NOVPUB54: Chapter 37 Late Night Autopsy_2
54 -37 Late Night Autopsy_2
“This is Judge Yang, young and talented, he was also an Advanced Scholar during the Zhenguan era’s tenth year, ah!
Such a pity…” Liu Pinrang, born to a humble family, found it incredibly challenging to make a mark in an era dominated by powerful clans.
Therefore, he held a special affection for Judge Yang, who also lacked a family background, differing from the usual feelings one subordinate might have for another.
“Did Judge Yang have any chronic ailments?” Ran Yan briefly examined the body before taking the toolbox from Sang Chen, placing it on the ground.
She first took out Atractylodes and Gleditsia sinensis and ignited them on the ground, then put a slice of ginger in her mouth.
After hesitating for a moment, she handed a slice to Liu Pinrang, threw the cloth bag with ginger slices and a blank notebook to the pale-faced Sang Chen, and then put on a new mask and gloves to prepare for the autopsy.
Suppressing his surprise, Liu Pinrang answered, “Indeed, although he was a scholar, he enjoyed practicing martial arts to keep fit and healthy.
I’ve never heard of him suffering from any illnesses.”
After speaking, Liu Pinrang also placed a piece of ginger in his mouth.
Ran Yan hummed in agreement.
The absence of any disease does not necessarily confirm homicide.
Many sudden diseases can cause death, such as acute myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, or even death from sexual excitement, any of which can lead to sudden death.
“Does Inspector Liu wish to watch the proceedings?” Ran Yan’s speech was not affected even though she had ginger in her mouth.
“Good.” When Liu Pinrang was County Chief, he would personally inspect every homicide case, not just rely on the Forensic Doctor, hence he had developed a strong nerve over time, which is why he dared to come here in the middle of the night.
Ran Yan quickly undressed the deceased, whose rigor mortis was gradually dissipating, revealing dark red livor mortis underneath, indicating that death had occurred more than two days ago.
With his clothes removed, it was evident that Judge Yang had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his pectoral muscles well-defined, and his abdomen slightly swollen from post-mortem gases, but faintly showing six-pack abs.
In his thirties, the prime of life, to die suddenly overnight was truly regrettable.
Ran Yan glanced at Sang Chen, who was hiding beside a Government Official with a pen in hand, ready to take notes.
Turning back, she began the examination starting with the deceased’s head, observing the teeth occlusion, wear, and taking into account several other conditions, she concluded, “The deceased was between thirty and thirty-five years old, with a height of six feet seven inches.
There are no visible marks on the face or the head, no external injuries on the body’s chest, abdomen, legs, or back, and the livor mortis is a dark red color, concentrated on the back of the head, top, back, lower back, buttocks on both sides, and the posterior sides of the limbs, with some parts turning green.
I estimate the time of death to be the 27th of June during the Hai hour.”
After a thorough examination, she found no external injuries or signs of poisoning.
Ran Yan focused on the head and neck of the deceased and other areas of the body susceptible to injury.
Liu Pinrang grew increasingly curious about Ran Yan as he saw her solemn and meticulous inspection of the daunting corpse, her eyes, the only part of her visible, being profound and calm.
She did not overlook any detail, even examining the nails and the gaps between them, and the hair.
Ran Yan’s gaze settled on the index finger of his left hand, which was stained with a black mark the size of a soybean on the fingertip, with a little also present under the nail.
She turned around to take some strong vinegar from the toolbox, dabbed a bit of it onto a piece of broken cotton cloth, and gently wiped away the black stain from the fingertip.
Looking up, she inquired, “Was Judge Yang’s place of death the study room?”
“Exactly, he was leaning over the desk, with recent official documents in front of him,” Liu Pinrang replied.
“What was the condition of the desk?” Ran Yan asked.
“The desk?” Liu Pinrang, upon being reminded, immediately replied, “That’s where the suspicious point lies.
Judge Yang was holding a pen, and there were some ink stains on the desk surface, yet the official documents had no signature.
None of the documents on the desk were signed, as if he had just started to work on them before falling ill.
However, all the Forensic Doctors judged that his time of death was between the Hai and Zi hours.
And according to his wife, Lady Wang, Judge Yang went into the study after dinner and instructed that no one should disturb him.
With such a long stretch of time, why wasn’t even a single document reviewed?”
Judge Yang’s left hand’s ring finger knuckle and index finger had calluses that were particularly noticeable, while his right hand did not, which indicates that these spots were rubbed by holding a writing brush.
Moreover, his left arm was slightly more robust than his right arm, clearly showing that he was left-handed.
“The deceased’s left ring finger and index finger have evident calluses, and the left arm is slightly thicker.
It’s inferred that he normally used his left hand.
A small amount of ink stains can be found on the pulp and in the seams of the nails of the left index finger.” As Ran Yan spoke, she ruled out the possibility of “sexual excitement death” in her mind.
The so-called sexual excitement death, also known as sex-induced sudden death, refers to the act of reaching the peak of arousal during sexual intercourse, resulting in an abrupt cessation of the heartbeat.
It usually occurs in the elderly, or occasionally in those who ingest aphrodisiacs or stimulants.
Judge Yang’s conjunctiva did not have petechiae, which also ruled out mechanical asphyxiation.
So, how did he actually die?
Was it indeed acute myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, or perhaps the rupture of a hidden tumor?
Or was he murdered by some covert method?
Striving to miss no detail, Ran Yan carefully inspected again and eventually turned over Judge Yang’s penis to see a small laceration and strip-like subcutaneous bleeding on his scrotum.
To get a better look, Ran Yan called over a government official holding a torch and then leaned into the coffin herself, getting closer to see clearly.
Liu Pinrang opened his mouth wide in surprise, almost dropping the slice of ginger from his mouth, his aged face slightly flushed with blood.
“I think it’s indeed possible that Judge Yang died from homicide,” Ran Yan concluded, straightening up.
“Oh?
Have you found the cause of death?” Liu Pinrang quickly hid his embarrassment and asked earnestly.
“The cause of death is still not found,” Ran Yan replied, observing Liu Pinrang’s puzzled look, she pointed to the small wound and continued, “However, it does confirm that Judge Yang was violently assaulted before his death, receiving a devastating groin kick.
If one doesn’t search carefully, this injury is hard to detect.”
“Ahem,” Liu Pinrang made a great effort to disregard the fact that he was discussing the private parts of a man with a young lady, maintaining a relatively composed state of mind, “If it was a groin kick, why would there only be this little injury?”
“This area is extremely sensitive to pain and stimulation.
If the force wasn’t very strong, or if the assailant controlled the force well, it wouldn’t leave a significant injury but could cause unbearable pain for the victim, and in severe cases, could even lead to fainting.” Ran Yan explained.
In forensic medicine, fainting from a groin kick is termed pain-induced shock or neurogenic shock; she simply used vernacular that the ancient people could understand.
And all of these were Ran Yan’s judgments based on experience, with ninety-nine percent certainty.
But to be one hundred percent certain of the result, she would indeed open up the scrotum to find out for sure.
However, ancient people were highly superstitious, and even autopsy was hard to accept, let alone damaging the most important part of a man?
Ran Yan was always rigorous and cautious in her corpse examinations.
Unable to hold back, she quietly suggested, “If it is cut open, the result can be evaluated more directly…
”
She was immediately interrupted by Liu Pinrang before she could finish, “No, that is not permissible!”
Knowing the outcome, Ran Yan did not insist further, continuing, “For now, this is all I can determine.
If we want to know more detailed information, an autopsy should be conducted, which would certainly reveal the cause of death.”
A person doesn’t die without a reason, and if there is a cause of death, it will definitely show on the body; that is a principle.
