Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 129 The best of both worlds
Upon hearing Chen Mo's question, Gao Yuntian sat down again.

Jia Chuan said, “Tomorrow I need to talk to the villagers more, but there’s one thing I just can’t figure out. Don’t the Taoist priests and monks really know each other? You’ve seen that dilapidated temple. It’s said to have been there since the previous dynasty. Since a temple is built, it must receive incense offerings. But that small temple has never received any incense offerings. I’ve seen the main hall. It’s probably not intended to receive any incense money when it was built. How do the monks live? The villagers don’t have any surplus grain either.”

Gao Yuntian hurriedly asked, "Do you think it's revenge?"

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "I don't know, that's why I need to check. But I also want to celebrate the New Year with you all."

Chen Mo exclaimed, "I'll bring it to you, but I can't. My whole family is in Beijing."

Gao Yuntian asked, "What if the villagers killed someone for money?"

"The silver is still there, so why would they send it back if it were them?" Chen Mo asked.

Old Zheng leaned forward and asked, "Is it possible that there were two groups of people, and the village chief found out later, fearing he would be implicated, so he ordered those people to return the silver..."

"You found the wound? Do you think villagers would know to leave no trace when committing a crime? Four people, though all elderly, wouldn't just sit there waiting to die. You saw it yourself, there were no signs of resistance. If the villagers wanted money, they should have been more brutal and meticulous. They had enough time to clean up the scene, hide the body, or even open the gate to create the illusion that the four of them went out for a trip together. Any of these things would have made more sense than what we've done."

Gao Yuntian scratched his head: "The more you talk, the more confused I get."

“It’s alright if you’re confused, but I won’t be confused too. This case can’t be solved immediately. You two help me finish writing the letter, then get some sleep. We’ll leave the city before dawn. If we’re quick, we can be back by noon the day after tomorrow at the latest before dark, and we can be reunited on New Year’s Eve.”

The group quickly tidied up, and Jia Chuan dictated a letter to Chen Mo, who wrote it down. In the letter, Jia Chuan said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard might be needed to investigate some old cases, but there was no rush. Finally, he didn't forget to ask for leave for Gao Yuntian.

Chen Mo's family is in Beijing, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to come during the Chinese New Year. We agreed that Chen Mo would come again after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

After sleeping for three hours, the two got up and returned to the capital. Although the city gates were not open, no one could stop the Imperial Guards from leaving the city.

In this way, Jia Chuan could finally rest easy, and it was a win-win situation.

……

The next morning, Jia Chuan and Old Zheng went to the mortuary again.

Last night, while sleeping, Jia Chuan carefully recalled the case of someone freezing to death that the forensic doctor had mentioned in his previous life. He had never personally encountered such a case, so he wasn't entirely confident when Old Zheng questioned him. However, after carefully recalling the case last night and considering the details, he decided to examine it more thoroughly.

At this moment, he regretted not buying more books on forensic medicine in his previous life and studying them carefully. Old Zheng didn't know anything about anatomy; if he had learned more, perhaps he would have had the courage to perform surgery.

He remembered the forensic doctor telling him that people who freeze to death will have 'Vinnievsky spots' on their gastric mucosa, which is stress bleeding, and the blood in the left heart will be bright red due to the retention of oxyhemoglobin.

Lacking the expertise to perform an autopsy, Jia Chuan could only assess the condition of the body through its surface. He recalled what the forensic doctor had told him: bodies frozen to death need to be categorized as either partially frozen, fully frozen, or having undergone a thawing process.

Jia Chuan couldn't remember the specifics, but he did recall one thing: localized frostbite on the extremities.

Yesterday, Jia Chuan believed that the deceased had frozen to death. His reasoning was based on the fact that the body was in a curled-up position and that the deceased had a slightly bitter smile on his face. The forensic doctor said that facial muscle spasms can cause facial distortion, which is a characteristic of a frozen face. However, Jia Chuan did not find any abnormal undressing behavior on the deceased.

Abnormal undressing is a sign of paralysis of the body's thermoregulation center before death from freezing. The deceased may experience "thermal hallucinations" and then voluntarily remove their clothing. Usually, the clothing will be scattered around, which is one of the typical characteristics of death from freezing.

However, when the monks and the visiting Taoist priest were dragged out of the temple, they were still wearing their monk robes and Taoist robes. Based on their curled-up posture and the slight expression on their faces, Jia Chuan lacked confidence when arguing with Old Zheng. The curled-up position of the deceased's body may be related to the time when the body was dumped. If the deceased had just died and rigor mortis had not yet formed, and the well was only the same width as the well opening, would the bodies that had not yet formed rigor mortis be squeezed down by the weight of the bodies above them and continue to be thrown down?
Even if it were possible, why would the last body also be curled up?
Old Zheng explained, "The person who dumped the body calculated the distance from the bottom of the well to the top, and he dumped it before the body rigor mortis..."

"Was there any fracture on the body?" Jia Chuan interrupted Old Zheng.

Old Zheng understood what Jia Chuan meant; the corpse wasn't a clay figure.

The two did not discuss the matter further last night. When they returned to the mortuary today, the county coroner was sleeping in the next room, snoring loudly. They began their work to the 'accompaniment' of his snoring.

Jia Chuan described the characteristics of those who froze to death to Old Zheng, counting them off on his fingers. Old Zheng was not very interested, saying, "Every winter, there are people who freeze to death by the roadside, and not all of their bodies are curled up."

"The posture of a person who freezes to death can range from curled up to stretched out, depending on the rate of hypothermia. Let's not argue about that for now. It was dark yesterday and the light was poor. Today, let's take a closer look at their toes and fingers to see if they have frostbite."

"It's perfectly normal to get frostbite..."

“Just look at it. These features alone might not mean anything, but together they can help us deduce whether the deceased froze to death… Why didn’t they take off their clothes?”

"If they took it off, why didn't they put it back on? It's not like there was no one else around. How did the four of them get into the dry well without anyone else around?"

Old Zheng muttered something, but it gave Jia Chuan a wake-up call. He quickly picked up the monk's robe and Taoist robe that had been cut up yesterday and examined them carefully. He was glad that the coroner had been so drunk that he hadn't cleaned up the mortuary. If he had really thrown these scraps of cloth away, it would have been difficult to find them again.

Old Zheng was carefully examining the hands, feet, and ears of the four corpses to see if they had frostbite.

The monk's robe was made of hemp and had been worn for quite some time. Not to mention the numerous patches on it, Jia Chuan noticed tear marks from being pulled at the collar. Jia Chuan quickly looked at the Taoist robe next. The Taoist robe was clearly made of better material than the monk's robe, but because it was made of cotton, it was very prone to wrinkles, especially in places where it had been gripped tightly. Although Jia Chuan did not find any tears on the Taoist robe, he did find signs of being pulled and tugged.

At the same time, Old Zheng found blisters and cyanosis on the corpses' toes, fingers, and earlobes. He couldn't help but ask, "...Why is there cyanosis?" Jia Chuan didn't even look up and said, "The cold causes blood vessels to constrict, which leads to impaired peripheral circulation and necrosis...Take a look and see if their whole bodies are pale?"

"Didn't you see it yesterday? It's white. How could it not be white after being frozen? Can you speak in a way I can understand..."

"Their bodies turned pale for the same reason. Why didn't I think of that yesterday?" Jia Chuan said, standing up. "Now we can confirm that the four of them froze to death."

Old Zheng got anxious: "How can you be sure? I still want to see how to test the poison today."

"Curled-up posture, unusual undressing, localized frostbite... that's a comprehensive assessment, it's a pity we can't perform an autopsy..."

Old Zheng was pondering this when Zhao Guang's voice came from outside the door.

Is Magistrate Song here?

Jia Chuan frowned, walked to the door and asked, "How's the investigation going? Do you know who I am?"

Zhao Guang was taken aback by Jia Chuan's bluntness, paused for a moment, then ignored Jia Chuan's question and said what he had already prepared: "There have been many misunderstandings between us before. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and you'll be lonely here alone. Why don't you stay up with my family to celebrate the New Year?"

"Stop it!" Jia Chuan waved his hand impatiently. "I'll spare your life at most, that's the limit. I've already told you to explain things to your children. Those two Imperial Guards will be back tomorrow. I really can't say what will happen when they return, or whether they'll let you have a peaceful New Year."

Zhao Guang's expression froze. He naturally knew that the two Jinyiwei guards had left before dawn, and he had written a letter last night instructing his servant to bring the so-called festival gifts back to the capital.

Since I've already given a holiday gift, I naturally need to bring more sincerity when I go again.

But a reply wouldn't come so quickly. Zhao Guang thought that while he was still waiting for a reply, it wouldn't hurt to get closer to this man named Song Sheng. He had spent a whole night thinking about this and realized that the two Imperial Guards not only knew Song Sheng, but also had a good relationship with him.

He carefully recalled every detail, and even found the three constables who had gone to the village and asked them in detail. The three were half asleep, but they remembered that the Imperial Guards and the county magistrate did not introduce themselves and seemed to know each other very well. As for the purpose of the Imperial Guards' visit, one of them vaguely remembered hearing the phrase "to take you back for the New Year".

Zhao Guang felt a little scared. If Song Sheng were the son or nephew of some official, he wouldn't be so afraid. It would just be a matter of spending more money. He was already this age, and at most he could retire and return to his hometown, so as not to delay his children and grandchildren. Thinking of this, Zhao Guang was also relieved that his children and grandchildren were not ambitious and only became clerks. Otherwise, if his career was delayed because of him...

However, Song Sheng's close associates were members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which meant the matter couldn't be resolved simply with money. Furthermore, he had indeed inquired about Song Sheng's background beforehand; the Ministry of Personnel had said he was simply a replacement candidate after the imperial examinations, not someone's relative. That's why he had been so lenient with this newly appointed county magistrate, working so hard to deal with him. Now…

But Zhao Guang comforted himself, there was still hope. As long as Song Sheng stopped holding a grudge against him, why would the Embroidered Uniform Guard bother him? As the saying goes, the one who tied the knot must untie it. Once Song Sheng was dealt with, there would be no other problem. If Song Sheng really was someone's... his servant would definitely be able to find out on this trip. Then he could just spend some money to find someone to mediate.

Don't be afraid of encountering difficulties; just solve them when they arise.

So Zhao Guang had been keeping an eye on County Magistrate Song's movements since early morning. Knowing that he had gone to the mortuary again, he cheered himself up and followed after him.

He thought that by lowering his stance, Magistrate Song would at least give him some face. Having spent years in officialdom, he knew he had to be mindful of interpersonal relationships. He hadn't accomplished anything in his life, yet he was still sitting in the position of magistrate. He figured Song Sheng would understand the reasons behind it all, and there was no need to really break off relations. Right now, Song Sheng was just a magistrate, and his career was only just beginning...

To his surprise, his goodwill was met with such disdain from Song Sheng, leaving Zhao Guang truly speechless.

Jia Chuan ignored Zhao Guang and turned back to discuss the matter with Old Zheng again.

"...Let's assume for now that death from freezing is true, and the deceased was thrown into the dry well after death. Leaving aside why the temple gate was closed, let's just consider this: how did that person manage to put the clothes back on the deceased? The deceased was already curled up when they died. The outer monk's robes and Taoist robes are relatively easy to put on, but the inner garments have sleeves and trousers—how could they be put on? Yesterday you spent half the day digging at the scene, and when we came back, we had to cut them open with scissors. If one person wanted to help them dress...it would be difficult!"

Old Zheng said, "You mean there was more than one person who dumped the body? If you ask me, it was a group of villagers who did it together."

"Would the villagers even bother to dress the four people properly before disposing of their bodies? Even if they were greedy for money, they could simply put away the silver and quietly celebrate the New Year. If the bodies were discovered, the fact that the traveling Taoist priest was penniless wouldn't arouse suspicion from the officials. But... no matter who it was, why would they dress the bodies properly? Was it really necessary?"

Old Zheng thought for a moment and said:
“What you said makes sense. If the villagers found these four people frozen to death in the temple, they should have just taken the silver and reported it to the police. There was indeed no need to move the bodies elsewhere, since they didn't kill them. But... did the four of them freeze to death on their own? Or did someone deliberately freeze them to death? It must have been someone, right? No matter who it was, as long as they could get out of the courtyard wall, they could take the clothes off the deceased and dispose of them. There was really no need to dress them up. We don't need Taoist or Buddhist robes to identify who the four of them were; we can tell just by looking at their heads. Could the points you mentioned... be inaccurate? Do all people who freeze to death take off their clothes?”

Jia Chuan scratched his head and said:
"It's true that not all those who freeze to death have taken off their clothes, but their robes have marks of being pulled and torn..."

Jia Chuan paused, his mind searching through deep memories: "Most cases where the deceased didn't undress were influenced by factors such as extremely low temperatures, below minus thirty degrees Celsius. Extremely low temperatures can more quickly suppress the central nervous system, thus reducing the likelihood of undressing. Also, the outer clothing was wet and difficult to remove once frozen. The deceased may have been drinking, which would impair their mobility. There's another possibility..."

Jia Chuan slapped his forehead hard and said, "The elderly also have reduced mobility, so they can only tug at their robes, but they don't actually take them off!"

Old Zheng looked at Jia Chuan for a moment and said, "As long as you understand it yourself, you don't need to worry about me."

Jia Chuan was somewhat excited, piecing together the fragments of memory in his mind bit by bit.

"In the early stages of hypothermia, the human body will reduce the exposed area of ​​the body surface and delay heat loss by bending the limbs and hugging the chest. This requires the deceased to meet the conditions of slow hypothermia, that is, the deceased is still conscious and maintains a warming posture. Children or weak people are more likely to maintain a curled-up state due to insufficient muscle strength."

Old Zheng opened his mouth and then closed it again.

(End of this chapter)