Chapter 570: Winning by a Landslide

Niu Xiufei truly could not have imagined in her wildest dreams that she would actually receive a Summons!

"This isn't right, comrade. Could you ask the Court if there's been a mistake? I haven't done anything. It's about that incident where someone was hit, right? I didn't lay a hand on anyone. I am... I am the one who was hit. How can they sue me now?"

Niu Xiufei held a stack of documents in her hands and shouted at the young bailiff standing before her.

As for the one who was hit, Lu Yue, standing to the side, was already stunned. He had originally thought his family was very harmonious and that everything was fine.

As it turned out, his father had inexplicably been served with a Criminal Private Prosecution, his mother had also been sued, and his mother even claimed she was the one who was hit. What on earth was going on!

Beside Lu Yue, his classmate felt extremely awkward, not knowing what posture to stand in. He felt deep regret, wondering why on earth he had come to his roommate's house.

Niu Xiufei refused to let the bailiff leave because she truly felt she was in the right.

Her husband had hit someone before, so she was mentally prepared for him to be sued, but she just hadn't expected the other party to file some sort of Criminal Private Prosecution.

However, she hadn't laid a finger on anyone! If she could still be sued for this, then there really was no justice in the world!

The young bailiff spoke up: "The specific reasons are already written very clearly in the Indictment. Furthermore, since you are the party who was hit, you also have the right to claim damages from the person who hit you."

"That's different! My husband hit me, that was an accident; I certainly wouldn't go asking for money. But, but in this matter, I didn't even lift a finger. Why should they sue me? Saying I'm a beneficiary—if she helps me, I have to give her money? What kind of logic is that!"

Niu Xiufei shouted there.

So, his father had hit his mother?

Lu Yue hurriedly stepped forward to snatch the materials from Niu Xiufei's hands. After reading the contents, he felt terrible.

Not only had his father and mother divorced last month, but it wasn't even a peaceful divorce. They had gone to court, and because his father had committed domestic violence, he had essentially been left with nothing.

Turning around, Lu Yue looked at his parents and roared: "You two are already divorced, were you planning to keep hiding it from me forever?"

Niu Xiufei knew it was bad the moment her son snatched the materials, but it was already too late.

Hearing her son's question now, she wanted to say it was a fake divorce, but with the bailiff standing right there, she truly couldn't say it.

Seeing this, the young bailiff also said: "Ms. Niu, if there are no issues, please sign here. We still have other materials to deliver."

Having been through a lawsuit with her husband, whether it was real or fake, she at least knew a little about this.

Letting you sign to go through the procedure is giving you face; if you don't sign, it doesn't affect them in the slightest.

So she could only grit her teeth and sign. The young bailiff took the receipt and left in a hurry.

The atmosphere in the house became extremely silent. Lu Yunling opened his mouth several times but didn't know what to say.

Finally, Niu Xiufei spoke up: "Xiao Yue, listen to Mom explain, that..."

Hearing this, Lu Yue's classmate suddenly snapped to his senses and said: "Uh, Uncle, Auntie, Lu Yue, I have something to do at school, so I'll head back first. Goodbye."

After saying that, he quickly slipped away. If he stayed any longer, he felt like his toes would curl enough to dig out a villa.

Once his son's classmate left, Niu Xiufei let out a sigh of relief and continued: "Actually, your dad and I are in a fake divorce. There was really no other way..."

After she finished explaining the situation in detail, Lu Yue's expression was very strange; he didn't know what to say.

In all fairness, paying back debts was only right and proper. But as his mother said, this money couldn't be paid back; if they paid one family, everyone else would come knocking.

Of course, Niu Xiufei didn't mention that the street fight was real. Lu Yunling had been drinking and felt bitter because he was about to shoulder all the burdens himself.

To put it plainly, he was being a deadbeat.

The two had an argument on the street, and Lu Yunling couldn't hold back and threw a punch, hitting very hard.

Niu Xiufei knew the "bitterness" in her husband's heart, which was why she defended him like that.

After finishing, Niu Xiufei looked at the Summons in her hand, and an indignant expression appeared on her face again: "I don't know what's going on either. They even sued me. It's not that we can't afford this little bit of money."

Hearing this, Lu Yue also understood why his mother had such a big reaction after seeing the Summons.

His dad, Lu Yunling, already had so many debts anyway, so one more didn't matter.

But this was different; if they won the lawsuit, they could actually get money!

Niu Xiufei threw a tantrum for a while, but finally said: "Alright, let's eat. It's only a few thousand yuan, it doesn't matter. We'll just pay it when the time comes."

"It's just your dad's side, this Criminal Private Prosecution, I don't know what to do about it."

They had truly never heard of any Criminal Private Prosecution.

Lu Yue sat down and casually took out his phone to ask Baidu; he wanted to see what this Criminal Private Prosecution thing was.

As a result, he was immediately frightened by what he found.

"Dad, Mom, this Criminal Private Prosecution is not a good thing. Look, people online say that if this Criminal Private Prosecution is effective and we don't reach a Mediation, then you'll have to go to jail!"

What? Lu Yunling hurriedly took the phone to start reading, and as he read, he was also stunned.

"This actually leads to jail time? Since when can people sue others to put them in jail themselves?" Lu Yunling asked, his face full of surprise.

Niu Xiufei's face changed drastically. It wouldn't be a big deal if her husband went in for a few days—she was mentally prepared for that—but going to jail meant having a Case Record!

Their son was so outstanding; if his father had a Case Record, wouldn't his son be unable to do anything in the future?

"Then we must reach a Mediation with the other party? That's not necessarily true, right? I don't think they're guaranteed to win this Lawsuit, are they?" Lu Yunling thought for a moment and said.

Niu Xiufei and her husband didn't speak. Such things couldn't be determined before the verdict.

Finally, Niu Xiufei thought for a moment and said: "I'd better ask someone first."

Since the couple could use a fake divorce to evade debts, there must have been a professional guiding them behind the scenes; otherwise, an ordinary person couldn't have designed such a scheme.

Taking out her phone, Niu Xiufei quickly dialed a number.

"Hello, Cousin, it's me. I've run into trouble again. I wanted to ask you, it's about some things that happened to old Lu on the street before..."

After explaining the general situation, Niu Xiufei asked: "Cousin, the other party has actually filed a Criminal Private Prosecution and sued me too. We checked online and it says if you lose this prosecution thing, you have to go to jail. Do you think the chances of losing this case are high?"

"Evidence? I've already taken photos and sent them to you."

"Mediation? Must we do that? Alright, I understand. Thank you, Cousin."

Hanging up the phone, Niu Xiufei looked at the father and son in front of her and said: "Let's try to contact them for Mediation. We'll pay some money if we have to, just to save the trouble. How did we end up meeting people like this?"

On the other side, in a law firm, Tan Shaohong put down the phone and rubbed his temples. None of his relatives were ever worry-free. He had finally helped them get a divorce, and now this had happened.

Oh right, he should have told them to initiate Mediation and strive for the other party's forgiveness.

But it should be fine even if he didn't say it. They surely weren't that stupid; they should know that this kind of matter requires seeking the other party's forgiveness, regardless of how much money is paid.

Forget it, I'd better get to work first. The first batch of Case Interpretation examples should be released this year, so I really need to study them well.

…………

Zhou Yi arrived at the Legal Department once again; he had come to ask about the progress of this case.

Because Zhou Xinran needed some key information on her end, otherwise her case would be very difficult to handle.

"So, they are actually willing to mediate? This afternoon?" Zhou Yi asked, very surprised.

In front of Zhou Yi, Huo Pengfei smiled and said, "It is a Criminal Private Prosecution, after all. They'll know once they look into it a little, especially in the last two years, as our Jingzhou has adjudicated many Criminal Private Prosecution cases."

"It's almost many times more than the last ten or twenty years, so there is a big difference between the current sentencing standards and the past. The probability of winning this case is very high!"

"Therefore, they will definitely mediate..."

Huo Pengfei was speaking happily there, but finally, an intern assistant next to him couldn't help but tug on Huo Pengfei's clothes.

"Lawyer Huo, the situation you're talking about is all because of our boss..."

Huo Pengfei suddenly realized it; that's right, why there were so many more Criminal Private Prosecutions in the last two years seemed inseparable from the man standing in front of him.

Zhou Yi didn't care about these things, though, and smiled: "Alright then, let me know when you set off this afternoon. I'll go with you and take a look at the situation while I'm at it."

Huo Pengfei hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement; Boss Zhou was just extremely bored right now and went wherever there was excitement.

Time soon reached the afternoon. Zhou Yi went downstairs; he had just received a call from Huo Pengfei saying they could set off.

Walking out of the elevator, Zhou Mouren then saw a pair of lovebirds standing at the entrance of Tenda... oh no, it was two people.

Huo Pengfei and Wu Qiuling were standing there, and no matter how Zhou Mouren looked at them, he felt annoyed!

So it was the two of you going together this afternoon, then what am I?

Feeling annoyed inside, his words naturally carried a sting. Walking to the entrance, Zhou Yi spoke up: "Xiao Wu, you're here too? Is today's work finished? Did you ask for leave? Personal leave or sick leave? Did anyone cover your shift?"

Xiao Wu, who was looking at her phone nearby, felt numb all over when she heard the voice coming from behind her.

She hurriedly turned around and saw that sour face of Boss Zhou.

"Hello, Boss Zhou. Um, Boss Zhou, I... I asked for leave. The work is all done, and doesn't our Company have a rule that for these kinds of Legal Aid matters, as long as it doesn't affect work, you just need to get approval from the Department Manager..."

She was almost scared to death; although Tenda was very relaxed, everyone felt nervous when facing Boss Zhou.

Huo Pengfei, who was next to her, also hurriedly spoke up: "Boss Zhou, Xiao Wu just wanted to have the other party apologize in person, so she's going. Look, this..."

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said: "Fine, let's just leave it at that."

It seemed like he, Zhou Yi, had won big, but it felt like he had lost.

Damn it, why can't one just take leave whenever they want at Lawyer Fang's law firm...

The three of them drove all the way to the Guangming District Court, remaining very silent throughout the journey.

Upon arriving at the Court, one could clearly see Huo Pengfei and the other relax; sitting like that really felt so stifling.

Without contacting the judge in charge of the case or the other party, Huo Pengfei and Wu Qiuling followed Zhou Yi all the way into the Court, watching as he found the Mediation Room with ease.

The Criminal Division's...

"We're here. It's definitely here, there's no other place. Private Prosecution Cases are generally handled by Criminal Division No. 2, and the mediation rooms for Criminal Division No. 2 are all over here. And this Judge Zhang of yours likes this mediation room. Listen to me, I'm right!"

Huo Pengfei and Wu Qiuling looked at each other again, unable to say a word.

He was even this clear about which mediation room the presiding judge liked best; the Court really was his home...

Sure enough, after sitting for only a short while, Huo Pengfei's phone rang.

"Hello, Lawyer Huo, eh, have you arrived? Do you need me to go to the entrance and wait..."

This voice didn't come from Huo Pengfei's phone, but from outside the door. Then, accompanied by the voice, the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged bald man walked in, holding a phone in his hand.

Looking in front, Huo Pengfei was also holding a phone in his hand...

This situation was extremely awkward. Huo Pengfei looked over and said: "Judge Zhang, well, we just came in ourselves. Please sit, please sit."

Judge Zhang hung up the phone, sat down in silence, coughed twice, and still spoke up: "Lawyer Huo, right? You arrived quite quickly... Eh, isn't this Boss Zhou?"

"This case has something to do with you!"

Zhou Yi pointed at Wu Qiuling and smiled: "This is an Employee of my Company, and this Lawyer Huo is my Company's legal counsel."

That was fine then. Judge Zhang immediately felt at ease; the Guangming District Court knew about Boss Zhou's cases, and mediation was always especially fast.

Just as he was thinking this, the door to the Mediation Room was pushed open, and a man and a woman walked in; it was exactly Lu Yunling and Niu Xiufei.

"Eh, everyone is here, hurry and sit. I won't waste words then, let's start quickly!" Judge Zhang said.

If he finished early, he could rest more later.

But before Judge Zhang could even finish speaking, Niu Xiufei pointed at Zhou Yi and said: "Who is this person? Why is he allowed in? Does this have anything to do with him?"

Judge Zhang was stunned, then said: "This is Mr. Zhou Yi. He is the boss of Ms. Wu Qiuling's Company, and Lawyer Huo is his Company's legal counsel..."

Judge Zhang explained roughly, and the couple opposite listened in a daze.

So this person was the one paying?

No, how could there be such a boss nowadays? Not only paying and putting in effort to help a Company Employee fight a lawsuit, but now that it was time for mediation, the person actually came in person?

The two of them shut their mouths; there was no way to argue with that.

"Alright, Lawyer Huo, to mediate, you have to state the terms first. You go first, what will it take for you to accept mediation?" Judge Zhang looked at Huo Pengfei.

Huo Pengfei said: "Our terms here are very simple: just compensate according to the expenses in that Indictment, and then make a public apology."

The expenses in the Indictment... Niu Xiufei hurriedly took out the Indictment to look at it, then said: "This... this is a bit too much, right? Medical expenses have to be paid, and what is this? Transportation Expenses, Lost Wages, Mental Damage Compensation, and all that? This has to be paid too?"

It wasn't that the couple wasn't willing to pay, they just felt it was too high. Calculating it like this, they had to pay tens of thousands of yuan. They had to pay this much for throwing two punches and kicking a few times?

Also, they hit someone, what did that have to do with mental damage!

First update. It won't end that quickly; there are many more cases prepared for later. At the very least, everything prepared must be written. I will try to pay off the owed updates during this process... Thanks to Wenchidage, Atu-a, Another Newbie, Short Legs, Feimaowuyu, Wenchidage, Qiu Zhi Baizang. Thanks for the tips, thank you.

(End of chapter)