CH 31

Gao Jingyi couldn’t argue with him, so he raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright, fair enough.” Gao Jingyi said with earnestness, “But, my friend, it’s already past nine in the evening. The government offices for seeking justice are closed. Aren’t you going to go home?”

Jiang Heng blinked and lifted his sleeve to check. The hands on his watch had indeed passed nine o’clock.

He had only arrived at the office a little after six in the evening and he had been sitting there for hours. The takeout was ordered and brought in by the front desk; he himself had lost track of time.

“You’re right, it’s quite late,” Jiang Heng said.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Heng stood up and efficiently organized the documents on the coffee table. He sorted them into different folders, locked them in the filing cabinet, and put the cabinet keys away.

“Well then.” Gao Jingyi straightened up, casually grabbed his briefcase, and said, “Are you heading home? Could you give me a ride? I didn’t bring my car.”

“I’m not going home.” Jiang Heng took off his coat from the coat rack and said, “I’m actually planning to visit the hospital involved.”

“Ah—” Gao Jingyi grabbed his arm, puzzled, and asked, “Who are you meeting at this hour? The administrative offices have closed.”

“I’m not going to gather evidence.” Jiang Heng didn’t even raise his head. He swiped his phone screen, retrieved a screenshot from his photo album and saved it to the desktop, then took his car keys from the shelf.

Gao Jingyi accidentally glanced over and saw that it was a screenshot of a local news article.

“Just a guess, I’m going to verify it.” Jiang Heng said, “I’m not sure if it will be useful, but it’s better to be prepared.”

At half-past nine in the evening, Shanghai was still busy with traffic. The sea of red brake lights stretched as far as the eye could see.

Under a highway bridge, a chain collision had occurred. Three or four cars were stuck together like Siamese twins, blocking the entire street.

Jiang Heng was stuck at an intersection for twenty minutes, and it seemed the accident hadn’t been cleared yet.

The cars around him couldn’t help but honk their horns, trying to maneuver and turn around. Jiang Heng backed up a little to give them a narrow path.

Jiang Heng let several cars through. He wasn’t in a hurry himself. He turned up the air conditioning in his car and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel absentmindedly.

After about ten minutes, the traffic ahead started moving forward slightly. Jiang Heng rubbed his hands together and was about to move forward when his phone’s screen suddenly lit up. A new incoming call popped up.

Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment, didn’t step on the gas, and the white car next to him took the opportunity to squeeze through the gap between him and the car in front.

Jiang Heng didn’t try to compete with them. He simply stepped on the brake again and answered the call.

“Mr. Jiang.” Li Linghua’s weary voice came through the car’s speaker, “The matter I mentioned to you this afternoon, do you think it’s feasible?”

After Li Wen’s death, Li Linghua had become like a mother wolf deprived of her cub, wholeheartedly wanting those responsible for harming her son to pay. She didn’t care about anything else anymore.

After Jiang Heng confirmed that Zhou Fang might indeed be related to Li Wen’s death, Li Linghua’s hatred had intensified even more. It had reached the point where she felt uneasy if she didn’t take some action.

She was getting impatient waiting for the efficiency of the prosecutor’s office’s investigation. She wanted to do something for Li Wen herself.

Earlier at noon, Li Linghua had met Jiang Heng and discussed her plan to use the media to spread the word and gain some public support for her cause.

“My suggestion is that it’s better not to.” Jiang Heng had said to her, “I advise against mentioning anything related to medical disputes to the media.”

“Why?” Li Linghua’s voice sounded hoarse.

“First, things like confronting the other woman aren’t a big deal and can be justified. But in recent years, medical disputes have been a sensitive topic. If not handled properly, it can backfire in terms of public opinion.” Jiang Heng said professionally, “Second, according to the investigation, the doctor had no interaction with Zhou Fang, and there’s no evidence of conspiracy between them. So, theoretically, there’s a chance we might lose the case. In this situation, if we prematurely publicize the news and manipulate public opinion, once we lose, they can counter-sue you for defamation and damaging their reputation.”

“Lose?” Li Linghua’s voice suddenly rose, her nervousness evident, “Is there a chance we might lose?”

The scene of the accident ahead had been cleared up, and traffic was gradually flowing. Jiang Heng released the brake, slowly moving forward into the main road.

“There’s always a chance of losing any case.” Jiang Heng said calmly, “But don’t worry about this case—The doctor has a high level of education and medical qualifications. As long as your husband’s testimony is true and doesn’t contradict anything, we can argue that the doctor placed too much trust in the clinical test results, which led to him willfully neglecting potential medical risks.”

“Of course he won’t lie. I’ve asked him many times.” Li Linghua’s voice seemed a bit distant, “…Moreover, the investigation has already proven that he didn’t conspire with Zhou Fang to harm our son.”

“So, Mrs. Li—” Jiang Heng didn’t confirm her words, he just smiled faintly, “Our chances of winning are still quite high.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Only the irregular sound of Li Linghua’s breathing could be heard through the speaker.

In public prosecution cases, the victim, Li Linghua in this case, didn’t actually need to appear in court. As long as Jiang Heng was there, it would be enough. However, Li Linghua was insistent on being present herself.

The trial was scheduled for next week, and it was clear that she was getting increasingly nervous.

“Mr. Jiang.” Li Linghua’s voice was low, “Do you think I can get justice for my son?”

As he spoke, Jiang Heng arrived at the hospital. He rolled down his car window, pulled out a parking card from the machine, and said, “You can.”

“Really?” Li Linghua asked.

“Absolutely.” Jiang Heng was patient, “The essence of the law is to make those who do wrong pay the price.”

Jiang Heng parked his car in the public parking area in front of the emergency building. He sat in the car for a while before finally grabbing his coat and stepping out.

The hospital where Ji Yao worked was quite large, ranking among the top in Shanghai. Jiang Heng raised the collar of his coat, lowered his head, and walked into the emergency building.

People were coming and going in the hallway, and no one paid attention to him. Jiang Heng passed the registration area and walked further into the emergency room.

The emergency room door was half-open, and the on-duty doctors inside were unfamiliar faces. Jiang Heng glanced left and right, found a corner near the emergency room, and stood quietly waiting for a while.

After three to five minutes, the siren of an ambulance could be heard from outside the building. It got closer, and soon stopped outside.

Jiang Heng listened to the sound, looked at the time on his watch, and pressed the stopwatch function on his phone. Then he turned to leave.

“Jiang Lawyer.”

Jiang Heng was halfway down the hallway when he suddenly heard someone call him. He turned around, a bit surprised to see the other person.

“Wang Lawyer?” Jiang Heng said, “What a coincidence.”

“It certainly is.” Wang Tao walked up with a smiling face, politely greeting him, “Are you here to gather evidence?”

“Just verifying a guess,” Jiang Heng replied politely, “I’m done verifying and was just about to leave.”

Jiang Heng’s attitude was calm and polite, but not overly friendly. After all, the trial was approaching, and he, as the defense lawyer, shouldn’t be chatting too much with the opposing side.

Wang Tao seemed to have the same idea. He nodded in acknowledgment and concluded the conversation, “See you at the trial next week.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Heng said, “See you next week.”