DPM Chapter 31-Trial Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
The Shi Fei on the screen looked vigourously feisty, very energetic given the circumstances. Even though he was standing in the dock, he didn’t seem the least bit disheartened. The person in the plaintiff’s stand was unexpected to Wu Xingyun, he’d been sure it’d be Ouyang Feng, but it was just an ordinary government official. Ouyang Feng sat at the hearing table, calm and unruffled in the excitement, waiting for the outcome of the trial.
The trial had been going on for months. But now it was finally down to the last day. When the grand justice read out the charges against Shi Fei, he routinely asked: “Does the defendant plead guilty?
Of course, Shi Fei pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, at the instruction of the judge, stated he had one last witness.
The grand justice banged his gavel: “Call the witness Wu Xingyun.”
Wu Xingyun turned his head to Wen Nuo for reassurance. Wen Nuo patted him on the shoulder: “Don’t worry, I’ll be sitting opposite you, we’ll be able to see each other the whole time. Everything is going to be alright.”
Nodding, Wu Xingyun took a deep breath, opened the door of the waiting room, and walked down the passage leading to the court room.
Wu Xingyun’s footsteps weren’t either hurried or slow. He remembered his preparations, walking with head held high, chest out, his face calm. Going by the hearing table, he tried to keep his eyes forward, yet in his peripheral vision he saw a familiar back.
The figure was dressed in a gray suit, short hair with a white collar, nothing distinctive from all the other people present.
Still, Wu Xingyun instantly recognized the person. Mozun.
Yet the second Wu Xingyun registered who it was, he immediately rejected the notion. It had to be coincidence, or maybe it was an illusion.
Mozun should be on Yuanxing. He wouldn’t appear on Liu-Mang-Xing. Besides, Mozun had long, jet-black hair, why would he suddenly cut it off?
Wu Xingyun wanted to twist his head, to see that person’s face, Instead, he minded Wen Nuo’s order of ‘look straight ahead,’ proceeding sedately to the witness stand.
In the witness stand, Wu Xingyun’s back was to that suspicious figure. He had no way of verifying the person’s identity, so Wu Xingyun quickly threw his doubts to the back of his mind, still maintaining his body language.
As he’d said, Wen Nuo sat right where Wu Xingyun could see him. Wen Nuo smiled at Wu Xingyun, giving a thumbs-up.
“Don’t be afraid, you’re the best!” Wen Nuo mouthed.
Wu Xingyun nodded back, beginning to come to grips with the whole trial.
After routinely swearing by the Federation flag that everything he said would be true, Wu Xingyun’s questioning officially began.
Perched on the rostrum, the grand justice Ju Gao, without a hint of emotion, asked: “Witness, please describe in detail the death of Captain Ouyang Liu.”
Wu Xingyun’s voice wasn’t loud, and at first he stammered a little. When he got to the part about how, after three months of misery, he’d finally arrived on Yuanxing, only to find Mozun and Ouyang Liu already together, everyone gasped.
This was new information no one had known!
However, the subsequent developments Wu Xingyun described were even more outrageously unimaginable to the court. Wu Xingyun talked about Ouyang Liu attempting to steal the ship. How he’d repeatedly warned Ouyang Liu to surrender, yet Ouyang Liu had refused to lay down his weapons. Until finally Wu Xingyun had killed Ouyang Liu.
Everyone was shocked at what they heard. People started peeking at Ouyang Feng, questions and doubts clear in their eyes.
Ouyang Feng’s lawyer then promptly asked the grand justice: “May I ask the plaintiff’s witness a few questions?”
The judge’s tone was cold and detached: “Yes.”
The lawyer came to stand before Wu Xingyun, looking Wu Xingyun up and down. Suddenly the lawyer stretched out his hands, propping them on the witness table, and asked Wu Xingyun: “When you saw Ouyang Liu and the Night Shard together, why were you angry? Because Ouyang Liu was fraternizing with the enemy? Or because he’d stolen your husband?”
Stunned, Wu Xingyun couldn’t help looking at Wen Nuo. Yet Wen Nuo hadn’t helped him rehearse an answer to questions like these.
“What are you looking at? Why don’t you answer my question? Sergeant, were you jealous of Captain Ouyang’s closeness to the Night Shard?”
“No!” Wu Xingyun responded instinctively. “I was jealous of what he was up to, I didn’t want to……” Wu Xingyun wished to tell that he hadn’t wanted to marry Mozun, but immediately realized that stating so would be tantamount to public opposition of his superiors’ decisions. Lost, Wu Xingyun didn’t know how to word his thoughts.
Staring at Wu Xingyun, the lawyer kept pressing: “Why don’t you answer? Can I assume that I hit the nail on the head about your true feelings?”
The lawyer turned, delivering to the jury a speech worthy of a polished actor on a great stage.
“As we’ve all seen, Sergeant Wu Xingyun’s conduct, when selecting his dowry team, was ruled by ulterior motives. His jealousy of Captain Ouyang also led Sergeant Wu Xingyun to force Captain Ouyang to submit to a psychological test. Or, perhaps there was no psychological test at all. The disordered Wu Xingyun just fabricated it, giving himself an excuse to kill Captain Ouyang at will!”
Next, the lawyer played an original video recording, pointing at Ouyang Liu’s expression with a laser pointer. “Captain Ouyang was obviously coerced to do this test. A gun put to his head, his life being threatened, he had to submit. How could he expect that someone on his own team would be despicably shameless enough to tamper with the record? Even more so, how could he imagine that he’d be sold out by the Night Shard, falling into the hands of people with hidden malicious motives?!”
“Captain Ouyang was wrongly accused.” The lawyer continued on. “Perhaps Wu Xingyun hadn’t intended on killing the innocent Captain at first. So why did Wu Xingyun changed his mind on the wedding night? Can’t we assume Wu Xingyun was merely jealous? Or was Wu Xingyun acting with purpose, because he’d received orders from someone?” The lawyer pointed dramatically at Marshal Shi Fei: “Marshal, did you instruct Wu Xingyun to murder Captain Ouyang Liu?!”
Shi Fei’s face flushed red. He’d been asked this question many times, yet somehow it never failed to enrage him every time. “Bullshit! Why would I kill Ouyang Liu? Now you, you son of a bitch, I’ll shoot you right now!”
Shi Fei’s words caused a flurry of sighs and shushes from everyone, while his temper gave the opposing lawyer something to use against him.
Elegantly, the lawyer turned to the grand justice, brimming with righteous indignation: “According to our latest information, Captain Ouyang Liu was murdered because he learned that Shi Fei and the Night Shard were colluding. Shi Fei’s lackey executed the Captain on Shi Fei’s order. Why else would a soldier who was in love with the Night Shard, who was deeply jealous of Captain Ouyang, not stay at his bridal bedchamber, but instead hasten to kill the Captain? What kind of motivation would Wu Xingyun have to act this way? What made him give up his long-awaited wedding night to murder? What else could it be, except that he was ordered to!”
After spouting all that, the lawyer raised something in his hands, his tone virtuous: “Here, in my hands, is a letter the Night Shard personally hand-wrote to Marshal Shi Fei. The letter details how Marshal Shi Fei should defect to the Demon Army, and will how he would be treated upon joining the enemy. Marshal Shi Fei, do you admit that the Night Shard wrote you this letter?”
""
Shi Fei irately sputtered: “He wrote that to me, however, once again……”
Before Shi Fei could finish, the other side’s lawyer interrupted him: “Then why did you not immediately file a Federal report? Were you tempted by the Night Shard’s offer? Weren’t you already colluding? Have you……”
So angry that he was almost roaring, it was Shi Fei’s turn to cut short the lawyer. “Fuck you! That boring letter, there was no reason to report it. I receive hundreds like it every day. If I reported every single one, when would I have time to fight? You maggot-infested asshole……”
The lawyer condescendingly tilted his head, clicking his tongue: “Marshal Shi Fei, please mind your language. You’re quite arrogant with your unbridled personal attacks. Does ‘contempt of court’ mean nothing to you?” Bowing to the grand justice, the lawyer added: “Honor, I ask that Marshal Shi Fei be prohibited from speaking for ten minutes. Otherwise, I’m afraid he will get too excited, continuing with his pattern of verbal abuse, resulting in court being adjourned today.”
Posturing as being slightly playful, the lawyer had made most people present chuckle. The grand justice nodded, glancing at Shi Fei: “The defendant will be prohibited from speaking for ten minutes. He may not speak for that duration.”
A transparent cover, shining with a dull green light, covered Shi Fei, isolating his sound waves. Shi Fei shouted furiously inside, despite the fact that no one could hear him.
The lawyer, sporting a triumphant smile, switched back to targeting Wu Xingyun.
DPM Chapter 31-Trial Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
The Shi Fei on the screen looked vigourously feisty, very energetic given the circumstances. Even though he was standing in the dock, he didn’t seem the least bit disheartened. The person in the plaintiff’s stand was unexpected to Wu Xingyun, he’d been sure it’d be Ouyang Feng, but it was just an ordinary government official. Ouyang Feng sat at the hearing table, calm and unruffled in the excitement, waiting for the outcome of the trial.
The trial had been going on for months. But now it was finally down to the last day. When the grand justice read out the charges against Shi Fei, he routinely asked: “Does the defendant plead guilty?
Of course, Shi Fei pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, at the instruction of the judge, stated he had one last witness.
The grand justice banged his gavel: “Call the witness Wu Xingyun.”
Wu Xingyun turned his head to Wen Nuo for reassurance. Wen Nuo patted him on the shoulder: “Don’t worry, I’ll be sitting opposite you, we’ll be able to see each other the whole time. Everything is going to be alright.”
Nodding, Wu Xingyun took a deep breath, opened the door of the waiting room, and walked down the passage leading to the court room.
Wu Xingyun’s footsteps weren’t either hurried or slow. He remembered his preparations, walking with head held high, chest out, his face calm. Going by the hearing table, he tried to keep his eyes forward, yet in his peripheral vision he saw a familiar back.
The figure was dressed in a gray suit, short hair with a white collar, nothing distinctive from all the other people present.
Still, Wu Xingyun instantly recognized the person. Mozun.
Yet the second Wu Xingyun registered who it was, he immediately rejected the notion. It had to be coincidence, or maybe it was an illusion.
Mozun should be on Yuanxing. He wouldn’t appear on Liu-Mang-Xing. Besides, Mozun had long, jet-black hair, why would he suddenly cut it off?
Wu Xingyun wanted to twist his head, to see that person’s face, Instead, he minded Wen Nuo’s order of ‘look straight ahead,’ proceeding sedately to the witness stand.
In the witness stand, Wu Xingyun’s back was to that suspicious figure. He had no way of verifying the person’s identity, so Wu Xingyun quickly threw his doubts to the back of his mind, still maintaining his body language.
As he’d said, Wen Nuo sat right where Wu Xingyun could see him. Wen Nuo smiled at Wu Xingyun, giving a thumbs-up.
“Don’t be afraid, you’re the best!” Wen Nuo mouthed.
Wu Xingyun nodded back, beginning to come to grips with the whole trial.
After routinely swearing by the Federation flag that everything he said would be true, Wu Xingyun’s questioning officially began.
Perched on the rostrum, the grand justice Ju Gao, without a hint of emotion, asked: “Witness, please describe in detail the death of Captain Ouyang Liu.”
Wu Xingyun’s voice wasn’t loud, and at first he stammered a little. When he got to the part about how, after three months of misery, he’d finally arrived on Yuanxing, only to find Mozun and Ouyang Liu already together, everyone gasped.
This was new information no one had known!
However, the subsequent developments Wu Xingyun described were even more outrageously unimaginable to the court. Wu Xingyun talked about Ouyang Liu attempting to steal the ship. How he’d repeatedly warned Ouyang Liu to surrender, yet Ouyang Liu had refused to lay down his weapons. Until finally Wu Xingyun had killed Ouyang Liu.
Everyone was shocked at what they heard. People started peeking at Ouyang Feng, questions and doubts clear in their eyes.
Ouyang Feng’s lawyer then promptly asked the grand justice: “May I ask the plaintiff’s witness a few questions?”
The judge’s tone was cold and detached: “Yes.”
The lawyer came to stand before Wu Xingyun, looking Wu Xingyun up and down. Suddenly the lawyer stretched out his hands, propping them on the witness table, and asked Wu Xingyun: “When you saw Ouyang Liu and the Night Shard together, why were you angry? Because Ouyang Liu was fraternizing with the enemy? Or because he’d stolen your husband?”
Stunned, Wu Xingyun couldn’t help looking at Wen Nuo. Yet Wen Nuo hadn’t helped him rehearse an answer to questions like these.
“What are you looking at? Why don’t you answer my question? Sergeant, were you jealous of Captain Ouyang’s closeness to the Night Shard?”
“No!” Wu Xingyun responded instinctively. “I was jealous of what he was up to, I didn’t want to……” Wu Xingyun wished to tell that he hadn’t wanted to marry Mozun, but immediately realized that stating so would be tantamount to public opposition of his superiors’ decisions. Lost, Wu Xingyun didn’t know how to word his thoughts.
Staring at Wu Xingyun, the lawyer kept pressing: “Why don’t you answer? Can I assume that I hit the nail on the head about your true feelings?”
The lawyer turned, delivering to the jury a speech worthy of a polished actor on a great stage.
“As we’ve all seen, Sergeant Wu Xingyun’s conduct, when selecting his dowry team, was ruled by ulterior motives. His jealousy of Captain Ouyang also led Sergeant Wu Xingyun to force Captain Ouyang to submit to a psychological test. Or, perhaps there was no psychological test at all. The disordered Wu Xingyun just fabricated it, giving himself an excuse to kill Captain Ouyang at will!”
Next, the lawyer played an original video recording, pointing at Ouyang Liu’s expression with a laser pointer. “Captain Ouyang was obviously coerced to do this test. A gun put to his head, his life being threatened, he had to submit. How could he expect that someone on his own team would be despicably shameless enough to tamper with the record? Even more so, how could he imagine that he’d be sold out by the Night Shard, falling into the hands of people with hidden malicious motives?!”
“Captain Ouyang was wrongly accused.” The lawyer continued on. “Perhaps Wu Xingyun hadn’t intended on killing the innocent Captain at first. So why did Wu Xingyun changed his mind on the wedding night? Can’t we assume Wu Xingyun was merely jealous? Or was Wu Xingyun acting with purpose, because he’d received orders from someone?” The lawyer pointed dramatically at Marshal Shi Fei: “Marshal, did you instruct Wu Xingyun to murder Captain Ouyang Liu?!”
Shi Fei’s face flushed red. He’d been asked this question many times, yet somehow it never failed to enrage him every time. “Bullshit! Why would I kill Ouyang Liu? Now you, you son of a bitch, I’ll shoot you right now!”
Shi Fei’s words caused a flurry of sighs and shushes from everyone, while his temper gave the opposing lawyer something to use against him.
Elegantly, the lawyer turned to the grand justice, brimming with righteous indignation: “According to our latest information, Captain Ouyang Liu was murdered because he learned that Shi Fei and the Night Shard were colluding. Shi Fei’s lackey executed the Captain on Shi Fei’s order. Why else would a soldier who was in love with the Night Shard, who was deeply jealous of Captain Ouyang, not stay at his bridal bedchamber, but instead hasten to kill the Captain? What kind of motivation would Wu Xingyun have to act this way? What made him give up his long-awaited wedding night to murder? What else could it be, except that he was ordered to!”
After spouting all that, the lawyer raised something in his hands, his tone virtuous: “Here, in my hands, is a letter the Night Shard personally hand-wrote to Marshal Shi Fei. The letter details how Marshal Shi Fei should defect to the Demon Army, and will how he would be treated upon joining the enemy. Marshal Shi Fei, do you admit that the Night Shard wrote you this letter?”
""
Shi Fei irately sputtered: “He wrote that to me, however, once again……”
Before Shi Fei could finish, the other side’s lawyer interrupted him: “Then why did you not immediately file a Federal report? Were you tempted by the Night Shard’s offer? Weren’t you already colluding? Have you……”
So angry that he was almost roaring, it was Shi Fei’s turn to cut short the lawyer. “Fuck you! That boring letter, there was no reason to report it. I receive hundreds like it every day. If I reported every single one, when would I have time to fight? You maggot-infested asshole……”
The lawyer condescendingly tilted his head, clicking his tongue: “Marshal Shi Fei, please mind your language. You’re quite arrogant with your unbridled personal attacks. Does ‘contempt of court’ mean nothing to you?” Bowing to the grand justice, the lawyer added: “Honor, I ask that Marshal Shi Fei be prohibited from speaking for ten minutes. Otherwise, I’m afraid he will get too excited, continuing with his pattern of verbal abuse, resulting in court being adjourned today.”
Posturing as being slightly playful, the lawyer had made most people present chuckle. The grand justice nodded, glancing at Shi Fei: “The defendant will be prohibited from speaking for ten minutes. He may not speak for that duration.”
A transparent cover, shining with a dull green light, covered Shi Fei, isolating his sound waves. Shi Fei shouted furiously inside, despite the fact that no one could hear him.
The lawyer, sporting a triumphant smile, switched back to targeting Wu Xingyun.
