Shock And The Autopsy

Song Caitang’s words shocked everyone for a moment. And then Coroner Sun burst out laughing.

“AHAHAH! I wonder who the frog sitting in the well really is! There are thousands and thousands of poisonous things in the world, some of which we know well, and many we’ve never even heard of. Now, Miss Song is declaring that you know every single poison in the world? Aren’t you afraid that you might cut your own tongue by making such ridiculous claims?”

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow and nearly burst out laughing too, “When did I say that I know every single poison in the world? Coroner Sun, please don’t put words in my mouth.”

“But just now you said—”

“Just now, I said that I am able to examine the body and differentiate poisons. I can check for the cause of death. I didn’t say I know every poison in the world.”

“But if you don’t know every single poison, then how could you be confident that…”

Song Caitang lowered her gaze and sighed without saying anything.

Coroner Sun became even angrier, “What’s this expression for? You think you can really do it? Are you looking down on me?”

Everyone just continued watching the scene before them but remained completely silent.

Zhao Zhi snorted a few times, as though it was really hard for him to hold back his laughter.

Song Caitang replied, “What I mean is, the poison that you know, I would know too. And the ones you don’t know about, I would know too. It’s true that there are plenty of strange poisons that nobody has ever heard of. But if there are no records of them and nowhere that’s selling them, where would the killer go to get such poison? No matter how strange or how virtually unheard of the poison used is, it has to be something that already exists and is known in some way to people of this day and age.”

“You mean you don’t understand such simple logic? Or you’ve never thought of it? No wonder you’ve not been able to get any results from examining the body even after so many days and you even have to resort to causing an argument to nab the killer.”

When she said these words, her eyebrows were raised slightly and there was a look of sympathy in her eyes. Her words were dripping with sarcasm and it had a really good effect on her target audience.

Zhao Zhi let out a low whistle as he kept a finger on his lip.

His eyes were filled with excitement, as though the show he was watching right now was up this king of chaos’ alley.

Coroner Sun’s face paled and he quickly realized that he had screwed up. He quickly scanned the people around him and his facial muscles tightened when he realized that everyone was staring at him the same way.

It was all this woman’s fault! It was all her fault!

He glared at Song Caitang very nastily, as though he was about to shoot poison at her.

This was clearly the start of a real feud between himself and this woman. As the saying goes, two tigers can’t live in the same mountain cave. Either she had to go, or he did. He had to put in everything he had!

But he was clever in some ways. He wasn’t completely dumb.

He could tell why Song Caitang had suddenly spoken up. She wanted a chance to examine the body!

Coroner Sun had to admit that he wasn’t capable enough. Things had gone badly today. He had suffered enough humiliation by taking this first awry step and didn’t know what other terrible things would be awaiting him once this argument was over. His status as this case’s coroner and his image as a highly reputable corner in the prefecture was at stake, so he couldn’t afford to lose these!

He couldn’t let Song Caitang snatch the position of coroner away!

An idea came to him, “Miss Song, how would you know how many poisons I know, and how could you be so sure that you can do this? I’ve heard about your butchering skills. You cut open the victim’s abdomen, then dig out the victim’s internal organs one by one. The entire table ends up being covered in blood and not even a ghost would dare to go near. Before checking if I’m willing to back down, don’t you think you should ask if the victim’s family is willing to let you do such a bloody thing? Mrs. Qi-Yun isn’t from some poor, unknown family, so you can’t just do whatever you like with her body.”

Once he finished saying that, he turned toward Qi Zhaoyuan and said in a loud voice, “Mr. Qi, would you be willing to subject your wife to such suffering and cause her soul to have trouble resting in peace?”

Everyone was a little more impressed with Coroner Sun now.

He had hit the nail on the head this time.

When a murder case occurs, the authorities have the responsibility to solve the case and they have to conduct investigations and examine the body. But there are many social concerns to take into account too. In most places, the authorities had to show respect to the local rules surrounding funerals and burials already, what more the idea of dissecting the body?

People in ancient times felt that since the person had already passed on, no matter what they did or what happened to them while they were alive, they had to be buried in one good piece in order to rest in peace. The body could not be touched by just anyone, and a coroner’s basic surface examination was the only exception. Slicing open the abdomen and removing internal organs was…a definite no-no!

The Ximen Gang’s case could be decided by the local magistrate and the provincial governor, because firstly, the case wasn’t very complicated and secondly, Ximen Gang’s social status wasn’t great. He didn’t have any relatives here, so there was no one to speak for him.

But the victim in this case was Yun Nianyao, an aristocrat and a woman no less. How could she be allowed to suffer the humiliation of being sliced open after being murdered?

Judge Guo gave Coroner Sun a nod secretly to express his approval.

No matter what, they had to make sure they didn’t leave this place thoroughly embarrassed!

Qi Zhaoyuan’s expression darkened and his gaze turned aggressive when he thought about what a dissection would look like. The atmosphere became rather terrifying.

Before he could say anything, Gao Zhuo had already dashed toward him to grab him by the neck. His eyes were wide and his teeth chattered, “You must never agree to this! After Yaoyao married you, all her days were filled with unhappiness! You can’t stop her from resting in peace by allowing someone to cut her open! She must be buried in one piece!”

Qi Zhaoyuan gripped Gao Zhuo hand and stared steely at him, “And how do you know whether she was happy or not after marrying me?”

“You left her here while she was pregnant with your child! What do you think?!”

Seeing that the two men were on the verge of yet another fight, Zhao Zhi used his feet to kick them apart.

“What’s going on, both of you? The older you get, the more childlike you become? Can’t you stay quiet for just a while?”

He looked at Gao Zhuo, “Before her death, Yun Nianyao had nothing to do with you, and now that she has passed on, you have no say in anything that happens to her. Even if the Qi family decides that they don’t want her body anymore or mutilates it, that’s none of your business.”

His words made Gao Zhuo tremble in fury, but he didn’t lose his temper.

Zhao Zhi then looked at Qi Zhaoyuan, “You let your wife come all the way to such a faraway place that barely anybody in the capital has ever heard of, so you’re not a great person either. Besides being Yun Nianyao’s lawful husband, you don’t have any right to quarrel with someone who genuinely cares for her. Does your daughter know that her father is such a useless bum?”

Qi Zhaoyuan’s teeth chattered furiously at these words too.

“So? Are we solving this case or not? Which is more important? Finding the killer? Or your jealous quarrels?”

Zhao Zhi finished saying these words with his arms folded when there was a glint in his eyes and he stared at the two men suspiciously, “You’re going all out to stop this investigation from happening. Could it be that one of you is really the killer after all?”

Qi Zhaoyuan seemed to have remembered something and stared back at Zhao Zhi grimly, “As long as it will help to crack the case, I will not turn down any request the investigation team has. You can cut her body open…” His eyes were all red and looked like they were about to bleed, “I just want to find out who killed my wife!”

Gao Zhuo’s lips twitched violently, as though he couldn’t believe Qi Zhaoyuan’s decision, “You…can cut her body open?! How could you say something like that?! How dare you!!”

He looked like he was going to have another emotional outburst.

Madam Ge was standing close to him, so she quickly grabbed his arm and held him back, “Mrs. Qi has already left this world, so…you should be more forward looking and stop wallowing in your sadness…

“That’s right! Her soul’s already left this world!” Gao Zhuo flung Madam Ge’s hand aside and glared at Qi Zhaoyuan, his eyes equally bloodshot, “This is the last bit of time her body has in this world and you actually agreed to let these people cut her open?!”

Qi Zhaoyuan didn’t back down, “That’s right! As long as we can find out who the killer is, I’m willing to pay any price!”

This loud declaration made the whole place fall silent again.

Regardless of what other people thought or felt, as long as the victim’s closest kin was agreeable, the victim’s body could be cut open.

There was no time for Song Caitang to think about how Zhao Zhi, Gao Zhuo and Qi Zhaoyuan were acquainted. She turned and smiled brightly at Coroner Sun, “The family has agreed.”

Coroner Sun couldn’t believe it.

How could this be?

How could the husband of a murder victim ever agree to such a thing?!

Judge Guo couldn’t understand either and turned his attention to Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi was still standing in between Gao Zhuo and Qi Zhaoyuan. His expression and actions seemed perfectly normal…

But he still felt that something was amiss.

This surveillance commissioner didn’t say much, but he always gave others the feeling that he was confident of winning, and he was manipulating everyone into doing what he wanted them to do.

Before this, he had looked down on this surveillance commissioner and thought that the rumors about him were exaggerated. But judging from the current situation, could he have been…misled into thinking so? Did this man purposely set things up this way?

Could it be that this man wasn’t some useless wealthy wastrel and was actually a very capable man? And that he was really valued by the emperor and hadn’t lost the emperor’s favor at all?!

Coroner Sun’s legs were trembling a little from the weight of the atmosphere.

He did his best to straighten his back so that nobody would notice he was beginning to lose. He continued finding other reasons, “The court is not the market, so there are rules that must be followed and we can’t just go along with what one person says. Miss Song, you could say that you’re good to go, but that’s not necessarily true. Even if the family of the victim is agreeable, coroners who are not registered with the courts are not allowed to be part of major cases. This prefecture and province doesn’t have your name in our list.”

Song Caitang didn’t know about this rule. She looked toward Wen Yuansi, who wasn’t standing too far off.

Wen Yuansi nodded with a grim look on his face.

That was indeed the rule around here. For small cases, the main official of that jurisdiction would be responsible. For example, for the Ximen Gang case, as long as the local magistrate and provincial governor gave their stamp of approval, then Song Caitang could become the coroner of the case even though she wasn’t in the official list of coroners. But Yun Nianyao’s case was different. The case was too complex and too sensitive.

Even if they started the registration process now, it would be too late by the time every official gave their stamp of approval and added her to the list. The surveillance commissioner was of a high enough rank to add her to the list, but because his position was a roving one which did not stay in one place permanently, he was not allowed to interfere with the official records of any particular jurisdiction. If the investigation team insisted on using Song Caitang, then…actually the prefectural governor could make the decision.

If the prefectural governor gave his stamp of approval and took on all responsibility as a result, she could be part of the team.

Wen Yuansi quickly glanced at Song Caitang and used his eyes to motion to Governor Li.

Song Caitang didn’t understand the process required for her to become part of the team, but she understood what Wen Yuansi was trying to tell her. Governor Li could settle this matter for her.

She weighed her options and reached a conclusion in no time.

Instead of asking Governor Li immediately, she turned to Zhao Zhi, “My name isn’t part of the official list, but I would like to recommend myself to be the coroner for this case because I have the skills to do so. Would Surveillance Commissioner Zhao be bold enough to allow me to be this case’s coroner?”

Zhao Zhi’s eyes narrowed slightly but there was a faint twinkle in them.

What a clever girl.

Yun Nianyao’s case was a difficult one and despite conducting private investigations over the past few days, he hadn’t been able to make much headway. Coroner Sun and the rest were a bunch of useless bums who weren’t helpful at all, so he really needed a good assistant on this case. He had witnessed how Song Caitang had raised a man from the dead and he had watched her dissect Ximen Gang’s body too, so he couldn’t help but think of getting her help.

He had already made plans for her to be part of the investigation team a long time ago.

But her performance had turned out to be more outstanding than he had imagined. She wasn’t some nerd who only knew how to examine dead bodies and couldn’t think out of the box. She was excellent at guessing what others were thinking about too…

She had really chosen an excellent time to step forward!

This made it much easier for him to get things done and saved him a lot of work.

As he thought about these things, he grinned and said, “Gosh, I really can’t resist a good challenge. You’re asking if I’m bold enough? Do you know what sort of situations I love seeing?”

Song Caitang smiled faintly and went along with him, “Situations where…blood flows like rivers? One where you get to investigate and get to the bottom of things? One where the two opposing sides are equally strong? Or one where everyone is gathered with varying opinions, but you’re the only one who has pieced everything together logically?”

As she spoke, she secretly observed Governor Li’s expression.

Toward the end, she could see that Governor Li had understood the scenario she was painting, so she turned to look at him, “I wonder if Governor Li would be so kind as to give this young lady a chance by issuing an exception order so that I could widen the surveillance commissioner’s horizons?”

The gears in Governor Li’s brain moved swiftly.

There was a problem with the source of his information and he was wrong about Qi Zhaoyuan’s attitude toward his wife. He couldn’t afford to offend Gao Zhuo either. The case had become too complicated and it was going to take too much effort to claim the credit for solving it, so giving it away to Zhao Zhi had been the best choice. That way, he could choose between being an active part of the investigations, or just withdrawing completely.

They had already struck an agreement and he couldn’t change the words he had written. This case belonged to Zhao Zhi now. Zhao Zhi had a slightly evil side to him and he couldn’t really predict what this man would do. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on now.

He was certain that Zhao Zhi had interfered with the investigations, but he didn’t know to what extent. This Song Caitang was a woman, but she was very ambitious and changed her plans according to the situation, and was very determined to be part of the investigations. The setup done by Zhao Zhi had actually paved the way for her. Zhao Zhi looked like he didn’t mind her being on the team, but did he really feel that way? According to the rumors, this man couldn’t stand women at all.

If these two ended up fighting, that would be fun to watch.

And once that happened, he could both claim the credit and ruin Song Caitang’s reputation. A woman’s reputation was so easy to ruin.

And if Zhao Zhi ends up getting the boot because of this, that would be even better! He wouldn’t even need to put in any effort to get rid of him!

After he had gone through all of these thoughts in the blink of an eye, he smiled and agreed to it, “The authorities always welcome talents. Even the emperor values talented people, so how could I refuse to allow someone with great capabilities to join the team? But…”

Governor Li’s gaze flickered. He had to stand up for his own team too, “Nobody knows for sure whether Miss Song’s amazing capabilities would be able to yield any results, so it’s very hard for me to issue such a special order.”

“What’s so hard about that?” Song Caitang’s gaze was bright and her smile was confident, “I can tell you right now that I’d definitely have more clues than Coroner Sun.”

Coroner Sun scoffed, “And what if you don’t?”

Song Caitang had a slightly cheeky look in her eye, “Coroner Sun, do you want to make a bet with me?”

Before he could respond, Song Caitang continued, “If I fail to do so, then the surveillance commissioner will have to take responsibility by giving up his sole rights over this case forever!”

Everyone was stunned.

Song Caitang was not a court official and she was a woman too, so anything she used as collateral wouldn’t be taken seriously. But dragging the surveillance commissioner into this would change everything. However…would the surveillance commissioner agree to such a severe promise? He had no relation to her whatsoever, after all.

Zhao Zhi glared at Song Caitang and grinded his teeth in secret.

How dare she make use of him like that!

This woman had probably realized that he had set this whole thing up and wanted her help right from the start, so she was going to use that to her advantage!

But what could he do now?

He didn’t want to give up the idea of having a capable coroner on the case, so he had no choice but to stand on her side.

He wet his lips with a bright look in his eyes, “I love betting…I’ve been winning bets almost all my life and I’d love to finally lose. I’m agreeing to this bet!”

Song Caitang knew he’d definitely agree and didn’t even bother looking at him. She smiled merrily at Coroner Sun, “What about you, Coroner Sun?”

He couldn’t possibly refuse. He would lose his standing completely.

He looked toward Governor Li. Governor Li was the only one with a rank high enough to fight Zhao Zhi.

But Governor Li was looking elsewhere and didn’t even care about Coroner Sun.

Coroner Sun’s face was all red and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and use Judge Guo instead “If I lose, then both Judge Guo and I will have nothing to do with this case ever again!”

Judge Guo narrowed his eyes and was clearly very unhappy that he had been dragged into this. But Governor Li didn’t stand up for him and obviously supported this wager, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

But Song Caitang wasn’t pleased, “Coroner Sun, don’t you think your bet doesn’t carry enough weight?”

Coroner Sun decided to go for it, “Fine! None of the coroners in this prefecture will work on this case! You can have all the say! You can kill me too if you want!”

“I hope you’re a man of your word.”

“Of course I am!”

Since an agreement had been reached, Zhao Zhi stretched his back lazily and said, “Well, there’s no good reason to wait any longer. Governor Li, please write an official letter for Miss Song right now and instruct the guards of the room where the body is to allow her to examine the body today.”

“As for everyone else…” He scanned some of the people in the crowd, “Miss Fu is very young, so I think it’s best that you return to your residence. As for the rest, please take a seat in the main hall and wait. Once we get the results, we might need to talk to you again. As for Magistrate Wen and Governor Zhang, please familiarize yourself with the case and based on the case records, summon any other persons connected to the case to the hall as well. I will accompany Miss Song while she examines the body and once we are done, we will come back here.”

“Coroner Sun and Judge Guo…have to come along for the examination.”

“Anyone have any objections?”

Everyone shook their heads and said that this was a good arrangement.

Wen Yuansi and Governor Zhang exchanged glances and their faces were filled with disbelief. They couldn’t believe they did it! They had managed to become part of the investigation team!

Governor Zhang felt that Lady Luck was really on his side. He thought he would have to put in a lot of effort to achieve this goal. He didn’t expect Song Caitang to have settled it all by herself!

But Wen Yuansi frowned as he looked at Zhao Zhi. What was this guy up to?

As everyone started leaving, Coroner Sun glanced at Song Caitang from the corner of his eye nastily, before turning his nose up and marching off arrogantly.

Song Caitang wasn’t bothered. She turned to walk back to her residence to get her tools and get ready for the examination.

When she left, she happened to notice Madam Ge.

The older lady clearly did not want to witness the autopsy process and walked toward the hall with Madam Ji.

She wasn’t on good terms with Madam Ji, but because of her husband’s business, she paid more attention to Gao Zhuo. She had a worried look in her eyes as she watched Gao Zhuo and Qi Zhaoyuan walk toward the room where the body was, and when she turned back to look at Madam Ji, the look in her eyes became even more conflicted.

She then happened to notice Fu Xiuxiu, who had walked much further away by this time. She sighed quietly, as though she had some thoughts on her mind.

Song Caitang was watching the expressions and behavior of these people only because they were connected to this case and the killer could be among them. But after observing them for a long time, she became more sensitive and her thoughts began to connect their speech and actions to other things.

For example, she was now thinking about their speech and behavior when they spoke to Guan Qing earlier.

Fu Xiuxiu’s case was obvious. She had quarrelled with her over Wen Yuansi. It also made sense for Madam Ji to stand up for Fu Xiuxiu, since they were related by marriage. But when she thought more carefully about what Madam Ji said to Guan Qing, she realized that there was something unusual about it.

It sounded like a marriage arrangement was part of this.

But Madam Ji wasn’t related to Guan Qing at all. How could she make any decisions about Guan Qing’s marriage?

Then she thought about what Madam Ge said about how women should be careful and watch out when they’re in public…

A thought struck Song Caitang. She suddenly recalled her grandmother’s illness.

Her aunt, Madam Zhang, had a hand in her grandmother’s recent on and off illness.

But why? For what reason did Madam Zhang try to stretch out the time her grandmother was ill? Just because Madam Zhang didn’t like her? That didn’t sound logical.

Song Caitang frowned as she started pondering this matter more deeply.

About 80% of the Guan family business was controlled by her grandmother and Guan Qing. Madam Zhang definitely had her eye on that part of the business and being in charge of the household did not satisfy her. But even though she was good at fighting with the other ladies in the house, she wasn’t good at business and her husband didn’t seem reliable either. She had to resort to some dirty tricks if she wanted that part of the business.

Planning Guan Qing’s marriage was a direction that would be extremely beneficial to her.

Just like how she had planned Song Caitang’s while Madam Bai was ill and Guan Qing wasn’t around…did she also need Madam Bai to remain ill for a while longer so that she could plan Guan Qing’s?

Madam Zhang wasn’t stupid. For as long as she didn’t get her hands officially on the business, she wouldn’t want to kill Madam Zhang and it would be too hard to actually do so. But making her sick and seizing the chance to set up something for Guan Qing…wasn’t too hard.

Guan Qing had come to Tianhua Temple by herself to pray for their grandmother not too long ago…did Madam Zhang do something then?

She didn’t leave the house so that nobody could accuse her of doing something shady, but she could always get someone else to help her.

When Madam Zhang was planning Song Caitang’s, she had liaised with First Madam Wu from the undertakers. First Madam Wu and the Fu family were close, so this Madam Ji…could Madam Ji be another of Madam Zhang’s partners in this plan?

Madam Ge didn’t like Madam Ji and had been worried about Gao Zhuo over the past week, so it was natural for her to observe Madam Ji a bit more closely, so she might have heard a thing or two. Could those words be a hint to the two cousins to be careful because Madam Ji had prepared something up her sleeve?

When it came to unmarried women, the most ordinary yet effective moves always revolved around the woman’s reputation and behavior…

Song Caitang’s pupils constricted suddenly. Guan Qing was in danger!

But she had to examine the body right away and couldn’t get to Guan Qing now!

What could she do?

Song Caitang clenched her fists tightly and shut her eyes. She paused to think, then yelled for her maids.

Qinxiu and Qingqiao came together.

Qingqiao’s forehead was covered in perspiration. She had had a good time away from her Young Mistress and had just returned.

Song Caitang’s eyes lit up when she saw her, “You’re back.”

“Of course I’m back! I heard that you were going to examine a body, so I dared not stay out there any longer,” said Qingqiao as she started rolling up her sleeves, “I’ll help you pack the things right now!”

“No need for that,” Song Caitang shook her head, “Qinxiu will accompany this time.”

Qingqiao blinked several times. She was confused and a little upset.

Had she…fallen out of favor with her Young Mistress?

She had gone with her Young Mistress to conduct an autopsy before and had experience. But Qinxiu didn’t have any experience. What if Qinxiu became too frightened and fainted? She wouldn’t be able to help if that happened!

Qinxiu was also in a bit of a panic. She hadn’t watched the process before, but she had heard all about it. The accounts she had heard were all terrifying and incredibly bloody…

Song Caitang looked at Qinxiu, “Are you scared?”

Qinxiu shook her head gently and said in a steady voice, “I am willing to try.”

“Very good. All my tools are over there, you can go over and take a look at them.”

Song Caitang pointed at the box in the corner and told Qinxiu to go over and familiarize herself with the items. At the same time, she waved Qingqiao over and whispered into her ear, “I have an extremely important task for you…”

She couldn’t get to Guan Qing in time and she couldn’t split herself into two. Song Caitang believed in herself and she was willing to believe in Guan Qing.

Guan Qing had been brought up by Madam Bai and was able to handle 30% of the family business by herself, grow up in peace and freedom despite being an unmarried woman and had protected her younger sister, Guan Wan, for so many years. She was definitely no ordinary young woman.

Schemes, boldness, intelligence – Guan Qing had them all.

Even if she wasn’t careful and walked into a trap, once she noticed it and recognized it, she would definitely do something about it. She wouldn’t let someone else bully her just like that!

“Got it!” said Qingqiao after hearing Song Caitang’s instructions. She put a fist over her heart and looked at her employer with determination, “Young Mistress, don’t worry! Even if it costs my life, I’ll make sure to get this done! You can concentrate on examining the body!”

Song Caitang watched as Qingqiao walked out of sight, then closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were bright.

Guan Qing had her battles to fight, and she had her to fight.

Both of them had to win their battles!

“Have you taken a good look at all the items?” Song Caitang turned and walked to where Qinxiu was, “Time is tight, so I will only run through the process once. You have to remember – this is the scene of a murder and it is within the jurisdiction of the courts. Both of us represent the Guan family and its reputation. If you have some funny ideas in your head, I’d advise you to leave them for another day. If I do well, you will do well and the Guan family will do well. If I don’t do well, then don’t talk about whether you’ll be able to return and get your reward. You might not even be able to step out of this temple. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Qinxiu knelt and kowtowed, “Young Mistress, rest assured, I understand!”

“Good. Let’s go.”

---

The room where Yun Nianyao’s body was kept was within a VIP residence in the northern section of the temple grounds. It was in the residence right next to the one she was staying in when she arrived.

It was very spacious. The architectural design wasn’t very elegant, but it was luxurious and very suitable for someone of high standing to stay here.

Song Caitang took in her surroundings. The yard was very big and was filled with all sorts of plants and trees. But it might have been rebuilt not too long ago. The flowers and shrubs grew well, but the trees weren’t very tall. The tallest one was only a little taller than the roof of the residence.

Because the residence Yun Nianyao stayed in was where her body was discovered, it was cordoned off and nobody was allowed to enter. The temple had arranged for the residence next door to be empty so that the body could be placed there. The rooms were also very spacious…

…even if a lot of people stood inside at once.

Without a doubt, Zhao Zhi was there. Governor Li was hoping for his downfall, so there was no way he would be absent. Wen Yuansi and Governor Zhang came over to wait in the living room after they were done with urgent matters. They had watched one autopsy already, so compared to how Wen Yuansi was a curious person by nature and never gave up any chance to learn more, Governor Zhang was more interested in looking cool.

For example, he wanted to look cool for being able to judge accurately that Song Caitang was capable beyond anybody’s imagination. Or how while everyone was busy puking, he could stand his ground and talk and laugh without any trouble.

Qi Zhaoyuan had a dull look in his eyes as he kept his gaze on the victim lying on the table and didn’t look like he wanted to fight at all. Even though Gao Zhuo was throwing dirty looks, Qi Zhaoyuan didn’t look interested in quarrelling at all. He looked very depressed.

Gao Zhuo, on the other hand, was trembling slightly. Perhaps while he was still angry and hateful toward Qi Zhaoyuan, he was also finding it hard to accept what was going to happen next – Yun Nianyao’s body was going to be cut open.

Coroner Sun and Judge Guo stood by one side. Judge Guo’s gaze was calm and it was hard to tell what he was thinking about. Coroner Sun, on the contrary, looked very excited. There was a strange glint in his eyes, as though he was ready to be as difficult as possible during the autopsy.

Song Caitang instructed Qinxiu to get a pot and lit up the same pile of herbs as the last autopsy, “Is everyone ready?”

“Miss Song, please go ahead.”

Zhao Zhi was now standing straight with a firm and serious look in his eyes. He didn’t look as nonchalant, lazy or playful as before, which made Song Caitang pause for a moment.

When this unserious guy got serious, he actually looked kind of handsome.

She nodded slightly, “I will proceed then.”

The smell of the burning herbs slowly filled the air in the room. Song Caitang took the warm water and alcohol from Qinxiu and washed her hands.

Her skin was fair and her fingers were slim, which made for a pretty sight as the clear water ran over her fingertips in a hypnotizing sort of rhythm. She bent over slightly, causing the tassels on her hair pin to shake slightly. The tinkling sound they made as the beads knocked into each other was music to the ears…

She dipped a finger into the alcohol and dabbed it under her nose. Once she was done cleaning her hands, she put on her gloves and quietly said to Qinxiu, “Ginger.”

Qinxiu hurriedly put a fresh slice of ginger into her mouth.

Not only were Song Caitang’s hands naturally pretty, but her lip shape was also very pretty too. Her lip color was pale and didn’t look like she had any lipstick on. Paired with her fair skin, she exuded a pure and clean sort of beauty.

“Protective overcoat.”

“Face mask.”

As she called for one item after another, Song Caitang got herself ready at a steady pace. Once she was all dressed, she didn’t give off an attractive charm that was aimed at making everyone fawn over her. Instead, she was calm and confident as she gave off a quiet sort of energy and beauty.

And as though it was coordinated with her actions, the air seemed to quieten down as well. An autopsy was not just about cutting a body open. It was a sacred sort of ceremony to help the victim.

With her mask on, only her black, glassy eyes could be seen. They were clear and had an intelligent spark in them.

She looked around her, “I’ll start now.”

Everyone nodded.

She reached out and started pulling back the cloth over the body.

In that moment, Coroner Sun clenched his fists tightly as his heart nearly leaped out of his mouth. If he weren’t gritting his teeth so tightly, he might let out a yell.

Pull the cloth! Hurry up and pull it back! That’s a cursed baby! It’s gonna scare you to deaaath!

He was looking forward to the moment where Song Caitang would breakdown in tears from fear.

Unfortunately, she disappointed him.

Once the cloth was pulled back, everyone could see what the body looked like in its entirety.

The victim was a pregnant woman who was quite far along in her pregnancy. She wore a dress and Coroner Sun had purposely tried to make the body look more scary by pulling the skirt up higher. The purplish black fetus was very eye-catching and really terrifying. That was definitely the first thing you could see once the cloth over the body was removed.

But Song Caitang didn’t even flinch.

“Ah!”

Coroner Sun was just wondering if he had failed to position the skirt properly when he heard the maid behind Song Caitang let out a squeak. She looked terrified, which meant his handiwork did have the intended effect.

So why wasn’t Song Caitang afraid?

He frowned slightly.

Was this woman just born a very bold person? She wasn’t afraid of dead bodies, blood or internal organs? She was an unmarried woman, but she wasn’t afraid of this dead fetus either?

Song Caitang glanced at Qinxiu calmly, then did not turn back anymore. She looked seriously at the body before her and said, “Examining…”

As she said this word, Wen Yuansi seemed to read her mind as he quickly grabbed paper and ink to help her write the autopsy report.

“Victim is female, around 24 years of age. Her face is yellowed, her clothing untidy. Her hair is in order. Her lips are slightly pale, her nails are neat and undamaged and they are light green…”

Song Caitang examined the body carefully to check the state of the livor mortis. She lifted the victim’s arm to observe any changes, then walked to the victim’s head and used her fingers to pry the eyelids open.

“There’s blood in her iris.”

She looked closely at the stains next to the victim’s lips, “There’s blood in her vomit.”

She came to the lower half of the body and continued her examination.

“Fetus is purplish back, bloodstains are blurry, was already dead before it fell out of the womb.”

Her fingers gently touched the skirt under the body. It was cold and wet.

Zhao Zhi noticed her frown slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“The body has been preserved under excellent conditions. Ice was used, so the green spots of decay have not appeared yet, and signs of bloating or air inside the body are few. Logically speaking, the body has not reached the point where it would expel the fetus.”

Coroner Sun scoffed, “A cursed baby is a cursed baby. It’s already turned into a ghost, so why would it follow human rules? Did you think it would really wait until its expected due date to fall out?”

Song Caitang ignored him and rapidly went through the probability of such a thing happening. And somehow she felt that…

“It’s very likely something to do with poison.”

Coroner Sun had even more to say now, “That’s what I said! The victim was poisoned to death!”

Song Caitang shook her head and pointed to the victim’s expression, lips and color of the nails, “The victim is only frowning slightly. Her nails do not show signs of her scratching and her limbs do not look like they were struggling unnaturally, so it seems she did not suffer much pain when she passed on. The color of her lips and nails are very pale, so the reaction to the poison is not obvious.”

In other words, the victim had been poisoned and had suffered a little because of it, but it was very likely that this poison wasn’t the actual cause of death.

She continued to think, “Either the killer got the amount of poison wrong, or they had some other intention in mind.”

Coroner Sun had examined the body before and knew that the signs of being poisoned were barely there, so using it to identify a killer was definitely insufficient. His inadequacy had been exposed, so he avoided Gao Zhuo’s glare and scoffed at Song Caitang instead, “Well, if you’re as capable as you say you are, tell us what poison it is!”

Song Caitang continued to ignore him. She lifted the victim’s skirt and bent down to take a closer look, “There’s quite a bit of blood…there’s blood in her feces…”

She frowned and tried hard to think of what sort of poison would result in something like that…

A moment later, she suddenly turned to look at Zhao Zhi, “Surveillance Commissioner Zhao, have you read the notes on this case yet?”

Governor Li had an iron grip on the notes, so Wen Yuansi and Governor Zhang had no chance to read them at all. So, she knew that if she wanted someone familiar with the details, the only person she could turn to was Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi smiled as he glanced at Governor Li, “I read through them quickly when I took over the case. You have a question?”

“Yes, I do.” She looked at Zhao Zhi, her eyes like black glass, clear and pure, “I want to know if the victim was unwell that day. For example, if she felt nauseous, or she vomited, or her stomach hurt, or she kept falling asleep, or she had abnormal bloody discharge, or any signs like that?”

“You know what poison it is already?”

Zhao Zhi’s eyes widened and his voice sounded surprised. It was a question, but he also sounded certain.

But Song Caitang shook her head, “I have some guesses in mind, but I don’t have any concrete proof.”

Zhao Zhi nodded, “You are right, according to the case notes, in the victim’s maid’s statement, the victim had felt nauseous and vomited several times in the day, so she didn’t have any appetite and looked sleepy all the time. She had a stomach ache from time to time and there was bloody discharge too.”

Coroner Sun snorted, “Those are normal for a pregnant woman! That’s not anything suspicious!”

Song Caitang ignored him and walked to the middle of the table, “I’m going to remove her clothing.”

Those words were mostly meant for Qi Zhaoyuan and Gao Zhuo.

The victim was a young woman who was Qi Zhaoyuan’s wife. She had passed on and no longer had any signs of life, but to see her naked body as her husband would certainly make him feel uncomfortable.

As for Gao Zhuo, he already looked like his soul had left him once he saw that purplish black fetus between the victim’s legs. If he had to also see the victim naked…

It was hard to say what sort of reaction he would have.

Zhao Zhi grabbed them with one hand each and threw them out of the room, “Neither of you should remain here.”

Qi Zhaoyuan was understanding. He had overestimated himself and admitted that he really couldn’t bear the sight.

Gao Zhuo leaned against a wall and slumped to the floor. He didn’t hold his tears back anymore and began to sob.

Now that she didn’t have to worry about anybody disrupting the process, Song Caitang proceeded to gently remove the victim’s clothing.

She examined the body very seriously one more time to check if the body had any unusual injuries besides the usual blood pooling.

Her examination was very thorough and she made sure to check every spot, which took quite some time.

Coroner Sun made a face, “There aren’t any external injuries on her body. All the coroners and myself have checked very carefully, so you can save your effort.”

Immediately after he had said those words, Song Caitang paused. She narrowed her eyes as she stared closely at the victim’s armpit for five seconds, then straightened her back again.

“Hot vinegar, distillers grain!” She asked Qinxiu for these two items.

Qinxiu had made sufficient preparations, so the hot vinegar was already properly poured into a bottle, while the heated distillers grain was no longer too hot to touch. Once she heard her Young Mistress ask for them, she quickly passed these two items to her.

Song Caitang rubbed the vinegar on the victim’s armpits, then used her hands to shape the distillers grain into a cookie shape, pressed them against the armpits, then covered the body again.

“Please wait for a while.”

Fifteen minutes later, she removed the two pieces of distillers grain. Everyone could see that there were red marks on the victim’s armpits!

Before doing this, the marks weren’t obvious and were barely visible. But they were very obvious now. Both armpits had them. They didn’t look like she had been beaten or pulled, but more like someone had put their arms under her armpits and either carried her or dragged her along.

Song Caitang said, “The body has some weight, and the fact that marks were left behind means it must have taken quite a bit of effort to carry the body. The victim was forcibly moved before – more than just halfway across the room. The marks are large but not obvious. Upon closer inspection, there are slight tears in the skin. The tears are long but the opening is small. There are no scabs or blood clots, so it is clear that these were inflicted after death.”

“The victim was moved before after she had already died.”

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes as she looked at the victim’s feet, “There are no marks on her heels. Either the murderer carried her high enough above the ground, or the victim was wearing shoes. Where are the victim’s shoes?”

Nobody answered her.

Including Coroner Sun.

He had been delivered a slap in the face and was in no mood to care about anything else. His expression was nasty as he stared unblinkingly at the marks on the victim’s armpits. How could he have missed that! How!

Zhao Zhi furrowed his brows slightly, “I will instruct someone to search the place where her body was found right now.”

Song Caitang nodded, “I’ll continue?”

“Please do.”

“That’s all I can conclude based on a surface examination of the body. I am going to proceed with the dissection next.”

After Song Caitang had preempted everyone, she gave instructions to Qinxiu, “Scalpel.”

Qinxiu’s heart palpitated in fear, but she dared not hesitate. She held up a tray of knives for Song Caitang to select from.

The reflection of the knife blades shone on Song Caitang’s face, making her look a little sinister.

Her actions were quick as she selected a scalpel from the tray. She held the handle and placed the sharp blade against the victim’s shoulder.

This time, she sliced downwards from the victim’s shoulders toward the chest, then made a straight cut down the middle, making a Y-shaped incision into the body.

Not only was she going to take the stomach out, but she also wanted to open the chest cavity to take a look at the victim’s lungs and heart…