CHAPTER 608: CHAPTER 396: CONVULSION_2

He Sizheng immediately nodded and said, "Of course, you may."

"Get two people to help me move him to an open area," Ran Yan said. Although He Sizheng had clearly already surveyed the scene, Ran Yan preferred to preserve it habitually.

Li Shimin sat down at a slight distance, watching as two guards lifted the body. However, once they placed it in an open area, the corpse still assumed its original posture. The empty space beneath it made the body appear eerily suspended in a prone position. Because the torso was slightly tilted forward, the guards tried several times but could not set it down in its original posture.

"Lay it on its side," Ran Yan instructed.

Finally, the two guards gently leaned the corpse on the ground.

Ran Yan first quickly examined the body’s clothing, hair, and exposed skin, and then reached out to test the extent of rigor mortis. In fact, from the previous situation, she could guess that rigor mortis had spread throughout the body and had even reached its peak, which would explain why it was so rigid.

Someone had already prepared to take notes, and Ran Yan glanced at them before starting the autopsy procedures while speaking, "Examine, the deceased, male, around forty years of age, about five feet seven inches tall. Rigor mortis is spread throughout the body, body waste has expelled, corneas slightly cloudy, lividity has merged into large patches, color deeper."

Ran Yan frowned slightly, quickly undressing the corpse, "The body is beginning to show mild signs of self-digestion. Preliminary estimation of the time of death is about five to six hours ago, before the zi hour last night. There is evidence of localized cadaveric spasm, facial expression is fixed resembling surprise."

The cause of the cadaveric spasm is still unclear. Many forensic examiners believe that this often occurs in cases of central nervous system damage and tension, or during struggles and agitation. With extensive autopsy experience, Ran Yan believes there is some credibility to this theory. But at the scene, apart from scattered papers, there were no obvious signs of a struggle.

She removed the shoes and socks from the corpse, her gaze briefly pausing on a tiny black mark on the inside of the sock. She was certain it was soil, not dirt from the foot, because the corpse’s foot seemed very clean, even with no grime under the nails. Even more so because Ran Yan noticed that the soil was very much like the kind used in her home for planting flowers.

Ran Yan’s attention lingered but for an instant. Her movements were quick, but her speech was slow because narrating the condition of the corpse had become an ingrained habit. Forensic doctors have many items to check during an autopsy, so continuous recording is necessary. Typically, an autopsy is assisted by two helpers and a photographer, who use photos and text for records. If alone, Ran Yan would use a recording pen. Usually, even when alone with the body, she could naturally verbalize these findings.

However, remembering Xiao Song’s words, she had to force herself to change her habit and filter her thoughts through her brain before speaking.

All the men in the room watched Ran Yan calmly strip the corpse of its clothes, filled with amazement, He Sizheng included. Last time she undressed Sang Chen out of necessity, but to do so now in similar fashion was truly admirable. Moreover, not everyone could deftly remove the clothing from a body in such a state.

Amazement and confusion had just risen, but soon, the wounds revealed on the body made everyone forget about Ran Yan’s actions.

The corpse’s entire back was almost entirely skinless, the blood had dried up, appearing indistinct and truly alarming.

"The wounds aren’t deep," observed Ran Yan, realizing a problem after examining the entire back, "The edges of the wounds are irregular, slightly serrated, suggesting a whipping injury. Some of the wounds are scabbing over, with inflammation at two sites, indicating the deceased lived for a significant time after injury, and the outer robe is mostly clean, which means we could consider that the deceased was tortured to death elsewhere, cleaned up, then his body was moved here."

Ran Yan carefully checked the whole body again, finding no fatal wounds. Most of the front of the corpse was covered in livor mortis, making it difficult to distinguish any other marks.

After contemplating, Ran Yan thought that if she conducted an autopsy, she could undoubtedly learn more information and gain the upper hand. Moreover, she was confident that she could keep many significant details hidden.

However, these people were different from Liu Pinrang. Liu Pinrang, for the sake of achieving his goals, would decisively sacrifice others, and it was all done secretly.

Seeing that Li Shimin still appeared calm without any discernible dissatisfaction, Ran Yan continued to speak. Everyone here was bound by morals, and whether they would agree was one thing, but she feared they would consider her mad.

After weighing the options, Ran Yan thought that since they had regarded her autopsy on Sang Chen last time as miraculous skill, she might have a hopeful chance of persuading them this time, "The cause of death cannot be determined from the exterior. To learn more, an autopsy is necessary."

As Ran Yan had predicted, everyone’s faces turned serious. He Sizheng looked to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty... what do you think..."

If it were Wei Zheng or Zhang Xuanzhu, they would probably have immediately opposed vehemently with intense disapproval, likely citing numerous classical works to berate Ran Yan. But He Sizheng was different; he maintained his usual way of handling matters, taking all the credit for good deeds and shifting all the blame elsewhere.

"Your Majesty, performing an autopsy on the body can reveal many things that occurred during the process leading to death, which are often reflected accurately on the corpse. These are the words that a person wronged by death wants to say to the world. Besides, we’re only opening to look and will close it back up. We won’t be removing any flesh. It’s no different from treating a living person’s wound," He Sizheng explained.

Li Shimin’s scrutinizing gaze stayed on Ran Yan, creating an oppressive feeling. Ran Yan simply lowered her head, expressionless.

The hall was silent for a long time until Li Shimin finally withdrew his gaze and said, "We will discuss this matter later." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)