Daily Intelligence: Forced to Save the Beautiful President at the Beginning

186: Chapter 187 The Arrogant Performance of the Destiny LawyerThe vermilion gates of the Jiangcheng Intermediate Court stood solemn in the morning light, with reporters carrying cameras and crowds holding banners squeezed outside the cordon.

Some held signs saying ”Restore Divine Doctor Li’s Innocence,” while others, swayed by the previous day’s public opinion, held placards reading ”Severely Punish Illegal Medical Practice.” The two groups faced off across the cordon, their voices noisy yet not daring to cross the line.

Inside the courtroom, every seat was already taken. The gallery was filled with legal professionals, media reporters, and villagers who had come of their own accord; even the aisles were packed with people.

On the large screen in the center of the courtroom, beneath the title ”Live Broadcast of the Trial of Li Yong’s Suspected Major Case of Illegal Medical Practice,” the number of online viewers was soaring at a rate of thousands per second, with the bullet comments scrolling so fast the text was nearly illegible.

At exactly nine o’clock in the morning, the gavel fell with a ”thud.” The Presiding Judge, wearing a black robe, sat in the center of the bench and said in a steady voice, ”The court is now in session! Bring the defendant, Li Yong, to the stand.”

The bailiff led Li Yong into the courtroom. He was still wearing that faded blue cloth tunic, his hair neatly combed. Despite being handcuffed, his back was straight. He walked to the defendant’s dock, his gaze sweeping across the gallery. When he saw Zhang Fan and Wang Jingdong, he nodded slightly, his eyes showing not a hint of panic.

”Prosecution, please state the grounds for the charges and present your evidence,” the Presiding Judge said, looking toward the prosecution’s table.

At the prosecution’s table, besides the Wang family’s legal director, Zhou Ming, sat a stranger—a man in a custom-made dark gray suit, his tie perfectly knotted, wearing a plain silver ring without any patterns on his finger. His skin was a cold white from years of lack of sunlight.

He slowly stood up and introduced himself, his voice carrying a metallic coldness: ”Presiding Judge, members of the jury, I am the special legal counsel for the prosecution in this case, Chen Mo. I now submit the following evidence regarding Li Yong’s suspected crime of major illegal medical practice.”

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he picked up a neatly bound document and signaled his assistant to project it onto the large screen. The first image was a ”screenshot of bank statements,” with every transaction record labeled ”Li Yong Herbal Medicine Payment.” The amounts ranged from thousands to tens of thousands, with dates spanning from 2020 to 2023, and even included blurry ”WeChat transfer screenshots.”

”The first piece of evidence is the record of funds from Li Yong’s illegal sale of herbs.” Chen Mo’s finger slid across the screen, his tone certain and beyond doubt. ”We obtained data from multiple banks and third-party payment platforms, confirming that Li Yong sold self-made herbs without a ’Drug Business License,’ making an illegal profit of 587,000 yuan. Specifically, in June 2022, under the name of ’special anti-cancer medicine,’ he collected 150,000 yuan from a patient surnamed Mr.. Later, Mr. passed away due to ’delayed treatment from taking herbal medicine.’ This is a typical case of ’passing off fakes as real to defraud money.’”

As soon as he finished speaking, the assistant immediately switched to the next piece of evidence—a yellowed ”Death Certificate” stamped with the red official seal of a certain County Hospital. The deceased’s name was indeed ”Mr.,” and the cause of death column read ”late-stage liver cancer complicated by liver failure, delayed optimal treatment timing.”

A gasp rippled through the courtroom, and the villagers in the gallery couldn’t help but whisper: ”Is... is this true? How could Doctor Li cheat people out of money?” The live broadcast comments were instantly flooded with messages like ”that damned quack” and ”so the previous apology was all an act.” The public opinion that had originally favored Li Yong began to shift significantly.

Wang Jingdong immediately raised his hand: ”Presiding Judge, the authenticity of the ’Death Certificate’ submitted by the prosecution is questionable! The serial number of the hospital’s seal does not match official records, and we have found that the so-called ’deceased Mr.’ is currently receiving treatment at the City First Hospital, not ’already deceased’ as the prosecution claims!”

”Defense, please do not interrupt the prosecution’s statement.” Chen Mo didn’t wait for the Presiding Judge to speak and directly interrupted Wang Jingdong, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible arrogance. ”Regarding the authenticity of the ’Death Certificate,’ we have written testimony from the hospital’s attending physician and will call the witness to court later. If the defense has objections, they may submit evidence during the cross-examination phase; there is no need to rush and interfere with the trial process now.”

The Presiding Judge pondered for a moment and said to Wang Jingdong, ”Defense, please observe the order of the court and submit rebuttal evidence during the cross-examination phase. Prosecution, continue.”

Chen Mo nodded slightly and continued to display evidence—the second was a ”detection report from the Provincial Drug Administration,” which stated ”Li Yong’s self-made herbs contain excessive Aconite, and long-term consumption can lead to arrhythmia and liver and kidney damage.” The third was a ”video of patient testimony,” where three simply dressed villagers cried to the camera, saying they or their families ”became more ill after taking Li Yong’s herbs.” One elderly man even showed a ”rash” on his arm, claiming it was ”caused by an allergy to the herbs.”

Every piece of evidence seemed seamless, and every detail was meticulously designed. Even the evidence expert brought by Wang Jingdong couldn’t help but frown, quickly noting down suspicious points—the handwriting of the signature on the detection report was problematic, and there was obvious background noise in the testimony video, suggesting it had been edited. However, these points required time to verify, and under Chen Mo’s control of the rhythm, the defense had no chance to interrupt.

”Now, call the witness to the stand.” Chen Mo’s voice rang out again, and the bailiff led a woman in a black dress into the courtroom. She was the ”patient’s family member” who had been crying in the testimony video earlier.

As soon as the woman sat in the witness stand, she began to wipe away tears, her voice choking: ”My husband was diagnosed with early-stage liver cancer in 2021. A friend said Li Yong could cure it, so we took all our savings to find him. He said, ’Take my herbs for three months and I guarantee you’ll get better,’ and he took 100,000 yuan from us. In the end, after taking them for a month, my husband’s whole body turned yellow. When we went to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor said it was liver failure and it was already too late...” As she spoke, she became more emotional and even took a ”family photo” from her bag. ”Look, how healthy my husband used to be. It was all Li Yong who harmed him!”

The atmosphere in the courtroom was completely stirred up by her. Someone in the gallery began to shout ”quack,” and negative comments in the live broadcast were overwhelming. Even the netizens who had previously spoken up for Li Yong began to waver: ”Could we really have been wrong?” ”With so much evidence, maybe Li Yong really is a fraud...”

Watching this, the corner of Chen Mo’s mouth curled into an imperceptible arc. He walked to the witness stand and added in a ”gentle” tone: ”Presiding Judge, members of the jury, this witness not only lost her husband but was also threatened by unknown persons for ’questioning Li Yong’—her door was splashed with paint, and her son was followed on his way to school. All of this is sufficient to prove that Li Yong and the forces behind him are trying to cover up the truth with violence.”

These words completely ignited the emotions of the entire audience. Even the members of the jury frowned, their eyes filled with suspicion as they looked at Li Yong. The Presiding Judge had to strike the gavel to maintain order: ”Silence in the gallery! Prosecution, proceed with your closing statement.”