Chapter 8 - The Autopsy
Generally speaking, the sooner a body was examined after death, the more accurate the deductions would be.
Modern forensic investigators relied on various observations and tests to help make deductions.
The examination methods generally included: body cooling, rigor mortis, livor mortis, degree of decomposition, stomach contents, corneal opacity, potassium concentration in the vitreous humor of the eye, insect activity, and scene markers.
However, in ancient times, examining a corpse clearly couldn't involve dissection, and there were no sophisticated instruments to assist.
They could only rely on external symptoms to make deductions.
And with such limited methods, even experienced coroners would occasionally make misjudgments.
"So, he died accidentally."
Leng Xinnan habitually crossed her arms, her long, slender fingers gently tapping her upper arm.
"Three days ago, he drank too much at the Spring Fragrance Brothel and died from coal fumes poisoning because he didn't handle the charcoal basin properly after returning home."
Guo Gang nodded.
"It seems that's the case."
In the Great Zhen Dynasty, deaths from coal fumes poisoning were not uncommon. The government even specifically instructed night watchmen to remind each household late at night.
"It's a pity that the lead is broken again."
Iron Ox sighed.
Just as Leng Xinnan was about to leave, two coughs suddenly echoed in the room.
The sound was neither loud nor soft, but it seemed deliberate.
The three turned their heads and saw Li Nan Ke standing beside the corpse.
Li Nan Ke coughed twice again.
Iron Ox closed his folding fan and frowned.
"Little brother, if you have a cold, please stay away from the corpse. Don't infect that corpse brother, thank you."
Li Nan Ke almost slapped him.
What nonsense.
Couldn't he see that he had an objection?
Fortunately, the kind-hearted Guo Gang took the initiative to ask, "Did you find something?"
Li Nan Ke was about to cough again, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. He walked up to Leng Xinnan and bowed.
"My lord, while examining the body, I did find a tiny little problem."
Seeing that she just stared at him coldly without asking, Li Nan Ke had no choice but to extend his finger.
"I found this on the deceased's hair."
"What is it?" Iron Ox asked, puzzled.
Guo Gang stepped forward and touched it, then exclaimed in surprise.
"It's lime powder!"
"So?"
The woman finally spoke, her voice carrying an indescribable coldness.
Li Nan Ke expressed his doubts:
"I checked the deceased's clothes, shoes, hat, and other parts of his body, but I didn't find any lime powder, so I feel it's a bit strange. Moreover, judging from the distribution of livor mortis, the body has been moved, and it seems to have been wiped clean."
After Li Nan Ke finished speaking, Guo Gang hurriedly rushed to the corpse and re-examined it.
From head to toe... He left no part unchecked.
After a thorough examination, Guo Gang said with a grave expression,
"There are indeed signs of it being moved, and not long ago. But the deceased did die on this bed, including his posture at the time of death. There's no mistake about that."
Li Nan Ke nodded.
"Yes, and the deceased did die from carbon... uh, coal fumes poisoning."
Realizing that these people wouldn't understand 'carbon monoxide,' he changed his wording.
"You mean—"
Leng Xinnan had just spoken half a sentence when she suddenly furrowed her willow-leaf eyebrows and subconsciously pressed her hand against her chest.
The pain had started again.
She turned sideways and quietly pressed the base of her palm against her chest a few times.
When the pain subsided slightly, she said with feigned calmness,
"You mean, someone moved the body after death, wiped it clean, and then put it back?"
Li Nan Ke nodded.
"It's very likely."
He raised his finger with the lime powder on it.
"My lord, you should have guessed by now, right?"
Leng Xinnan, at this moment, couldn't be bothered to think because of the pain in her chest. Irritated, she said impatiently, "Don't beat around the bush, just say it!"
Li Nan Ke was a bit dissatisfied with the woman's attitude.
Although she was beautiful, her temper was too foul, and she didn't seem very bright.
Whoever marries her will suffer.
So he also put on a stern face and said, "The reason for wiping the body was to wipe off the lime powder on it. In other words, this corpse was once in an environment with lime powder."
"I understand!"
Guo Gang's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands excitedly.
Iron Ox said angrily, "You understand what? I should be the one to understand first."
"Then tell us."
Guo Gang gestured for him to explain.
Iron Ox swiftly opened his folding fan with a "swish" and cleared his throat. Then he said to Li Nan Ke with a friendly expression.
"Little brother, please continue."
Li Nan Ke's face twitched, and he continued to explain.
"Lime powder can slow down the rate of decomposition of a corpse. If this corpse was indeed placed in lime powder, it means the time of death was longer than three days ago!"
"Longer than three days?" Leng Xinnan's eyes narrowed.
Li Nan Ke said, "That's right. This corpse has clearly been tampered with."
Placing lime powder on the surface of the corpse or around it could keep the environment dry and prevent bacteria from breeding.
But the internal organs in the corpse would not be affected and would still have a large number of bacteria breeding, producing a lot of gas from decomposition.
However, Guo Gang couldn't perform a dissection, so he made a misjudgment at first.
Leng Xinnan glanced at Guo Gang with dissatisfaction, as if saying: See? This is what professionalism looks like.
"Can you determine the time of death?"
The woman asked again.
Li Nan Ke pondered for a moment and gave his judgment after the examination.
"At least five days."
Five days!
Leng Xinnan's expression changed.
The other two also suddenly understood something, their faces turning pale.
If He Qing Yu had already died five days ago, then who was the person drinking at the White Cloud Restaurant three days ago?
The three looked at each other and said in unison, "A Grave People!"
Leng Xinnan rushed out of the room and grabbed Mrs. Zhang, He Qing Yu's sister-in-law, who was still wailing on the ground.
She hissed, "Have you had any dreams these past few days?"
Mrs. Zhang was stunned, staring blankly, not knowing what to do, and even forgot to cry.
"Speak!"
Leng Xinnan's eyes were as sharp as blades.
"Have you had any dreams these past few days? Dreams about your brother-in-law!"
Mrs. Zhang's expression changed from initial confusion to shame and anger, her face flushing red.
What did she mean by dreams about her brother-in-law?
Was that how one should ask a question?
Even if she had, she couldn't admit it!
Seeing that the woman remained silent, Leng Xinnan reached out and pressed her finger against Mrs. Zhang's forehead. After detecting nothing unusual, she released her.
But having no reaction didn't mean that she hadn't consumed Red Rain or entered a Red Rain dream.
It was different from Nightmares.
Once a Grave People was resurrected, the person who had the Red Rain dream would wake up normally, thinking it was just an ordinary dream.
And the Red Rain components in their body would also disappear quickly.
Leng Xinnan's expression was extremely unsightly. She instructed the two men.
"Iron Ox, take Mrs. Zhang to the yamen for further questioning. Guo Gang, you stay here and handle the corpse. Don't let any unrelated personnel approach it!"
Then, she quickly walked over to Magistrate Shen Chun He.
The magistrate, who was thinking about what to eat for lunch, was startled to see Leng Xinnan's gloomy expression. He hurriedly stood up and said sheepishly,
"Lord Leng, have you found anything?”
"Find all the people who knew He Qing Yu and bring them to the yamen!"
"Huh?"
"Also, identify everyone who had contact with He Qing Yu in the past six days, bring them to the yamen, and isolate them. At the same time, dispatch all constables to conduct a thorough search inside and outside the county. Any suspicious individuals must be detained!"
Leng Xinnan's nervousness was understandable.
If they couldn't find the Grave People and kill it within ten days, everyone who had come into contact with it would die.
This was an extremely serious situation.