Qin Mu stood beside the two, listening to their conversation. He couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth a few times. Zhang Wei was clearly terrified by those defendants. His luck was indeed quite unfortunate; many of the defendants he encountered would always stir up some unexpected trouble.

"Okay, there's half an hour left before the court session. Let me go over the court proceedings with you again..." Zhang Wei said.

Then, Zhang Wei pulled Huang Lan aside for a final briefing. It was evident that he took this case very seriously.

At that moment, a noisy ruckus could be heard from outside the courtroom.

"Is this the place? It must be; the bailiff just directed me here."

"Hurry up, let's go in! We must see that bridesmaid sentenced to death today!"

"She stabbed my son! The doctors diagnosed him with serious injuries! We absolutely cannot let her off!"

"A life for a life! She can run, but she can't hide!"

"..."

A group of women, looking around, entered the criminal courtroom. Leading them was Liu Mei. Having received the court's trial notification, they, as the "victim's" relatives, were allowed to attend the hearing. Dozens of women walked in and instantly spotted Huang Lan standing in the defendant's dock. All sorts of foul language, curses, and offensive remarks flew from their mouths. Every other word was "murderer." Huang Lan's face flushed red with anger, but she didn't know how to respond.

This kind of behavior... Qin Mu mused. Publicly gathering to insult her, repeatedly calling her a 'murderer,' already constituted suspected serious insult and defamation. According to the law, until judged by a court, everyone is presumed innocent and should not be labeled a criminal.

"Sue them?" Hearing Qin Mu's analysis, Huang Lan couldn't help but shrink back. But she had stabbed three people, leading to one death. Feeling she was in the wrong, she didn't dare do as Qin Mu suggested.

Seeing this, Qin Mu shrugged. He said no more. Insult and defamation were private prosecution offenses, requiring the aggrieved party to press charges. He had no right to intervene. If it were up to him... he'd make sure every single one of those morally corrupt people from Chen Family Village ended up in jail!

Liu Mei and the other women's abusive behavior soon caught the attention of the bailiffs. Several bailiffs maintaining order approached and sternly warned them, putting a stop to their actions. Reluctantly, the group of women sat in the public gallery, waiting for the trial to commence.

Not long after, Chen Zishi, Peng Songyue, and their parents also arrived at the courtroom. Upon seeing Qin Mu, Chen Zishi immediately called out, "Uncle Qin." This drew the attention of many bailiffs.

Qin Mu's face reddened, but he still nodded. "Today you are witnesses. Sit in the witness stand."

Strictly speaking, the bridesmaid's assault case had occurred at their wedding. They had personally witnessed the incident and would thus serve as eyewitnesses in this trial.

Soon after, a group of boisterous young men entered from outside the courtroom, looking around and scanning their surroundings as if they owned the place. "Where do we sit?" they asked loudly upon entering, searching for their seats.

Qin Mu watched them, his eyebrows furrowed. This group... he recognized them. They were the young men who had caused trouble on the wedding day. Each had participated in groping and taking advantage of the bridesmaids.

"You are witnesses. Go wait in the holding area for now," a bailiff said, leading the rowdy young men away from the courtroom. They too had witnessed the tragic incident of one dead and three injured. However, due to their large number and insufficient space at the witness stand, they were assigned to the holding area. They would only enter the courtroom when called upon to testify.

At 9:50 a.m., a team of bailiffs escorted Chen Daoguang and three others into the criminal courtroom. As the four appeared, a commotion immediately erupted in the public gallery.

A wave of complaints rose from Liu Mei and the other women, who sighed and looked as if they bore deep-seated grievances.

"The world is going to the dogs, and people aren't what they used to be! The murderer isn't locked up, but the victim's family has to go to jail!"

"What kind of justice is this? It's like *we're* the defendants, but we're clearly the plaintiffs!"

"Exactly! That murderer is walking around free, so why do our men have to be arrested and dragged to court by the police?"

"Heaven must be blind..."

"..."

Everything they said, explicitly and implicitly, criticized the court's unfairness. They believed their men shouldn't have been arrested and felt the court was targeting and bullying them.

These remarks immediately drew the heightened attention of the bailiffs, who reprimanded them and prohibited them from causing disturbances in court. Several patrolling bailiffs stopped their rounds and stood directly in front of them. This was to prevent them from making irresponsible remarks and disturbing the court's order.

Meanwhile, Chen Daoguang and the three others who were escorted in sat next to the prosecutor's seat. Their eyes, filled with hatred, were fixed on Huang Lan in the defendant's dock. After being detained in the holding cells for so many days, they finally saw the light of day again.

This was all thanks to Huang Lan! they fumed. If she hadn't stabbed their sons, one fatally, they wouldn't have been arrested and thrown into the detention center.

...

At ten o'clock sharp, the court clerk took a roll call of all attendees, confirming that everyone was present.

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