Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three

Regarding my case, there is a question that has not been clarified until now, that is: who actually sued me. Before the trial, I had a total of three talks with the female lawyer. She learned the real facts of the case from me, and I guessed the real whistleblower from her. I have always thought that I was wronged, that I was falsely accused by someone—perhaps by Zhong Ning and Zhong Guoqing—and they accused me of going to jail to avenge my "previous shame". Maybe they had planned this for a long time.I have always believed that the law will eventually and fairly exonerate me and restore my reputation.But after several conversations with the lawyer, I had a hunch that something was wrong.

The lawyer believes that: first of all, according to relevant regulations, the 20,000 yuan may be considered a large kickback in nature.Second, the rebate was in fact taken by me and, in technical terms, was "squandered" by me.The crux of the problem now is that, according to the anti-corruption and bribery regulations, whether receiving kickbacks constitutes bribery mainly depends on two factors: first, whether the kickbacks are made public; second, whether the kickbacks are accounted for.If I received a kickback of 20,000 yuan, it would be public, and the leaders of the unit would know and agree, and it would be recorded in the official accounting books of the unit.That does not constitute bribery, it is a legal kickback.

Regarding the first point, I confidently assured the lawyer that my collection of the money must be made public, and it was approved by the two leaders above me—Bian Xiaojun and Zhong Ning.In fact, I handed over the money at that time, and I handed it over to Bian Xiaojun the next day. They only asked me to take it.Regarding the second point, I am a little soft-spoken. The money is obviously not in the account; it has not passed through Guoning Company or the finance department of the Luquan Gymnasium Preparation Office.I thought that Zhong Ning and Bian Xiaojun were the boss and the superior, and they asked me to take it, so I took it. I didn’t secretly take kickbacks and damage the company’s interests to engage in shabby projects. I never thought about it Take advantage of your position to accept bribes for personal gain.After listening to the lawyer, I realized that if the money was paid to the company's account first, and the boss agreed to let me take it out of the account and give it to me, it would probably be fine.

In addition, what the lawyer learned from the case file is more serious than I imagined. Not only is it not good for me to be accounted for, but even the publicity is also in danger.The lawyer told me that none of the evidence collected by the procuratorate can prove that I handed over the money or reported the matter to my superiors. Judging from the certification materials issued by Guoning Company, the company did not know that I had received this kickback at that time.In the confession of the boss of Longhua Company and when the accounts of Longhua Company were checked later, there were explanations and records that he had paid me the money.

The matter is very clear, I think this is Guoning company wanting to put me to death! But I can't help it.Apart from surprise, resentment, and dumbfounded, I only regret it.I regret that I was so confused, careless, careless, and lacking common sense at the time. I didn't want to take bribes, I didn't realize I was taking bribes, but it was hard to get rid of the crime of taking bribes.I think that I had Dai Hualing, the deputy director of engineering, on my head at that time, and I thought I really understood everything. I just entered the society from college and thought I was able to cope with this complicated society.My self-confidence at that time was so blind that it was a bit ridiculous. Now I realize that I am just a very ambitious kid with no social experience and no understanding of many procedures, just a hairless fool.

I am completely familiar with Zhong Ning's character. If she likes anyone, everything is fine, but if she hates anyone, she is useless.When she framed An Xin, she could use any means to ruin her job, but now she can also commit crimes against me without hesitation.Not to mention her elder brother Zhong Guoqing, who was able to become a wealthy man from a penniless bus driver to a wealthy man, wouldn't he be ruthless? I can only pin my hope on one person, maybe only this person can prove my innocence.I provided his name to the lawyer, and I asked the lawyer to find him. I told the lawyer that my girlfriend, An Xin, also knew this person, and that if I wanted to find him, I could ask An Xin to take her there.

This person is Liu Minghao. The day before the trial, the lawyer came again.Every time she comes, besides answering her questions and telling her the process and details of the matter, I also ask her for peace of mind.From her, I know that An Xin is fine now. She is very anxious about my matter, but she is still quite strong. She has given the lawyer a lot of help, leading her or accompanying her to find the witnesses she needs.She told the lawyer that the person she admires and fears the most is the lawyer.If the lawyer says that this thing is black, he will be able to find evidence of blackness, and if he says that this thing is white, it will be difficult to find reasons for it to be white.Maybe the two lawyers in Nande left An Xin with a deep impression, which made her deeply believe that the lawyer's palm and back, one upside down, the other upside down, can completely turn the sky over again!

When the lawyer met with me for the last time before the trial, he told me that An Xin was running around to help her collect evidence and had already quit her job in the furniture store.This incident made me feel surprised and sad. I know An Xin's situation. What does she eat without a job? What does the child eat? I asked the lawyer, "Is she still living in my house? Has no one yelled at her?" Lawyer Guang said, "Not yet. I met her yesterday." " I bowed my head in silence.Maybe my bad luck came too fast, too fast to prevent. Up to now, I still have difficulty adapting to and accepting this reality, and I always suspect that this is just a nightmare.

Although the lawyer is a woman, her professional habits and expertise endow her with a calmness and tact that we men can hardly imitate.Those things that made me wronged, angry, shocked and speechless, when they came out of her mouth, became objective, ordinary, transactional and eccentric.She said: "Yang Rui, we've almost finished talking about the facts of your case. I'm here today, and I just want to hear your opinion for the last time. The court will start tomorrow. How do you want me to argue?" How to argue?I didn't understand and couldn't figure out what a lawyer meant.I said, "Didn't you say: Facts are the basis, and the law is the criterion? Facts are like this. You know it all. You know better than me how to apply the law."

The lawyer thought about it, as if he didn't know what to say: "Yang Rui, you have two choices now, one is to admit that your behavior violated the crime of accepting bribes, then the focus of my defense is the process of accepting bribes and the specific circumstances. The background is quite special, and the circumstances should be considered relatively minor. The purpose of this defense is to obtain probation. According to your situation, you are relatively sure of obtaining probation. Once you are sentenced to probation, you can get out. Do you want to come out? " I said in a daze, "Of course."

The lawyer nodded, there was no expression between her brows, and there was never any emotion on her face that never smiled.She went on to say: "There is another method of defense, which is to plead your innocence. If you succeed, you can completely wash away this matter and go out clean. However, the pleading of innocence is not very sure. Now only your buddy My son Liu Minghao promised to appear in court at that time and explain the situation at that time, proving that you said beforehand that you would hand over the money to Bian Xiaojun, and you also talked to him afterwards that both Zhong Ning and Bian Xiaojun agreed to leave the money to you. If the court letters his testimony, the kickback basically complies with the disclosure requirements. As for the fact that the money was not withdrawn, that is the business of Zhong Ning and Bian Xiaojun, and you should not be responsible. But this kind of argument is a bit far-fetched, and it depends on whether the prosecution's evidence is strong or not, and whether there are new things, so I dare not say that I can win a verdict of not guilty with confidence.If I argue this way, if you fail, the court will convict you. Once you are convict, I am afraid that you will not even be able to win a suspended sentence.Because the Supreme Court used to have a rule that anyone who refuses to plead guilty shall not be subject to probation.Once you are sentenced, you are really going to spend a few years in prison.So, do you want me to make a guilty plea and try to get a probation first, or do you want to try my luck with an innocent plea? You must think clearly about these two options, and you must have a clear opinion. Defend according to your opinion.We have unified our opinions, and we will have to cooperate in court tomorrow. " I was at a loss for a while, my mind was a little messed up, and I couldn't figure it out.I can only turn to a lawyer for help. This female lawyer, who is probably not yet thirty years old and looks like a serious big sister, is almost omniscient in my eyes now. I asked, "If you plead guilty, how sure are you of getting probation?" "Ninety percent," she said. I asked again: "If you defend your innocence, how sure are you of innocence?" The lawyer didn't answer right away, as if he needed mental calculations, he was silent for a while, and then said: "Twenty percent." I was also silent, and looked up to see that the lawyer was still staring at me, and that gaze fell on my heart like a weight, making it hard for me to breathe. "What do you think," I asked, "how should you choose?" "Pros and cons." The lawyer's answer was simple, crisp, and impeccable.I said sullenly, "Have you asked An Xin, what does she want?" "Yes, I had a detailed discussion with her yesterday, and I asked her for her opinion as your relative or friend. Should I ask for her opinion?" the lawyer asked rhetorically. "Should, she is my relative, she represents my relatives, represents my family. How does she say?" "She said, this matter is still up to you to decide." "Didn't she say any biased opinions?" The lawyer thought for a while and said, "No. Of course she hopes that you can come out earlier, but he is afraid that if you plead guilty, you will be confused, that you will be unhappy for the rest of your life, and that you will be charged with this crime in the future. Affected, she is afraid that you will live in this shadow for the rest of your life." The lawyer stopped and waited for me to make a statement, but I kept my head down.The lawyer didn't rush me, as if she wanted to give me time to think. After a short pause, she still said, "Actually, even if you don't plead guilty, you are still guilty if the court finds you guilty. You will affect you forever. I think it is the same. So, I think you might as well get a probation first." When the lawyer finally spoke of her inclinations, she looked at me to see how I bet on this game of Russian roulette.I remember an old American movie called "The Deer Hunter". I have seen this disc before.It is said that several American prisoners were pushed back by a group of Vietnamese soldiers and used a revolver with three bullets to hold their heads against their heads for the Vietnamese soldiers to bet. Six magazines with three bullets were held against their temples. The probability of death is half and half, and it's too cruel to let you choose yourself. It was cruel when I saw it at the time!Now I feel like the GI trembling with a gun to his head before the hook trigger. The lawyer added: "This is just my personal opinion and in the end it's up to you to decide." I ordered myself to stop my futile thinking, to stop the trembling in my heart, I looked up to see the lawyer, and I ordered my voice to be calm and composed.Even I don't know why I have to pretend to be so fearless and decisive at this time. I said, "I want to be innocent!" The lawyer looked at me for a long time, she looked at me for a long time, and then nodded.Not a word was said. The next day, the court opened as scheduled.It was a small case, and not many people came to observe it, so I found peace of mind easily in the public gallery once I was escorted into court.She sat not too far in front, and kept looking at me.There was a hidden smile on her face, and only I could understand the warm meaning in that smile. At that moment, I suddenly felt that she was like my mother. I don't know the other spectators, but a group of two sat in a group, a bit like a university student who volunteered to watch the trial. Except for a reassuring smile, I can hardly recall the circumstances of that trial until today.I remember that both Zhong Ning and Bian Xiaojun went there that day. They went as witnesses rather than spectators.When Zhong Ning came on stage, I looked at her very calmly. My eyes were as calm as possible, but she still had the air of jealousy when meeting an enemy, and her tone of voice was still gnashing her teeth and refusing to forgive when she testified. people.I know that Zhong Ning's personality, status, cultural accomplishment and her age have not yet taught her to forgive. In my impression, the lawyer's performance that day was still okay, at least the plausible posture made people believe that she basically did not lose the chain at the personal level.The core point of her defense is that the kickback I took was handed over to the company and then returned to me with the consent of the person in charge of the company, so it is already a reward for the company's employees in nature.Based on her argument, I also stated to the court how I handed over the money to Bian Xiaojun, how I told Zhong Ning about it, and how Bian Xiaojun and Zhong Ning answered me.Regarding my statement, the prosecution's evidence seems to be easily refuted. First, Bian Xiaojun testified blankly that he did not remember that I had given him a kickback of 20,000 yuan. Denies that I told her about it on the way to put her on the plane to Nanjing.From entering the courtroom to testify to when Bian Xiaojun walked out of the courtroom, he always avoided looking at me. He only watched the judge and the prosecutor talking, and when he was told to leave, he bowed his head and walked away.Zhong Ning stared at me as soon as he entered the arena, and looked at me again after testifying, with a smug and vicious smile on his face.I still looked at her with peaceful eyes, and wanted her to be blamed by her conscience, but until she left the scene, I didn't see her blushing at all about my conspiracy and perjury. The lawyer's last resort to fight back against these perjury was to announce in court my previous relationship with Zhong Ning, the subsequent breakup, and the reason for the breakup.That is to say, as an alternate member of the Guoning family, it was impossible for me to embezzle this mere 20,000 yuan of petty wealth, and it also reminded the court that Zhong Ning had the motivation to set up a revenge scheme in this case.The lawyer persuaded me to agree to announce my previous relationship with Zhong Ning and the process of falling out with Zhong Ning because I fell in love with someone else.She believes that this is precisely the most critical fact in the relationship between the characters in this case, which can greatly reduce the credibility of Zhong Ning's testimony and may even disqualify her as a witness based on the principle of recusal. The last recruiter that the lawyer took out was my buddy, my friend since I was a child, and my old friend Liu Minghao. I remember when Liu Minghao entered the stage, I smiled at him.I know that Liu Minghao is a witness on my side. After being detained for several months and isolated from the outside world for a long time, suddenly seeing my old friend come to testify for me, I feel very sad and comforted in my heart.I can't help but sigh that friends are handed over since childhood, and only childhood friends will become eternal friends.I really want Liu Minghao to look at me, I really want him to see me smiling at him.But like Bian Xiaojun, he avoided looking at me whether it was intentional or unintentional.He came out from the side door, lowered his head, and walked directly to the witness stand. His face was always tilted in another direction, and I didn't know who he was looking at.It wasn't until the presiding judge started to ask questions that I saw his nervous face and unnatural eyes, which I still remember vividly. I remember that Liu Minghao on the witness stand had flickering eyes, slurred speech, gray complexion, and stiff muscles.When he answered the presiding judge's question, his reaction was almost dull. His voice and appearance also made me feel strange.I can't even recall how the presiding judge asked questions that day and what he answered.The only few answers that are still deeply in my memory are: "...No, when he collected the money, he didn't say that he would hand it over to Bian Xiaojun...No, he didn't tell me about it later. I don’t remember him saying anything about the fact that the company agreed with him to collect the money.” This is Liu Minghao’s testimony!His testimony made him, in effect, a witness for the prosecution. In the whole process of the trial that day, only at this moment, when Liu Minghao suddenly betrayed and gave the above testimony, did the lawyer become stupid. Later, after a long time, I forgave Liu Minghao.When I came back from the United States, the first place I settled down was also Liu Minghao's home.Before I left for Yunnan to find peace of mind, Liu Minghao gave me 20,000 yuan as money, which was the same as the original kickback amount, no more, no less.Of course I didn't want the money. I forgive Liu Minghao only because he is a businessman, and the principle of a businessman is to put interests first.I later learned that Zhong Ning and Zhong Guoqing had somehow learned that Liu Minghao would be a crucial witness for the defense, so on the day before the trial, at the same time as I asked the lawyer to defend his innocence, Guoning Group The head of the supply department invited Liu Minghao to have a meal of Tan Jialai at the Beijing Hotel. After the meal, the two parties signed the letter of intent for the supply of the air-conditioning system of the Guoning Building on the spot.It is said that it was a big deal with a total bid of more than four million yuan. I was found guilty and served two years in prison.On the day the verdict was served, my lawyer represented me to appeal to the Municipal Intermediate People's Court.One month later, the Municipal Intermediate Court made the final judgment: the appeal was rejected, the original sentence was upheld, and the sentence was not suspended. After the final verdict and before being sent to custody, the lawyer asked An Xin to meet with me in the detention center as a family member.When we met, I found that both of us deliberately put on a relaxed demeanor and tone, trying to comfort each other, but in fact, one was more uncomfortable than the other.We all pretended to be nonchalant and talked about innocuous things about the body, sleep, food intake, job hunting, etc., and how the little bear is doing now, and other superficial topics. As for The future of me and An Xin, what to do in the future, these are the questions that I am most eager to know from her and communicate with each other, but no one has said anything.Not only because this question is so sharp that I dare not speak up, but also because when we met, there was a policeman in the room as required. One ear is of course also responsible for listening to the conversation on our side. The meeting lasted ten minutes. At the end of the meeting, An Xin suddenly took off the piece of Jade Guanyin around her neck and handed it to me across the table. Our hands only took advantage of this opportunity to touch for a moment.My hands are hot, but An Xin's hands are cold.She has always had cold hands and feet like this. I have said many times that when I have money, I must take her to see a Chinese medicine doctor to recuperate her qi and blood. We held hands together, feeling each other's body temperature without daring to linger, then let go, and said with peace of mind: "When you wear it, you will know that I am always by your side, and I am protecting you." Although her hands were cold, the piece of Jade Guanyin she was wearing was warm.The police saw our movements, suspected that we were handing over some secret and prohibited items, and immediately came over to intervene. "Hey, what is this?" The policeman asked me, and the lawyer also came over. I spread my unrecovered palm on the table, and on the pale palm lay a piece of green jade.The lawyer consulted the police in a half-pleading tone: "This should be no problem, it's something hanging around the neck." The police took the piece of jade and examined it carefully. There was still a thin red string dangling from the jade.The policeman said, "How much is this stuff worth? No valuables can be brought in, and the prison has to keep them for his safekeeping." The policeman directly returned the Jade Guanyin to An Xin, who was in a daze, and said, "Don't give him such an expensive thing. If he goes inside and changes it to a cigarette later, you won't be able to redeem it." Next, he didn't allow us to say anything more. He looked at his watch, indicating that the meeting time had come and it was time to end. "Well, all right," said the policeman. I stood up politely and said, "Okay." An Xin also stood up, her eye circles suddenly turned red. I smiled at her, wanting to carry the relaxation to the end, I smiled and said: "Don't come here again, first find a job, and then, hurry up and remarry with the little bear!" An Xin's "easy" front finally collapsed, and tears fell in clusters as if they were pouring out.Without saying a word, she wiped away tears with the back of Wang Guanyin's hand, turned around and opened the door, and ran out without saying a word.I wanted to cry too, but I held back. I left the detention center two days later and was transferred to Beijing Prison to serve a two-year sentence.Life in the prison is boring and depressing. In addition to studying and working every day, I continued to carry out futile appeals almost for the purpose of balancing my heart, supporting my spirit and protecting my face.Every day when the sun rises and sets, I go to and from work, feeling depressed and rarely happy.The cycle of life was nothing new, and I often regretted that I didn't listen to the lawyer's advice. I pleaded guilty and asked for probation to go out early. At least that way I could continue to be with An Xin.If she doesn't think I'm a sinner, we can continue to be together and live as before.Will An Xin despise me? For me, two years is a bit too long because anything can happen in those two years.Maybe when I walked out of the iron gate of the prison, An Xin had already moved on, had a new life, and met a new husband.Life is changing every day, and there is absolutely no one whose life remains the same.Especially in the situation of peace of mind, with no job and children, the most important, most urgent and most urgent thing for her to consider is undoubtedly not love and loyalty, but realistic survival, not for herself, but also for her children .So when I broke up with her, what I said about asking her to "remarry" quickly was not my original intention, or even the thing I was most afraid of in my heart, but I had to say it!This is not a joke, I can't give An Xin any psychological pressure to ask her to wait for me.What's more, even if I come out in the future, it will be difficult to find a decent, white-collar job.How can a serious company and a serious enterprise want a person who has a bribery record and is released from prison?There is no doubt that I will be an untrustworthy thing for the rest of my life because of this crime! An Xin is different from me. Although she has the trauma of that period of life and has a child, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.She is still young and beautiful, she still looks like a pure virgin, and her looks are still attractive to many men.And, more importantly, she is a good character, and her history is complicated but clean.Innocence these two words are now in my heart, has a particularly precious meaning. An Xin really never visited me in prison since then.Later, my dad came here once, but he didn't see me, and gave me some nutritional supplements and a few books, which were informative.He told me through the prison cadres, asking me to listen carefully to the cadres' words, rehabilitate well, pay attention to study, and after I have been rehabilitated, I can be a new person and serve the people and the four modernizations. My dad came to give me something, remembering that he had such a son, which in itself touched me very much.It doesn't matter what he sends or what he says. The important thing is that this incident tells me that I still have relatives in this world.Maybe it was because there was no news from An Xin at that time, and she didn't reply when I wrote to her. I felt a very deep and painful fear of being abandoned. It was a long time later that I found out that An Xin tied the child on his back the day after he saw me for the last time in the detention center, and took the train back to Qingmian, Yunnan.It was a long time later that I found out that when she returned to Qingmian, as soon as she walked into her northern-style house, she knelt down on her knees when she saw her surprised parents in that yard.She burst into tears and couldn't afford to kneel for a long time.She said to her parents: "Dad, Mom, please help me, I am going to save a person, he is so kind to me, I love him, I must repay him!" It was not until a long time later that I learned that An Xin's parents had sold almost all of their property, including their northern house with cornices and heavy tiles.They have completely changed from a wealthy family to a penniless poor.If you don't count the nearly 300,000 yuan in cash they handed over to their daughter.