A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

Chapter 27 Ungrateful

Zhao Anmin took the agreement back.

Sun Jin watched from the side, flicking his cigarette butt lightly into the ashtray, and the two exchanged a glance.

Wu Liang had already reached the door and placed his hand on the doorknob when Zhao Anmin's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"I can sign the expert report for you."

Wu Liang stopped in his tracks. When he turned around, his expression was somewhat comical due to the unexpected turn of events.

Sun Jin spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of experience: "Old Zhao, what did I tell you? Lawyer Wu didn't come for that little bit of subsidy."

His gaze swept over Wu Liang, and he chuckled.

"A lawyer who forgoes a ready-made consulting fee and insists on fighting a dead-end case is either foolish or truly righteous."

Wu Liang had already taken his hand off the doorknob: "Officer Sun, should I be happy or unhappy about what you said?"

Sun Jin smiled but remained silent.

Fang Lue stood to the side, mouth agape. "Didn't the talks break down? How did they succeed again?"

Zhao Anmin pulled an approval form from the drawer and quickly scribbled a few lines in the signature column. He didn't rush to hand it over, but held it in his hand, looking up at Wu Liang.

"I can give you a copy of the expert report. I'll handle the procedural matters."

Wu Liang blinked; this turn of events came a bit too suddenly.

He quickly assessed whether he should act extremely grateful, but then felt it would be too fake, so he simply stopped pretending and went back to the table.

"Captain Zhao, I suddenly feel that you look particularly sharp in your police uniform today."

"Come on." Zhao Anmin slammed the approval form on the table. "You can take a copy, but it's for this case only. It can't be distributed outside or used for any other purpose. If you cross this line, you'll never leave the criminal investigation team."

"Understood." Wu Liang grinned and reached out to take it.

Zhao Anmin pressed his fingers on the paper.

"Also, regarding Ni Dayong's case, I won't interfere with which direction you pursue. But I will give you the information that is due during the investigation phase, and don't even think about giving you the information that isn't due."

Wu Liang's eyes darted around.

Will they give what they're supposed to give? Doesn't that mean there are still some things they can give?

He pulled the approval form over, folded it twice, and put it in his pocket, his smile unchanged.

"Captain Zhao, since you've brought it up so much, I'll make a small, insignificant request."

"explain."

Could you also give me a copy of the call records between Ding Hu and Ni Dayong?

"Attorney Wu, do you know what it means to push your luck?"

"I'm not really familiar with idioms," Wu Liang said without changing his expression.

Sun Jin burst out laughing, nearly choking on his cigarette smoke.

Zhao Anmin stared at Wu Liang for two seconds, then snorted through his nose.

"The case has been transferred to the procuratorate, and the call records are in the case file. If you want to access them, you need to apply to the procuratorate yourself."

As expected of a veteran detective, his skill in passing the buck is unparalleled.

However, this answer was not unexpected. Once the case file was in the procuratorate, the police could not easily release the materials from the investigation stage, so they had to take a different procedural route.

"Okay." Wu Liang put away the approval form and didn't press the matter further. "Then I'll try my luck at the procuratorate another day."

Zhao Anmin looked up at him: "Are you very familiar with the procuratorate?"

"Practice makes perfect," Wu Liang laughed. "Besides, Prosecutor Zhang must have had a deep impression of me after the last court hearing."

Sun Jin stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray: "I remember you so well that I don't want to see you in court."

"Officer Sun, your view is too narrow. The relationship between prosecutors and lawyers is a legal community, like fish and water—"

"Who is the fish and who is the water?" Fang Lue couldn't help but interject.

"Of course I'm a fish," Wu Liang said matter-of-factly. "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

……

As the group came out of the conference room, Wu Liang got Jiang Cuilan's paternity test report from Lao Zhou and was flipping through it when two people came out from around the corner.

Sun Wei followed behind a man in his fifties and spotted Wu Liang first.

"Attorney Wu."

Wu Liang looked up and saw Sun Wei appear in front of him, a smile immediately spreading across his face.

"Oh, Attorney Sun, what a coincidence! Have you made up your mind? Our law firm..."

"Wu Liang!"

Sun Wei clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and lowered her voice.

Wu Liang then noticed that there was someone else next to Sun Wei, and gave an awkward smile.

"Who is this?"

"Jincheng Law Firm, Liang Jincheng." The man extended his hand. "Sun Wei's mentor. He handled Zhou Hai's case brilliantly."

"Director Liang, you're too kind." Wu Liang shook his hand. "You were lucky."

"Luck is also a part of strength."

Liang Jincheng withdrew his hand, his face amiable, seemingly unconcerned about Wu Liang's poaching attempt.

"However, getting a not guilty verdict in the first instance for manslaughter is not just a matter of luck. There are at least ten manslaughter cases prosecuted in Tongcheng every year, and your case is the first one to be acquitted this year."

At this moment, Sun Jin caught up from behind, saw Liang Jincheng, nodded as a greeting. It was clear they had met before, but there was no further pleasantries.

"Director Liang, what brings you here today?" Wu Liang asked.

"Oh, the follow-up to Ding Hu's case," Liang Jincheng said casually. "There are still some procedural matters to coordinate regarding Wang Li's case. Xiao Sun didn't handle it thoroughly enough before, so I came to take a look."

Oh?

Wu Liang realized that there was another meaning behind Liang Jincheng's words.

"Attorney Wu," Liang Jincheng suddenly changed the subject, "are you still the only one keeping your law firm afloat?"

"There's also an intern."

"It's not easy." Liang Jincheng nodded. "One person has to do business, run fieldwork, and deal with the criminal investigation team. There aren't many young people in Chuanhe District who can withstand this kind of pressure."

Wu Liang didn't respond, waiting for him to finish speaking.

"Have you considered switching platforms?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wei turned to look at Liang Jincheng in disbelief, and froze on the spot. Sun Jin also stood by with a look of watching a show.

"Jincheng has been in Tongcheng for twelve years, and their criminal defense team has just expanded by one group. If you come here, you won't have to worry about cases; they have all the necessary resources. The lawyers in the team have at least five years of experience."

Wu Liang, however, remained unfazed.

"Director Liang, I was a little caught off guard by your offer."

"It's not really an olive branch," Liang Jincheng waved his hand. "It's just that I feel it's too slow for you to go it alone at this stage. A lawyer's golden period for development is only a few years; you can't afford to waste time."

These words were spoken frankly, even somewhat from the bottom of his heart.

Wu Liang looked at Liang Jincheng. He knew the details of Jincheng Law Firm. Its criminal defense team was the best in Tongcheng. Last year, they won four acquittals and had a stable number of court appearances in several district and county courts.

Liang Jincheng himself is the deputy director of the Criminal Committee of the Provincial Lawyers Association, and has extensive connections in the public security, procuratorate and judicial system.

But Wu Liang also knew that more than half of the cases at Jincheng Law Firm came from plea bargaining, which was a way to make quick money.

As for the remaining part, it's hard to say how much of it will allow lawyers to truly unleash their skills in their arguments.

"Thank you for your kindness, Director Liang. The temple is small and peaceful. As the abbot, I can just worship my own Buddha."

Wu Liang smiled and declined.

"Okay." Liang Jincheng didn't say much more. He took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Wu Liang. "Don't be too absolute. I'll keep my door open for you. Come anytime you feel like you can't handle things on your own."

He turned around and took two steps.

"By the way," Liang Jincheng turned around, "regarding Ding Hu's case, although Ni Dayong is your client, we must also advocate for the interests of the victim. Next time we meet in court, I won't hold back."

Wu Liang nodded: "That's perfect, I'm not used to others giving way to me."

Liang Jincheng didn't say anything more and led Sun Wei deeper into the corridor.

As Sun Wei passed by Wu Liang, she didn't look at him, but simply let out a soft snort through her nose.

"Ungrateful wretch."