The court's review efficiency for second-trial material submissions is usually very high.
According to the rules, the materials need to be reported within five days, and the judge must be sent to the second trial court.
So...
June 29th, 10 AM.
The material reports have already been reviewed layer by layer, except for a few final steps involving Chief Judge Sun Ming.
He had just entered the courtroom, intending to go to the office, but was stopped by a long-waiting court clerk holding the appeal submission.
With just a glance, Sun Ming's brow furrowed.
"Is it Chen Hua's?" he inquired.
He then muttered to himself.
"He still wants to appeal?"
Appeals are often filed soon after the first trial concludes. The only recent case he's handled that finished a first trial was Chen Dong and Chen Hua's.
Sure enough.
The court clerk nodded, feeling extremely speechless inside.
The other party sentenced Chen Dong from a decade-long sentence to the death penalty... who wouldn't appeal in this situation!?
In an extreme case, Sun Ming might not even walk out of the court on the day of the first trial's conclusion!
Of course, although he thought this inwardly, he showed no attitude outwardly. He said:
"The materials submitted last night, all other processes are complete, Brother Sun, can you find the time to sign?"
Sun Ming pondered for a moment, not agreeing immediately.
He took the appeal documents and said,
"Zhao, you go ahead and get busy."
"Give me the appeal submission; I'll sort out the evidence and case files, then hand them over."
Hearing this, the clerk handed over the items without thinking much.
Seeing him leave.
Sun Ming took the appeal and headed to his office.
Once in the office.
He closed the door and then locked it.
Ensuring no one was around, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Buzz buzz buzz～"
The phone rang with the dialing tone.
After a moment, the call connected, and the voice of a middle-aged woman came through the speaker.
"Hello? Judge Sun, you're looking for me..." the woman's voice resonated.
Sun Ming remained composed and got straight to the point.
"Zhu Hong, Chen Hua has appealed."
The five words stilled the conversation momentarily.
But the silence was fleeting as Zhu Hong on the other end suddenly became agitated.
"He still dares to appeal!?"
"My son already..."
Sun Ming listened to the shrill argument in his ear, his brow slightly furrowing.
But thinking of the pile of cash, he suppressed his impatience.
Indeed, there were issues with the first trial's verdict, but they could superficially pass.
Firstly, Chen Hua's legal aid; the chosen lawyer wasn't bribed, yet the bar association appointed one with the worst performance!
This was under the guise of giving an opportunity.
Meanwhile, Zhu Hong had a top-notch lawyer. According to them, Chen Dong's 'intentional homicide' logic was very coherent, and the appointed lawyer couldn't counter at all!
Thus, superficially, there was every reason to sentence Chen Dong to death.
"Chen Dong will be transferred to the Intermediate People's Court in three days."
Sun Ming stated.
"Be mentally prepared yourself; this case will no longer involve me."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Hong remained silent for a long time.
"Okay."
With that said, Sun Ming ended the call, removed the SIM card, snapped it, and burned it to ashes.
Only then did he take out a pen, signed the document, and then found the court clerk.
"Zhao, all the materials are here, transfer them over."
At the same time.
In the villa area of the Hongfu District.
After finishing the call, Zhu Hong paced back and forth anxiously.
After a long time, there was a knock on the villa's door.
"Knock knock knock!"
Zhu Hong hurriedly opened the door.
A middle-aged man in a suit, with gold-rimmed glasses, carrying a briefcase, appeared in front of her.
"Hello, Ms. Zhu."
Lawyer Zhang Cheng greeted with a warm smile.
Zhu Hong had no time for courtesy and said grimly, "Lawyer Zhang, Chen Hua has appealed!"
"Hmm, Ms. Zhu, don't worry yet." Zhang Cheng comforted.
"I'm not anxious about the appeal; I'm worried if the second trial will overturn the verdict..." a glint of malevolence flashed in Zhu Hong's eyes.
She wants Chen Dong dead!
Regardless of right or wrong, she just wants Chen Dong dead!
"Rest assured, overturning a first-trial death sentence in the second trial would impact the chief judge of the first trial, so the second trial usually won't overturn the decision; even if it does, it's to life or a suspended death sentence."
Zhang Cheng explained.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Hong felt much more at ease and added:
"Should we talk to Chen Jian about this..."
"It's currently not easy to get in touch with Mr. Chen..."
Zhang Cheng furrowed his brow, contemplating what to do, and after a long while, he said:
"An appeal can't be crafted without a lawyer's guidance."
"What do you mean?" Zhu Hong was taken aback.
"The appointed lawyer left after the hearing yesterday; the appeal wasn't guided by him. The defense might... have a new lawyer."
Zhang Cheng quickly mentioned.
"The uncertainty in the second trial now lies with this lawyer!"
A lawyer?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Hong instead felt much more reassured.
In terms of lawyers... who in all of Hanhai can compete with Zhang Cheng!?
And even if someone could, could Chen Hua afford them!?
No matter if you sell everything to scrape together a few thousand or ten thousand, what kind of lawyer can you afford with that?
It would probably be no different from having a court-appointed lawyer!
"I'll go investigate the opposing lawyer first."
Zhang Cheng smiled, adjusting his glasses.
"Rest assured, in the whole of Hanhai, those who can surpass me are..."
"Few and far between!"
...
...
Meanwhile.
"Are we going to look for Liu Mingbo now?"
"Or should we wait for him to come home? And after he's home?"
In a village, in front of a locked gate, there was a red sedan parked, catching curious glances from passing villagers.
Inside the car, Xu Liang sat in the passenger seat, with Yang Ruoxi looking at him puzzled.
In the back seat sat Chen Hua, who was carefully clutching the hem of his coat, afraid of dirtying the car seat.
Yang Ruoxi was somewhat excited now.
Although she mismanaged and closed down a firm, she... never actually participated in any major, significant cases.
Being directly involved now... well, even though she's just playing the role of a driver, she was quite looking forward to it!
Xu Liang was getting a bit of a headache from the noise, and the thoughts in his mind were once again jumbled. Helplessly, he said:
"You... didn't sign an agreement or contract."
He delicately suggested.
The implication being... too noisy!
Yang Ruoxi thought for a moment and suddenly said:
"You can postpone paying your rent for a few months!"
Xu Liang's expression immediately turned serious, dropping his previous attitude, and he said:
"Miss Yang, I admit that I was speaking too loudly just now, it was a bit noisy!"
Noisy? Annoying?
It was clearly him making all the noise!
Xu Liang, oh Xu Liang, how can you show attitude to a wealthy woman!?'
Xu Liang reflected to himself, while patiently offering an explanation.
"The case is split into two parts, a main and a secondary."
"The primary goal of the second trial is to reduce Chen Dong's sentence!"
"Looking for Liu Mingbo is just to avoid Chen Jian's retaliation and to retrieve the demotion compensation so that the account can be settled!"
In other words, the main focus currently... is still on finding clues beneficial to Chen Dong!
After finding Liu Mingbo, that should naturally be the direction to aim for.
Upon hearing this, Yang Ruoxi nodded, seriously saying:
"That's what I was thinking too."
Then she turned to look at Chen Hua in the back seat and asked:
"Mr. Chen, did Chen Wei bully Chen Dong verbally or physically while at school seven years ago?"
"If there were eyewitnesses, maybe..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Hua sighed and shook his head, saying:
"No, seven years ago, Dong was still in elementary school, not in the same school. My daughter was in the same class as Chen Wei and was bullied, but she... four years ago..."
Saying this, Chen Hua's eyes dimmed.
Not in the same school...
Hearing this, Yang Ruoxi sighed. There was nothing that could be done.
She was just about to ask something.
Suddenly, Xu Liang in the passenger seat realized something. He turned his head sharply, his eyes fixated on Chen Hua.
"Seven years ago, Chen Dong was in elementary school!?"
Chen Hua nodded, puzzled.
Xu Liang pursued further, "What grade?"
"Fourth grade."
"Fourth grade!?" Xu Liang's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What's wrong?"
Yang Ruoxi frowned slightly, somewhat confused.
Xu Liang's mind was in turmoil to the point where his chest couldn't help but rise and fall slightly.
He stared into Yang Ruoxi's eyes for a long time, until she became a bit embarrassed.
"The records show that Chen Dong is 19 this year, turning 20 tomorrow. If considered 19, seven years ago, he would have been 12, 12 years old... in fourth grade?"
Yang Ruoxi still didn't quite understand. She looked at Xu Liang suspiciously.
Until he reminded her.
"At what age were you in fourth grade?" Xu Liang suddenly asked.
"Ten... Hmm?" Yang Ruoxi was about to answer when her face suddenly hesitated.
Normally, you're in first grade at 6, maybe 7 if a bit later, and in fourth grade at 10.
And Chen Dong...
"Did he repeat a year? Or start school very late?" Xu Liang turned his head and asked Chen Hua.
Chen Hua shook his head.
"No."
After saying that, he quickly replied:
"Chen Dong's registered age in the household booklet is wrong, the person registering added two extra years by mistake."
"When it was discovered, they went back to the registrar, but they were scared of getting into trouble themselves and said not to change it, claiming there were benefits, like being able to join the military two years early, the child's mother then..."
He didn't finish before Xu Liang suddenly interrupted.
"Added two years!?"
"You're sure that two years were added!? Do you have Chen Dong's medical birth certificate!?"
His voice was loud, almost to the point of emotional excitement.
Yang Ruoxi furrowed her brows.
She was about to ask something but was suddenly stunned.
If the household registration added two years, then the actual age would be two years younger.
The records show Chen Dong is nineteen, subtracting two years, the actual age would be...
17.
"Where is the birth certificate?"
Xu Liang made an effort to calm himself.
"Where is Chen Dong's medical birth certificate!?"