What's wrong with this lawyer?!

As for the victim's forgiveness, the main thing is to pay compensation. Communicating with Ding Deshui's family will do. Given their financial situation, they should be able to cough up a little over a million.

"Sister-in-law, rest assured, I have known Director Ding for many years. With him in trouble this time, I must help out. You just get the money ready on your end, and I'm fairly confident about this case."

"Right, the key is Tang Fangjing. As long as we can persuade him, things will be easy. We'll offer more money, and it's bound to have an effect."

"Okay, sister-in-law, I can go in now. I'll talk to you again when I come out."

After completing the formalities, Lawyer Zhou met with Ding Deshui.

In the meeting room, Lawyer Zhou was almost unable to recognize the Ding Deshui sitting opposite him. It had been just over a week since their last meeting, but Ding Deshui looked as though he had aged twenty years!

On the other side, Ding Deshui was quite excited to see Lawyer Zhou.

Finally, someone had come to see him, and it was an acquaintance at that.

Lawyer Zhou still wore his confident smile. He was known in Changlu County and considered himself no less capable than lawyers like Tang Fangjing. He did not seek online fame, believing he was above such things.

Now he spoke words of comfort, "Director Ding, keep calm. I will definitely go all out on your case..."

He had to console Ding, advising him to plead guilty and accept punishment. Standing firm against the police would lead nowhere. A guilty plea might lead to a shorter sentence and the possibility of parole on medical grounds in the future. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

After the reassurances, Lawyer Zhou assumed his most professional demeanor, "Now let's talk business. Director Ding, the main issue with your case now is that they have very substantial evidence, so acquittal is not an option. We can only aim for a lighter sentence or even probation."

"However, at this stage, we must first get you released on bail. I'll assist you from the outside, but you need to cooperate from the inside, like with this plea bargain. The police must have talked to you about leniency for those who confess and severity for those who resist."

"If you don't cooperate, it will be difficult for me to arrange bail for you..."

Hearing this, Ding Deshui on the other side said, "Lawyer Zhou, I've been very cooperative in here, answering whatever they ask..."

Lawyer Zhou breathed a sigh of relief at these words but then froze mid-sentence.

"Wait, Ding Deshui, what were you just saying? You're also involved in embezzlement, misappropriation of designated funds, and occupation malfeasance? No, did you... did you tell them all that?"

Ding Deshui, clearly disoriented from his time in custody, replied, "Ah, yes, I told them everything. Didn't you say that confessing would lead to a lighter sentence?"

Ding Deshui was certainly no fool, but you have to understand that a detention center is a different world. Enduring time there can change a person completely. Only the most seasoned can withstand interrogation.

The moment they sit in the chair of regret and wear the silver bracelets, they sometimes act involuntarily, spilling everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Besides, when they were subpoenaed, the officers present already knew they had been splitting money privately. Following that lead, they were able to uncover everything during the investigation.

On this side, Lawyer Zhou truly wished he could slap some sense into his client. Yes, confessing to a crime known to the police could lead to a lighter sentence, on the premise of voluntary confession.

If you confess to something the police are unaware of, indeed, overall you might get a lesser sentence, considered as a surrender. But at this point, you would face cumulative sentencing!

And this guy even embezzled and defrauded special funds for poverty alleviation. Does he not know the meaning of death?

Listening to Lawyer Zhou's words, Ding Deshui was completely baffled. To be honest, he actually planned to have a good talk with Tang Fangjing after getting out.

He believed that it was Tang Fangjing who ruined his life. Without him, what could Huang Licheng possibly do by simply filing a complaint?

Now, as Lawyer Zhou said that at the very least he was looking at twenty years, he sat there stunned, his face ashen, unable to utter another word.

If he had known it would come to this, he would never have gone after Huang Licheng. He was fifty-three this year; who knew what would happen in twenty years...

An hour later, Lawyer Zhou left the detention center and called Ding Deshui's wife.

"Sister-in-law, you know the situation now. I can't guarantee the outcome, but what we can do right now is to try for bail, at least to get him out first, right?"

On the other end of the phone, in Er Tou Village, Ding Deshui's wife had already lost all direction. When she heard about the severity of the situation, that he could be sentenced to twenty years or even life in prison, her face turned frightfully pale. Then, hearing that there might be a chance for him to come out first, she quickly said, "Yes, it would be best if we can get him out first."

Lawyer Zhou was judging based on his own experience. Normally speaking, let alone life imprisonment, case files with a possible twenty-year fixed-term sentence hardly ever get bail.

However, this case was quite special because these new incriminating leads were provided voluntarily by Ding Deshui himself, meaning on some level he showed merit worthy of consideration.

It was primarily an economic crime, and since he was especially cooperative after being detained, showing meritorious behavior, discussing bail pending trial was not out of the question.

Nevertheless, this case was likely to be escalated to the city bureau. With such a major case, Changlu County was no longer capable of handling it.

In Er Tou Village, Ding Deshui's wife had just hung up the phone when it rang again. She picked it up and tried to compose herself, saying, "Yong Qiang, what made you think to call Mom all of a sudden?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was her son, Ding Yongqiang, who had always been exceptionally talented.

"Mom, I've got good news for you. I've finally made it through this year's civil service examination. I came first in the written test, and first in the interview. Everything else is just a formality. I've finally passed!"

Days passed one after another, and the high court was still silent. Old Tang in Jingzhou was also a bit astonished. This case should have been simple, with all the evidence present; why was it still under investigation?

Then news came from Lincheng. The case involving Ding Deshui and others had been escalated to the city bureau. Now Old Tang was even more puzzled. Good grief, what had these people done? The city bureau doesn't deal with just any case.

However, this meant there might be complications. If the situation was serious, the investigation could take a long time, delaying any civil compensation. Moreover, if it involved economic crime, there would also be the issue of enforcement.

Economic crimes almost always involve compensation issues. If the range of involvement was wide and there were many to compensate, there could be a shortfall, potentially leading to the inability to pay...

As he was thinking, his phone rang. Picking it up, he saw it was a strange Lincheng number.

"Hello, Tang Fangjing from Tengda Law Firm. May I ask who's this?"

"Hello Lawyer Tang, I am Ding Deshui's defense lawyer, surname Zhou. I just wanted to ask about the situation and whether your side could issue a letter of forgiveness?"