"Old Xu, that officer told us to find a lawyer. Do you think we should?" his wife suddenly asked, looking at her comatose son.

Xu Ping, however, dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "Why waste money on that? Everything's almost settled; so many residents have forgiven us." His attitude was one of nonchalance, as if there were nothing to worry about.

Half-believing, his wife didn't say anything more.

「The next day.」

A court summons was delivered to their hospital room. It stipulated that it needed to be signed for by Xu Leshan or a direct relative of Xu Leshan.

"This… this… why have they taken my son to court?"

Xu Ping panicked instantly, staring at the summons, frozen and dumbfounded.

On the hospital bed, Xu Leshan had woken not long ago and was informed of what had happened during his coma. He, too, was utterly bewildered.

His memory… still lingered at that very last moment.

He had opened a package addressed to "Qin Mu," and a terrifying scene unfolded, accompanied by horrific sound effects. It shocked him so badly that he blacked out. When he came to, he found himself in the hospital.

He had been in a coma for several days, during which absurd things had happened. His father had gone to claim compensation but ended up calling the police on him, effectively trapping him. Now, even the summons had arrived.

"Old Xu, didn't you say that if they forgave him, he wouldn't go to jail? Why is Leshan still the defendant?" Xu Ping's wife demanded, glaring at the dazed Xu Ping, her anger bringing her to the verge of collapse.

"I... I don't know either," Xu Ping stammered, feeling his scalp tingle.

「After a long while.」

He weakly suggested, "Maybe… we should still get a lawyer."

By this point, he no longer dared to rely on his own instincts.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

On the hospital bed, the young Xu Leshan swallowed hard. Full of the will to survive, he quickly proposed, "I've heard there's a very famous lawyer in Jin City recently, excellent in court cases, named Zhang something. Shall we… find him?"

Xu Ping frowned. "Do we need to? Those famous big-shot lawyers must be very expensive. We've already paid out seventy to eighty thousand in compensation; a regular lawyer should be fine."

Even now, he still thought it was a minor case and not worth the unnecessary expense.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, his wife glared at him fiercely.

She made a firm decision. "We'll hire that lawyer!" She was now almost trembling with rage at Xu Ping.

If it hadn't been for Xu Ping, her son wouldn't be in this predicament. If his actions hadn't been exposed, perhaps nothing would have happened. And he certainly wouldn't have ended up in court!

...

「That afternoon.」

Xu Ping and his wife arrived at Zhang Wei's law firm, intending to ask Zhang Wei to handle their son's defense.

What they found, however, was a law firm bustling with people seeking consultations, a constant stream of them forming a line.

"I told you," Xu Ping couldn't resist grumbling to his wife. "These big-shot lawyers are bound to be expensive, and we might not even get an appointment."

"Shut up!" his wife snapped, glaring at him.

They queued patiently, waiting their turn.

「An hour later.」

It was finally their turn. The couple hurried into the office and at last met Zhang Wei.

"Don't be nervous," Zhang Wei said with a smile upon seeing them. "First, tell me why you're here. Is it for a consultation, or do you need me to take on a case?"

"A consultation is 500 yuan per hour. For criminal cases, the basic fee is 8,000 yuan," he briefly explained his rates.

After taking on the high-profile "full-network prosecution" case and the bank defense case, his fame in Jin City had skyrocketed. These two cases had become the golden signboards of his law firm. Every day, more and more people came to his office for consultations, transforming it from a once-deserted place to the bustling hub it was now. His business had officially expanded into two parts: paid consultations and legal representation, with quite reasonable prices.

"Lawyer Zhang, it's like this… my son…" the couple began, stepping forward, both a bit nervous.

It took them twenty minutes to briefly explain the incident.

"So, to summarize… your son stole packages multiple times, was arrested by the police, and the court has already scheduled a hearing?" Zhang Wei confirmed after listening.

"This is the court summons," Xu Ping said, swallowing hard as he hastily produced the document and the accompanying copy of the indictment.

Zhang Wei took the copy and read it patiently. As he read on, he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

Xu Ping and his wife exchanged glances, startled by Zhang Wei's reaction. They quickly asked, "Lawyer… Lawyer Zhang, do you think my son has a chance to win this case?"

Zhang Wei shook his head. "According to this copy of the indictment, the prosecutor has charged your son with multiple offenses: theft, infringing on the freedom of communication, intentional destruction of property, and concealing or disguising criminal proceeds, among others. The charges are numerous."

Generally speaking, theft usually results in a single charge, but repeated theft is a different matter.

"Among these, the charges of theft and concealing or disguising criminal proceeds—which includes profiting from them—stem from the same conduct and are not subject to cumulative punishment. However, the sentences for the other charges will be cumulative," Zhang Wei stated, his voice grave as he looked intently at Xu Ping and his wife.

Xu Ping blinked, completely befuddled. "What does that mean?"

He didn't quite understand the legal terms Zhang Wei was using.

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