Justice System: I Litigate for the Whole City

Chapter 243: Not in the Accounts, But in the Letter

The page was pushed to the edge of the table, facing the bench.

Lawyer Zhao stood with both hands braced on the table's edge, still not sitting down.

"The defense raises an objection to the relevance of this reply letter," he said for the second time. "The dealings between our company and Dingchang have nothing to do with the matter in dispute in this case—"

"Objection noted for the record; submit in writing after court." The presiding judge pushed his glasses up. "The plaintiff may present."

"What the plaintiff holds is a copy made page-by-page yesterday in the case file reading room, stamped with the Case File Review Seal." Shen Zhixia handed the copy up and gave the file page numbers. "The original is in the file. May the presiding judge verify."

The judge turned to that page and read the heading aloud: "Deposit Inquiry Assistance Notice. Inquiry period: from June 23, 2025, to June 23, 2026."

"A full year," she said, "bookended by the twenty-third on both ends."

"Beneath the heading are the name and account number of the account under inquiry." She turned the paper to face outward. "Jiangzhou Dingchang Culture Media Co., Ltd., a corporate account. Guo Jianping's five labor payments came into this very ledger. May the defense confirm in court."

Lawyer Zhao glanced at the paper. "It is our company's account."

"When the reply arrived in the file, this court notified both parties to come review it." The judge added, "The defense may view this page in the reading room at any time."

Lawyer Zhao's lips moved. He flipped the paper over, then back.

"Plaintiff, read the final line of the reply."

"Reading."

"Upon inquiry, during the above period, no payment records in the name of 'Wu Jianchuan' were found in the account's transaction history."

She had copied that line twice the night before. She read it without looking down.

[Thud. One page with a name written on it; another page saying no such person exists. Both pages are in the file.]

The court clerk transcribed the line into the record, the pen tip pausing on the paper. In the last row of the gallery, He Xiufen held her red pen across her lap, unmoving.

"Does the defense dispute the authenticity of this reply letter?" the judge asked.

"The authenticity of the reply itself is not disputed." Lawyer Zhao answered quickly. "The defense disputes its evidentiary purpose."

"State it."

"This reply investigates Dingchang's account. Our company's settlement with Wu Jianchuan was in cash." He pulled the page back half an inch. "Cash doesn't enter a corporate account. Of course a bank inquiry into a corporate account won't find it. This proves nothing about whether the person exists."

[Thud. The word "cash" is now in the record.]

"Cash." Shen Zhixia wrote the two characters in her notebook, pressing the pen down on the paper.

"Hiring an outside individual, the per-transaction amount wasn't large, and the company paid in cash. It's common practice in the industry." Lawyer Zhao said. "The plaintiff takes a transaction statement and seeks to infer that our company's letter is fabricated. That inference does not hold."

"The defense's letter of July 14 contains a sentence." She looked up. "'Procured by our company from an individual named Wu Jianchuan in late May.'"

"The defense accepts that sentence."

"The letter also states 'payment has been made accordingly.' Money paid in late May, within this year's accounts."

"Yes."

"Not one word in the letter says 'cash.'"

Lawyer Zhao's hand pressed on the paper's edge but he didn't respond.

"The letter puts 'procured' and 'payment has been made accordingly' in the same paragraph." She said. "These two things were tied together by the defense itself. If the payment traces to no one, then that sentence is left with only half of itself."

Lawyer Zhao picked up his pen, then set it down again.

"Then the plaintiff will ask three more questions—on which day in May was the material delivered to the defense, where was it delivered, and to whom."

"The letter doesn't record such details."

"Of those three questions, the defense may answer even one today."

"The department that handled the material would need to be asked."

"The defense wrote the words 'duly sealed' plainly in the letter." She said. "Who the sealed item was handed to, who opened the cabinet to receive it—these three questions are likewise a matter of asking the company?"

Lawyer Zhao flipped open his notebook, his fingers pressing the page edge, pen not touching.

"The defense says 'cash' in court today." She picked the thread back up. "The plaintiff will not argue with the defense over where that word came from. What the plaintiff asks is this—on what date was the payment made, where was it made, how much was paid, who handled it, who signed for it."

"These are internal accounting details of the company."

"Then let the defense answer one question in court: from which account was this amount withdrawn."

"We would need to verify with the company."

Under the table, Lu Jibai slid a photocopied page over. A pencil line was drawn at the page's foot, and beneath it: The party claiming payment has been made bears the burden of proving that fact.

She scanned it and pressed the page corner flat.

"The defense claims the money was already paid to Wu Jianchuan." She said. "He who asserts must prove. If this payment existed, it should have left a trace—cash also has receipt slips, also has handlers, also enters vouchers and ledgers. Please present them."

"The plaintiff is asking us to incriminate ourselves." Lawyer Zhao leaned forward half an inch. "How our company settles with a non-party has no direct bearing on the determination of infringement liability in this case."

"This letter was submitted to the court by the defense itself, to prove that 'the material was acquired externally and has nothing to do with Xingyao.'" Shen Zhixia said. "Now the person named in the letter cannot be found, and the defense says the payment method has nothing to do with this case. The defense cannot use both statements at once."

The presiding judge laid down his pen and looked up. "Defense: when your company makes payments to individuals, does it go through the corporate account?"

"It depends on the circumstances."

"And this payment—on what circumstances did it depend?"

Lawyer Zhao paused. "We would need to verify."

"Presiding judge." Shen Zhixia turned a page in her folder. "The plaintiff requests verification of another page in the file. Guo Jianping's bank statement: five incoming payments, payer column—Jiangzhou Dingchang Culture Media Co., Ltd. Five payments, every one through the corporate account. Of these, the summary reference number of the June 23 payment matches, digit for digit, the serial number on the back of the card in Guo Jianping's possession."

"Does the defense dispute this page?"

"No objection."

"Same year, same company." She said. "Five payments to an outside videographer, every one recorded in the books; a payment to 'a person who provided material,' in cash, and in a full year the person cannot be found. The defense says the difference is the payment method. The plaintiff asks only one thing—who accepted that cash, in the presence of the defense's company?"

Lawyer Zhao did not answer.

"If you cannot answer, that's acceptable." The presiding judge removed his glasses and set them on the table. "This court will record both pages together."

He turned two pages and spoke again: "Before the conclusion of debate in this hearing, the defense shall submit a written explanation to this court within three days on the following: whether a payee named 'Wu Jianchuan' exists, his identity and contact information, and the method and documentation of the payment; the handler and date of the 'sealing' referred to in the defense's letter shall also be explained. Failure to submit by the deadline will not affect this court's determination regarding the letter. Enter into the record."

"Entered into the record," the clerk repeated.

Lawyer Zhao opened his notebook and wrote a line. As he wrote, someone in the gallery shifted in their chair.

In the last row, He Xiufen uncapped her red pen and wrote a line on the paper on her lap, then closed it and pressed it to her knee. Seven characters: Not in the accounts, but in the letter.

"Does the platform have any opinion on this evidence from the plaintiff?" the judge asked.

"The platform offers no opinion." The platform's agent closed his notebook and folded his hands over it.

At the plaintiff's bench, Tang Guo moved her hand away from her phone and touched the strap of her bag. The corner of the sticky note had long since gone fuzzy from handling.

Lu Jibai reached out and nudged the glass of water at the table's corner half an inch toward her. She picked it up and took a sip. The water was lukewarm, with a bit of tea sediment at the bottom—brewed before leaving the house that morning, never changed out.

"Does the plaintiff have further evidence to present?"

"Yes." Shen Zhixia closed her folder. "The plaintiff requests to call witness Guo Jianping to testify."

"Does the defense object to the witness's appearance?"

Lawyer Zhao stood and pulled from his briefcase the page he'd drafted early that morning: Objection to the Plaintiff's Witnesses' Qualification to Testify.

"The objection is in the file." He said. "The witness the plaintiff seeks to call is a so-called 'outside videographer,' yet he is not an employee of Xingyao. Our company never assigned him work. Where the settlement slip in his hand and that storage medium came from is itself open to question. We request the court first examine whether he can testify at all before allowing him to speak."

"Whether the witness is an employee of the defense and whether he can testify are two separate matters." Shen Zhixia said. "Whether the two pages in his hand have a source is a question for cross-examination. What the plaintiff asks is to let him stand up and say—who assigned the work, and whose company paid the money."

"The plaintiff, in her first independently handled case, is—"

"Presiding judge." Lu Jibai spoke, his voice low. "The same objection was submitted by the defense once this morning and stated again just now. Saying it twice does not change what it seeks to prove."

The presiding judge slid his glasses back onto his nose and regarded Lawyer Zhao for a moment.

"This court finds that witness Guo Jianping is relevant to the facts at issue and is qualified to testify." He said. "His appearance is permitted. The source and probative value of the materials in his possession will be examined by this court during cross-examination."

He pressed his hand against the case file.

"Call witness Guo Jianping."

The clerk rose and opened the door. A line of light opened into the hallway, cold air spilling out, and the bench by the door creaked. Under the table, the kraft envelope was still in the bag at her feet, the perforation seal face-up—she'd touched it once on the way in, and now nudged it again with the toe of her shoe.

Guo Jianping followed the clerk in. His old coat was draped over one arm. He walked to the small square before the witness stand and stopped, glanced once at the plaintiff's bench, then quickly lowered his eyes. He wiped both hands on his trouser seams.

"Witness, state your name and occupation."

"Guo Jianping. Videographer."

"Do you have any interest in the parties to this case?"

Guo Jianping looked toward the defense bench, then back.

"I've done work for them," he said. "They're the ones who paid me."

Lawyer Zhao turned the two-page objection face-up and pressed it to the corner of the table, leaving it open.