Chapter 876: 876
Xie Dezhao was slightly over 50 years old . His face had the Xie family’s features . For example, the shape of his sharp nose was perfect, his eyes were deep set, and his brows were distinguished . He looked gentle but had a hint of fierceness about him . It was just that he was not as handsome as the Xie’s direct family line .
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It wasn’t Gu Nianzhi’s first time seeing Xie Dezhao . However, it was Ma Qiqi’s first time .
Ma Qiqi was immediately mesmerized by Xie Dezhao . She pulled on Gu Nianzhi’s hand and whispered to her, “Oh my god! This man is your uncle?! How handsome! For the first time, I understand why older men are more attractive . It’s obvious when you look at this one…”
Gu Nianzhi waved her hand in front of Ma Qiqi’s face . She tried extremely hard to control her laughter . “That’s enough! Wake up, Qiqi! Brother Xiong will be crying his heart out if you continue to fawn over other men!”
Ma Qiqi let go of Gu Nianzhi’s hand awkwardly . “What nonsense are you spouting? Everyone likes good looking people . I was merely commenting . ” Then, with a much softer voice, she said, “Don’t tell your Brother Xiong about this…”
“Fine, fine, I know . ” Gu Nianzhi pinched her cheeks cheekily . “You owe me one!”
As the two girls were chatting, Gu Nianzhi saw another lady exiting from the bulletproof car from the corner of her eye . This time, it was a beauty . She wore a simple, gray woolen double-breasted button down coat with a tailored woolen pants, the same color as the coat . On her feet were mid-height black leather heels . She walked calmly towards Gu Nianzhi . It was Huo Shaoheng’s mother, Song Jinning .
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes sparkled . She peeked towards the car again and realized that no one else would be coming .
The driver drove the car in the direction of the parking lot .
Gu Nianzhi’s heart skipped a beat . She stopped staring and greeted Xie Dezhao, Xie Qingying, and Song Jinning, who were already in front of her . “Mr . Xie, Miss Xie, and Auntie Song, I’m glad you’re here . ”
Xie Dezhao looked at Gu Nianzhi and looked at his daughter, Xie Qingying . He smiled and said, “Both of you really look alike . Why are you still calling me Mr . Xie? You should be calling me Uncle . This is your cousin . She is older than you . ”
Xie Qingying was enthusiastic towards Gu Nianzhi as well . “Cousin is so beautiful today . Are you ready? Don’t be afraid later . We will definitely back you up!”
Gu Nianzhi was amused by her . Laughing, she high fived Xie Qingying and said, “Sure, then I shall depend on Uncle and Cousin later!”
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Song Jinning smiled pleasantly and noticed that Gu Nianzhi repeatedly looked toward the car that had driven away . She smiled knowingly and explained, “I heard that this case involved the Japanese scientist Oda Masao . That is why I am here to listen . Shaoheng is tied down with work, so he is unable to be present . ”
Gu Nianzhi blushed . She was not used to Song Jinning’s powers of observation, so she mumbled, “Auntie Song, I know . ”
“You know? Oh, then I’m being a busybody . Shaoheng must have told you, mustn’t he?” Song Jinning said as she picked up Gu Nianzhi’s hand naturally and walked towards the entrance of the courtroom .
As they entered Courtroom A, it was obvious that the number of people on Gu Nianzhi’s side had increased . He Zhichu, Yin Shixiong, Ma Qiqi, Song Jinning, Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying, who were going to be witnesses, and Secretary Cao, who arrived later, were all there . Senior Speaker Long’s Assistant Yang did not attend that day . They sent a low-ranking officer from their side instead .
Gu Yanran had the same people with her: her housekeeper, bodyguards, lawyer, and an accountant .
Director Zhan entered the courtroom and sat down in his seat . He announced the beginning of the hearing calmly . “Gu Nianzhi versus Gu Yanran in the case of the inheritance of the Gu family . Fourth hearing, begin . ”
He struck the gavel on the table and began confirming the people present in court . “Plaintiff Gu Nianzhi?”
“Here . ”
“Defendant Gu Yanran and Lawyer Jin Wanyi?”
“Here . ”
“Witnesses Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying?”
“Here . ”
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The judge nodded . “Today’s main agenda is hearing the testimony of the plaintiff’s two new witnesses . ” He raised his hand towards Gu Nianzhi . “Plaintiff, you can question your witnesses . ”
Gu Nianzhi wore a navy-blue Dior woolen dress suit . The blazer had no buttons, but it was not overly seductive . Instead, it brought out a sense of maturity on top of her beauty and cuteness . It was extremely suitable for someone her age . Therefore, what she had selected wasn’t a formal suit . Instead, she selected a dark colored outfit from Dior’s winter collection .
She stood up from behind the plaintiff’s stand and smiled at everyone present at the hearing . She had tied her long hair up into a ponytail and had decided against putting on any make up . She only applied some clear gloss on her lips . She looked like a beautiful girl next door when she stood in court .
Then let us look at Gu Yanran, who was behind the defendant’s stand . There was also a luxury brand ensemble on display . Chanel was a higher-end brand compared to Dior . However, the black and white checkered dress just looked overly intimidating, like it was too deliberate .
Although Gu Yanran was a beautiful lady as well after a second look, and she looked gentle and attractive when she did not speak, her outfit had lost to Gu Nianzhi’s hands down .
As long as you were in court during a trial, every single part of you, including strands of your hair, would be scrutinized by everyone present . To a certain extent, it affected whether you would win your case or not .
Usually, amateur lawyers made mistakes in little details like this . However, Gu Nianzhi had a natural instinct in this . It was like she was born to be a lawyer, just like some people who were born to be celebrities .
He Zhichu sat in the courtroom and was lost in thought, seeing Gu Nianzhi perform so well in court .
Gu Nianzhi had totally entered the trial state of mind . She nodded to the judge and summoned Xie Dezhao to the witness stand . Xie Dezhao walked steadily from the audience to the witness stand, and bowed slightly to the judge and everyone present in court .
Gu Nianzhi walked over to him and asked pleasantly, “Mr . Xie, please introduce yourself . ”
Xie Dezhao was a businessman . He had his own company . As he sat in the witness stand, he looked like he was chairing this meeting as well . He began to speak . “My name is Xie Dezhao . Xie, which refers to being thankful; De, referring to having a sense of conscience; and Zhao, which refers to having integrity . ” The way that Xie Dezhao introduced himself was humorous, and his voice was sharp and clear . Therefore, everyone laughed politely .
Xie Dezhao raised his hand to everyone and waited for the laughter to die down before continuing, “I had a wife whose name was Gu Tian . She is the younger sister of the owner of the inheritance in this case . However, she passed away 27 years ago . ”
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Most of the people attending the hearing did not know about this . Many of them gasped upon hearing the news .
Xie Dezhao felt sad each time he mentioned his wife . Gu Nianzhi stood in front of him and consoled him . “Madam Gu Tian is looking at you from above . She would never want you and Miss Xie to be so sad . ”
Xie Dezhao closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and said emotionally, “Yes, you are right . She was a kind and passionate woman . Had it not been for her, I would never be where I am today . ”
Gu Nianzhi waited until Xie Dezhao had calmed down before beginning to question him .
“Mr . Xie, may I know how you met your wife and eventually got married to her, please?”
Jin Wanyi raised her hand the moment she heard this . “Objection . The plaintiff is beginning to link the case unnecessarily again . This question is totally irrelevant to this case . Therefore, please do not waste everyone’s time . ”
Gu Nianzhi looked at the judge and said seriously, “Your Honor, I will prove that this question is totally relevant to the case in no time . ” With that, she looked meaningfully at Gu Yanran .
However, Gu Yanran was extremely calm today like she was not worried at all . Gu Nianzhi reminded herself to be more wary, but she would not stop her questioning today . She had been wanting to shoot that arrow with her bow for a long time .
The judge looked at the witness document that Gu Nianzhi had submitted and said, “Plaintiff, please enter the main area of focus soon . ”
Gu Nianzhi thanked the judge and expressed her apologies to Xie Dezhao . “Please tell us in essence . ”
Xie Dezhao went silent for a while before beginning to talk, “When I met Gu Tian, we were attending a charity gala dinner . She was wearing a butterfly mask, and she was elegant and attractive . I did not see her face at that time . I only heard a sentence from her and grew fond of her voice . ” Then whatever happened after that was history .
The Gus had already become one of the wealthy families in France at that time . Although they could not be compared to the Xies, they were compatible with their distant relative, Xie Dezhao .
A couple in love who was also compatible in terms of family background… Marriage was naturally bound to happen .
Xie Dezhao reminisced, “However, after I proposed to Gu Tian, her brother, Gu Xiangwen, told me about something . ” Then, he looked at Xie Qingying and stopped . Xie Qingying nodded at him so he would say it out loud, assuring him that she would be fine .
Xie Dezhao furrowed his brows . Albeit unwilling, he still said it . “Gu Xiangwen told me that his sister was not at the peak of health . He asked if I could accept that his sister might not be able to give birth to children in the future…
“I said that I was fine with it . The Xies are a big family . Whether we were on the maternal side or the paternal side, we had many offspring . Just in my family, I already had an older brother and a younger brother . They had many sons as well . Even if I wasn’t able to have kids, it wouldn’t affect the family line . ” With that, Xie Dezhao paused . When he next spoke, his voice became raw . “After that, Gu Tian told me that it was this that touched Gu Xiangwen, and he allowed his sister to be married to me . ”
Gu Nianzhi jotted down everything that Xie Dezhao had said . Xie Dezhao had told her about this before, but there were also things that he managed to remember last minute that he had not told her previously . For example, he hadn’t mentioned that this was the sentence that touched Gu Xiangwen and convinced him to give his approval for their marriage .
“And then?” Gu Nianzhi asked with a serious face . They were almost at the important point .
Xie Dezhao paused and looked down at the table, his voice hoarse . “Gu Tian was not in good health . I knew . I told her that we did not have to have kids . There were so many people in the Xie family, so many kids . It would never make a difference if we had one or not . However, she was adamant about having one…
“She got pregnant secretly . She wanted to give me a surprise . I was so worried after finding out . I wanted her to abort the child . However, she told me not to worry, and that her brother had expected this all along, so she would definitely be able to give birth to this child smoothly . ”
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