Miss Truth

Ran Yan lit some Atractylodes and Gleditsia sinensis in front of the coffin, and then put on gloves, carefully examining the skeletal remains inside the coffin. The corpse had been buried for some time; information and trace evidence around the body would gradually disappear with the influence of the environment, vegetation, and weather. Furthermore, the skeletal remains had been moved, destroying their initial condition, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of the examination.

Based on everything presented by the skeleton, Ran Yan deduced that this was a woman between twenty-four and thirty years of age. The pelvis bore obvious childbirth scars, and the bones had a pervasive blackish hue, which was quite startling to behold. In such a case, one should suspect that the deceased had died of poisoning. As for what poison, Ran Yan’s first thought was arsenic.

However, not all bodies that die from poisoning turn black, nor do all blackened bodies result from poisoning. Human bones can also turn black when oxidized or degraded by organic materials. Therefore, it could only be considered suspicious.

The main component of arsenic is, well, arsenic. If the deceased truly died from arsenic poisoning, then arsenic would inevitably be present in the bones. However, the Tang Dynasty lacked advanced instruments, so how could one confirm the presence of toxins in the deceased’s bones?

This was indeed a problem. Ran Yan glanced at Su Fu, who would rather expose a body than not examine it at all. Was he overly confident in her, thinking that if she couldn’t get results, then no one in the Great Tang could? Or was he certain that no one could produce results, and so he dared to agree, merely looking for someone to fill the role?

Su Fu, too, keenly sensed her gaze and looked up, catching only a flash of amusement in her eyes—a confidence, a certainty of success. Su Fu indifferently shifted his gaze, watching her continue the examination.

After observing, Ran Yan pressed and kneaded the skeleton inch by inch until she noticed something unusual when she squeezed a section of the spine. She beckoned someone holding a torch to come closer and carefully observed that there was a crack between the second and third sections of the sternum.

The crack contained black residue, likely left over as the body’s soft tissues oxidized and decomposed. This meant that the crack was definitely not created by the people who moved the body. However, whether it was caused before or after the death of the deceased required further judgment.

This area was close to the heart and lungs, making the crack especially worthy of contemplation.