His son also successfully wooed the village belle.

"You have gathered a crowd and rampaged through the village more than three times within two years. The act of causing disturbances has also occurred more than three times."

From the prosecution bench, the public prosecutor took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law, repeatedly causing disturbances is serious enough to constitute the crime of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble' with severe circumstances. According to the law, you should be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no less than five years and no more than ten years!"

In criminal law, there are many acts that should be severely punished. One of these is recidivism. For those who commit criminal acts multiple times, they will be severely punished according to the law.

"Again… a harsher sentence?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Daoguang's legs began to tremble.

I've been defending myself for so long… It's as if I've been striving for a harsher sentence this whole time. Malicious intent in the illegal detention? Harsher sentence. A slap in the face? Harsher sentence. Gathering a crowd multiple times? Harsher sentence…

"Won't you say something?"

Thinking this, he couldn't help but turn his head and look towards the legal aid lawyer sitting at the defense bench, complaining.

Fighting alone… It's simply too difficult.

He finally realized he still had a teammate.

However, this teammate sat the entire time with his head down, his expression calm. The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a faint, almost imperceptible smile. I wonder if it's just my imagination.

BANG.

In the courtroom, after both sides had presented and questioned the evidence, Judge Zhou Quanmin asked gravely, "Does the defense have any further questions regarding the evidence presented by the public prosecutor?"

Chen Daoguang glanced again at the lawyer beside him. He swallowed hard and shook his head.

I dare not question any further… If I question again, I might receive another "harsher sentence" as a reward.

"In that case, we will now move on to the free debate segment. Please continue the debate, focusing on the issue of guilt or innocence," Zhou Quanmin said, nodding and continuing to move the trial proceedings forward.

「In Jin City. At the nursing home.」

Cries of surprise rose one after another in the courtyard.

"This is eye-opening! Harsher, harsher, and still harsher. Chen Daoguang really has his days numbered," someone said.

"To tell you the truth, it's not just the prosecutor who has a bad impression of him. I think the members of the collegial panel don't have a good opinion of him either," another commented.

"You can't blame others, only himself for performing too 'brilliantly' yesterday," someone else remarked.

"He seems to have offended the legal aid lawyer today as well. His chances for a sentence reduction are probably gone now," another added.

"..."

Watching the live broadcast of the trial, the crowd sighed and shook their heads. Zhang Qingyuan and the others all expressed that it was a real eye-opener. Chen Daoguang had, through his actions, perfectly demonstrated the meaning of 'if you don't court death, you won't die.' If he had just obediently listened to his lawyer, none of these "incidents" would have occurred.

Among the onlooking elders, Wan Zhongyuan withdrew his gaze, also swallowing hard. Then he looked at the "outstanding employee" of the institution beside him and couldn't help asking, "Xiao Qin, is the gap between an ordinary person… and a lawyer really that big?"

In the live broadcast, the legal aid lawyer had chosen to feign ignorance, remaining silent during the cross-examination phase, with Chen Daoguang arguing the entire time. This had led to so many problems…

"Of course, there is," Qin Mu nodded seriously, explaining, "Many statements made in court carry legal weight. If testimony is inconsistent, it will lose credibility with the court. Furthermore, in certain stages, both sides need to communicate. If there's a mistake in expression, the opposing prosecutor or lawyer will seize upon the flaw. Only a professional lawyer knows what can and cannot be said."

A courtroom is different from other settings. The requirements for a litigant's statements are very high; contradictions are not allowed. Reckless arguments, moreover, will diminish the litigant's own credibility. Therefore, double standards and sophistry are useless in court. Everything is inferred based on legal logic and evidence. Chen Daoguang rejected the legal aid lawyer's defense and easily fell into traps himself.

"I see," Wan Zhongyuan said thoughtfully, nodding his head. Then, recalling something, he asked, "By the way, what the prosecutor just said… is slapping someone also an illegal act?"

Not long ago, he had thrashed his good-for-nothing son. It went beyond a mere slap in the face; he beat him so badly the son ended up in a wheelchair.

The act of assault… If it resulted in a minor injury, that would constitute the crime of intentional injury. I'm very clear on this point. That's why when I beat my son, I controlled my strength the entire time, ensuring it didn't reach the standard for minor injury. But this business of slapping… I've never taken it very seriously.

"Assaulting another person, regardless of severity, is an illegal act," Qin Mu explained with a smile. "If the other party insists on pressing charges, it can result in administrative detention for five to fifteen days."

"Then... what if I slap my own face?" Wan Zhongyuan blinked, asking on a sudden whim.

Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. He said, somewhat speechlessly, "The Public Security Administration Punishment Law pertains to assaulting others. Hitting oneself doesn't count."

It wasn't just that. Even the crime of intentional injury in the Criminal Law targets acts that harm another person's bodily integrity. Hitting oneself, or even self-mutilation, does not constitute an illegal act or a crime. However, this doesn't mean citizens have the right to dispose of their own bodies as they wish. Citizens are prohibited from arbitrarily disposing of certain major bodily rights. The most obvious example is that selling or trading one's own organs is illegal. To alleviate the everyday stress of work and life, a certain shop specially introduced a 'beating package.' For just one hundred yuan, customers could, within the limits of inflicting only minor injury, freely beat the shop's employees.

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