Chapter 123.1
Chapter 123: The Play of Reason
Yao Chang Qing gave an order to pull the curtain and cover up the entire autopsy process . Li Wei Yang was not afraid of the Jiangs‘ tampering . With Yao Chang Qing watching, it wouldn’t give the Jiangs a chance to play any tricks .
Among the hundreds of industries in the Da Li dynasty, the post-mortem examiner is also one of those 36 industries . It is known as the “post-mortem examiner industry”, which examines both autopsies and injuries . Even with decayed corpses, a highly-skilled examiner can verify answers via skillful techniques; Moreover, the poison leading to the fatality can also be deduced from the color of the bones . To put it bluntly, a post-mortem examiner is a job of technical skills that requires meticulous attention to details . Not just anyone can do it, so in the Da Li dynasty, the control of this business is extremely strict . If it is found that a post-mortem examiner is a fraud, it is the sin that will bring the slaughter of the entire clan .
The process of making a post-mortem takes more than one hour and everyone was very anxious in waiting . Li Chang Le has been clenching her handkerchief the entire time and she kept her head down without saying a word, obviously showing a lot of fear . As for Jiang Xu and others, they all looked very calm .
Finally, the examiner came out and he said to Yao Chang Qing: "Official, I have carefully checked and the Duke’s Furen died seven days ago at noon . "
This was something that everyone saw and it was unsurprising . At that time, the Crown Prince sent over a painting . The Duke’s Furen spurted out blood on his face and died right on the spot .
The examiner continued: "Whomever is poisoned, they would have a wide-opened mouth, a purplish or bluish face, dark purple lips, dark green hands, feet, and nails, and blood flowing from the mouth, eyes, ears and nose . I discovered that the Duke’s Furen was indeed poisoned to death, and it’s highly toxic, only— "
Yao Chang Qing hurriedly said: "What is it?"
The examiner"s face showed a very puzzled look: "It"s just that there is one more weird thing . "
The Crown Prince quickly asked, "What"s so strange?"
"I discovered that the poison in the Duke’s Furen is not the same as the poison on the jujubes . "
As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked, and a sneer appeared on Li Wei Yang"s face, saying, "Oh? What"s the difference between these two types of poison?"
Jiang Xu scoffed angrily, "Full of nonsense! How can it be different!"
The examiner glanced at the angry face of Official Jiang and he could not help but reveal a disturbed expression on his face . Yao Chang Qing said coldly: "Official Jiang, you openly obstruct the case, I"m afraid it"s not right?"
Jiang Xu was stunned, and then realized that Yao Chang Qing, who had always maintained a fair att.i.tude, was now extremely resentful of the Jiang family . He thought of the dead bodies in the other party"s room and suddenly understood what was happening . Then, he closed his mouth and gloomily said: "My mother was obviously poisoned by the jujubes . I really don"t understand why you would say--"
The examiner looked at his head boss Yao Chang Qing, gritted his teeth, and said, "Officials, please take a look . "
As he spoke, he used the blade to cut thin slices of the poisonous candied date as a testimony and spread the thin slices onto the paper . He took a sheep-made pen, and ordered a yatou to bring a cup of boiling hot water . The sheep-made pen was dipped in the boiling water and then dripped onto the slices . After soaking for a while, the examiner took out a snow-white rice paper from his arms, covered it with thin slices, and pressed it tightly with his palm . Then he ordered a candle to be lit, picked up the thin rice paper and dried it on the fire . He held it up towards the window and took a closer look, and then wiped it with the index finger on the paper . He turned and handed the white paper to Yao Chang Qing and said, "Official, please . "
Yao Chang Qing said lightly: "It’s crimson, perhaps it’s cinnabar?"
The examiner nodded and said: "It is true . This method of poison testing has been used in our medical profession for hundreds of years and it will never be wrong! The mark on this paper is red and its appearance is fine-grained . Only the touch of an expert can feel this .
Jiang Lan looked puzzled: "Cinnabar? Is it poisonous?"
The examiner replied: "Generally speaking, cinnabar can calm and clear the mind . They’re best for restless minds . It is usually used in conjunction with Coptis chinensis, lotus seed hearts, and others to enhance the calming mind . It is also often used amongst wives but if one overdose, it is very poisonous and will cause great harm to the human body . So when it is used, it is usually strictly controlled . "
Li Wei Yang smiled and said: "So, the poisoner put the cinnabar in the jujubes eaten by the old lady?"
The examiner said: "Anping Xianzhu, in fact, the poison in the jujubes is indeed cinnabar, but-" he paused and said, "The poison led to the death of the Duke’s Furen is not cinnabar . "
Li Wei Yang"s face showed a smile while Li Chang Le’s head had a big bead of sweat . With the sweat, she felt much more itchy and she wished she could lift off the fake skin but she couldn"t and she must hold back!
Yao Chang Qing looked at the slight red color on the white paper and asked, "What do you mean?"
The examiner smiled and said: "The bones of Duke’s Furen are black and that means the poison obviously contains a.r.s.enic . I’ve once encountered a case and I remembered that the dog in the artist"s house died suddenly that week . Painter Zhou thought that his maidservant poisoned his dog because he was too fond of this dog . He actually beaten the maidservant to death and was eventually sued by the maidservant"s family . "
Yao Chang Qing nodded and said, "Yes, I do remember . "
Zhou Ke was one of the most famous painters of the time and he was the best at painting red-crowned cranes . Even the emperor liked him very much, so as soon as such a thing happened, he immediately became very enthusiastic . When he mentioned it, everyone nodded, "Yes, there is such a matter! "
The examiner said: "At first, I felt that the dog was not poisoned by the maidservant, so I deliberately asked for the dog"s body to dissect it and found that there was a little cinnabar in its stomach, proving that it died by mistakenly taking too much cinnabar . However, its bones were not blackened at that time . Moreover, in some cases in the past, some bodies were poisoned by a.r.s.enic, and since no one claimed it, I dissected them one by one and found that their bones were actually black . ” In fact, there was no need to dissect at all . Once the body rots, the bones inside will be exposed, and it will be clear whether it is black or not .
"I have been doing this for fifty years and found that all the people who died in a.r.s.enic have black bones or there are signs of blackening . This is the case with the Duke’s Firen . If Official don"t believe it, you can go check it again . But the poison in the jujubes is cinnabar . Although misused cinnabar can also lead to death but the bones will never be black . This point, I dare to use their lives to guarantee that the Duke’s Furen was definitely not poisoned by the jujubes . It was a.r.s.enic or a poison containing a.r.s.enic content!"
"But I clearly saw my grandmother ate jujubes?" Li Chang Le immediately retorted .
The examiner shook his head and said, "The vast majority of the jujubes are in the stomach of the mouse . The Duke’s Furen just touched it . How could she be poisoned by cinnabar?"
What is going on? The Duke’s Furen was not poisoned by cinnabar in the jujubes at all? So the so-called accusation of Li Wei Yang poisoning Jiang Lao Furen was all made up?! Everyone"s complexion suddenly became very excited .
Li Wei Yang said lightly: "Within a few minutes of entering the room, I’ve spoken only four or five sentences with my grandmother . Except for touching the candied date, I didn"t touch anything else . Can I prove my innocence now?"
Jiang Xu"s face suddenly turned pale and finally turned into a reluctant calm: "This is natural, we will not serve injustice to good people . "
However, Li Wei Yang sneered and said, "Then, the person who entered the house before me would be the one most likely to have poisoned my grandmother, right?"
As soon as this remark came out, everyone at the mourning hall was shocked . Everyone"s vision fell on the rest of the Jiang family .
The mourners of the Jiangs froze and the more emotional maidservants shouted: "Impossible, you mean that one of us killed the Lao Furen!" "How is that possible, Lao Furen has always been kind and we would rather beg for her longevity!"
Among them, Li Chang Le was particularly concerned, she said angrily: "Third Mei, what do you mean by that? How do you dare to speak nonsense in the mourning hall! I think you are just trying to ruin the Jiangs!"
"Shut up!" Jiang Hua snorted: "What the h.e.l.l are you shouting for?" Li Chang Le was so scared to speak that he glared at her warningly and turned to Li Wei Yang . "You mean that it was one of my family members who is behind the poisoning? But as others have said, our grandmother is the master of the family and we are all dependent on her . How could we harm her?"
Indeed, with the death of the Duke’s Furen, the descendants of this family should be worried . The Jiang family will never get any benefits . This is completely different from the ordinary people fighting for their family property and hoping that the old lady will die early . The longer the Duke’s Furen lives, the more stable the Jiangs’ standing would be .
"Third Shaoye is right . " Li Wei Yang said lightly: "But there were so many people in the house at that time . Who was in and out of the house, what they did, and how long did they stay --- all of these can be found out! I remember, there were four yatous standing next to Lao Furen, as well as Dajie and mother . I was the last one to go in and stayed for the shortest time . I didn’t touch anything except the plate of jujubes . Everyone else is a suspect . "
Obviously, there were suspicions in those who have been in there . Additionally, no one will go into the room of the Duke’s Furen, so what Li Wei Yang said was rational .
Everyone"s eyes inevitably gathered on the faces of Li Chang Le and Jiang Yue Lan . Jiang Yue Lan angrily spoke: "Wei Yang, how can you doubt your mother!"
Li Wei Yang smiled and looked at Jiang Yue Lan, whose facial expression had changed throughout, and said lightly: "Mother, I don"t doubt you . "
Jiang Yue Lan was taken aback, and then automatically looked at Li Chang Le spontaneously . Since Li Wei Yang said that she didn"t doubt her, that is to say, the person she was testifying against was ---
Li Chang Le said flatly: "If I hurt my grandmother, I would be punished with thousands of swords and I would enter the eighteen layers of h.e.l.l after death . I would never be reborn again . " When the Crown Prince saw her like the pear flowers with rainwater that he immediately forgot the ugly appearance of pus on her head and quickly said: "Li Xiaojie is after all the granddaughter of the Duke’s Furen, how could she do this kind of thing? Obviously impossible!"
It can be said that the Duke’s Furen is the patron saint of Li Chang Le . How could she kill her grandmother just to frame Li Wei Yang?! Everyone heard this and nodded one after another .
Li Wei Yang did not look at the Crown Prince and said: "Dajie, it’s not me, not mother, nor you, perhaps it’s the Duke’s Furen herself?"
Li Chang Le almost shivered and shouted: "Who will kill her own self! It"s nonsense! Li Wei Yang, you just want to wrong me, you are my sister, why do you aim at me? Why don"t you think back on who persuaded our parents to bring you back from the countryside! You are so ungrateful!"
Li Wei Yang said with a sneer: "What are the reasons for Dajie to bring these things up? If it’s not to change the topic, then it’s to refute these accusations . ”
"Your Highness, things are awkward . You can"t just rely on Li Wei Yang"s words! Since our mother is said to be poisoned by a.r.s.enic, you must search for evidence!" Jiang Xu said quickly .
Li Wei Yang said indifferently: "Uncle, do you want to say that it has been seven days since the issue and that most of the physical evidence is gone, so you can"t find the real murderer at all?"
Jiang Xu said angrily: "Li Wei Yang, do you have a way to find the murderer?!"
Li Wei Yang looked around at people with different expressions and smiled: "As Uncle said, it has been seven days since the incident has happened . The a.r.s.enic on the murderer may have been destroyed already . To find out who’s behind the poisoning is very difficult and I can’t do anything about it! ”She said there was no way, but she looked at Yao Chang Qing and said, “But I heard that there is a extraordinary dog in Official’s house, which can recognize the smell of poison and accurately distinguish the person who had once handled the poison, even if he or she had discarded the poison, changed clothes, or even bathed as there is no way to completely remove the smell . Is it right? "
Yao Chang Qing looked at Li Wei Yang with a pale face and a positive tone . There was a strange look in his eyes . It was right that he raised a wolfhound . This is a special breed obtained by a domestic female dog accidentally slipping out of the door and mixing with the male wolf . He was born different from an ordinary dog . Yao Chang Qing saw that it had a strange appearance and so he kept it . Later, as it worked on cases with him, he gradually discovered that the dog has an unusual trait and can often find the real murderer through smell . Yao Chang Qing did use it to find many real culprits but once the prisoner changed his clothes and bathed, the original scent would change . Where can this dog have such magical powers, and can he really tell?! But now that he saw Li Wei Yang being so sure, he couldn"t help but to think that this method would be okay to try, and immediately said: "Okay, pull that dog!"
Li Chang Le shivered as a whole, but she stayed calm as it would be fine! Nothing will happen! She clearly has been checked, and those people can"t find anything, and absolutely nothing will happen! In the crowd, Li Chang Le"s personal maid Tan Xiang lowered her head at the moment, as if she had seen no one . Her ears kept standing tall, listening to the movement in the hall . She was the only one who knew the truth but she must remain silent and protect Da Xiaojie .
Li Wei Yang looked at her with cold eyes, but just kept silent . She lowered her eyes, and covered the sneer on the lips .
Not long afterwards, someone took the half man-height, majestic wolf dog and appeared in the hall . Everyone was frightened . Jiang Xu frowned: "Official Yao, there are many important guests here, in the case where this dog injures someone, what are you going to do? "
Yao Chang Qing said confidently: "No, this dog has been with me for eight years and has never hurt any innocent person!"
Jiang Xu looked at Yao Chang Qing like this and couldn’t help but keep silent, turning his head to stare coldly at the dog .
It"s a pity that the dog couldn"t understand the angry stares coming from Official Jiang . It just sniffed some fine black powder sc.r.a.ped off from the bone, and then suddenly stood up emergently with his fierce eyes and barked loudly towards the direction of Lii Chang Le . It barked more fiercely and everyone was stunned . Soon, the person who was pulling the rope couldn’t control the screaming dog and he accidentally let go . This fierce half-man tall wolfhound slammed opened its mouth and rushed towards Li Chang Le!