MWC – Chapter 39 Chasing Step by Step

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Du Laifu sat on the witness stand once again.

He was tall and thin, in his thirties, with a black mole on his face, shifty eyes, and looked very cunning.

Lu Ming sat and looked at the note in his hand.

The note was just delivered to him by Datou, containing information from Old Ghosts’s investigation.

It stated that Li Xiaoyan’s husband, Liu Shoucheng, who was the second-largest shareholder of Mingjia Entertainment, had gone to the Jin Cheng Hotel at around 4 a.m. on the night of the incident.

However, the witness would not testify in court under any circumstances, and Old Ghosts promised to keep the witness’s identity confidential.

Lu Ming frowned in thought.

“Defense?” Seeing Lu Ming hesitate for a long time, Judge Cao had to remind him.

“Yes.” Lu Ming put the note in his pocket, slowly got up, and walked over to Du Laifu. “Mr. Du Laifu, what is your relationship with the deceased Ms. Li Xiaoyan?”

Du Laifu leaned forward to the microphone, “I am her cousin.”

“Please elaborate.”

Du Laifu looked at Lu Ming, somewhat puzzled.

“For example, how are you related?”

Du Laifu hesitated for a moment and said, “Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s mother and my mother were from the same hometown and have been good friends since childhood.”

These questions had already been prepared for. Liu Hanming had his assistant practice with him, telling him not to lie. However, he thought the defense would ask these questions on the first day of the trial, not expecting it to be delayed until today.

Lu Ming nodded, “So, you are not blood relatives.”

“That’s right, but she took good care of me. I’ve considered her my sister since I was little.”

“What kind of person was Ms. Li Xiaoyan?”

Du Laifu gradually relaxed, as these were rehearsed questions, “Kind, gentle. She was always good to those close to her.”

“The Jin Cheng Hotel is a simple, small hotel. Did she stay there often?”

“Yes. She wasn’t one to indulge in luxury. She said that staying at Jin Cheng Hotel reminded her of the simpler times with neighbors from her childhood.” Du Laifu answered smoothly.

“So, she invited Mr. Li Haoran to her room late at night, and you understand that two lonely and pitiful people often attract each other, correct?”

Du Laifu was stunned. According to the original script, the next questions should have been about whether Li Xiaoyan often brought men to the Jin Cheng Hotel.

His answers should have been various proofs that Li Xiaoyan was not a promiscuous woman.

However, the opponent did not follow the routine.

“Precisely because you understand, you didn’t find Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s unusual behavior strange and didn’t think there would be any problem, right?”

Du Laifu looked toward the prosecution table, seeing Liu Hanming frowning and not looking good.

“Yes, yes…” Du Laifu answered randomly.

Liu Hanming’s face did not look good. They had fallen into the trap. The original answers were prepared to counter attacks on the victim’s character from the defense. Unexpectedly, from the start, Lu Qianxing did not intend to attack Li Xiaoyan’s character at all.

Thus, in the jury’s mind, Li Xiaoyan gradually became a poor, kind woman who was completely abandoned by a fickle man.

Lu Qianxing took advantage of this to shape the image of Li Si as equally pitiable and tragic.

Suddenly, the crimes of robbery, attempted rape, and murder seemed very unreasonable.

Even he, now, was shaken. Could it be that Li Si didn’t commit the murder?

This case, he didn’t delve deeply into, originally just going through the motions.

Suddenly, Liu Hanming was taken aback. Why did he have such thoughts? This was not a good sign!

In front of the witness stand, the cross-examination continued.

“According to your testimony, you discovered Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s murder four hours after Mr. Li Haoran left, around 5 a.m., correct?”

Du Laifu nodded slightly, “Yes!”

“During this time, you didn’t see a third person enter Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s room, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Did you keep an eye on Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s room the whole time? Even after Mr. Li Haoran left, logically, Ms. Li Xiaoyan should have been asleep, but you still kept an eye on her room?”

Du Laifu shook his head, “Not exactly. That day, I had some friends staying in the room opposite Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s, so I was there with them. But they smoked too much, so we opened the doors and windows, leaving the door open.”

“Yes, your testimony says that. Your friends’ statements indicate that some went to bed drunk in the bedroom, and some left early. From 3 a.m., you were the only one drinking in the outer room. The outer room had an open door, and from where you were sitting, you had a clear view of Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s room door, so you could see people coming and going.”

“Yes!”

“Then, at 5:11 a.m., you suddenly noticed that Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s door was ajar and went to help her close it, only to smell blood from the bedroom, discovering that she had been murdered.”

“Yes.”

“At that time, the wind had picked up. Because you had the window and door open, the wind blew open Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s door, and you realized it was ajar. The weather records indeed show that there was strong wind at dawn.”

“Yes,” Du Laifu nodded again.

“How much did you drink that night?” Lu Ming suddenly asked.

“Approximately, it amounts to about two kilograms of brandy.”

“Why were you drinking alone after your friends left? Do you have something on your mind?”

“No, I just enjoy drinking.” Du Laifu felt gradually more at ease, thinking his answer was acceptable and he wouldn’t be scolded by Lawyer Liu Hanming. The questioning was nearing its end.

“You like Ms. Li Xiaoyan, don’t you?” Lu Ming suddenly asked.

Du Laifu looked up in shock.

“Objection! The defense is speculating without reason!” Liu Hanming stood up abruptly.

“Your Honor, this question is important and not without reason,” Lu Ming said with a slight bow to Judge Cao Guan.

Judge Cao Guan nodded, “The witness needs to answer this question.”

“Do you like Ms. Li Xiaoyan?” Lu Ming asked, staring at Du Laifu.

Du Laifu shook his head, “No, I have always seen her as my elder sister!”

“Then how do you explain the tattoo of her rural nickname ‘Xiao Hua’ on your private area?”

Du Laifu was stunned. He never expected the opposing lawyer to know such a secret.

Seeing this, Liu Hanming frowned and was about to stand up, but Du Laifu quickly said, “Even if I have a ‘Xiao Hua’ tattoo, it doesn’t mean she is my cousin. ‘Xiao Hua’ is a common name. I even have a waitress named Xiao Hua at my store, and she’s very pretty.”

Liu Hanming’s expression softened slightly. It was a good answer; this guy wasn’t entirely brainless.

Lu Ming nodded, “In fact, that night, you were drinking alone with the door open, facing Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s room because you were angry, right? Because you couldn’t have her, but a cripple could easily get her.”

“I told you, there were a lot of people smoking in the room…”

“But your reasoning doesn’t make sense. Your sister-like woman brought a lover into her room, and you, in the opposite room, left your door wide open. Your drunk friends could see the door to your sister’s room and imagine what was happening inside. Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“Shouldn’t you have closed the door tightly? Or moved to another room with your friends?”

Du Laifu stammered, “I, I was too drunk to think about it…”

Liu Hanming frowned. He hadn’t considered this to be unreasonable. Objectively, it seemed logical: with heavy smoke, a few drunkards eating and drinking, and the door open, it was a common scenario.

But this oversight was too objective. From Du Laifu’s perspective, the opposite room held a woman he saw as his sister with a lover, so how could he leave his door open, risking hearing something embarrassing?

He should have led his friends to another room. As the hotel operator, he had that convenience.

The jurors whispered among themselves.

Lu Ming looked at Du Laifu and suddenly said, “You killed Li Xiaoyan, didn’t you?!”

Du Laifu shuddered and looked up in astonishment.

“You drank in anger and, fueled by alcohol, confronted Li Xiaoyan in her room. But Li Xiaoyan, who always despised your ugly face, treated you as a servant, making you lose control. You hit her with the eagle sculpture, once, twice, three times…”

“She finally stopped moving. You sobered up, wiped away fingerprints, returned to your room, woke your drunk friends, and claimed you found Li Xiaoyan’s body.”

“The ready scapegoat was the man you hated most, Mr. Li Haoran, who had taken your long-time crush, wasn’t it?!”

Lu Ming’s rapid questioning continued despite Liu Hanming’s repeated objections.

The jury and audience were in an uproar.

Du Laifu’s face turned pale as he kept shaking his head, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me…”

Lu Ming nodded, “In fact, you might not have had time to commit the crime, because that night, a distinguished guest arrived at your hotel, and you went to entertain him, correct?”

“Yes, yes…” Du Laifu said, turning even paler.

Lu Ming looked at him, speaking slowly, “So, you weren’t always watching Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s room. If someone entered or left during that time, you wouldn’t know.”

Du Laifu’s face turned ashen, almost collapsing on the witness stand.

“Your Honor, I have no further questions!” Lu Ming bowed slightly, walked to his seat, then paused and looked at the jury, “In fact, the prosecution’s key witness is dishonest.”

“The suspicion against my client hinges on Mr. Du Laifu’s testimony. There is no other strong evidence.”

“The so-called stolen goods found at my client’s home were just Ms. Li Xiaoyan’s way of venting.”

“But the police didn’t investigate thoroughly. Their suspect list contained only my client. Yes, they only investigated my client!”

“The evidence provided by the police has too many doubts, failing to form a complete chain. We don’t even need the principle of ‘benefit of the doubt goes to the defendant.’ The prosecution’s judgment on the motive for murder is wrong.”

“The prosecution believes my client’s motive was attempted rape and robbery. Based on current evidence, this is incorrect.”

Lu Ming looked at Judge Cao Guan, “Your Honor, if this were a grand jury hearing, I would request a dismissal of the case. Would you agree? Because even if my client were the killer, he shouldn’t be charged with premeditated murder. The prosecution never mentioned the possibility of a crime of passion. If I prove the prosecution’s motive is wrong, the grand jury would dismiss the case, wouldn’t they?”

Judge Cao Guan stared at Lu Ming, silent, but with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Lu Ming sighed, “Unfortunately, I didn’t have all this evidence before the trial, so the case went to court. Now, I ask the jurors to declare my client not guilty based on the principle of reasonable doubt!”

“He may be despicable, not a good person, and he exploited the victim, Li Xiaoyan. But he didn’t kill her.”

“The real killer is still at large! Only by finding the real culprit can Ms. Li Xiaoyan truly rest in peace!”

Liu Hanming’s face turned pale. This guy was delivering a closing argument right now?

But at this moment, it was hard to refute anything.

“Prosecution, can your psychological expert witness testify?” Judge Cao Guan asked.

“I need time to prepare!” Liu Hanming stood up.

He felt that having a psychological expert prove that Li Mingxuan’s abnormal behavior was due to a psychological disorder might not help the current situation. It might be better to wait a few days, allowing the jurors’ emotions to change.

But could the situation still be turned around?

He realized too late, after the case had progressed to this point. It had been led by the opposing side step by step, and now, it seemed almost impossible to reverse the situation.

Liu Hanming looked at the young lawyer’s back, feeling lost.

Beside him, Zhang Jingjing noticed her mentor’s confusion and felt a sense of dread, as if a giant structure was collapsing.

Judge Cao Guan checked the time, picked up his gavel, and announced, “Court adjourned! You have one day to prepare new witness testimony.”