CHAPTER 617: CHAPTER 402: TEARS OF THE OLD (PART 1)

"The one you just cut open, was it the pulmonary vein?" Zhang Songhe’s face was somewhat pale, but he was the most clear-headed among the Imperial Physicians.

Liu Qingsong said, "You could say that."

At this time, traditional Chinese medicine already had a profound understanding of the human body, yet these doctors only knew from the ancient sketches of human body meridians passed down to them; they had never seen them with their own eyes.

Zhang Songhe stared unblinkingly at the crisscrossed blood vessels and meridians, imprinting these internal blood vessels—whose locations he had only known roughly before—in his mind. Simultaneously, he was greatly shocked; Ran Yan seemed to know the human body like the back of her hand. With a single cut, the location was exactly right, and it seemed almost effortless for her to peel off the skin and flesh and effortlessly locate the pulmonary vein.

Zhang Songhe felt an urge stirring within him, wondering to what extent he could achieve if he held the scalpel. Even though thinking this made him feel very sinful, contradicting the common sense that "one must not damage the body," the thought grew wildly like grass in the wilderness after rain, uncontrollable.

As the abdominal cavity was opened, someone could not hold back anymore and began to vomit, not caring that the Emperor was present, and hastily covered his mouth and nose as he rushed out. Although this was rude, vomiting in front of the Emperor would have been even more inappropriate.

Since it was summer, the body had been placed at room temperature for six or seven hours after death, and the abdomen had started to decompose. Even though it was now in a cooler place, this could not completely stop the decomposition, unless it was below zero.

The dissection of the stomach was what Ran Yan had done most often; therefore, her movements were increasingly sharp and clean. She used forceps to pick up and cut a small hole in the peritoneum between the umbilicus and the xiphoid process, inserted the index and middle fingers of her left hand into the small hole, slightly lifted upward, and cut the peritoneum between her fingers.

The Imperial Physicians were drawn to her technique and concentrated; this substantially reduced their feeling of nausea.

Ran Yan’s scalpel followed the edge of the ribs to cut through the abdominal wall muscles, fully exposing the abdominal cavity. She carefully observed the situation inside the abdomen.

Liu Qingsong saw Zhang Songhe and the others concentrating and explained, "The spot she just picked up with her fingers is the peritoneum. The human body isn’t just about opening the chest or abdomen; inside, it isn’t just organs sitting there. This semi-transparent thing wraps and protects the organs. Organs like the stomach and intestines are completely encased in this membrane. If you want a clear view of these organs, you have to carefully peel away this layer first."

Ran Yan proceeded to peel away and remove the abdominal organs one by one. Her primary focus was to inspect the stomach and duodenum, which must not be cut open directly in the abdominal cavity. If there was a significant amount of content in the stomach, cutting it open would immediately spill it all over the abdominal cavity, making it impossible to clean up afterward.

Liu Qingsong immediately unfolded a thick white folded cloth, placing a glass plate on top for holding the organs.

"The victim’s internal organs are basically normal, but the kidneys might be damaged due to a severe blow to the lower back," Ran Yan said.

Emperor Li Shimin’s mood had gradually calmed from extreme anger, listening to Ran Yan’s words with almost no emotional fluctuation. What is called feeling utterly disheartened probably described Li Shimin’s feelings at the moment.

When Ran Yan cut open the stomach and duodenum, a severe stench instantly filled the room. Everyone could smell it clearly even with masks on. Even Li Shimin, who usually remained unfazed, frowned.

Ran Yan’s movement paused only for a moment, and as the smell subsided slightly, she bowed her head to inspect the stomach contents.

The contents of the corpse’s stomach were an important lesson in forensic medicine; the state and type of food digestion in the stomach could provide numerous clues.

"A strong smell of garlic," Liu Qingsong announced in a muffled voice.

The Imperial Physicians also respectfully focused their minds, discerned slightly, and quickly nodded in agreement, "Exactly!"

"What kind of meat is this?" Ran Yan used tweezers to pick out a small piece from it and placed it on the white folded cloth.

Liu Qingsong internally groaned, wasn’t this deliberately disgusting him? Moreover, it was already halfway digested, how could one tell what it was?

He braced himself and after a moment said, "It’s dark, but based on its appearance, it’s either beef or mutton. Pharmacist Zhou, wouldn’t you say?"

Liu Qingsong stuffed the item into Zhou Chu’s hands. The elderly man’s face turned dark, but since the Emperor was present, he couldn’t just dismiss it casually, so he had to study it earnestly, "Hmm, it looks like it."

In shared hardship, Zhou Chu finished observing and passed the items to the Medical Director below for a close examination by everyone.

"I heard that in the West Market, many Turkic merchants use black pepper and garlic to roast mutton. It is exceptionally flavorful, and there are two or three restaurants in the East Market that also offer it," Liu Qingsong said.

The stomachs of the people present churned with acid, and under such circumstances, no one could think of what delicious food was like.

"The food in the stomach was mostly intact, with a small amount having moved into the duodenum, leading me to judge that the victim had eaten within an hour before death. The contents included only tiny amounts of rice and meat, and borleng vegetables. The place where the victim dined must have been quite special," Ran Yan recalled the words Xiao Song had said and left it to others to conjecture about the murderer so she briefly mentioned it.

Borleng vegetables are spinach, which had been introduced from Nepal only a few years before, and were not widely cultivated. Due to its tender texture and flavor, superior to traditional purslane and swede, many restaurants monopolized its cultivation and charged a high price for dishes made from it.

Ran Yan looked at the swollen features of the corpse and suddenly felt a swell of sympathy. Bearing the pain all over her body, even facing expensive and delicious dishes was difficult to swallow.

After a thorough examination of the internal organs in the chest and abdomen, Ran Yan carefully cleaned them up and sewed all organs back into place. The openings in the chest and abdomen were large, and the skin thick; fine needles could barely sew them up, but Ran Yan managed to keep the exterior neat and tidy.

After finishing everything, at a glance, the body did not appear in disarray, but the parts of chest, abdomen, and hips had several neatly stitched seams. Once clothed, it would be unnoticeable.

Seeing the neatly dressed corpse, everyone felt as if the horrifying scene they had just witnessed was a dream, dizzily led out by the Pharmacist. At the doorway, they removed their cover gowns and gloves.

Walking forward from the curved corridor, the sun felt hotter, until the dazzling sunlight shone on them, and they awakened as if from a dream.

"My dear officials, go home today and cleanse yourselves of this grimness," Li Shimin said indifferently and then left.

The crowd hurriedly bowed, "Farewell to the Emperor."

After a moment, Ran Yan lifted her head and looked at the retreating figure of Li Shimin in black robes, which although usual, seemed exceptionally bleak for some reason. She reached up to remove the mask from her face and turned to bid farewell to the Imperial Physicians.

After Ran Yan had left, Zhang Songhe suddenly burst into tears, "I have devoted my life to medicine and thought I had grasped some of its essence, only to realize I am but a frog in a well, blinded by the leaf in front of me!"

In his words, there was sorrow but also joy.

...............

About the questions many have regarding the calmness of the characters in the novel.

Think about it, how many people died when Emperor Yang of Sui dug the Grand Canal, how many died during the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, how many died during the Xuanwu Gate Incident... Could the people of the Tang Dynasty not see these dead bodies?

Were the bodies from the Xuanwu Gate left uncollected, left to rot and stink?

I remember when the Great Tang attacked a Turkic troop and it was completely wiped out; a couple of months later, Li Shimin went over, took people to collect these soldiers’ remains and bury them... Could those bodies have looked pleasant? They still had to be collected piece by piece.

Ordinary people might see a corpse while walking down the road, sometimes even seeing many at a time. This cannot be compared to a modern, lawful society.

Moreover, if you think about it, you’ll realize the pattern in the novel. Generally, the court officials who watch Ran Yan conduct autopsies are older, and in other cases, Ran Yan only performs superficial external examinations.

Although the forensic genre necessitates some exaggeration and omission, it’s not written without thought.

I believe everyone has seen "Judge of Song Dynasty," where the crowd watching Song Ci conduct a post-mortem appears much calmer than those in this story. Comparatively, our bystanders are weak. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)