The opening statements of the prosecution and defense took more than an hour, mainly Liu Hanming, who spent almost fifty minutes on his opening statement.
It only took Lu Ming more than ten minutes.
After the opening statement, Cao Guan temporarily adjourned the court for ten minutes. Next, the prosecution and defense would cross-examine the witnesses.
In the outer corridor, a female lawyer in a gray skirt suit stood in front of Lu Ming. "Lawyer Lu, would you like to chat for a minute?"
The female lawyer is Liu Hanming's assistant. Lu Ming has of course found out everything. Zhang Jingjing is a very outstanding young lawyer with a good family background. She is Liu Hanming's apprentice and a trainee lawyer who just joined the company this year.
She had an oval face and was quite charming. She handed over a business card and said, "Lawyer Lu, when this case is over, you are welcome to join Liu Hanming Litigation Firm. In addition, you will be guaranteed to become a junior partner in the second year. We can discuss the specific conditions 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 after the case is over." Zhang Jingjing looked at Lu Ming and felt very strange. She didn't know why her master thought so highly of him. A rookie lawyer would become a junior partner in the second year of employment. This was unprecedented in the history of her own firm.
"Okay, I'll consider it!" Lu Ming nodded.
…
The prosecution first called witnesses, the first of whom was Du Laifu, the witness who discovered the body, the manager of Jincheng Hotel and the cousin of the deceased, Aunt Li Er.
It was he who led Li Mingxuan into Li's second concubine's room and found that Li Mingxuan left in a hurry.
It was he who discovered the body at five in the morning and subsequently called the police.
When Liu Hanming questioned him and guided him to tell what happened, Lu Ming just listened quietly.
When it was his turn to cross-examine the witness, he only asked two questions. One was whether Du Laifu was sure that he was the first one to discover the body at 5 a.m.; the second question was whether there was anyone else who discovered the body with him at that time.
The second prosecution witness was forensic doctor Liu Kuang, who, under the guidance of Liu Hanming, explained the cause of death of the deceased: the skull was fractured by a blunt object, and the hard brain trauma hematoma caused severe compression of the brain tissue and brain herniation, leading to death. Based on the shape of the wound and the inspection of multiple blunt objects at the scene, it was determined that the iron flying eagle sculpture found at the scene was the murder weapon.
Lu Ming only asked one question, which was whether any fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.
Liu Kuang replied, no.
The third witness was the police representative who arrested Li Mingxuan. He recounted the process of arresting Li Mingxuan and several precious items seized from Li Mingxuan. Two of the valuable items were treasured by the deceased, Mrs. Li Er, for many years.
Lu Ming asked three questions. The first question was, did Mr. Li Haoran resist? The second question was, did Mr. Li Haoran look like he was going to run away? The third question was, where were the precious items placed
To the first two questions, the detective answered no.
For the third question, the detective recorded it very clearly. Some of these valuable items were in the bedside cabinet, and some were in the safe. He gave 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 call a witness, Wang Xiaocui, a waitress who works at the Jincheng Hotel. It shouldn't take long. I hope to finish the trial as soon as possible to save taxpayers' money."
Cao Guan glanced at him and asked, "Is the witness here?"
"In the gallery."
Cao Guan nodded: "Witness Wang Xiaocui, please go to the witness stand."
Xiao Cui came back to her senses after being reminded by Chen Qinghua who was sitting next to her. She stood up and saw that everyone in the court was looking at her. Her face turned pale immediately and she lowered her head and walked to the witness stand.
Lu Ming looked at her quietly, his tone encouraging, "Ms. Wang Xiaocui, you have already sworn an oath, so you understand the consequences of perjury in court, right?"
Xiao Cui didn't dare to look up, but just said "hmm" softly.
"Let me tell you about your job first."
Xiao Cui said timidly: "I, I am a waiter at Jincheng Hotel, and I have been working there for more than a year."
"What is your relationship with the victim, Ms. Li Xiaoyan?"
"I, because Mrs. Li often goes to the hotel and likes the coffee I make, so Manager Du usually asks me to serve Mrs. Li."
"Ms. Li Xiaoyan, do you often go to your hotel?"
"Yes, it is."
"The Jincheng Hotel has very simple conditions. Ms. Li Xiaoyan is a person who frequents 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 the Jincheng Hotel is very remote, so Ms. Li Xiaoyan can do something in the Jincheng Hotel that she doesn't want others to know about?"
"Objection, speculative and leading questions!" Liu Hanming raised his hand casually. He was very familiar with these tricks, like a conditioned reflex.
"The objection is valid and the witness does not need to answer!" Cao Guan nodded.
"What happened at about 8:00 p.m. on April 25, the day this case was filed?"
Xiao Cui's face turned even paler, and she lowered her head to look at the table in the witness box. "That day, that day, the Second Madam came to Jincheng Hotel again. It was Brother Li Si and his friends who brought her here. Then, then, the Second Madam gave me something and asked me to give it to Brother Li Si, and asked him to go to her room..."
"Brother Li Si, 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 item I asked you to pass on to Mr. Li Haoran?"
Xiao Cui hesitated, looked down at the table, and said nothing.
Lu Ming looked at her and said, "Ms. 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."
Xiao Cui gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, yes, the second wife gave me a pair of underwear..."
In the audience, people immediately started whispering to each other.
Liu Hanming frowned, but did not react.
"Ms. Wang, please tell me again, whose underwear is this?"
"Yes, it's the second wife's underwear. She took it off her body and gave it to me, asking me to pass it on to Brother Li Si..."
There was an uproar in the gallery and the jury box.
Even Wang Da'an was stunned and looked at Li Mingxuan beside him.
At the prosecution's seat, Zhang Jingjing glanced at her master and her face felt slightly hot.
"So, have you given the underwear to Mr. Li Haoran?" Lu Ming asked.
“No, no... I, I lost it..." Xiao Cui lowered her head even lower, "I, if I had given it to Brother Li Si, maybe, this wouldn't have happened..." As she spoke, she gradually began to sob.
Lu Ming turned around and said, "According to what the witness said, it is clear that Ms. Li Xiaoyan was willing to date Mr. Li Haoran. If she wanted to, Mr. Li Haoran would not have to rape and kill her."
After Lu Ming returned to the defense seat, Liu Hanming slowly stood up and walked to the witness stand.
"Ms. Wang, please raise your head and answer the questions." Liu Hanming's tone was gentle, but his eyes were extremely sharp.
The jurors could not see his eyes, but could only hear his gentle voice.
Xiao Cui slowly raised her head, but was frightened by his gaze and quickly lowered her head.
"You are lying, so you don't even have the courage to look up, right?" Liu Hanming asked with a sigh.
"Objection! Objection to the prosecution's unfounded speculation!" Lu Ming raised his hand.
Cao Guan nodded: "Opposition is effective."
"You like the fourth brother Li you mentioned, that is, the defendant Li Haoran, right?" Liu Hanming suddenly asked.
Xiao Cui was stunned and stammered, "I, I..."
"So, you lied and slandered the victim in order to help Li Haoran get away with the crime, right?"
"I didn't, I didn't..." Xiao Cui shook her head and cried.
Lu Ming stood up, but Cao Guan waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to object, as his objection would be rejected.
"Then tell us, do you like Li Haoran? I want to remind you that if you lie in the witness stand, you are guilty!"
Xiao Cui just shook her head and said nothing.
Lu Ming rubbed his nose. This Liu Hanming was indeed no ordinary person. He had some guesses from the tone of voice that Xiao Cui used when addressing Li Mingxuan, and now, it was confirmed.
"Your Highness, I have no more questions!" Liu Hanming bowed slightly.
Obviously, questioning a witness like a scared bunny is not going to win you any points with the jury.
And now it just so happens that it looks like this girl really lied in court for love.
Lu Ming stood up at this time and walked to the witness stand, "Ms. Wang Xiaocui, why do you like Li Haoran?"
Xiao Cui was stunned and looked up at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming continued to ask: "Before he got injured on the face, he was very handsome, right?"
Xiao Cui hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Please answer yes or no."
“Yes, yes…” Xiao Cui suddenly caught a glimpse of Li Mingxuan’s gaze in the dock and quickly lowered her head.
Lu Ming nodded. "So, when Ms. Li Xiaoyan gave you her panties and asked you to pass them on to Mr. Li Haoran, you were jealous, right?"
Xiao Cui lowered her head and stammered, "No, no, I, I don't know what I was thinking at the time, I just didn't want to, didn't want to hand it over to Brother Li Si..."
Biting her lip, she secretly looked at Li Mingxuan again, but immediately looked away in panic.
Lu Ming nodded and walked back to his seat.
Zhang Jingjing watched her master sitting still for a long time and was shocked. It was the first time she saw her master so hesitant in court.
But that rookie lawyer was really good. His master discovered that there might be an emotional component between the witness and the defendant, so there was a high possibility that he was lying.
However, the rookie lawyer quickly led the case into the conclusion that the defendant was handsome in the past. In this case, it was not impossible that the victim, Mrs. Li, seduced him. If a young girl could have fantasies about a handsome guy, how could a woman in her forties be attracted to him
In particular, when the rookie lawyer questioned her, the girl's reactions were so natural, shy, embarrassed, etc., obviously not fake.
Before each of his witnesses goes to court, the master will rehearse with his own witnesses countless times in mock courts.
Every word and every answer is made to be perfect in every detail.
Even though the master didn't take this case seriously and only glanced over the file, he still practiced the witness testimonies with them.
I have always admired my master. Despite his great reputation, he still took such a small case like this one with a rookie lawyer seriously.
But today, everything seems to have changed. If a witness is telling the truth without any preparation, perhaps it would be more effective to put him directly on the witness stand
Because her real reactions and emotional expressions are more convincing.
At least, I now have great faith in this little girl.
"Your Honor, I have no questions." Liu Hanming finally stood up.
Zhang Jingjing opened her mouth wide. There was no doubt that her master had admitted defeat in this round of attack and defense.
At this time, Cao Guan, who was sitting in the judge's seat, picked up the gavel and banged it, "Adjourn the court. We will continue tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock!"