Crimson Instinct

---

High Court, Beijing.

The man at the back froze.

How is it possible? How can there be Ming's testimony?

Xin Nianzu said, "I have Miss Ming's recorded confession."

Wen Guiren panicked. He was a bribed lawyer whose only job was to put Fu Ting behind bars.

In exchange, they promised to give him loads of money enough to open his own private law firm that was his dream for a long time.

He immediately said, "Objection, Your Honor. The prosecution was not informed about such evidence."

The judge said, "Objection sustained." She looked at Xin Nianzu. "Mr. Xin. You are very well aware that all the evidence must be seen and noted by both defense and prosecution beforehand to prepare for the case."

"Apologies, Your Honor." Xin Nianzu bowed. "But I myself received the recording just a few minutes before the hearing began."

Actually, it was true, but not completely. Bai Li and Xin Lei already had the recording since last night, but Bai Li, on purpose, asked her to send the recording to Xin Nianzu just a few minutes before the hearing began. He suspected that if that boss bribed prosecution, then he would still try to do something to frame Fu Ting. Or maybe someone would have wanted to destroy it.

It wasn't a permanent solution, but he didn't want to give the lawyer that time.

The man at the back gritted his teeth. He was just ordered to give updates and tell if everything was going on as planned. But the sudden appearance of this recording could threaten their plan.

The judge sighed. "This is the last chance, Mr. Xin. Take it as my warning."

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Play the recording."

Xin Nianzu played it, and Ming's conversation with Xin Lei and Bai Li resounded in the courtroom.

Every word was crystal clear.

Wen Guiren was now panicking more.

This was not in the plan! I was not told about this.

He silently gritted his teeth.

As it ended, Xin Nianzu said, "After this confession, Miss Ming was attacked and murdered by a cop in custody."

"A cop?" The judge was visibly surprised.

"Yes. He goes by the name Tian Song. Two witnesses saw him committing the crime. Another cop named Duan Deming and one woman, Liao Huifang. He escaped, taking her as the hostage."

He handed some papers to the court reporter. "These are their statements. Due to the sudden incident, they are unable to testify here in court. It also includes the details of her death."

Silence.

The judge read through it.

Xin Nianzu continued. "It makes everything clear. The witness was supposed to testify to prove Fu Ting innocent, and on the same night, she was murdered. The real mastermind doesn't want Fu Ting to be free."

Wen Guiren said, "May you permit me to say something, Your Honor?"

"Permission granted."

"Thank you. Unfortunately, Miss Ming was murdered. But the recording is audio. I request the court to order a test that would prove the authenticity of this recording."

Xin Nianzu knew that it was useless and a waste of time. After all, why would his daughter give him a false recording?

But he couldn't put that argument in the court. Feelings don't matter. Only evidence does.

He said, "I don't object, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Very well."

Wen Guiren inwardly felt a bit relieved.

Xin Nianzu said, "Your Honor. There is another thing that I would like to bring your attention to. May I ask to bring my client, Mr. Fu Ting, for questioning?"

"Granted."

Fu Ting dazedly came in the witness box.

"Mr. Fu Ting. Can you please tell the court why you wanted to go back to your room?"

But he said nothing. Fu Ting just blankly stared at him.

"Meili... Meili...my daughter is...no more…" He muttered.

Xin Nianzu was worried now.

"Mr. Fu Ting. Why did you go to your room?" He repeated.

He was trembling in place. He was in no position to answer anything.

This is not good, he thought.

Fu Biyu looked at him with tears in her eyes.

Ting... please don't stay silent.

Xin Nianzu bowed. "Apologies, Your Honor. My client is shocked by the news of his daughter's death. He is not in the condition to answer. May I continue?"

"Yes, Mr. Xin."

"Mr. Fu Ting went back because he had bought a gift for his wife, Mrs. Fu Biyu. He said in his statement - I have already passed it to the reporter - he said that he forgot to keep the box back in the cupboard. It wasn't wrapped in gift paper, so he thought that the cleaners would throw it away, thinking it as junk."

Wen Guiren said, "But the cops didn't find any gift box on the investigation. That was his excuse to go back."

"No." He handed the reporter a receipt. "This is the bill of the gift that Fu Ting bought in Langfang. It was a pendant he bought from the jewelry store. So it is evident that the gift exists. But somebody threw it away who wanted to negate my client's valid reason."

The judge looked through the bill and confirmed that it was legit.

"There is also the CCTV footage of Fu Ting buying the pendant in the jewelry store."

He also played the recording, and Fu Ting was clearly seen in it.

"If Fu Ting indeed kidnapped Fu Meili, then why would he throw away the gift box? That was his ticket to prove his innocence. It would have confirmed his testimony."

Wen Guiren was sweating a bit.

The man at the back was now panicking too. The case was leaning towards Xin Nianzu and in Fu Ting's favor.

He quietly stood and went outside the courtroom.

Wen Guiren had to strike more.

I have to do something.

"Your Honor. Even if what Miss Ming said turned out to be true, that doesn't take away the suspicion from Fu Ting. He could have kidnapped Fu Meili, killed her, and handed her dead body to his accomplice so that he could come back on time. In a hurry to return, he hid the knife with him to dispose of it later on, which fell in his room unknown to him."

Xin Nianzu smiled. "Your assumptions won't work, Mr. Wen. The court needs facts. Hypothetically, even if we assume it to be true, what about the gift box? If there is an accomplice, who is he?"

The judge asked, "Do you have answers, Mr. Wen?"

He couldn't say anything.

Damn, that confession recording ruined everything!

Xin Nianzu said, "It is not over here, Your Honor. You must have read the news that in Natural Park, along with Fu Meili, there were other victims found out too buried in the ground."

"Yes. I did."

"If the prosecution is charging my client to be guilty of murdering Fu Meili, then is he also charging him to be the killer of all those victims? That is not possible. Fu Meili's murder is similar to all those people who died. That means that there is some other gang behind these crimes. They kidnap their targets, kill them, and then bury them under the ground. My client is a simple school teacher. He doesn't have relations with the victims found there."

Fu Biyu burst into tears, thinking about her daughter. She tightly held onto Fu Jun's hand. He didn't know what was going on. He just buried his face in her chest.

Xin Nianzu smiled. "And to prove my client innocent, I am also a witness."

The judge squinted her eyes. "What do you mean, Mr. Xin?"

"Your Honor, a few days, I was kidnapped by a mysterious gang."

Once the people in the crowd gasped.

"What?"

"Yes. I was kidnapped and kept in their base. They did that so I would not be able to fight Fu Ting's case. They wanted me to prevent appearing in the court. I somehow escaped and was in hiding for a day. And just yesterday the army saved me from some goons who wanted to kidnap me back."

Silence.

"Everything clearly points out to the fact that somebody wants to trap my client by hook or by crook. They want to pin everything on him so that the real murderers are free from the punishment. They didn't even want his lawyer to fight for him, so they kidnapped me."

The judge carefully looked at Fu Ting.

Indeed, the facts were pointing to the deliberate attempts to sabotage Fu Ting's chances of being innocent.

The bell rang.

The judge hit the gavel. "The court will announce its decision after lunch."

The crowd started to disperse.

Fu Biyu rushed towards Fu Ting.

"Ting…"

"Mam." The officer stopped her. "You are not allowed to meet him."

She bit her lip.

Xin Nianzu sighed and sat down.

Lin Zihao came and asked, "The case seems to be in our favor."

"Yes. But we should still be cautious. We shouldn't get overconfident."

---

The man standing outside at a distance dialed a number.

"Hm."

"This is bad. Xin Nianzu had the recording of that bitch's testimony. Plus, he also has the evidence to support that Fu Ting bought the gift. Our lawyer wasn't able to do anything!"

There was a beat of silence.

"It is lunch break now. The judge will announce her decision after it's over."

"Just do as I say and tell Wen Guiren what he has to say in the court now."