Episode Summary
Episode 7 delves into Prosecutor Fang Lingyuan's past, revealing the bullying that shaped her. Spurred by a conversation with her, Li Mufeng officially appeals his fourteen-year-old conviction. A public hearing is convened, led by Fang Lingyuan. The hearing culminates in a shocking testimony from the key witness, Mei Zheng, who clears the original victim, Zhou Lin, of any wrongdoing and names a new individual, Zhang Yuan, as the true aggressor who was present at the crime scene, completely changing the landscape of the case.
Spoiler Alert
Justifiable Defense: Episode 7 Spoilers
The episode opens with prosecutor Fang Lingyuan being confronted by her colleague, Ding Yi, over a photograph. Ding Yi questions why she's hiding things, but Fang Lingyuan stands firm, stating her only goal in this case is to uncover the truth, not to frame anyone.
A look into Fang Lingyuan's past reveals the roots of her tough exterior. After being transferred back from the provincial capital, she visits her childhood home. Her room is just as she left it. In the closet hangs a dress that was once a source of deep pain. Her father, a tailor, had copied a popular design for her from a client's order, but used cheaper fabric. The client's daughter was none other than the class leader, Jiang Ting, who wore the original dress. This incident became the catalyst for relentless bullying by Jiang Ting and other classmates, which was both verbal and physical. At a recent class reunion, the same bullies were still gossiping, but they found that Fang Lingyuan was no longer the timid girl they once knew.
Back in the present, Fang Lingyuan has a chance encounter with Li Mufeng, whose glass workshop is near her father's tailor shop. During their conversation, Li Mufeng flawlessly recites a judicial exam question from a decade ago. He disagrees with Fang Lingyuan's answer and recites the official standard answer, stunning her. He confesses that he was once recommended for a top university and dreamed of becoming a prosecutor himself, but his conviction changed the course of his life. This conversation is the final push he needs. Li Mufeng formally files an appeal with the procuratorate, insisting that he acted in justifiable defense all those years ago.
Prosecutor Gong gathers the team to discuss the appeal. Fang Lingyuan passionately argues for a public hearing, seeing it as a crucial opportunity to rebuild the public's trust in the justice system. Gong agrees and puts her in charge of organizing it. Meanwhile, Li Mufeng seeks out Mei Zheng at an aquarium. She is hesitant to see him, but he says he just wanted to know if she was doing okay. When he tells her about the appeal, she is pessimistic. She apologizes for refusing to even open her door to him years ago when he first wanted to appeal, but he brushes it off.
The original prosecutor on Li Mufeng's case, Duan Hongshan, is informed about the hearing by his associate, Lei Shuang. She warns him that if Li Mufeng wins, Duan's career will be stained with a wrongful conviction. Duan remains calm, confident he can handle the situation. Complicating matters, Ding Yi informs Fang Lingyuan that Lei Shuang, who is on the hearing's attendee list, was Duan Hongshan's assistant prosecutor during the original trial.
The public hearing begins, with Mei Zheng in attendance and Duan Hongshan watching a live stream. After confirming there are no conflicts of interest, the hearing gets underway. A video from the original trial is played, where Duan Hongshan prosecuted Li Mufeng. Li Mufeng recounts his side of the story: during the assault, a knife fell, and he grabbed it to prevent the victim, Zhou Lin, from using it on him. However, the official investigation concluded that the knife belonged to none of them; it had been accidentally left on a bookshelf by a librarian. The prosecution argued that Zhou Lin's weapon, a wooden stick, was not lethal, and by using the knife, Li Mufeng's actions exceeded the reasonable bounds of self-defense. This was compounded by testimony from classmates who painted Li Mufeng as a gloomy person who held a grudge against Zhou Lin.
Li Mufeng formally requests a retrial to have his conviction overturned. Fang Lingyuan then calls her key witness: Mei Zheng. In a stunning turn of events, Mei Zheng denies that Li Mufeng was protecting her from an assault by Zhou Lin. She testifies that Zhou Lin never harassed her and was, in fact, a good person. The real person threatening her, she reveals, was someone else entirely: Zhang Yuan, and he was at the scene of the crime that day.
Li Mufeng is utterly shocked, having been unaware of this for fourteen years. Mei Zheng insists she is telling the truth, adding that she still has harassing text messages from Zhang Yuan on her old phone. With this bombshell evidence introduced, Prosecutor Gong calls for a temporary recess. Watching from afar, Duan Hongshan senses the tide turning and braces for a long fight ahead.
