<h4>Chapter 53</h4>


    The next day, Mu Mian had her sister drop her off at work early. She bought a beautiful cake and a cup of hot cocoa for Chen Xue.


    Mu Mian thought Chen Xue might need some sweets to lift her mood after the events that were likely to upset her today.


    When Chen Xue arrived at the office, Mu Mian had already sent all the items for toxicology testing, and now they were just waiting for the results.


    "Mu Mian, were you out burglingst night? Look at those dark circles under your eyes. You didn''t sleep at all, did you?" Chen Xue stared at Mu Mian for a moment, thenmented, "If you were a bit rounder, you could cosy as a panda."


    "This is for you!" Mu Mian handed Chen Xue the breakfast she had bought.


    "How did you know I hadn''t eaten breakfast? You''re so thoughtful!"


    "Chen Xue," Mu Mian''s expression turned serious, "We may have found evidence proving Lu Tian''s crime."


    To Mu Mian''s surprise, Chen Xue didn''t seem upset or angry. She just kept taking bites of her bread, stuffing it into her mouth.


    "I knew you and Captain Fang would find evidence," Chen Xue said. "That''s good. At least this case can finally be solved."


    "Shouldn''t you be condemning us?" Mu Mian felt a bit frustrated, unable to read Chen Xue''s expression.


    "We''rew enforcement officers. Our job is to solve cases and catch criminals. If Lu Tianmitted a crime, we should arrest her. Although I sympathize with Lu Tian, I won''t cover for her."


    "Chen Xue, even if Lu Tianmitted a crime, she''s still our friend," Mu Mian consoled her.


    "Mian Mian, she won''t consider us friends anymore. Ah, it''s really the irony of fate. We couldn''t bring a criminal like Lin Qianjie to justice, but now we have to arrest Lu Tian, the victim, with our own hands."


    The toxicology results came back quickly. The yellow paper package indeed contained tetramethylenedisulfotetramine, a potent rodenticide.


    The poison was mixed with some soil, and there was also soil in the poisoned wine at the crime scene. The impurities in the poison solution were the same, strongly suggesting it was the same batch of poison.


    The palm print on the wooden box was also extracted. Based on the size of the palm print and the length of the fingers, it could be preliminarily determined that the print belonged to an adult female.


    Fang Rui brought Lu Tian in for questioning again. This time, Nie Yan apanied her.


    Nie Yan''s gaze towards Fang Rui and Mu Mian was ice-cold, as if using them of aiding evil.


    Fang Rui had Wang from the technical department take Lu Tian''s palm print andpare it with the one on the wooden box. The results showed that the two prints belonged to the same person.


    Now they could almost convict Lu Tian.


    But Fang Rui still decided to give Lu Tian a chance to confess.


    In the interrogation room, Fang Rui and Captain Li questioned Lu Tian together.


    "Lu Tian, do you still want to deny it?" Fang Rui ced a photo of the wooden box in front of Lu Tian. "The poison was taken from this box, wasn''t it?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "You''re very aware of anti-detection techniques. You wore gloves to handle the poison, but you forgot that the box was covered in dust, and your palm print was left on it." Fang Rui ced another photo of the palm print in front of Lu Tian. "This can prove that you opened that box."


    "So what? Am I not allowed to touch things in my own home?" Lu Tian retorted.


    "We also have your mother''s testimony. All this evidence together forms aplete chain of evidence, enough to convict you!"


    Lu Tian looked at Fang Rui. "I didn''t do any of this. I don''t know anything."


    No matter what Fang Rui and Captain Li said after that, Lu Tian kept saying she didn''t know, adamantly refusing to admit anything. Towards the end, Lu Tian started to ramble incoherently.


    "You''re all bad people, you''re framing me! You''re all bad people, go away! Nie Yan, save me, I''m so scared..."


    The current evidence had already formed aplete chain. There were even photos proving that Lu Tian had been on that yacht. Her denial was useless. But to close the case, they needed to get Lu Tian''s confession and signed admission of guilt.


    Fang Rui suggested that Lu Tian see a psychologist first, but Captain Li insisted that with theplete chain of evidence, they would definitely get a confession. After he and his assistant interrogated Lu Tian for eight hours, they finally got her confession, and Lu Tian signed an admission of guilt. The case was officially closed.


    After the case was closed, the prosecutor''s office quickly filed public charges against Lu Tian, using her of intentional homicide.


    On the day of the trial, Mu Mian thought for a long time and decided to go to court to observe. Chen Xue refused to go with her, not wanting to witness Lu Tian being judged. Mu Mian could only ask Fang Rui to apany her.


    The public gallery was full of people. Mu Mian saw Jiang Yun sitting in a corner of the gallery, still wearing sunsses, her expression cold, showing no sign of having just experienced the loss of a child.


    Lu Tian stood in the dock as the defendant, looking haggard and vacant. Nie Yan stood beside her, her gaze determined.


    Not long ago, the two of them had also stood together, fighting a losing battle in court. Only now, they had changed from intiffs to defendants, from victims to perpetrators.


    After the prosecutor finished reading the indictment, he thought the rest would be a mere formality, since Lu Tian''s guilt was a foregone conclusion. His voice was monotonous, and the lengthy indictment was making people drowsy.


    The prosecutor said, "Defendant, do you have any objections to the charges in the indictment?"


    "I didn''t kill anyone!"


    The prosecutor''s face changed slightly. He said, "But the evidence provided by the police proves that you are the murderer, and you also gave a confession and signed an admission of guilt."


    "They subjected me to mental torture and forced me to confess. They even forced my hand to sign that admission of guilt." Lu Tian stood straight, "I didn''t kill anyone. I don''t know what happened. I was framed!"


    The presiding judge warned, "Defendant, the court reminds you that retracting your confession in court may increase your sentence."


    "Your Honor, I really didn''t kill anyone. Someone controlled me to do it. It wasn''t me. It was someone else."


    The audience in the gallery started to murmur, everyone wondering if the defendant had gone insane. She looked like a madwoman.


    Nie Yan said, "Your Honor, my client suffers from dissociative conversion disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder. She has just experienced severe psychological trauma, her memory is confused, and in this situation, she may be experiencing intermittent amnesia."


    The judge was a bit angry. He reminded, "Counsel, the court is a very serious ce. Please don''t make up stories."


    "Your Honor, I have provided a psychiatric evaluation report. This report was jointly issued by four psychiatric experts and two psychological experts from the judicial center. This report is highly authoritative," Nie Yan emphasized the word ''authoritative'' and continued, "The report confirms that my client indeed suffers from dissociative conversion disorder."


    "My client is apletely mentally ill person. At the time of the incident, she was in a state where she could not recognize or control her own actions. Therefore, I request a not guilty plea for my client on grounds of insanity!"


    The prosecutor argued, "Even if the defendant suffers from dissociative conversion disorder, she is only intermittently mentally ill. How can you prove that she was in an unconscious state when she administered the poison?"


    "Prosecutor, it''s you who believes she is intermittently mentally ill. The burden of proof lies with the one who makes the im. So, you need to provide evidence to prove that my client was in a clear state of mind when she administered the poison." Nie Yan held up the evaluation report in her hand. "This report can prove that my client is mentally ill, her mental state is extremely unstable, and she cannot control her own actions."


    The judge announced a recess to reassess Lu Tian''s mental state before reconvening for a retrial.


    Fang Rui stopped Nie Yan, "Nie Yan, you know very well that Lu Tian doesn''t have dissociative conversion disorder at all. Having Lu Tian fake illness is illegal, and..."


    "Fang Rui, I''m not the one saying she''s ill. It''s those psychiatric experts who say she''s ill," Nie Yan interrupted Fang Rui. "I''m just presenting that authoritative report."


    "You could use this to help reduce Lu Tian''s sentence."


    "Thew is not fit to judge Lu Tian," Nie Yan''s lips curled into a mocking smile. "Lu Tian asked me to ask you all, now that you know the whole truth, do you really think she''s guilty?"


    Lu Tian felt that this world was deeply unfair. As a child, she had been molested by her own uncle, but no one sought justice for her. Not a single person condemned that beast. Instead, the neighbors constantly slut-shamed her, saying it was her fault for being too pretty, which led to her being molested.


    Shen Yuanyuan was raped by Lin Qianjie, and no one stood up for her justice either. Countless strangers hurled the most vicious insults at Shen Yuanyuan, ultimately driving her tomit suicide by jumping off a building.


    Was shemitting a crime? She was merely avenging her childhood self, as well as seeking vengeance for the helpless Shen Yuanyuan who had jumped to her death.


    She had tried to let thew judge scum like Lin Qianjie, but reality proved that it wouldn''t work. So the only option left was to let that scumbag face her judgment.


    Fang Rui didn''t know how to answer this question.


    Nie Yan gave them a cold look, then left the courthouse.