Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Zheng Kun was stunned for a second, clearly not expecting Zhang Lanlan to suddenly change her mind.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But on second thought, given the current evidentiary situation, the risk of losing the case is indeed extremely high.

Mediation can actually minimize the impact on public opinion!

Thinking of this, he immediately nodded in agreement: "The respondent agrees to mediation."

"We are willing to negotiate a solution with the applicant within the legal and reasonable scope!"

The live stream chat exploded instantly!

[Wow! Weren't they so arrogant just now? Why did they suddenly agree to mediation?]

[That's just chickening out! Knowing they're going to lose, they want to settle for a smaller loss and save their reputation!]

[Hilarious! They were just saying someone's performance was subpar, and now they're offering appropriate compensation. Doesn't their face hurt?]

[They're definitely scared! They're afraid of the embarrassment of a bad verdict, since it's Pei Zhenbang's wife's company, and losing would be a huge disgrace to the Pei Group!]

[Who was it that just said they'd make it impossible for someone to stay in Xucheng? Giving in already?]

The chief arbitrator also seemed slightly surprised, then looked at the applicant's seat: "Applicant, the respondent has agreed to mediation. Would you like to reconsider?"

Jiang Chen's expression remained unwavering as he shook his head slightly.

"Not considering it."

"Mediation is based on admitting and correcting mistakes."

"Up to this point, the respondent has not admitted to violating the law, nor has it made any indication of making any rectifications. It just wants to pay money to avoid trouble and settle the matter peacefully."

"Such mediation is meaningless."

"The applicant insists on a ruling in accordance with the law!"

His tone was calm, but there was no room for negotiation.

Zhou Min also said softly but firmly, "I'll listen to Attorney Jiang, I want a ruling."

Upon seeing this, the chief arbitrator nodded slightly.

"Since one party does not agree to mediation and mediation cannot be achieved, this court will not organize further mediation."

Looking at Zhang Lanlan and the others in the dock, their expressions were rather unpleasant.

They were given the opportunity to mediate, but they didn't seize it?

This means they're going to fight to the bitter end!

The chief arbitrator picked up the gavel and struck it down heavily.

Boom!

"The trial of this case has concluded, and the panel of judges will now deliberate on the case."

"The verdict will be announced in one hour. Court is now adjourned!"

"..."

After the court adjourned, in the rest area at the end of the corridor.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, falling obliquely onto the tabletop.

Zhou Min took a sip of hot water from the paper cup and let out a long sigh of relief.

My shoulders, which had been tense all morning, finally relaxed a bit.

But after only two minutes of relaxation, she couldn't help but look up at Jiang Chen again.

Her eyes still held a hint of trepidation as she gently placed her hand on her lower abdomen.

"Attorney Jiang, what are our chances of winning this case?"

"The opposing lawyer's arguments sounded very convincing, and I'm really worried about the outcome..."

Jiang Chen had just finished organizing the court transcript in order when he heard this, so he looked up and smiled.

"We have a very high chance of winning, and they will most likely support our request."

He pointed to several key marks on the transcript with his fingertip, explaining them to her clearly and meticulously.

"First, the job transfer and salary reduction is a unilateral change to the labor contract, a fact that the other party cannot deny."

"They can't produce any written documents showing your signed agreement to the job transfer, nor can they provide any rules and regulations that have been formulated and publicized through democratic procedures. This is a major flaw."

"Secondly, they used 'unsatisfactory performance' as the reason for the job transfer, and the core evidence was that performance evaluation form."

"But they dare not cooperate with the handwriting analysis. According to the rules of evidence, if someone holds evidence but refuses to cooperate with the analysis without a legitimate reason, they will bear adverse consequences. The arbitration tribunal will definitely accept our claim."

"Third, the testimony of HR supervisor Zhao Juan is full of loopholes. She couldn't even mention the specific performance indicators for administrative positions. Instead, she confirmed in court that she knew you were pregnant and still deducted your salary for prenatal checkups as personal leave. Coupled with Li Hui's testimony, the point that she 'deliberately forced pregnant female employees to leave' is basically a foregone conclusion."

"Fourth, the Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees clearly require that if a pregnant female employee is unable to adapt to her original position, the employer should reduce her workload or transfer her to a suitable position. They did the opposite, transferring her from an administrative position to a warehouse position where she handles goods, which in itself violates the mandatory provisions."

"All four core facts are sound, and the legal basis is clear. The arbitration tribunal has no reason not to support you, so just wait patiently for the result!"

Zhou Min listened attentively, and her anxiety gradually subsided.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she nodded emphatically, her voice husky with a hint of relief.

"Okay, sure."

"Thank you so much, Attorney Jiang. I really don't know how long I would have survived without you."

"Don't mention it," Jiang Chen waved his hand. "You deserve all of this."

In the other lounge, however, the atmosphere was as oppressive as if it were frozen solid.

"Bang!"

Zhang Lanlan slammed the powder compact in her hand onto the coffee table, shattering it in two and scattering fine powder all over the surface.

She pointed at Zhao Juan standing opposite her, her voice shrill and sharp, filled with barely suppressed anger.

"How do you handle things? Huh? I put you in charge of HR, and this is how you manage it? She's just a pregnant employee. Just give her a lighter job, keep her paid, it won't cost much!"

"Now that this has escalated to arbitration, the whole of Xucheng will be laughing at us!"

"Now look what's going on outside! They're probably saying I, Zhang Lanlan, bullied a pregnant woman!"

"If word gets out, what will become of my reputation? You've completely disgraced the Pei family!"

Zhao Juan stood there with her head down, her fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, feeling wronged but not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

The person who initially set the rule that "pregnant employees should be reassigned or forced to leave, and should not be supported for nothing" was clearly Zhang Lanlan herself.

She was the one who said, "These women just want to get paid by getting pregnant, and we absolutely can't let them get away with it."

Now that something has gone wrong, it's all because of my poor performance.

But as her subordinate, she could only endure the scolding, and stammered softly, "President Zhang, before... before, the company always followed this rule, I thought..."

"What do you think! What do you think you know? You think everything is based on your own assumptions?" Zhang Lanlan's anger flared even more.

"Before this happened, that was before. Now that it's in court, you still dare to say that!"

"Alright, alright, Mr. Zhang, calm down." Zheng Kun quickly smoothed things over and handed him a glass of warm water.

"Zhao Juan was just following company practice; it wasn't intentional."

He paused, carefully choosing his words to reassure her: "Besides, there's no verdict yet, so things might not turn out as we hope."

"The panel of judges also needs to consider the extent to which companies have the autonomy to manage their workforce. After all, we are a key local enterprise, and the arbitration tribunal will not be too biased towards individuals."

"Even if the judgment is upheld, the compensation will only be tens of thousands of yuan, which is not a big deal for the company."

Zhang Lanlan took the water glass, snorted heavily, and the anger in her chest subsided considerably.

She touched up her lipstick in front of the small mirror, smoothed her carefully styled curls with her fingertips, raised her chin, and her tone regained some of its usual arrogance.

"That's true, I refuse to believe that the arbitration tribunal could really rule against me completely over such a trivial matter!"