Hidden in the court

Chapter 169 Autopsy

"The drug dealer who was interrogated yesterday...is dead!"

This sudden bad news was like a heavy stone that hit everyone's heart. Originally, it was a case involving a provincial governor and a chief clerk, as well as smuggling medicinal materials, but it became even more complicated and confusing due to the accidental death of the drug dealer.

The Censorate was so big, but it didn't even have a single person under its watch. Moreover, he had agreed to testify in court yesterday, but he was gone today. This really makes people suspicious.

"It seems that there is something fishy going on in your Censorate, Old Hu."

As the two of them hurried to the Imperial Censorate, Ji Mingshang even made some jokes. Hu Die now had a serious expression on her face, her mind full of thoughts, and she didn't want to pay any attention to him at all.

When we arrived at the Censorate, we saw more than a dozen people crowded at the prison door.

Walking into the cell, a chill hit me in the face, seemingly mixed with the unique cold breath of a corpse. The drug dealer's body was lying in the corner, with a little dried white frost at the corners of his mouth.

"They know how to maintain the status quo. These people are quite experienced. Is this poisoned?"

Ji Mingshang guessed.

Hu Die called the jailer, "When did the person die?"

"It might have been last night. When I delivered dinner yesterday afternoon, he was still fine. When I came here early this morning, I found that he was dead."

Hu Die glanced at the jailer, then swept her eyes over everyone present again.

"Go call the coroner. From now on, no one in the Censorate can leave without permission."

But after hearing this, the jailer scratched his head.

"Sir, we don't have a coroner in the Censorate, but the government does have a full-time one. How about I go and invite him over?"

Hu Die was silent. Even if she invited the coroner from Zhou Mansion, she would not dare to use him. But she could not perform an autopsy, so she turned her head and looked at Ji Mingshang.

Ji Mingshang immediately understood what she meant.

"Why are you looking at me? I can't do an autopsy. But..."

"But what?"

"But then we can close the door and let Lao Zhao go."

Hu Die was a little confused, "He can do an autopsy?"

Ji Mingshang smiled and said indifferently: "He is not a professional, but he has seen many dead people. Long-term illness makes a good doctor. Didn't I, Liang Wuchao, say that he is a demon who kills people without hesitation and rips out their hearts? I believe he has some research on the structure of the human body. Let him try it?"

Before Hu Die could figure it out, Ji Mingshang went to find Zhao Yao.

Hu Die went up and took a closer look at the corpse, and discovered that there was a half-finished bowl of rice under the body, with the bowl overturned. It seemed that the person had died of poisoning while eating halfway through.

The pupils are dilated and the eyes are bloodshot. It looks like poisoning, but we don't know what the poison is yet.

He gathered a group of people outside and stared at them.

After a long time, Ji Mingshang and Zhao Yao also arrived, and the three returned to the cell.

Zhao Yao looked serious and began his work without saying a word. He first checked the appearance of the body, from the hair to the soles of the feet, not missing any details. We gathered around him, closely following his every move.

While checking, he was muttering something in a fast pace, but each word was pronounced clearly: "There is no obvious trauma on the head, the facial expression is slightly painful, the pupils are dilated, there is no bleeding from the mouth and nose, and there are no marks of strangulation on the neck..." His fingers gently slid across the drug dealer's skin.

He noticed that the skin color of the deceased was abnormal, showing an unnatural blue-gray color, the lips were slightly purple-black, and there was a slight blackening under the nails. These symptoms made Zhao Yao frown, thinking secretly that this might be a sign of poisoning.

He carefully examined the deceased's eyes again and found that the pupils had been dilated to an abnormal degree, and the pupils were almost invisible, which is also a typical feature of death by poisoning.

Zhao Yao stopped what he was doing. "The deceased should have died of poisoning, but the exact cause is unknown. I want to perform an autopsy. Do the deceased's family members agree?"

Now it was Ji Mingshang and Hu Die's turn to stare at each other. After all, they had just agreed to testify in court yesterday and promised to keep the man safe. But after just one night, the man died. How were they going to tell the family?

"I'd better go."

Ji Mingshang turned and left again.

The remaining two looked at the Censorate staff outside, and Hu Die was particularly angry.

"Where were you last night? Can anyone testify? Explain one by one!"

The group of people all shrank their necks, and Wang Dahu was the first to speak: "I was at home last night, and my mother can testify..."

……

After a round of interrogation, it was useless. No matter if they were on duty last night or not, they all had reasons and even had witnesses.

For some reason, Hu Die felt powerless. She knew who the culprit of the poisonous incense was, but she couldn't catch him because she had no evidence. Now, the only witness was killed in the Censorate, and a group of people couldn't catch the accomplice.

After a long time, Ji Mingshang came back, bringing with him the old uncle from yesterday.

"Why did you bring him here? He's someone's son..."

Hu Die's meaning was very clear. His son was dead. Bringing him here would be somewhat...

"It's okay. He's someone's son. Can't you let him see him?"

At this time, the old uncle spoke up: "Let's do an autopsy. My son deserves what he got. I just hope we can find out something. If it's possible, let me see. My knowledge of pharmacology may be able to help."

Hearing this, the three of them were really ashamed and bowed their heads.

"Oh, sir, don't feel guilty. I've already said that it was his own fault. Ever since he started selling those herbs, I've expected this day to come. Let's do an autopsy."

Although the old uncle waved his hands and seemed unconcerned, his body was indeed more hunched than yesterday.

After entering the cell, Zhao Yao took out a sharp knife. The blade gleamed coldly in the dim light, reflecting the bright white on the corpse.

He carefully cut open the chest of the deceased and exposed his internal organs. After checking them one by one, he found that the surface of the heart, liver and other organs had bleeding spots of varying degrees, which was a sign of obstructed blood circulation after poisoning. He also checked the stomach of the deceased and found some residual liquid and food.

Seeing this scene, Ji Mingshang silently took two steps back.

The uncle took out a silver needle from the medicine box. He gently inserted the needle into the liver of the deceased and pulled it out. The needle quickly turned black, which was a sign of poisoning. Zhao Yao took out a bronze mirror and put the needle under it for careful observation. He found that the black mark on the needle went deep into the needle, which indicated that the poison had penetrated into the organ.

He took some more blood, dripped it onto a clean copper sheet, and then burned it. The blood gradually coagulated under the high temperature, emitting a pungent smell, which was the smell of burning poison.

After these careful tests, the old uncle and Zhao Yao looked at each other and had guesses in their minds.

It was eventually determined to be a highly toxic substance called "Strychnos nux vomica". Once this poison enters the human body, it will quickly block blood circulation, leading to organ failure and death.

"What is that?"

There is no need to think about it, this is the kind of question that Ji Mingshang would naturally ask.