Justifiable Defence Episode 11 Recap
> Justifiable Defence Recap
Fang Lingyuan informed Duan Hongshan that Jiang Ting had been released, a development that brought Duan Hongshan one step closer to his own acquittal. Duan Hongshan affirmed that all his actions during the handling of Jiang Ting's case were legal and compliant, serving as proof that the allegations against him were unfounded. He then posed a question to Fang Lingyuan, asking for her definition of the law. Fang Lingyuan echoed the question back to him.
Duan Hongshan articulated that the law embodies humanity's collective expectation for a better life and represents a consensus that, though born from fiction, genuinely constrains people in their real lives. He explained that for ordinary individuals, the law is invisible and intangible yet ubiquitous like air; while its true boundaries might not be fully understood, these very boundaries determine what constitutes a crime and how it should be sentenced.
Fang Lingyuan then pressed Duan Hongshan on who had disclosed Jiang Ting's home address to Zhang Yuan. Duan Hongshan initially deemed the question irrelevant to her case, but Fang Lingyuan reminded him that as the former lead prosecutor for Jiang Ting's case, judicial accountability was a lifelong commitment. Fang Lingyuan stated her suspicion that Mei Zheng was the most likely person, as she was the only one privy to Jiang Ting's address.
However, Fang Lingyuan also presented Li Mufeng as another possibility. She theorized that Li Mufeng, wishing to protect Mei Zheng from involvement in the dispute, might have secretly provided the address to Zhang Yuan. This would have allowed Zhang Yuan to forcibly enter Jiang Ting's home while Mei Zheng was absent, thereby disentangling her from the incident.
Fang Lingyuan recalled that at the public hearing, Mei Zheng had personally unveiled a secret from fourteen years prior, publicly declaring Zhang Yuan as her enemy. Fang Lingyuan noted that while individuals in such situations tend to make statements that benefit themselves, Mei Zheng did the opposite. Fang Lingyuan believed Mei Zheng's actions were driven by a desire to protect another person under suspicion.
She used an analogy of two severely wounded individuals severing each other's hands, an act that appears to be mutual harm but is, in reality, a desperate measure of mutual survival through amputation. Fang Lingyuan concluded that while she had considered numerous possibilities, she never guessed the underlying motive was love. Duan Hongshan then revealed that fourteen years ago, Li Mufeng had considered pleading guilty.
He had asked Duan if Mei Zheng would be compelled to testify about the attempted rape, declaring that he would rather accept punishment than have her describe the assault in court. Despite Li Mufeng’s consistent insistence that he barely knew Mei Zheng, Duan speculated that Li Mufeng might not have even realized his own deep feelings for her. Fang Lingyuan visited a rice noodle shop from her youth, ordering her usual bowl with extra chili.
The owner recognized her and offered her some corn. As she ate, Fang Lingyuan's thoughts drifted back to her high school days, when classmates bullied her. They found her eating alone, teased her for trying to leave, and insisted she add vinegar to her noodles. After they departed, Fang Lingyuan, holding back tears, asked for more vinegar. The kind owner advised her to clean her face before going home so her parents wouldn't worry.
When Fang Lingyuan went to pay, the owner told her a young man had already settled her bill. She looked over and saw Zhou Lin. Later at home, Fang Lingyuan deliberately ruined her new dress with a knife. The next day, she brought the knife to school, but when faced with a strict security check, she turned and went next door instead. In high school, Mei Zheng had tutored Zhang Yuan in English.
After he confessed his feelings for her and was rejected, he began to manipulate the socially isolated Zhou Lin, encouraging him to "deal with" Mei Zheng. Bullying at the school was not just physical but also involved social exclusion, with students like Zhou Lin being common targets. His profound loneliness ultimately proved fatal. Other students were overheard gossiping about Mei Zheng with vulgar insults, suggesting she was promiscuous and needed to be taught a lesson.
Following a traumatic incident, a crime scene was established with a body covered by a white sheet. Horrified students remarked that they had just seen the victim the day before. From a distance, Fang Lingyuan observed her knife in an evidence bag. Later, a teacher spoke to Jiang Ting, explaining the school's new strict management protocols. The teacher called Mei Zheng a "jinx" and advised Jiang Ting to be objective and concise if questioned by the police.
However, before speaking with the police, Jiang Ting met with Zhang Yuan. Influenced by him, she delivered a false statement, claiming Mei Zheng was promiscuous and had been seen with older boys. Jiang Ting alleged that both Zhou Lin and Li Mufeng believed they were Mei Zheng's boyfriend and that their fight was a result of this rivalry, insinuating Mei Zheng might have deliberately instigated it to get rid of them.
During a later interrogation, Duan Hongshan asked Mei Zheng to recall what Zhou Lin did to her in the library on June 28, 2009. Mei Zheng tearfully recounted how Zhou Lin had trapped her between bookshelves, grabbing her hand and refusing to let go. Terrified, she continuously shouted for help, but he remained silent with a frightening expression.
As Duan attempted to summarize her testimony, Mei Zheng broke down, pleading with him to stop and expressing her desperate wish to forget that day. She tearfully admitted that her mistakes over a decade ago had hurt both him and another woman. Meanwhile, Lei Shuang visited Li Mufeng at his glass studio, encouraging him to hold a solo exhibition and offering to handle the logistics. She remarked that his ability to not hate Duan Hongshan was itself a remarkable feat.
Li Mufeng later examined various venues and selected the Wuyan Art Museum, expressing a desire to "get back up where you fall." The investigation continued. When asked if anyone else had been to her house before Zhang Yuan's intrusion, Jiang Ting recalled Zhang Yuan’s comment about how he cooks asparagus, noting that he would have found her eventually but simply arrived earlier than expected. This prompted Fang Lingyuan to reiterate the crucial question: who really gave Zhang Yuan the address?
In another line of inquiry, investigators successfully recovered data from a mobile phone, only to find it completely empty, as if brand new. Fang Lingyuan found this odd, as Zhou Delong had supposedly used it for livestreaming. A search for cloud storage registered to Zhou Delong also came up empty. Concluding that this information was definitively wrong, Fang Lingyuan asserted that they needed to return to the East Suburb Fishery.
