189: Chapter 190 The Internet Celebrity's Breakdown and Confession in Court!

The bell marking the end of the one-hour recess had just rung, and the courtroom of the Jiangcheng Intermediate Court fell back into a dead silence. The crowd in the gallery reseated themselves, their gazes collectively focusing on the courtroom entrance—everyone knew that the upcoming cross-examination would determine the direction of this lawsuit.

At the prosecution table, Chen Mo flipped through documents with a grim expression, his fingertips unconsciously brushing against the paper, clearly still anxious over Zhang Cheng's downfall. Meanwhile, at the defense table, Wang Jingdong was calmly organizing his evidence bags, a confident smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Court is now in session!" The Presiding Judge struck the gavel and scanned the room. "Defense, are you ready to call your next witness?"

"Presiding Judge, the defense requests to summon the second witness—Xiao Ya—to the stand." Wang Jingdong rose, his voice clear and powerful.

The courtroom doors were pushed open again. Xiao Ya entered wearing a white dress, her face adorned with delicate makeup that couldn't hide the panic in her eyes. As she walked in, she instinctively avoided the gazes from the gallery, her fingers tightly twisting the hem of her dress. When she sat down at the witness stand, the chair even let out a slight creak from her trembling.

"Witness Xiao Ya, did you, on [Date], 2024, release statements via a livestreaming platform claiming that 'Li Yong is suspected of practicing medicine illegally and harassing women'?" Wang Jingdong asked first, his tone calm yet carrying an unavoidable pressure.

Xiao Ya clenched her fingers, her eyes darting around. "Yes... but everything I said was true! Li Yong doesn't have a medical license, and he tried to get fresh with me. I have 'notes' to prove it..."

"Your 'notes' have already been verified by us." Wang Jingdong didn't wait for her to finish, raising his hand to signal his assistant to play something on the large screen. "Those so-called 'medical notes' were written on paper manufactured last year, yet they record 'medical experiences' from three years ago. Furthermore, the content of the notes was ghostwritten by an intern from the Tianhua Group's Legal Department. Is this your so-called 'evidence'?"

Two comparison images immediately popped up on the screen—one was the testing report for the paper of Xiao Ya's 'notes,' marked with 'Production Date: March 2024'; the other was the handwriting of the Tianhua Group intern, which perfectly matched the handwriting in the 'notes.' Xiao Ya's face instantly turned deathly pale, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.

"It seems you need more direct evidence." Wang Jingdong's tone suddenly became sharp. "Please play the third piece of evidence submitted by the defense—the surveillance video."

The image on the large screen shifted to a high-definition dashcam video. In the video, Wang Haoyu sat in the driver's seat, holding a thick stack of cash. With a 'thwack,' he slapped it against the face of Xiao Ya, who was in the passenger seat, sending bills scattering everywhere. Wang Haoyu's voice carried an arrogant threat: "Take this five hundred thousand. Tomorrow, during your livestream, say exactly what I taught you—say Li Yong got handsy with you and that his herbs are fake! If you dare miss a single word, I'll leak all your old 'hostess' photos and chat logs with rich second-generation heirs, making sure you can never show your face in Jiangcheng again!"

In the video, Xiao Ya picked up the money with a fawning smile. "Don't worry, Young Master Wang! I'll definitely do as you say! I'll make sure Li Yong's reputation is completely ruined!"

The video wasn't long, only about a minute, but it was like a thunderclap exploding inside the courtroom!

"Holy sh*t! So the Wang family paid her to spread rumors!"

"That's disgusting! She sold her soul for money!"

"She was acting so pitiful before, but now it turns out she's just a gold-digging fraud!"

Although Xiao Ya had been exposed online previously, hearing it with their own ears caused the gallery to erupt in curses, and the livestream comments were instantly flooded with angry remarks.

#XiaoYaGetOutOfCourt#

The topic #WangHaoyuThreatensInfluencer# immediately shot to the top of the trending searches, with real-time discussions exceeding a million.

Xiao Ya watched herself on the screen, her body shaking uncontrollably. Tears suddenly welled up, not out of grievance, but out of sheer terror.

"That's not all." Wang Jingdong didn't stop, continuing to display evidence—first, the chat logs between Xiao Ya and an Internet water army company, where she explicitly requested to "buy 100,000 hate comments, focusing on calling Li Yong a pervert"; then, a voice chat with her best friend, filled with boastful gloating: "The Wang family gave me another million to commit perjury in court. Once the case is won, I can buy an Hermès! That old geezer Li Yong deserves to be locked up!"

Every piece of evidence was like a hammer, ruthlessly smashing against Xiao Ya's psychological defenses. Looking at the chat logs on the screen and hearing her own arrogant tone from before, she finally couldn't hold on any longer.

She suddenly bolted up from the witness stand, stumbled back two steps, and collapsed to her knees with a 'thud,' crying and screaming through her tears, "I was wrong! I didn't mean to! Wang Haoyu forced me! The Tianhua Group taught me to commit perjury!"

The courtroom instantly fell silent, every eye fixed on her. Xiao Ya lay on the ground, her hands propping her up on the cold floor as she confessed hoarsely, "Last year, Wang Haoyu harassed me, and it was Doctor Li who saved me. But the Wang family gave me five hundred thousand in hush money to turn on Doctor Li... For this trial, Wang Tianhua's lawyer found me and said if I testified, they'd give me another million. They taught me to make up the lie about 'Li Yong harassing me' and forged the 'notes' and 'neighbor cases' for me... Those water armies were also arranged by the Wang family. I was just doing it for the money, I really didn't know it would get this big!"

She raised her head, her face covered in tears and despair, and kowtowed deeply to the Presiding Judge. "Presiding Judge, I plead guilty! I admit to perjury and defamation! Please, I beg for leniency. I'm willing to testify against Wang Haoyu and the Tianhua Group! I'm willing to cooperate with the investigation!"

"Boom—"

The courtroom completely erupted! The villagers in the gallery stood up excitedly to applaud, while media reporters frantically pressed their shutters, camera flashes going off one after another. The Presiding Judge had to strike the gavel several times to barely maintain order. "Witness Xiao Ya, is what you've said true? Is there other evidence to support this?"

"It's true! It's all true!" Xiao Ya hurriedly pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to the bailiff with both hands. "My phone has the 'testimony script' Wang Tianhua's lawyer sent me, and the recordings of Wang Haoyu threatening me! It's all in there! I'm not lying, please believe me!"

The bailiff took the phone, and after checking it on the spot, nodded to the Presiding Judge. "Presiding Judge, the phone indeed contains the relevant scripts and recordings, which can be submitted as evidence."

At the prosecution table, Chen Mo's face had turned incredibly foul. He stared deathly at the kneeling Xiao Ya, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists—he never expected that this influencer, whom the Wang family viewed as a 'reliable pawn,' would completely break down in the face of ironclad evidence and shift all the blame onto the Wang family! This didn't just mean the prosecution's chain of evidence had collapsed; it meant Wang Tianhua and Wang Haoyu would be dragged directly into the mire of 'instigating perjury'!

Wang Jingdong seized the moment, turning to the Presiding Judge with a powerful voice: "Presiding Judge! Combined with witness Xiao Ya's confession and the related evidence, it is sufficient to prove that this case is a malicious plot orchestrated by the Chairman of Tianhua Group, Wang Tianhua, and his son, Wang Haoyu, to instigate perjury, forge evidence, and frame Doctor Li Yong! The defense requests the court to immediately summon Wang Tianhua and Wang Haoyu to court for investigation and to hold them criminally liable for 'False Accusation' and 'Obstruction of Justice' according to the law!"

The Presiding Judge pondered for a moment, whispered with the judges beside him, and then struck the gavel. "The defense's request is granted! Summon Wang Tianhua and Wang Haoyu to court immediately! This case is recessed for thirty minutes. The trial will resume once the summoned parties arrive!"

The bailiffs immediately rose and hurried out of the courtroom to execute the summons. As Xiao Ya was led away, she continued to cry out, "I plead guilty" and "I'll cooperate," her pathetic appearance a world apart from her previous "victim" persona during the livestreams.

In the gallery, Zhang Fan watched this scene and let out a soft sigh of relief. Xiao Ya's confession had completely torn away the Wang family's disguise and exposed Tianming Group's conspiracy to seize the formula by framing Li Yong. However, he also knew that Chen Mo, as the legal advisor for Tianming Group, would never admit defeat so easily. Next, with Wang Tianhua and Wang Haoyu appearing in court, Chen Mo would surely play his final trump card. This courtroom battle was far from over.

Chen Mo sat at the prosecution table and slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze held only cold ruthlessness. He pulled out his phone and dialed a satellite phone with an unlisted number, his voice low. "Mr. Bishop, there's been an accident with the plan. Xiao Ya confessed... Do we need to initiate the backup plan?"

A cold voice came from the other end: "No need. Wang Tianhua still has utility. Find a way to stall for time first; I will send someone to handle it. Remember, no matter what, Li Yong cannot be acquitted, and the news of the formula must not be leaked."

Hanging up the phone, Chen Mo took a deep breath and reorganized his documents. He knew that the next thirty minutes would be the key to success or failure—he had to find a new breakthrough. Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he had to protect the Wang family as his 'pawns.' Meanwhile, outside the court, a pursuit and interception surrounding the Wang father and son had quietly begun.