Chapter 2054: Suggestion
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The lawyer could not even be bothered to glance at Ding Jiayi. “The situation is different this time. Please maintain your silence in court and refrain from spouting nonsense.” The lawyer himself felt helpless that he had to deal with such a case.
He could not understand what his client could possibly sue for given the Qiao family’s familial relationships. Since their daughter had already gotten ahead in life, his client could simply relax and wait to enjoy her life. To fall out with her daughter at this point in time was simply creating trouble for herself.
The lawyer had been utterly confused until he saw the name of his client. Then, everything clicked. As a lawyer, he was indeed busy. But that did not mean that he was ignorant about what was going on in the city.
Upon finding out that his client was Ding Jiayi, the lawyer had not wanted to accept the case. Unfortunately for him, his law firm had already done so and he could not find a way out of it.
The Qiao family’s situation was unlike other families’. Everyone in Ping Cheng knew about the Qiao family’s dirty linen. With such a premise, he was sure that the judge would not have a good first impression of his client. Compared to his greedy client, a filial daughter like Qiao Nan who had been silently sacrificing herself all this while was proof that one reaped whatever they sowed.
Given that her biological mother had been so vicious toward her, sucking her dry of all her money, Qiao Nan should never have been so filial without even caring about her own well-being. Because she had always made sacrifices for the Qiao family, the Qiao family’s greed had only increased.
Everyone’s attitude toward Qiao Nan was that they were saddened by her misfortune but angered by her lack of resistance.
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Naturally, public opinion was biased toward Qiao Nan even if Qiao Nan had not given the Qiao family a single cent or shouldered the responsibility of being a filial daughter in the past year. At the very most, the court would simply order Qiao Nan to make up for whatever allowance deemed fit according to the cost of living in Ping Cheng. The court would never be able to punish Qiao Nan severely, much less stand on Ding Jiayi’s side and fulfill all of Ding Jiayi’s demands.
“Oh, alright.” Ding Jiayi still wanted to win this case. As such, she had to behave herself and not make any trouble today. There was no other choice. She could not afford to offend the judge. If she were to offend the judge, she might very well change the verdict from one in her favor to one against her. Besides, she had to depend on her lawyer to win this case. As such, she could not afford to offend the lawyer either.
But who would have known that a lawsuit would waste so much time, effort, and money? Fighting a lawsuit was no mean feat!
The conclusion from Ding Jiayi’s discussion with Qiao Zijin was that Qiao Zijin would fork out the money, while Ding Jiayi would spend her time and effort on the case. After dividing the labor that way, it was time to put on their performance.
“Lawyer, we’ll win, right?” Ding Jiayi puffed up her chest. Since Qiao Nan would not give up until the very end, she would have to prove to Qiao Nan that one’s stubbornness did not matter. It only mattered whether she was willing to let Qiao Nan off the hook.
She was the one who had given birth to Qiao Nan. It would be a huge joke if even she could not control Qiao Nan. If her daughter did not listen to her, who would she listen to?
“…” The lawyer bit on his lip, reluctant to answer Ding Jiayi. “If it is true that the defendant did not pay any alimony in the past year, then we’ll definitely win to a certain extent.” He had made it clear that it was only to a certain extent, definitely not to the extent that Ding Jiayi was hoping for.
They did not run the courts and Ding Jiayi’s reputation was bad to begin with. This meant that they were already at a huge disadvantage as the plaintiff even before the hearing started. Even if they were to win, Ding Jiayi would never be able to gain as much as she wanted.
“That’s good. Just try to help us win.” Of course, Ding Jiayi did not understand what the lawyer meant by ‘to a certain extent’. All she cared about was that one word. Because she heard that they would win, nothing else mattered to her.
Ding Jiayi was relaxed, but the lawyer was not. “Madam Ding, I want to reconfirm that the defendant did not fulfill her obligations and responsibilities of providing for her parents in the past year.”
“I’m sure.”
How could she not be sure? Not only had Qiao Nan not given her any money, but she had even stolen the family’s money that had been meant for Qiao Zijin’s treatment. In fact, she had even told the lawyer about this story to prove that Qiao Nan was so bad beyond the point of rescue.
Under normal circumstances, the lawyer might have bought into his client’s story upon listening to this one-sided summary of events. Thankfully, Ding Jiayi had kicked up such a fuss that she had appeared on the news. Hence, there were few who did not know about the Qiao family’s circumstances. Even if one was ignorant about it, they could very easily search up about it or ask someone else about it.
Hearing Ding Jiayi foolishly retelling the story, the lawyer simply asked a question that made Ding Jiayi flare up. “Did you say that your younger daughter stole all your family’s money that was meant for your elder daughter’s treatment? Was it your husband who earned all that money? Does that money have nothing to do with your younger daughter?”
“About this… She wasn’t married, so she was still part of the Qiao family. Her money is our money.” Ding Jiayi was indignant. Was that not the case with all unmarried daughters? There was no way Qiao Nan’s earnings belonged to her alone. No. The Qiao family’s money belonged to the entire Qiao family. It was equally shared by all four of them.
The lawyer adjusted his glasses. “Madam Ding, I’m obliged to remind you that based on what you’ve said, your younger daughter simply took her own earnings. I don’t know what your family is like, but I know that whatever habits or customs you have will not be recognized or protected by the law. In the legal sense, whatever you’ve just said doesn’t hold. Once your younger daughter comes of age, she is an independent individual with autonomy. Her earnings are her own. It doesn’t belong to the Qiao family or you or your husband. The law will not recognize that. Do you understand?”
That meant that the court would never recognize or take into account that the defendant was an evil and cold-blooded animal that was totally indifferent to her family. “Madam Ding, my suggestion is that you provide other evidence to prove that the defendant has not done her duty to provide for her parents.. Otherwise, I would suggest that you not go through with this.”