, established a hundred years ago, was also the time when the Furnad Orphanage, the predecessor of Furnad Academy, was founded. From the start of the Furnad Orphanage, the academy’s emblem was the golden leaf pattern from their family heirloom.

However, his time at school was still too short, and his progress in learning Western languages wasn’t significant. He figured it would be better to join the academy’s special training class for Western languages during the summer vacation.

In this world, it was impossible to truly enter high society without understanding Western languages.

“You’ve spent too much for my case!” Li Mingxuan looked at Lu Ming with a strange expression.

Lu Ming smiled, “It’s not my money. Someone else is footing the bill.”

“But it’s still your favor, which is much more important than money!” Li Mingxuan picked up a cigarette from the coffee table and lit it.

Lu Ming was taken aback, realizing that both he and Li Mingxuan had changed since coming to Donghai, both becoming smokers.

He generally understood Li Mingxuan’s experiences. His entire family had been killed, he had one leg broken, and after narrowly escaping, he fled to Donghai. Unlike himself, who had taken various detours to hide his whereabouts, Li Mingxuan had arrived in Donghai a few months earlier.

But on his way, his travel money was stolen, and with his leg injury not healed, he couldn’t find a job. Naturally, he couldn’t arrange for a fake identity to get a residence permit like Lu Ming did. From the moment he entered Donghai, Li Mingxuan became a target for the street patrol police.

Now, he was involved in a murder case, tortured in detention, and even had his face disfigured. It was already remarkable that he hadn’t lost his mind.

Contemplating, Lu Ming picked up the file on the table, especially a note detailing Li Mingxuan’s account of the incident.

According to Li Mingxuan, on the day of the incident, he and another attendant escorted Second Concubine Li Xiaoyan to the Jincheng Hotel. Initially, he planned to leave, but a maid named Xiaocui came down and informed him that the Second Concubine wanted to see him.

Upon going up, Li Xiaoyan attempted to rape him. 

Every time Lu Ming read this part, he felt helpless. Since he came to this world, Li Mingxuan’s fate had taken a drastic turn for the worse, becoming increasingly tragic.

Not only had he become a crippled vagrant, but he also had to endure an attempted rape by a fierce woman and was subsequently framed for murder and disfigured. It was as if he was cursed.

Lu Ming suddenly paused and asked, “Li Si, according to your statement, when you arrived at Room 14 of the Jincheng Hotel, Li Xiaoyan’s first words were, ‘Where is the thing I gave you?’”

“Yes,” Li Mingxuan nodded, “That’s what she said. The jade pendant she gave me that day, I left it at home, so I replied, ‘I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.’”

Lu Ming nodded slightly. Li Mingxuan was a very skilled prosecutor. In such life-and-death situations, he would narrate every detail accurately, without missing a single word.

“Then she said, ‘You can keep it as a memento…’ She laughed twice, her eyes full of seduction, and then tried to grab you?”

“Yes,” Li Mingxuan nodded, his eyes showing a hint of pain. The incident of being molested by that fierce woman had left a shadow in his heart.

“She grabbed your arm, and since you didn’t have her strength, she pinned you on the bed and started touching you?”

“Yes…” Li Mingxuan lowered his head, biting his lip.

“Did you get an erection at that time?” Lu Ming suddenly asked.

Wang Da’an and Chen Qinghua were both stunned.

Li Mingxuan immediately raised his head, full of anger, but then he sighed. How could he not know that, based on his testimony, the prosecution would definitely ask such questions, probably in a more direct and sharp manner?

“Yes…” After hesitating for a long time, Li Mingxuan squeezed out the word through his teeth.

Lu Ming nodded, looking at the testimony again, “When she let go of your hand to grab your, um, you picked up the eagle sculpture on the bedside table and hit her on the head. Then you pushed her away and ran out, seeing her get up angrily and yell at you as you left.”

“Yes,” Li Mingxuan gritted his teeth, “She definitely wasn’t killed by that hit.”

Lu Ming nodded. According to the forensic report, the Second Concubine’s skull was hit several times by a blunt object. He hadn’t told Li Mingxuan this detail.

“You remember the details so clearly. This has both advantages and disadvantages. I can’t reveal your former position as a prosecutor in court, so the prosecution might guide the jury to think these precise details are fabricated.”

Lu Ming put down the testimony and looked at Li Mingxuan. “You understand this, right?”

Li Mingxuan was stunned, sighing, “You always see further than I do.”

Wang Da’an and Chen Qinghua exchanged glances. They knew that Li Si claimed to have been a prosecutor before, but they weren’t sure if it was true. But now, from the conversation, it seemed like he and Lawyer Lu knew each other from before?

Lu Ming looked at the testimony, repeating, “Where is the thing I gave you?” “Where is the thing I gave you?”

He muttered twice and then asked, “Has Li Xiaoyan ever wanted to take back what she gave you?”

“Sometimes, especially that jade pendant. When she got drunk, she would cry and say that it was a gift from Liu Shoucheng to her when he cherished her the most. Now, she wanted to give it to me. It used to be her most precious item, and she wanted to give it to me…”

“Sometimes she would throw away precious items from her memories with Liu Shoucheng like trash when drunk, only to want them back later. It happened several times. So, I thought she would definitely want the jade pendant back. I didn’t expect her to want it back before sobering up. That’s why I didn’t carry it with me. It was too valuable. I was afraid of losing it, so I hid it in a safe.”

Lu Ming nodded. “But I still need to talk to Xiaocui again. Something seems off.”