Chapter 158 - 157: Guiding Hand in the Dark (First Update)

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Guiding Hand in the Dark (First Update)

If it weren’t for that woman admitting to her face last night that she was Xu Jing, Xu Ya would have thought she had recognized the wrong person.

Could it be that Xiao Yi doesn’t know she is Xu Jing?

Very likely. Since that woman married into the Xiao Family, Xu Ya has been keeping an eye on her. Naturally, she knew that since she married into the Xiao Family these years, she hadn’t seen Xiao Yi many times! It’s quite normal for Xiao Yi not to recognize her.

It seems her guess was right. This woman returned to the Western Capital to get close to Xiao Yi again! Now, her plan has succeeded halfway.

A shadow of gloom flashed across Xu Ya’s eyes.

Just wait, she will never succeed, and Xu Ya will not allow her to succeed.

If Xu Jing’s guess is correct, just now Xiao Yi invited Mrs. Yu to the side room to discuss letting her perform an autopsy.

In ancient times, people believed that the body, hair, and skin are bestowed by one’s parents, so most couldn’t accept their relatives being dissected, let alone someone like Mrs. Yu, who adored her daughter. The corpses that Xu Jing previously dissected were either unidentified or dealt with by Xiao Yi to placate the deceased’s family, allowing her to dissect without psychological burden.

Xu Jing knew roughly how Xiao Yi persuaded Mrs. Yu. Though Mrs. Yu cherished Wang Wuniang, finding out the real murderer was more important than preserving the corpse. Mrs. Yu wasn’t stubborn; on the contrary, she was very rational and knew precisely what she wanted. That’s why she agreed to the autopsy.

Indeed, Mrs. Yu didn’t let others enter the side room with them. After they entered, she turned and looked at Xu Jing meaningfully, saying, "Doctor Xu is indeed no ordinary person; I’ve misjudged you."

Xu Jing didn’t know how much Xiao Yi told her about her, so she just smiled and said, "Mrs. Yu overpraises me. I am just a doctor who happened to learn the art of autopsy by chance, and maybe it was destiny that Wang Wuniang guided me here."

Xu Jing’s last words clearly touched Mrs. Yu’s heart. Mrs. Yu’s eyes turned slightly red as she looked at Wang Wuniang lying quietly in the coffin, gritting her teeth and saying, "Yes, this child surely wouldn’t want her murderer to go free. Doctor Xu, I entrust you with this task.

According to Vice Minister Xiao’s instructions, I’ve had people prepare what you need for the autopsy, and they will bring them over shortly."

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Yi, who was standing beside her.

This man is indeed meticulous in his work.

Since entering, Xiao Yi finally had a chance to speak with Xu Jing. In fact, since just now, he had been watching her, and now, seeing her finally willing to give him a proper look, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth and whispered, "In the past two days, has anything happened?"

Xu Jing immediately understood that he was concerned about whether she had been harmed in the past two days. She couldn’t help but smile and say, "Except for being kidnapped at the beginning, nothing happened. Mrs. Yu was very considerate in her hospitality."

She wasn’t lying. Apart from not letting them leave, Mrs. Yu didn’t treat them poorly regarding clothing, food, shelter, and travel. At least that’s how Xu Jing felt, as she didn’t have high demands on her quality of life.

She didn’t have many friends in this world, and seeing Xiao Yi care about her like this made her very happy.

Xiao Yi had already observed her closely when he entered and, seeing that she was okay, felt somewhat relieved. Hearing her response, his usually cold black eyes softened for a moment.

Xu Jing looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitated.

To be honest, she thought Xiao Yi was the one with issues. Just now, she noticed that when he came in, his face had a slight greenish hue, and his lips weren’t as red as usual. These subtle changes might be hard for ordinary people to notice, but as a doctor, she was quite sensitive to them.

She was about to inquire when Nanny Zhou’s voice came from outside the side room, "Madam, this old servant has brought the items Vice Minister Xiao requested."

Mrs. Yu immediately said, "Bring them in."

Nanny Zhou then entered with Little Tao and Peony, each of them holding something. Nanny Zhou held two empty trays stacked together, Little Tao had a copper basin full of Cangzhu and soap, and Peony held a notebook and a charcoal pencil.

After the women put things down, two male servants brought in a single, long, rectangular wooden bed.

The side room wasn’t large, and with a coffin, there wasn’t room for many people. Mrs. Yu had them leave after placing the items down.

Xu Jing knew that these items brought by the servants were just auxiliary tools for the autopsy. The most important things were yet to be seen, so she couldn’t help but look at Xiao Yi with a slight arch of her eyebrows.

Xiao Yi’s black eyes carried a hint of amusement as he brought his hand, which had been behind his back, forward, revealing a plain bundle. He said, "The instruments for the autopsy were brought from Anping County. Check if everything is there."

Xu Jing’s eyes lit up. She took the bundle, opened it, nodded in satisfaction, and then skillfully donned gloves and a mask used for autopsies, put on protective clothing, lit the Cangzhu and soap, and spread a white cloth on the wooden bed the servants had brought in. She placed two trays separately, then placed the dissection tools from the bundle into one of the trays.

After completing all this, she glanced at Xiao Yi and said, "Please, Vice Minister Xiao, move the deceased over."

Mrs. Yu couldn’t hide her astonishment on her face. Until this moment, she truly believed Xiao Yi hadn’t deceived her. This Doctor Xu was indeed a top-notch expert in autopsy!

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Vice Minister Xiao. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have agreed to this. It was just that subconsciously, she found it incredible for such a young woman to be proficient at autopsy.

Since they were the only three in the side room, Xiao Yi had to be her temporary assistant during the autopsy. However, Xiao Yi didn’t immediately do as Xu Jing instructed. He suddenly said, "In that bundle, there’s also a record of the body from the forensic doctor who handled this case six months ago, for your reference."

The record, or autopsy report, was indeed beneficial. With Mrs. Yu preserving Wang Wuniang’s body so well, the body still presented challenges due to dehydration and skin discoloration, making many surface markings difficult to discern with the naked eye. Thus, having this record was undoubtedly a great help.

Xu Jing preferred partnering with reliable people for her work, and she couldn’t help but feel very pleased, saying, "No wonder you’re Vice Minister Xiao; your thoroughness is impressive."

Earlier, she had actually seen a scroll in the bundle. Because it wasn’t an autopsy tool, she found it curious but hadn’t paid further attention.

She immediately took the scroll, opened it, and examined it closely.

From the detailed information in this autopsy report, it was clear that the Ministry of Justice had taken this case very seriously, as the deceased was indeed from the Wang Family.

If not for Old Mrs. Wang and Duke Qiao calling a halt hastily, the murderer might have already been captured.

During this time, Xu Jing learned that Great Chu’s forensic doctors liked to use drawings as an aid when recording the external injuries on the deceased. This autopsy record was no exception, presenting a simplified depiction of a female body based on Wang Wuniang’s physique, showing both front and back, with red ink marking wounded areas and notes indicating the condition of the wounds.

It was quite concise and easy to understand.

The chart showed that Wang Wuniang’s injuries were primarily located on her chest, waist, thighs, shoulders, and arms, mainly bruises or nail scratches, consistent with what Jiang Erlang said. These types of marks would likely appear after a man and woman engaged in a particularly intense intimate encounter.

Xu Jing had previously handled many rape-murder cases, so she knew that victims of such crimes often bore obvious signs of struggle, such as significant abrasions and subcutaneous bleeding on shoulders, backs, buttocks, and elbows. These injuries typically resulted from the victim’s arms and legs being tied during the assault, with the buttocks and back areas frequently sustaining marks from friction with the ground.

However, Wang Wuniang’s body bore only a few notable marks of struggle, except for substantial bruising on her shoulders from forceful restraint by the perpetrator and minor abrasions on her back.

Moreover, she showed no signs of her limbs being tied, indicating that during the assault, she still maintained her consciousness.

What was truly going on? According to Wang Wuniang’s personal diary, she was extremely averse to being violated in that way. Was her familiarity with the assailant a factor, or did something occur during the assault?

As Xu Jing pondered this, she continued reading, and when she reached the cause of death section, she paused slightly.