Chapter 15 – Opening The Coffin To Examine The Corpse

When the people of the Wang family heard such arrogant words, they were extremely furious and wanted to reprimand the person. However, the identity of the person made their legs become like jelly as they knelt down and kowtowed.

The one who arrived was Feng Huan, the widely-known Prince Si Zhao. Riding a tall and mighty horse, he was in Chinese wear and was surrounded by dozens of troops from the black cavalry camp. Tall, imposing, and powerful, those from the Yamen could not even be compared to them.

The governor hurriedly went forward and gave him a bow while complaining in his heart. For him to arrive here, did he provoke Yama1? As the governor of the capital, he was not someone mediocre, but to Prince Si Zhao, he was nothing. Besides, even though other officials or children from noble families would give him face2, Feng Huan had always done things his own way. Apart from the governor, he was also a wild and unyielding person in front of the other officials. For the officials, they not only accepted it but also appreciated it very much, thinking that this was the mark of royalty. Not only that, even officials who kept their silence may also be demoted, so there was no one who would dare to admonish that Feng Huan had misconducts.

Feng Huan got down from his horse with his cloak flaring behind him and snorted coldly, “For an issue to involve someone’s life, it is of great importance. If you are unable to settle such a matter, then you might as well resign from your post!”

With his forehead covered in sweat, the governor’s heart was beating faster than usual. “This really is…”

Despite that, Feng Huan did not listen to his explanation as he went directly to the grave and looked at Madam Wu. “Was it you who raised this matter to court?”

Madam Wu bowed hurriedly. Although she was also afraid of Feng Huan, she did not cower. “Yes, it was me.”

At this moment, several elders of the Wang family opened their mouths to condemn her and requested Feng Huan to let the dead rest in peace. Despite their fear of Prince Si Zhao, they would not compromise to such a matter that easily. After all, this would affect the family fengshui, and they would not step back even if there were officials around.

However, Feng Huan did not pay any attention to them. When his eyes briefly swept through those people, the area became silent instantly. “If nothing can be found, the people from the Wang family will have the authority to deal with you. Do you have any doubts?”

Madam Wu knelt down and said, “I am willing to bear all the consequences.”

Feng Huan nodded. Unheeded by the mournful wailing of the people from the Wang family, he waved his hand. “Dig the grave up and open the coffin!”

Hearing this, the Wangs began to cry and howl one after another, but at this moment, those troops from the black cavalry camp pulled out their swords, making a terrifying noise and silencing everyone. All of them then knelt down and did not dare to make any further noise.

Although the law of DaYou stipulated that the son of heaven would be punished like the common people when they broke the law, people in absolute power were always shown greater mercy – they would be allowed to return after some years of exile. Such punishment may not seem extreme, but it could actually cause the common people to lose their lives and destroy their families.

Essentially, in the face of such absolute power, fengshui becomes vastly insignificant, as no one would dare to use their life to oppose.

The Yamen runners then took up their tools to unearth the coffin. As they were under the ominous supervision of a group of soldiers, the coffin was quickly dug out, and it could be seen to be of good quality. Although it had been three years, the coffin had not been damaged and was still fairly brand-new after getting rid of the soil clinging to it.

The moment when the coffin was lifted out, Madam Wu could not help crying. She kowtowed and burned joss paper in front of the coffin. “Husband, forgive Hui niang for disturbing your rest, as I did not want your death to remain unknown and uncertain.”

Zhuang Zhong also knelt down with MadamWu and accompanied her to burn joss paper together. As the people from the Lu family were quite emotional, especially Lu balang, Madam Wu had not let them come together with her. She also told Zhuang Zhong to dress as a manservant in order to conceal his identity. In the case that nothing could be found, his reputation would not suffer significant damage then.

Feng Huan sat on a round-backed red sandalwood chair as he drank tea leisurely. There were also people holding an umbrella over him while he was being fanned. For those who were not aware of what happened, they would have thought that he was here to enjoy the scenery.

HouShu whispered into Feng Huan’s ear, “To be able to see this monk again is really too coincidental. Is he purposely hanging around you with the intention to get intimate3?”

Feng Huan grabbed a handful of fruits from the table and threw them at HouShu’s face. He then clapped his hands and stood up. “Do you think I would not be impeached for indulging myself in playthings in such a serious situation?”

Hou Shu’s mouth twitched. Has Prince Si Zhao ever feared impeachment? Besides, when they were going around killing bandits, he had also gone about it with such an attitude. To put on such a pretense was really unbearable and made people’s teeth ache.

Feng Huan ended up standing three feet away from the coffin, beside Zhuang Zhong. However, Zhuang Zhong did not notice him as his eyes were closely observing the actions of the Yamen runners, full of worry.

When the governor saw Prince Si Zhao coming forward to examine the process, he did not dare to take it lightly and ordered the post-mortem examiner to do an extremely extensive autopsy. It would be hard for him to keep his life if anything were to go wrong. The post-mortem examiner also trembled under the pressure.

Although Madam Wu asked Zhuang Zhong to examine the corpse, he was also told to refrain from stepping in from the start. If the post-mortem examiner the governor had requested could discover something, it would be the best-case scenario. Besides, it would also not be too late if he stepped in later. Had it not been the last resort, Madam Wu would have preferred if Zhuang Zhong did not step in lest it affected his future as an official.

Zhuang Zhong also hoped that the post-mortem examiner would be able to find out something. Although he had always known that DaYou’s post-mortem examiners were not experts, he could not help but doubt whether they had intensely studied this field. After all, many of them took on this task with their jobs as executioners and pig killers. Moreover, forensic studies have always been a very complex subject. It was not only limited to the science and technology, medicine, etc. present at that time, but also the quality of forensic work and experience, as those would greatly influence the results. Nonetheless, the quality of forensic examinations should not be that bad, as the prosperity of DaYou was similar to that of the Song Dynasty, and it should have many talented people too.

However, as soon as he saw the actions of the post-mortem examiner, he was utterly disappointed. The proficiency of the autopsy conducted in DaYou was far inferior to that of the Song Dynasty. There were no defensive measures, and no preliminary arrangement work. Most importantly, even if the corpse was not taken out, there should be the usage of bright light. By just examining it directly, you will practically find nothing!

Zhuang Zhong finally could not help saying, “Even though it is sunny today, the coffin was placed pretty deep, so how can you examine it clearly?”

Under the eyes of Prince Si Zhao, the post-mortem examiner was already very nervous to the point that his hands were shaking. So when he heard such words, his whole body turned soft like jelly. How could he have not known this? It was just that he did not want to act so boldly in front of Prince Si Zhao, so he had tried to make do with it. When he saw that the expression on Prince Si Zhao’s face was not good, seemingly dissatisfied with him, he turned his eyes and angrily rebuked Zhuang Zhong, “Who are you to teach me how to do things? The body has to be examined once before it can be moved again.”

As such words were not totally wrong, Zhuang Zhong did not justify himself. However, when he saw that the skeleton was about to be carried out, he quickly stopped him. “Wait a minute!”

At this moment, the governor had also become impatient. “Boy, do not go around interrupting people without reason.”

Zhuang Zhong bowed. “My Lord, Uncle Wang has been under the ground for three years, and he would not have been dug up without reason. It is just that there are so many people here now, and I do not think that Uncle Wang would want to let so many people see the state he is in after death. I kindly request you to close off this area, as it would be best if strangers were not able to peep in.”

Madam Wu also said, “Please give my husband the last bit of decency he could have.”

The governor subconsciously gazed at Feng Huan, who proceeded to wave his hand with an expressionless face. The troops from the black calvary camp then retreated dozens of steps. Seeing this, the people from the Wang family also left with the exception of only a few respected elders and Wang Gui.

After everything settled down, the post-mortem examiner attempted to lift the skeleton out again. However, his rough handling caused Zhuang Zhong to oppose without much thought. No matter how good-natured the post-mortem examiner was, he was already forty years old. Hence, he flared up when he was interrupted by Zhuang Zhong continuously. “This brat, are you trying to cause trouble?”

Zhuang Zhong was aware that his own behavior was improper. Still, as a forensic examiner, he had responsibilities and could not accept actions that may cause damage to the bones, which would gravely mislead the judgment made later.

“Can I be the one to lift Uncle Wang out? You can observe beside me, and if there is anything wrong with it, you can just say it.”

As it was not a significant act, the post-mortem examiner agreed to it. After all, with the boy’s insistence on causing trouble and a lack of objection from Prince Si Zhao, he could only tolerate it.

Zhuang Zhong first ignited Cang Zhu4 and Chinese honey locust5 in front of the coffin before taking out the gloves and a mask in his bag and putting them on. In order to conceal them, the rubber gloves were covered with white cloth gloves made by Madam Wu.

Zhuang Zhong started by examining the skeleton once. The soft tissue on the surface of the body had already rotted and disappeared, and there was also no obvious scarring on the surface. It was only after his preliminary examination that he carefully moved the corpse to the straw mat placed on one side.

After what happened, the post-mortem examiner had stopped fearing Prince Si Zhao. Even the troublesome boy had not angered him, so he should not be as vicious as he was rumored. He conducted a careful examination, but after about two-quarters of an hour, he shook his head. “I did not find anything strange. According to what Madam Wu and the people from the Wang family said before, I think it was true that he died of an illness.”

As soon as Wang Gui heard this, he directly pointed to Madam Wu and angrily scolded, “Look, the post-mortem examiner also said so. Sister-in-law, you should not be paranoid all day long. The sudden death of my brother had also made us all sad, but you should not have wild thoughts and wronged an innocent person because of this. That night I was by my brother’s side, so are you questioning whether I may have done something sinister?”

“You are so noisy. Shut up!” Prince Si Zhao, who had never spoken, suddenly became angry and frightened Wang Gui. It was here that Wang Gui remembered his own status, kneeling down and begged for mercy.

Hou Shu then ordered two black cavalry soldiers to drag Wang Gui away. When the other elders saw this, they did not dare to make any noise. In their hearts, they did not understand how they may have provoked this Yama. Was he close to the Lu family? However, there was no one who was close to Prince Si Zhao, so it was impossible to gain such a powerful helping hand.

“You, go and take a look,” Feng Huan pointed to Zhuang Zhong and said.

Zhuang Zhong who was already restless and itching to make trouble, was surprised. The others around also felt that this was something incomprehensible.

The governor said, “My lord, human life is of great importance and one should not play with it. How could we let someone outside of the profession do an autopsy? Besides, what could he find anyway? ”

Feng Huan raised his eyebrows. “If I say it is fine, it will be fine.”

Hearing this, the governor did not dare to say anymore. Meanwhile, Zhuang Zhong was astonished. How could Prince Si Zhao know that he knew how to perform an autopsy? Was “post-mortem examiner” printed on his head? If so, why did the other people not know?

When Feng Huan saw Zhuang Zhong not moving for some time, Feng Huan directly swept the horsewhip in his hand at Zhuang Zhong’s bottom and impatiently said, “Why are you still not going?!”

It was then that Zhuang Zhong jolted back to the present, pressed these doubts to the back of his head, and ran to Wang Fu’s skeleton to examine it carefully.

He began to examine the skull first. He peeled off the hair and placed it aside before washing the skull with the clean water he had prepared before.

Such a scene caused many around to feel dizzy. For a fair boy to handle the skull so skillfully is really… Most importantly, to see the skull washed with clean water really made one’s hair stand.

Madam Wu could not bear to see it but she persisted. If she reacted strangely, Zhuang Zhong would be unable to continue.

The autopsies conducted in DaYou were lagging behind, but the reason was not that the people here were stupid, but that their customs hindered it. To them, the touching of the bones belonging to the dead was a very unlucky thing. Even the act of moving graves was carefully conducted, so one could imagine the issues surrounding autopsies. Only with enough corpses could there be research, and people could obtain the relevant information. However, as a profession discriminated against by the world and despised by others, most people were unwilling to deal with post-mortem examiners. Besides, in the modern world, forensic studies in the past started with slow development and regressions, but it eventually developed with China leading in this field when compared to foreign countries; the earliest forensic compilations also came from China. Zhuang Zhong was in a similar plight, and he had also been discriminated against because of his occupation, and was unable to find a dating partner.

The post-mortem examiner was originally disdainful, but now, his eyes were burning with anger. He would have done the same action before Zhuang Zhong! If one did not clean it properly, how could one examine it clearly? However, with the family around during the autopsy, he did not have the courage, as doing so would only cause him to be beaten flat by them!

Despite the presence of Prince Si Zhao, an old Wang family elder could not help speaking out, “This is a great disrespect, a great disrespect!”

Feng Huan played with the horsewhip in his hand, and said unhurriedly, “He was already dead, but there is still someone helping him to wash up. This is such a blessing.”

Translator’s Notes:

-O.O Almost ten chapters later, we finally get to see the ML interacting with Zhuang Zhong! I hope that he will be appearing more in the future chapters XD Feng Huan also seems to have pretty dark humour though… I likey

1

“阎罗王” (yan luo wang) refers to the Yama or the King of Hell present among the Hindu and Buddist deities.

2

Giving face means to show/treat a person with respect, honor, and dignity. It is used primarily among the Chinese and their culture.

3

The author used “自荐枕席” (zi jian zhen xi) here which usually refers to a woman getting intimate with a man (it could be sexual or non-sexual depending on the context it was used in).

4

“苍术” (Cang Zhu) also known as black atractylodes rhizome or Rhizoma Atractylodes, is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. It usually acts on the spleen and stomach meridians where it can “dry dampness”. Since the author did not specify the purpose, I am not sure of its usage in this case. However, I suspected that it was probably used to curb nausea and vomiting because normal people usually cannot face a corpse without feeling queasy.

5

“皂角” (Zao Jiao) also known as Gleditsia sinensis or Chinese honey locust is one of the “50 fundamental herbs” used in traditional Chinese medicine. As several studies revealed that the chemical constituents extracted from it showed good “anti-bacterial, anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative bioactivities”, I am assuming that Zhuang Zhong had ignited the seeds for disinfecting purposes.