Justice System: I Litigate for the Whole City

Chapter 198: The Agent Column

Peng Weidong stood below the steps, holding an empty plastic bag, the opening twisted tight until the plastic turned white.

"I told you not to come."

"I didn't go up." He said, "I waited downstairs."

"For what."

"For you to come down, so I could say one thing."

"Can't you say it now?"

"Too early now." He switched the bag to his other hand. "Go on up."

Across the street was the bus stop. Tang Guo stood in the shadow of the sign, both hands in her pockets, phone still put away. Shen Zhixia tipped her chin toward her. Tang Guo tipped hers back but didn't walk over.

At 8:52, she was writing in the first-floor visitor log. Last time she'd come, under "Purpose" she'd written "Delivering Materials." Today she wrote: Hearing.

At the end of the fourth-floor corridor, the hearing room door was open a crack, air conditioning spilling out first.

The room wasn't large. A long table sat under the window, three chairs behind it, three white porcelain cups on top—the middle one half-drunk, a few tea leaves settled at the bottom. The clerk sat at a small side desk, laptop open, the screen light falling on the back of her hands. Guan Min sat against the other wall, a blue cover folder spread open in front of her.

Shen Zhixia's table was up front—one chair, an empty desktop.

Against the wall was a row of six chairs. He Xiufen walked straight over the moment she came in and sat in the one at the very end.

At nine o'clock sharp, Bai Weimin came in. Around sixty, shirt buttoned to the second button, a folder tucked under his arm. He sat in the middle chair. To his left was Supervisor Shao, hair completely white, reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose; to his right was Huo Jingzhi, early forties, short hair. The half-drunk cup sat right by her hand. She sat down and moved it half an inch closer to herself.

Bai Weimin read the hearing matter, read the names of the three committee members, read the recusal rules. When he finished, he asked, "Does the respondent request recusal?"

"No."

The clerk took her original ID, checked the number and photo, and slid it back.

"The Discipline Department's investigation findings. The investigator will read them."

Guan Min opened the blue folder. She read flatly, like reading off a string of serial numbers: date of acceptance; complaint signature date; the three complaints in full, one per paragraph; three pages of attached materials; the investigation process—on May 17, an inspection of case-handling procedures at Zhengping Firm, reviewing the case intake register, engagement agreement, and fee receipts; on June 2, receipt of six pages of written defense from the respondent plus three assessment materials.

When she reached the signature block, she paused for one second: "The complainant's signature line: one name, one eight-digit number. The number dials to nothing. The employer field reads: Jiangzhou Tongsheng Law Firm."

Of the three white cups in the room, not one moved.

The pen tip in Shen Zhixia's hand stopped over her notebook, not coming down.

"Is the complainant present today?"

"Not present." Bai Weimin said, "Per procedure, the respondent does not confront the complainant directly."

"Where the three pages of copies attached to that complaint came from—I'd like to ask the committee to request a written explanation from the complainant."

"On June 4 we already sent written notice to the complainant." Supervisor Shao flipped through the papers by his hand. "The deadline is tomorrow afternoon."

[Thud. The complainant is not present. That question of yours has no one here to relay it.]

"Respondent's statement and defense." Bai Weimin said. "Item one."

* * *

"Item one. The complaint alleges: after internship registration, the respondent appeared alone in court as an agent on multiple occasions; at those hearings the supervising lawyer did not appear as the agent of record." She turned the first page over and read on. "I'll answer in two parts. First: for four hearings, this firm issued a firm letter each time. The court appearance certificate stubs are in the file. On the power of attorney, the supervising lawyer column reads He Xiufen of Zhengping Firm. Second: at every hearing, I stated my identity as 'trainee lawyer Shen Zhixia, supervising lawyer He Xiufen'—I have never called myself a lawyer. Not once."

Bai Weimin waited for her to finish.

"At those four hearings, where was the supervising lawyer sitting?"

"At the plaintiff's bench, to my left."

"At all four?"

"At all four."

"The April 26 hearing—on the recording she said one line: 'agent's supplement.' We heard it." Bai Weimin opened the hearing record copies. "But on the record, the authorized agent column lists only your name. She sat beside you, and she's not on the paper."

Someone against the wall moved. He Xiufen spoke: "That was my call."

"Lawyer He, we're questioning the respondent right now."

"The column was my call. Asking her—she'd have to cover for me."

"Then you tell us."

"She's the one in court." He Xiufen said. "I sat beside her and said as little as I could. If she didn't read a line steady, she'd hear it herself. Put two names in that column, she reads a line and glances at me, and the case becomes me reading it for her."

Bai Weimin's pen stopped.

"What we're asking isn't whether you read it for her." He said. "One name in the agent column. The person sitting beside her isn't on the paper. Anyone who flips through these hearing records—what do they see?"

"They see me." Shen Zhixia said.

"Correct." Bai Weimin let the pen tip touch down.

"Item two. The complaint alleges: the respondent handled cases externally under the title of lawyer, citing three instances of the agent column in hearing records." She turned to the second page. "My answer: those three places in the records are inconsistent with my in-court statements. I request the hearing audio and video be retrieved for verification."

"The February 17 and April 26 hearings—we've listened to both." Supervisor Shao said. "The sentence you used to state your identity—say it now."

"Trainee lawyer Shen Zhixia, supervising lawyer He Xiufen."

"Matches the recording."

Huo Jingzhi spoke then. She set her cup down.

"Shen Zhixia. Over this year of handling cases, how did people address you?"

She thought for a moment.

"March 2, in the evening. The court called to inform me of the evidence-exchange time for the morning of March 5. The person on the phone said, 'Is this Lawyer Shen?'"

"How did you answer?"

"I said 'yes.'"

"Why didn't you correct it?"

"I was writing down the hearing time. The pen was in my hand."

Huo Jingzhi didn't respond. She picked up her cup and took a sip.

Supervisor Shao asked, "That sentence—which page does it land on?"

"It doesn't land on any."

The clerk's keyboard clicked twice.

She tried a Statute Quick Search in her mind, looking for a provision that could press that sentence back onto paper.

[Thud. No provision found. This question doesn't land on paper.]

"Item three. The complaint alleges: failure to follow firm procedures for case intake, and private collection of client fees." She turned to the third page. "My answer is the accounts. The case intake registration date, engagement agreement date, special power of attorney, firm letter stub, deposit voucher, and invoice number are all written on this page. Every payment went into Zhengping Firm's account. The handler column has my name; the sign-off is the director's."

"We've also pulled statements from Zhengping's account." Supervisor Shao said.

"Did you ever accept a client's money by hand?" Bai Weimin asked.

"No."

"You didn't write 'no.'" He flipped the page. "You wrote 'all verifiable.'"

"Yes."

"Page four." Supervisor Shao turned it over. "In this paragraph you wrote a request for the committee to verify with Chengbei Hospital. We sent the letter."

"Chengbei Hospital hasn't responded as of yesterday." Bai Weimin said. "This section still has to wait."

"The set retained in the medical affairs office—the handler column is signed with a single character: 'Xu.'" She said. "In April, someone went to the medical affairs office and photocopied the procedures I was working on. What I'm asking the committee to verify is that set."

"Just put it on paper." Supervisor Shao said. "Guesses don't need to be written."

"Per the hearing notice, today's hearing also covers matters related to the intern assessment." Bai Weimin said. "The three materials were delivered on June 2 along with the defense."

The clerk pushed the three items to his hand.

He first opened the internship registration form, turning to the last page. On it were four rows of court appearance records: February 17, March 5, March 19, April 26. In the "Supervising lawyer present" column, all four rows said "Yes."

"Who filled in these four rows?"

"I did." He Xiufen said.

"When?"

"May 22, in the evening."

"All four rows at once?"

"Yes."

"When you wrote 'Yes,' what were you thinking—that you were listed in the agent column, or that you were present?"

He Xiufen answered fast: "Present."

[Thud. That column is now explained. It remains on the form.]

Bai Weimin wrote that down. "This column isn't something the person who filled it can explain."

Huo Jingzhi reached over and took the form, flipped back to the first page, then back to the last, reading slowly.

"Respondent." She said. "Your defense submission is six pages. The page numbers are printed."

"Yes."

"The name is handwritten by you."

"Yes."

"Why divide it that way?"

"The page numbers are paper," she said. "The name is mine."

Huo Jingzhi didn't ask further. She stacked the three items in order and set them down by her cup.

"Respondent's final statement." Bai Weimin said.

She looked down at the six pages. Page one answered the name. Page two answered the title other people had spoken aloud. Page three answered the money. Pages four through six asked the committee to verify who.

"I've answered the three items." She said. "That last question—I can't answer it. When I can't answer, I write 'I need to verify.'"

She stopped.

No one in the room took up her words.

[Thud. Three answers finished. The fourth question—you have no paper for it.]

Bai Weimin closed his folder. "The committee's opinions will be provided in writing by the Discipline Department. The assessment matters heard in this session—our record will be forwarded separately to the Intern Assessment Committee."

The clerk flipped the record to the last page and pushed it over. "Please sign and date."

"Sign in the lower right corner." Huo Jingzhi said. "Don't cover the reference number."

She picked up the pen. Last night she'd practiced those three characters three times, the scrap paper piling half a finger high in the trash can. This stroke came down slower than any of those three tries.

When she lifted the pen, Huo Jingzhi's gaze had just left that column.

* * *

The hearing ended. The clerk asked He Xiufen to stay a moment—there was a date on the supervising lawyer's side that still needed checking. He Xiufen told Shen Zhixia to go down first: "I'll bring the scooter around."

The sign board still hung in the corridor. The Intern Assessment Committee list—the second name was still those three characters. He hadn't come today.

Down the stairs to the first floor, out the door. The sun was harsher than it had been this morning.

She looked up.

Across the street, Tang Guo still stood under the bus stop sign. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and raised it, not high.

Below the steps, Peng Weidong still stood there, the plastic bag crumpled into a ball.

"You came down."

"Mm."

"I'll say my one thing."

"Say it."

"That day at court, when you read from the paper—I sat next to you." He stuffed the paper ball into his pocket. "Every sentence you said, I heard it."

She opened her mouth.

"That's all."

He turned and walked away, past the row of shared bikes, not looking back.

Someone came out the door behind her. Guan Min, carrying the insulated bag, stopped only when she was beside her.

"I shouldn't say." Guan Min said. "They'll go back and write two pages today. Of the three items, no one asked a second question on the money. The hearing record item has to wait for the transcript of the recording to be finished."

"What about the first item?"

"The first item isn't on paper." Guan Min said. "All morning you answered paper. That last question wasn't about paper."

"Then what's the result?"

"The result isn't in the Discipline Department." Guan Min switched the bag to her other hand. "Those three materials you submitted—June 2, they came in through me. After today's reading, they don't come back. They go straight into the Assessment Committee's folder. The Discipline Department only issues an opinion. Your certificate isn't decided here."

"Which folder do they go into?"

Guan Min didn't answer. She went down the steps. At the second step, she looked back and added one more line:

"The result gets stuck at the internship assessment."

She was the only one left on the steps.

She lowered her head and pressed the clasp on the file envelope shut. Inside, the six pages, the three materials, and one receipt slip were pressed together. She folded the receipt in half once and tucked it to the very bottom, underneath the internship registration form.