Crimson Instinct

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High court, Beijing.

The lunch break was over. Everybody gathered back to their seats.

Wen Guiren said, "Your Honor. I have come across some revelations during the break, which I feel is crucial that the court must know."

The judge adjusted her spectacles and said, "What revelations?"

Xin Nianzu narrowed his eyes. He shared a glance with Lin Zihao.

Wen Guiren said, "I had my suspicions on the gift that Fu Ting brought. So I asked the cops in Langfang to interrogate the shop owner of that jewelry store once again. And Your Honor, you would be shocked to know that he confessed the truth after the cop's questioning when they pressed for the truth."

He handed out some papers. "This is Mr. Yan's statement that I just received a fax from the cops. He says that Fu Ting never went to the shop to buy anything. Fu Ting threatened the owner to create a bill for his name with all the date and particulars that could serve as the proof

 But the reality is far from that."

Xin Nianzu silently kept on watching.

Fu Biyu looked at Wen Guiren in horror.

What is he saying? Ting would never do something like that! He would never threaten anybody.

She felt her heart thud faster, and her desperate glance shifted at her husband, but he seemed impassive and unaffected.

"May I ask your permission to start a video call with Mr. Yan? The cops are ready with him for him to stand as a witness."

"Permission granted."

Wen Guiren bowed. He started the video conference.

A man in his early seventies appeared on the screen. He looked nervous with how he was clasping his hands together, and a strange sense of fear could be seen in his darting glances. Two officers stood behind his back on either side.

Xin Nianzu observed those minute reactions, the sweat on his forehead, and his fidgety movements.

"Mr. Yan. Can you please tell the court of what happened?" Wen Guiren asked.

Even though Mr. Yan knew that he was on the call, he still startled when Wen Guiren spoke to him.

"T-that day…"

Wen Guiren pressed on. "Don't fear, Mr. Yan. You can freely tell the truth of what happened."

Mr. Yan clasped his hands tighter. "That man came to me one day-"

"Sorry for the interruption, but can you identify the man? Look at this man. Was he the one?" He shifted the camera towards Fu Ting.

"Y-yes. He was the man. He came to my shop and requested to talk to me alone. Then he threatened me to create a fake bill for him. If I didn't do it, then he would k-kill me."

"What about the CCTV footage?"

"He ordered me to tamper with them so that he could be seen in it. He never bought any gift."

"He is lying! My husband would never threaten anybody!" Fu Biyu abruptly stood and loudly voiced out her disagreement with tears in her eyes.

The judge warned. "Please calm down, Mrs. Fu. You cannot interrupt the proceeding. Please sit down."

"B-but-"

Xin Nianzu looked at her and nodded. 

Fu Biyu bit her lip hard and sat back.

Xin Nianzu asked, "Can I ask some questions, Your Honor?"

"Yes, Mr. Xin."

Xin Nianzu asked, "Mr. Yan. How did he threaten you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, how? What weapon did he use to threaten you?"

"O-oh that...it was a…" He seemed to panic, "gun!"

Xin Nianzu raised his brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Where did he point the gun?"

Now he looked more nervous. The man at the back and Web Guiren were silently hoping that he shouldn't mess up."

"At my head."

"With which hand?"

"Right." The answer was almost immediate.

Xin Nianzu smiled. He took a pen and suddenly threw it at Fu Ting without any warning.

Fu Ting suddenly saw something thrown at him and land at his side. He, who was zoned out, startled. He instinctively raised his hand and caught the pen, but there was an odd and noticeable thing in that.

Fu Ting was still a bit dazed and out of sorts. He said nothing.

"Mr. Xin. What was that?" The judge sternly asked with a hint of warning in her tone. "He is your client. What is this behavior?"

"Apologies, Your Honor, but I wanted to prove my point. As you must have seen, Mr. Fu Ting caught the pen with his left hand. That was his instinct that he cannot lie about. My client is left-handed. Why would he point the gun at Mr. Yan with his right?"

Mr. Yan froze. Wen Guiren stiffened.

"People handle things with their dominant hand. It seems to be awfully weird that my client suddenly decided to use his right hand that day to threaten Mr. Yan."

The judge raised her brow. "Valid point."

Wen Guiren 

Suddenly Mr. Yan said, "T-that is right! I seem to have made a mistake. Indeed, he used his left hand."

He was sweating buckets now.

"Prosecutor's witness seems to have a problem in deciding his statement. First, he said it was my client's right hand, and now he said it was his left?"

Wen Guiren said, "Your Honor. The witness is still afraid. Maybe that's why he messed up. And Mr. Yan?"

"Yes!"

"You must be standing opposite to Fu Ting, right?"

"Yes, I was."

"Perhaps his left hand seemed right to you from your side."

"That's right. That's how it was." He seemed to be relieved.

"Objection Your Honor." Xin Nianzu said, "It clearly looks like the prosecutor is filling words in Mr. Yan's mouth to suit the testimony. He is egging the witness to give an excuse."

"Objection sustained. Mr. Wen. I agree with Mr. Xin. Mr. Yan must give his clear and precise testimony based on what he saw, heard, and remembers."

Wen Guiren inwardly cursed Xin Nianzu.

"Yes, Your Honor."

Xin Nianzu continued. "That is not the only fallacy in Mr. Yan's statement. He said that my client bought a gun with him. But there are metal detectors at the store's entrance. How was the gun not detected when my client entered the store?"

Mr. Yan stuttered. "T-that, he opened his gun from a ceramic container. I was also shocked."

Xin Nianzu squinted his gaze.

"Ceramic things go undetected. Fu Ting took advantage of it."

He knew something was wrong. It was clear that the shop owner was threatened.

Xin Nianzu shook his head. "Mr. Wen. Do you realize that instead of going through all the trouble to threaten Mr. Yan, my client could have just simply bought a gift for real for which he would have gotten a real bill? No need to tamper with the CCTV either because he would be seen in it as evidence. Why would he risk to threaten Mr. Yan when he could prove to be a witness against him in the future?"

Wen Guiren smiled.

Xin Nianzu was sharp like a hawk, but they were well prepared.

Wen Guiren said, "Because Fu Ting wasn't in his right state of mind."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes." he looked at the judge. "Your Honor. Mr. Yan is a key witness. Fu Ting never bought a gift, so there was never a gift in the first place. It was all an excuse to go back to kidnap Fu Meili and viciously kill her."

Fu Biyu was silently sobbing, hearing all the accusations thrown at Fu Ting. She couldn't bear to see him getting so humiliated.

"Mommy…" Fu Jun raised his hand to wipe her tears. He had no idea why his Mommy was crying so much today.

Xin Nianzu said, "Your Honor. Fu Meili is my client's daughter. He loves his family. Why would he think of killing his own daughter?"

Wen Guiren smiled.

"That is because things don't seem so straightforward as the defense thinks they are. I would like to ask for permission to call Fu Ting's wife, Mrs. Fu Biyu, in the witness box."

"Permission granted."

"Mrs. Fu."

"Yes." Her voice was low and laced with grief. Her eyes were filled with tears threatening to fall.

"After Fu Meili was born, who insisted on having a second child?"

She blinked her eyes in confusion. "Huh?"

"Objection. The question is too personal, and it has no bearing on the case," Xin Nianzu said.

Wen Guiren said, "Please give me a chance, Your Honor. I will prove that my question isn't pointless."

"Objection overruled."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Now, please answer my question, Mrs. Fu."

She glanced at Fu Jun and then at her husband.

"T-ting said that it would be lonely for Meili…" She broke down into soft sobs, uttering her daughter's name, who was now no more. She sniffled and wiped her tears. "...to be an only child. So if I didn't mind, then we could go for a second child. I agreed. It was good for her to have a sibling."

Wen Guiren asked, "Mrs. Fu. Did he want to have a second child because of this sentimental reason or did because he didn't like the fact that he had a daughter, so then he wanted a chance to have a son?"