Chapter 91: Defending innocence? Hilarious!

Shen lawyer, Shang Wuliang has broken the law; how can you ask me to show leniency? The Faction has already arrested him—whether to approve the arrest is the Procuratorate's business; it's not up to me to interfere.

Lin Dongfan's casual remark left Shen Bi with a worried face.

He pondered for a moment.

Shen Bi, forcing himself, described the incident: 'That night, Shang Wuliang assaulted Tang Jing, then you intervened to stop him. Afterwards, Tang Jing, while Shang Wuliang had already ceased his violence, struck him with a bottle. Legally, Tang Jing's action does not count as self-defense; it constitutes mutual fighting.'

While stating the facts, Shen Bi, fearing to anger Lin Dongfan, deliberately omitted the fact that Lin Dongfan had also struck Shang Wuliang, portraying Lin Dongfan as merely a mediator.

Seeing Lin Dongfan smile faintly without speaking,

Shen Bi lowered his stance further to negotiate: 'Mr. Lin, would this work? I will have Shang Wuliang give Tang Jing appropriate compensation; can we settle this matter?'

'This matter cannot be settled.'

'Then what condition do you propose? What must we do to earn your understanding?'

'Shen lawyer, you've got it wrong. The real reason the Faction arrested Shang Wuliang is that he publicly offered a bounty: one knife strike, one million in compensation, urging the security guards to deal deadly blows to me and Tang Jing.'

'I know.'

'Since you know, what's left to discuss? This constitutes hiring a killer to commit murder—whether successful or not, it's intentional homicide. Given his attempted crime, even a lenient punishment would start at three years.'

'Mr. Lin…'

'Don't say more, Shen lawyer. You're not new to law; in such a serious criminal case, you should know that once filed, only the court can decide the verdict.'

'I understand; I'm not now asking to withdraw the case.'

'Then what do you want to do?'

'Shang Wuliang merely acted on impulse, lacking legal knowledge. He didn't even realize his conduct amounted to soliciting murder; he was just talking big. I hope you can acknowledge this and issue him a letter of understanding.'

'Shen lawyer, your statement truly overturns my worldview.'

'I hope you will show further understanding.'

'Understand what? Shang Wuliang isn't a three‑year‑old; he's the young boss of Shang Clan Media, a highly educated person—does he not know that killing is illegal?'

'As I just said, he mainly acted on impulse, just talking big.'

'Does acting on impulse mean it's not murder? That night, if the victim weren't me, Lin Dongfan, but a defenseless commoner without official background, what would the consequences be?'

Faced with Lin Dongfan's questioning, Shen Bi was left speechless.

Shen Bi had already learned the details of the incident; the reason no one died that night was mainly due to three objective factors.

One, the knife was in Lin Dongfan's hand, and he restrained his emotions.

Two, those six guards were both greedy and cowardly; they dared not really deal deadly blows to Lin Dongfan and Tang Jing, instead stabbing themselves to extort compensation from Shang Wuliang.

Three, Officer Yang Qing of the criminal police arrived in time, bringing the situation under control and preventing further escalation.

These three objective factors.

Lacking any one of them, the outcome might not be what it is now.

Given Shang Wuliang's angry state then, he truly wanted to chop Lin Dongfan and Tang Jing to pieces. Even if the six guards didn't cooperate, he would have thought of another way; the KTV's Manager Feng would help him vent his emotions.

Now the Faction is applying to the Procuratorate for arrest on charges of intentional homicide.

This is also as expected.

However…

Shen Bi also firmly believes that if Lin Dongfan shows leniency, even if the Procuratorate charges Shang Wuliang with intentional homicide, there remains a chance to overturn the charge, seek a suspended sentence, or even an acquittal.

Letting Shang Wuliang avoid imprisonment is not difficult.

Having thought this through,

Shen Bi pushed up his glasses.

Once again he laid out the case to Lin Dongfan:

'That knife was produced by the KTV's Manager Feng. It was Feng who forced you and Tang Jing to chop off your hands; then you were compelled to pick up the knife in self‑defense. However, Shang Wuliang didn't know you were acting in self‑defense; he thought you wanted to wield the knife against him. Fearing you might cut him, he offered a high price and urged those six guards to attack together. Thus, in this case, the one truly liable for intentional homicide is Manager Feng, while Shang Wuliang's conduct amounts to emergency avoidance.'

Seeing Lin Dongfan's complexion slightly change,

Shen Bi hurriedly explained: 'Mr. Lin, if you can show leniency, I will defend Shang Wuliang from this angle. Of course, if you insist on not forgiving him, I will also withdraw.'

'Shen lawyer, you damn well are a talent.'

Lin Dongfan chuckled, took a puff of smoke, and admitted he hadn't expected Shen Bi, in order to protect Shang Wuliang, would actually try to pin all the major crimes on Manager Feng.

Nevertheless, Shen Bi is also clear‑headed, knowing that an arm cannot twist against a thigh.

Thus he laid bare his defense strategy, which amounts to saying the law can't touch me, Shen Bi; the only person who could make me back down is you, Lin Dongfan.

Lin Dongfan replied without hesitation:

'Since you've given me face, I'll return the favor. Take this pack of cigarettes back; today's incident, I'll treat as if it never happened.'

Hearing this, Shen lawyer's heart turned cold as water.

Seeing Lin Dongfan's indifferent expression, it was clearly no joke; I never imagined that lowering my stance so much would still fail to convince him.

Is it that Lin Dongfan is simply too heartless?

Or is Shang Wuliang truly deserving of death?

Shen Bi felt confused, realizing he increasingly couldn't understand Lin Dongfan; cigarettes, he could indeed be indifferent, but how could he ignore the feelings of Shang Keqing?

Shang Wuliang's father, Shang Keqing, had also been an official, and still had some influence in Nanzhou.

Could it be that you, Lin Dongfan, have never needed anyone's help?

The more Shen Bi thought, the more helpless he felt.

He picked up the soft Nine‑Five from the table, glanced at it, and wryly said, 'We can't settle the case, no need to get angry—let's just consider ourselves friends.'

Saying this, Shen Bi personally opened that pack of Nine‑Five Supreme.

He took out two packs of cigarettes from it.

He threw them in front of Lin Dongfan.

He laughed heartily: 'Two packs—this surely isn't against the rules, right? Thanks for taking the time to chat with me this long; you're a busy person now, your time is precious.'

"You don't hate me?" Lin Dongfan looked at Shen Bi with a smile.

Shen Bi relieved himself of his burden and spoke freely: "If I can help Shang Weiliang with an innocent defense, or strive for a suspended sentence, the legal business of Shangshi Media will be mine from now on."

"I knew you wouldn't act without profit," Lin Dongfan remarked with a smile.

Shen Bi spoke bluntly: "That's a business worth over ten million per year; which law firm wouldn't want to swallow it? Now you've directly cut off my source of income—do you think I hate you or not? But having said that, you have your principles, I respect you, which is also respecting myself; in this matter, I can't bring myself to hate you even if I wanted to."

"I love hearing that," Lin Dongfan said frankly: "Attorney Shen, do more human resources work. People like Shang Weiliang, a social scum, if you defend him innocently, that would be the biggest regret. You are someone with genuine talent, and you're not afraid of not making money; there's no need to sacrifice your lifelong reputation for a piece of cake."

"Are you praising me or disparaging me?"

Shen Bi smiled and pushed up his glasses.

He also asked curiously: "I heard that when you first went to find Shang Weiliang, you wanted to inquire about his father's whereabouts. Now that things have come to this, he surely won't cooperate with you—what will you do next?"

"Attorney Shen, casual chat is fine, but some things shouldn't be asked."

Lin Dongfan's words had just fallen.

Shen Bi's reaction was also extremely quick; he immediately gave his own mouth a symbolic slap, apologizing in person: "Sorry, I'm just overly curious—just think of me as having farted."

It was obvious that Shen Bi also knew this matter was related to the sensitive anti-corruption issue.