Xu Jing's words were no less shocking than a sudden clap of thunder on a sunny day.
Everyone present stared at her with an expression of "Did I hear that right?", and Wu Wuzuo was the first to react, immediately feeling humiliated: "Where did this blonde girl come from! Are you suggesting that my autopsy results are incorrect?! Performing an autopsy may not be a skill for the stage, but it's not something an outsider can interfere with!
Even if you are trying to defend yourself, you shouldn't speak such nonsense!"
Wu Wuzuo, although new here, had assisted the County Magistrate of Anping County in investigating hundreds of cases, and could instantly discern the relationships among these people in the court.
This arrogant and ignorant woman was clearly the one accused in court!
The members of the Peng Family immediately chimed in—
"Yeah! What do you, a woman, know! Don't tell me the professional forensic doctor knows less than you do?!"
"Struggling is pointless! The evidence is overwhelming; you killed the Lord!"
Xu Jing coldly curled her lips, ignoring the clamoring members of the Peng Family, and looked at the forensic doctor sternly, saying, "If I'm an outsider, then please, as an insider, tell me why you used a silver needle test after examining the wound on the victim's chest? Why was there a hint of hesitation in your voice when you reported the autopsy results to Vice Minister Xiao?"
"This..."
Wu Wuzuo was shocked, having never expected this woman to notice even such details!
However, Xu Jing didn't give him a chance to speak, raising her hand and pointing to Peng Shi lying on the ground, speaking coldly: "You used the silver needle test because you suspected the death harbored other secrets!
You hesitated when reporting the autopsy results because the wound on the victim's chest was not the fatal one; in fact, it was inflicted postmortem!"
Xu Jing's words were decisive, filled with certainty, as if she had personally witnessed someone stabbing Peng Shi's chest after his death.
Even members of the Peng Family were temporarily speechless, shaken by Xu Jing's sudden surge of momentum.
Wu Wuzuo looked at Xu Jing in disbelief, exclaiming, "You... How did you know this?! No, no, I should ask, do you also know how to perform an autopsy?!"
This almost suggested that Xu Jing's words were accurate, not just baseless ramblings!
The wound on Peng Shi's chest indeed occurred postmortem!
Aunt Xue couldn't contain herself any longer, shrieking, "What is going on here! Are you implying that you lied earlier?!"
Falsifying autopsy results is a serious crime of obstructing official duties!
Wu Wuzuo suddenly couldn't care about wondering how Xu Jing could perform an autopsy, his face turning iron blue as he desperately waved his hands and looked a bit flustered at Xiao Yi, saying: "Vice Minister Xiao, I... I absolutely did not lie, I wouldn't dare to lie!"
Xiao Yi had been silently watching this farce, without any hint of surprise on his face, as though he had already known there was something suspicious about Wu Wuzuo's judgment.
He didn't speak immediately but rather looked deeply at Xu Jing before saying softly: "In the courtroom, this is no joke; tell everything you know at once."
The man's voice was low but stern, something a mere local forensic doctor could not bear, and Wu Wuzuo immediately went weak at the knees, kneeling and trembling: "Yes... yes, I dare not conceal anything!
When I first saw the wound on the deceased's chest, I indeed had doubts. I have been in this business for decades, handling at least a few hundred bodies, and have researched some wounds on corpses.
The wounds inflicted on a person before and after death differ..."
"Indeed, specifically, the wounds formed before death will have outwardly turned edges, significantly expanded, and generally have clotted blood at the site, with localized redness and swelling visible near the wound..."
A soft but cold female voice suddenly interrupted Wu Wuzuo's words, shocking those present as they looked at the woman standing calmly in the center of the courtroom, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
How did this woman know all of this!
Wu Wuzuo couldn't close his mouth for a long time; this woman... what she described was even more comprehensive than what he knew!
At that time, the profession of a forensic doctor wasn't particularly developed, and if people had other options, who would want to work with the dead? Many places didn't even have a proper forensic doctor; they would just pull a butcher or a hooligan off the street to perform autopsies, so there were no professional or systematic autopsy techniques.
Many forensic doctors relied on years of autopsy experience, figuring out some methods on their own, but most kept it to themselves; no one considered widely promoting these methods. What's more, due to lack of practice and verification, many methods were half-understood and even contained errors.
Thus, Wu Wuzuo, relying on years of autopsy experience, instinctively found something wrong with the wound on Peng Shi's chest, suspecting it resembled wounds formed postmortem, but he wasn't very sure about it himself.
Upon seeing this delicate woman explain the differences between ante-mortem and post-mortem wounds so thoroughly, he was shocked into silence.
Xu Jing seemed oblivious to the strange looks from those around her and walked to Peng Shi's corpse, outlining his wound in the air with her fingers with a slight curl to her lips: "But it's evident that the wound on Peng Shi's chest completely contradicts what I just described.
The wound edges are not outwardly turned, nor significantly opened, and the area around the wound isn't red or swollen but slightly pale instead, clearly indicating a postmortem wound!
Moreover, when the wound was formed, it was clear that the deceased had been dead for a while."
Her words fell upon a courtroom dead silent as if lifeless.
Even Xiao Yi, seated at the head, could hardly conceal his shock as he looked at her, seeming to truly notice this woman for the first time since their reunion.
This woman's transformation was not just great; it was earth-shattering!
The most crucial question was, where did she learn all this from?
Quickly, someone voiced the heartfelt question of everyone present—
"This... how do you know these things! Surely you're not just making things up to exonerate yourself here!"
The speaker was, once again, Aunt Xue.
He Xiang also quickly chimed in: "Exactly! You're just a mysterious woman who fell into misfortune and arrived at our Hutou Village, where did you learn all this nonsense from?! Vice Minister Xiao, you mustn't be deceived by this woman!"
Xu Jing glanced at them coolly, her eyes slowly shifting to the man at the head.
He watched her with a composed handsome face, his deep and piercing eyes full of scrutiny over her, yet he said nothing, seemingly permitting her to continue.
Xu Jing slightly raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly: "As the saying goes, 'There is a golden house in books.' When I was young, I had no other hobbies but to read miscellaneous books. Most of these things were learned from reading.
As for whether I'm talking nonsense, you may not trust me, but you should trust the county government's forensic doctor.
Dare I ask, Wu Wuzuo, am I correct?"
Luckily, the original Xu had spent a long period living in a countryside manor, a life which, even Xiao Yi or the Xu Family, could not fully understand, much less analyze.
Not far away, Chunyang and Chunxiang's faces turned slightly pale, their expressions complex.
In fact, they were no less surprised than others in the courtroom.
Listening to what the lady said, they were both astonished and perplexed.
The lady did enjoy reading miscellaneous books, but most of what she read were romantic novels; did those novels really teach how to perform autopsies?
Could it be that during romantic trysts, these scholars and beauties discussed the ways of autopsies?
This... the author's taste was a bit too bizarre!
With Xu Jing's words, everyone's gaze immediately shifted "swish swish swish" onto Wu Wuzuo.