Zhan Jiayi said, "Then you should find a way to persuade him to plead guilty. It's for his own good too."
"I'll go talk to him again today," the lawyer asked, "Miss Zhan, do you want to come with me?"
"Oh, I have some other things to do today. You can go. Mr. Xie will only get too emotional if he sees me anyway."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Zhan Jiayi still tightly gripped the pregnancy report. Now she truly wished Xie Qining's crime was as heavy as possible, preferably that he would never get out of prison.
So, without Xie Zhendong's consent, she had the lawyer adopt the strategy of pleading guilty first.
As night fell, she was contemplating how to report today's situation to Xie Zhendong, because her mindset had changed.
As long as Xie Qining went to jail, and Xie Zhendong knew she was pregnant, he would no longer consider Xie Qining as the heir to the Xie Corporation.
She had thought of some arguments and was about to call Xie Zhendong's mobile.
But Xie Zhendong had already called her proactively. "How did things go today?"
Zhan Jiayi said sadly, "Zhendong, Qining might have to plead guilty this time..."
"How can my son just plead guilty!" Xie Zhendong absolutely could not accept this.
Zhan Jiayi said softly, "The lawyer told me today that the police have discovered another case he committed."
"What! What exactly did he do over there?" Xie Zhendong asked in shock.
"He didn't do anything himself, he instructed Wen Wei to do it all. He also had Wen Wei kidnap a little girl, which led to the girl's disappearance, and she still hasn't been found. The police will likely add another charge when prosecuting him..." As she spoke, she trailed off.
One could imagine Xie Zhendong's feelings on the other end of the phone; it would be difficult to accept immediately.
After a long pause, Xie Zhendong finally spoke, "You book your flight back tomorrow too. I'll go personally to handle Qining's affairs."
"You're coming personally?"
"This matter can only be handled by me personally now." Although Xie Zhendong had won the overseas project, Xie Qining's situation was enough to negate all his peace of mind.
"Then I don't need to go back to Lancheng, I can stay here and accompany you," Zhan Jiayi quickly said.
Xie Zhendong said in an irrefutable tone, "No, I'm bringing specialized personnel. You come back and rest."
"Okay." Zhan Jiayi didn't dare to say more, lest she arouse Xie Zhendong's suspicion.
It was fine if she didn't have to manage it; she could go back to Lancheng to rest and recuperate.
After finishing the call with Xie Zhendong, she quickly contacted the lawyer again, asking about the lawyer's meeting with Xie Qining today.
And whether Xie Qining had agreed to plead guilty first.
The lawyer said, "He didn't agree. He absolutely cannot accept going to jail and is still fantasizing about getting acquitted."
Zhan Jiayi was relieved and said, "That's good. I'll be returning to the country tomorrow. Mr. Xie's father will be coming. When he looks for you, absolutely do not mention the plan to have Mr. Xie plead guilty. Unless they bring it up themselves, you don't mention it, understand?"
The lawyer had been handling this case for some time and roughly understood the thoughts of Xie Qining and his father, as well as their intention to use their family's wealth to get acquitted.
Although he thought the possibility was very slim, he had to go along with the client's wishes and said, "I understand, don't worry. But I believe they can only resort to this plan in the end."
"That's for them to consider. Mr. Xie's father will also bring some professionals, and they'll probably form a legal team. Your input might not be useful."
"Okay, thank you for the reminder, Miss Zhan." The lawyer felt that this Miss Zhan was clear-headed and easy to communicate with. "Have a safe trip."
Zhan Jiayi politely said, "Let's keep in touch."
After returning to the country, Zhan Jiayi applied for half a month of annual leave, citing discomfort.
Xie Zhendong had already gone to New York, and Xie Qining's matters were still being kept from Feng Rou and the Xie family's elderly matriarch, so no one paid attention to Zhan Jiayi's leave request.
During her leave, Zhan Jiayi was not idle. She went to the local hospital for further check-ups to confirm.
She signed up for various prenatal care and wellness classes online, supplemented her nutrition, and spent her time at home eating and sleeping, not thinking about anything else.
This time, she had experience and had made up her mind. If there wasn't a suitable opportunity, she would have this child safely even if she didn't tell Xie Zhendong, and she would never let what happened last time happen again.
The lawyer she met abroad occasionally sent her messages. She knew roughly that Xie Zhendong's efforts there were not going smoothly, and all the evidence pointed to Xie Qining.
Even with the legal advisory team he had hired, no one dared to guarantee an acquittal in court.
If he couldn't be acquitted, he would be found guilty and receive a severe sentence.
The lawyer Zhan Jiayi had initially hired became a member of the legal team and did not suggest the plan of pleading guilty first to seek a lighter sentence to Xie Zhendong.
However, someone in the legal team proposed this plan, which Xie Zhendong rejected, even flying into a rage.
Therefore, this lawyer was even more grateful to Zhan Jiayi for her reminder.
In the blink of an eye, her fifteen-day leave was almost over.
At home, she practiced prenatal yoga while messaging the lawyer to ask how many years Xie Qining would be sentenced at a minimum if he was found guilty in court without pleading guilty first.
After a while, the lawyer replied, "At least twenty years or more."
Zhan Jiayi looked at the reply message, feeling exceptionally good, waiting for Xie Zhendong's stubbornness to ruin Xie Qining.
She didn't have to do anything; how wonderful that was.
Just as she was in a good mood, the doorbell rang frantically.
Who would come to find her at this time?
Xie Zhendong was definitely still abroad and couldn't possibly return at this hour.
She stood up from the floor, put away her yoga mat, and didn't open the door immediately. She walked to the door and looked out through the peephole.
Instantly, she panicked. Outside were Feng Rou and several women she didn't recognize at all.
Judging by their demeanor, they looked like they were there to catch her in the act. She immediately wanted to find a place to hide.
But she heard a woman outside shouting, "This house is under Old Xie's name. You are his wife. It doesn't matter if the vixen inside doesn't open the door. You go directly to property management to get the spare key. Property management wouldn't dare refuse you!"
These words seemed to be spoken to Feng Rou, and also to her inside.
She knew she couldn't escape today, but she couldn't understand why Feng Rou, with Xie Qining having such serious problems abroad, still had the leisure to come and trouble her, not worrying about her own son at all?
"Yes, go to property management and get the spare key!" the other women shouted in agreement.
Zhan Jiayi took a deep breath. She had no choice but to open the door and said to Feng Rou, "Mrs. Xie, hello."
Feng Rou was seeing her for the first time. She had only heard a lot about her before and had only looked at her photo from when she joined the company after having someone investigate.
In the registration photo, she was wearing a professional suit and didn't look particularly attractive, just pretty in a plain way.
Seeing her in person today, she seemed to have more spirit than in the photo, or perhaps it was more appropriate to say she had a seductive aura that could charm men.