"All rise!"

The court clerk announced solemnly.

People at the prosecutor's table, the defendant's bench, the witness stand, and in the gallery all stood.

From the side of the courtroom, Zhou Quanmin, accompanied by two judges and four jurors, entered. Only after Zhou Quanmin and the others were seated did everyone else sit down. This was part of the standard procedure for commencing a court session.

Because the Judgment Chief and the members of the collegiate bench represented the solemnity of the law, they had to be shown due respect.

BANG—

Upon entering the courtroom, Zhou Quanmin immediately scanned the scene, a peculiar expression on his face. The prosecutor's table, the defendant's bench, and the witness stand appeared normal. But the gallery was filled exclusively with women. This was completely different from past court sessions.

He remembered that recently, the gallery had been monopolized by the elderly. Aside from relatives involved in the cases, it was almost exclusively older people. He had even begun to suspect the solemn courtroom was turning into a gathering place for square dancers. This time, that feeling was even more pronounced. A group of middle-aged women sat primly in the gallery, looking quite out of place.

In a corner of the gallery, he suddenly noticed a familiar face, and his heart skipped a beat.

It's Qin Mu again.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He clearly remembered that last week, during the case involving swapped auto parts, Qin Mu had been in the witness stand. And for this case, he had suddenly moved to the gallery. By now, Qin Mu had sat in every type of seat in the courtroom. All that's left is my seat...

"Ahem. Today, the Second Criminal Court of Jin City Court will publicly hear the case of one death and three injuries caused by bridesmaid Huang Lan. I, Zhou Quanmin, will be presiding as Judgment Chief," he announced. "A collegial panel has been formed in accordance with the law to conduct a public trial of this case. Now, the court discipline will be read."

Immediately after, he took a deep breath and began to preside over the court proceedings.

The court clerk stepped forward and read the courtroom discipline aloud to everyone present.

"The parties, other participants in the proceedings, and observers must observe the following courtroom discipline:

1. Observers must remain quiet; no clapping, making noise, or creating a disturbance is permitted, nor any other behavior that may hinder judicial activities.

2. Observers must not move around freely and must not enter the trial area.

3. The parties and other participants in the proceedings must not leave the courtroom mid-session. Without the Judgment Chief's permission, they may not speak or ask questions. When speaking, they must stand, maintain decorum, and refrain from attacking or insulting others.

4. Without the court's permission..."

After a full five minutes, more than ten courtroom rules had finally been read out.

Zhou Quanmin looked down once more and said in a deep voice, "Next, the prosecutor will please read the indictment and present the facts of the case."

The reading of the discipline was to ensure the smooth progress of the trial. After all, many people were in court for the first time and were unfamiliar with courtroom rules.

At the prosecutor's table, a prosecutor immediately stood up and recited in a solemn voice, "On the 11th of this month, in Chen Family Village on the outskirts of Jin City, a vicious assault took place. During the wedding of groom Chen Zishi and bride Peng Songyue, held at a rural guesthouse, excessive wedding hazing led to a confrontation. Bridesmaid Huang Lan drew a folding knife in self-defense, attempting to stop the hazing. In doing so, she accidentally caused serious physical injury to four victims. Upon assessment, one person died, and three were seriously injured. The Procuratorate believes that the facts of the case are clear, the evidence is explicit, and there are no doubts. Therefore, the Procuratorate has filed a public prosecution with the court. It requests that the defendant Huang Lan be sentenced for the crimes of involuntary manslaughter and intentional injury to a fixed-term imprisonment of eight years, along with providing compensation to the victims."

The prosecutor's words had barely faded when the courtroom erupted. Reactions varied wildly.

At the defendant's bench, Zhang Wei remained relatively composed. But upon hearing the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation, Huang Lan's face turned ashen. She had received a copy of the indictment much earlier, but it had just been a piece of paper then. Hearing the prosecutor read it aloud in court felt utterly different. In other words, if she lost the case, she would be locked up for eight years!

"What? Just eight years?"

Beside the prosecutor, Chen Daoguang suddenly exclaimed, "She killed my son and stabbed three others! Doesn't that warrant the death penalty?"

He glared at the prosecutor and scoffed, "What kind of lawyer are you? If I'd known, I would have hired my own. Any other lawyer would be more competent than you!"

His words were filled with complete dissatisfaction toward the prosecutor.

This scene completely baffled the prosecutor. He had never encountered a situation where he was berated by his own side's victim.

Meanwhile, in the gallery, Liu Mei and the other women, having heard the sentencing recommendation, also showed indignation and discontent.

"Exactly! What kind of prosecution is this? A life for a life, that's only right! She killed someone and seriously injured three others, and you're only asking for eight years? How is that enough?"

"I saw a video online about a lawyer in a case where a student hit a farmer's wife with a car, then got out and stabbed her to death. The lawyer demanded the death penalty for that!"

"We don't want any compensation! We just want her sentenced to death!"

"Death penalty! It must be the death penalty!"

"..."

For a moment, the courtroom was filled with a cacophony, reminiscent of thousands of ducks quacking. The shouts grew louder, and the scene nearly spiraled out of control.

"Silence!"

In the courtroom, Zhou Quanmin's face darkened, and he struck the gavel.

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