Miss Truth
Chapter 176 - 112: Powder in the Stomach_2

Chapter 176: Chapter 112: Powder in the Stomach_2

Ran Yan focused all her attention on the deceased’s brain and didn’t notice Xiao Song’s gaze. As she picked up the scalpel and was about to shave off the corpse’s hair, she suddenly paused, put down the scalpel, and moved to the abdomen of the corpse, squatting there to observe carefully.

Ran Yan painstakingly examined the torso over and over again as if she wanted to see right through it.

"Ha ha!" After flipping over the body for a long time, Ran Yan suddenly let out a laugh.

Yu Bohao and Liu Pinrang only felt a chill in their scalps. The thought of a wife laughing in front of a dissected, decomposing corpse created a bizarre scene, making both men suspect that Ran Yan was possessed.

Ran Yan could vaguely make out the condition of bleeding and bruising on the internal organs, so she temporarily gave up on dissecting this corpse’s brain and started with the one that was most decomposed.

With such an extremely decomposed corpse and without the aid of scientific instruments, if there were no clear symptoms of death, Ran Yan couldn’t guarantee she would find anything.

After opening the chest and abdomen, Ran Yan couldn’t help but laugh again. It seemed the deceased also wanted to plea for justice! While the external body was severely decomposed, the internal organs had begun to shrink and collapse, but they were essentially still intact. Although they didn’t compare to a fresh corpse, they were better than nothing.

Ran Yan immediately started a thorough examination. The stomach had decayed into liquid, so she painstakingly separated and removed the viscera, examining them under the bright lamp. Even with many lamps lit at night, it was still incomparable to daylight, especially for observing such a highly decomposed body; fortunately, she had encountered such conditions before and was not entirely unable to perceive anything.

"Due to the high degree of decay in the body, I can only speculate based on some conditions that the cause of death might have been poisoning." With no good lab conditions now, some things, once missed at the optimal time for autopsy, could not be discerned by mere observation. Ran Yan couldn’t help but internally reproach Liu Pinrang. If the autopsy had been performed earlier, she could definitely have determined what poison was involved; now she could only guess, "The internal organs all showed various degrees of bleeding, which basically confirms poisoning, but the specific poison remains uncertain."

"Can you list some poisons?" Xiao Song asked.

After tidying up the corpse, Ran Yan replied offhand, "Aconite, horse chestnut, hook vine, opium, strychnine, thunderbolt vine, snake venom, Spanish fly, among others."

After finishing, Ran Yan pondered and continued, "I handled the first body and found no symptoms like cyanotic nails, cyanotic lips, or cyanosis, so I can rule out horse chestnut, strychnine, snake venom, opium. The effect of thunderbolt vine takes two to three days to manifest, aconite typically shows poisoning symptoms within two to three hours after ingestion, and hook vine is even quicker. These poisons won’t cause obvious symptoms on the surface of the body. I am personally more inclined to suspect hook vine."

Death by aconite poisoning generally only reveals symptoms similar to suffocation, and sometimes one is lucky enough to find remnants in the stomach. The gastric mucosa and serosa might also show points of hemorrhage. Otherwise, without modern lab techniques, no evidence can be found.

Now that both bodies have decayed to this extent, with the organs also vaguely showing signs of congestion and bleeding, it’s clearly not aconite.

The medicinal effect of thunderbolt vine generally acts slowly. If the murderer had used thunderbolt vine, they would have had to have been in contact with the victim at least two days before the death. Though it’s not impossible, it’s not as rapid and convenient as hook vine.

"This is just my example, it could very well be another poison. The organs have decayed to such an extent that it’s difficult to identify in more detail," Ran Yan said.

After tidying up, the group walked out of the meditation room with heavy hearts.

Now, only one victim’s identity was confirmed, the others remained unidentified, and just this fact alone severed most of the leads. Government Officials were visiting homes daily with the deceased’s belongings, and in such a vast Suzhou City, not to mention the rural areas, it would take three to five months just to investigate the urban markets.

Lanterns were lit in the corridor, and they sat down in the courtyard. Xiao Song asked, "Who was the claimed corpse?"

Yu Bohao answered, "It’s a Merchant’s son from Bifeng District; he was enamored with a charming widow. His family disagreed with the marriage, so he eloped with her. That family had only this legitimate son, so as soon as they heard of the deceased’s features, they hurried over for identification. They recognized their son, Chen Yuan, styled Meng Xian, through his money pouch and clothes."

"And the widow?" Xiao Song immediately asked.

"She has disappeared without a trace." Yu Bohao thought for a moment, feeling the matter was of great importance, decided to share his suspicions, "Could it be that this widow had ulterior motives? Luring the young man to the outskirts for an affair and then killing them?"

Liu Pinrang pondered and said, "Su Family’s second daughter’s fiancé is also in Bifeng District, a family of scholars. Such a family values their reputation and might deny the elopement even if they suspected it. I will personally take the deceased’s belongings tonight to have them identified."

The Medicine King’s Su Family, although influential and affluent, always kept a low profile. If this incident hadn’t severely tarnished their reputation, they wouldn’t have reported it to Liu Pinrang.

Liu Pinrang was always circumspect and sometimes overly worldly in his actions. The Su and Chen families were both reputable, and since the notice had already been posted without any claims from them, Liu Pinrang felt it inappropriate to bring misfortune to their homes by presenting the belongings. Moreover, his inaction wasn’t entirely due to his worldliness; he was actually waiting for a breeze from the Court.

Xiao Song was that breeze, and now that the timing was ripe, any further delay would cause trouble. He wouldn’t hold back any longer.

Upon hearing Liu Pinrang say this, Xiao Song’s eyes briefly flickered, then a slight relief showed on his brow as he turned to Ran Yan and asked, "The black powder in the most recent corpse, it couldn’t be identified?"

Ran Yan, unaware that Liu Pinrang and Xiao Song, these two seasoned officials, had subtly reached a certain understanding, seriously considered Xiao Song’s question and said, "It resembles the residue of something that was burned. Could it possibly be incense ashes?"

The other three were startled. These substances had already undergone some changes in the stomach, and they hadn’t had a chance to think it over due to the overwhelming amount of information they had just received. Reminded by Ran Yan, it indeed seemed like incense ashes. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to Qidian to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)