[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner":3,"chapter-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-991":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Nation's Forensic Medical Examiner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2327686,4551,"Chapter 991","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-991",991,"\u003Cp>“Dad, let me introduce you—this is Officer Jiang Yuan, the lead investigator on the Xiao Ming case. He’s a forensic pathologist by profession, and he’s also skilled in fingerprints, bloodstains, and footprints. After examining a single footprint, he can determine the person who left it: their identity, age, height, and weight. His bloodstain analysis was… was a crucial technique in identifying the killer of my brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaoya’s description of Jiang Yuan’s abilities to her father was slightly exaggerated, mainly because she herself didn’t fully understand his methods. But her way of explaining was perfect for a layperson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Zaoyang hadn’t really been listening to Zhang Xiaoya’s introduction—he’d already known all the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang’s father rose and shook Jiang Yuan’s hand firmly, then placed his left hand over his right, gently patting Jiang Yuan’s palm as he spoke softly but deeply: “Thank you. Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaoya’s eyes instantly filled with tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was already in her late middle age, yet she rarely saw her father display such raw emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Jiang Yuan softly replied: “I’m sorry for your loss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you. Thank you.” Zhang’s father, who had spent decades mastering impromptu speeches, now seemed to have lost all ability to speak—his only response was pure emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Zhang Xiaoya saw her father’s tears pouring out in large drops, like sweat, cascading down his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang’s left hand released Jiang Yuan’s, and he wiped his eyes with his palm, but it did no good—more tears kept flowing steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave up trying to stop them, letting the tears roll freely, his face still lit with a bright, clear smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Zhang’s mother, who had been holding back her emotions all along, broke into uncontrollable sobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaoya froze. In her memory, even during the days right after her brother’s death, her parents had maintained basic emotional stability and handled everything with outward calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now she realized: there had never been that much calm or emotional control to begin with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emotional collapse isn’t unique to modern people—it’s just that the older generation learned to collapse in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaoya, who always projected a strong, dominant image at work, stared at her father and mother—both of whom had carefully applied makeup before leaving the house—and couldn’t hold back her emotions. Her tears streamed down, smearing her makeup into a messy blur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t cry—it’s good news. Xiao Ming’s name has been cleared. It’s good news!” Zhang Xiaoya said through her tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, those words shattered her mother completely: “Xiao Ming, my son… my son! Xiao Ming! Xiao Ming!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She trembled violently, unable to stand, and her daughter pulled her into a tight embrace, guiding her to a chair—yet she still shook uncontrollably, tears never stopping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Zhang Zaoyang’s emotions steadied. He took Jiang Yuan’s hand and sat with him at the tea table, smiling gently: “Forgive our display.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine,” Jiang Yuan could only scratch his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a forensic pathologist, you must often deal with grieving families, right?” Zhang Zaoyang asked casually. “Do you ever react like we just did?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan thought for a moment, then said: “Actually, I rarely interact with families. Usually, after I solve a case, my colleagues handle the follow-up procedures—I’m barely involved. Unless absolutely necessary for the investigation, I avoid direct contact with families altogether.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether working as a forensic pathologist or a detective, one inevitably encounters emotionally unstable families. But on the other hand, senior pathologists and detectives who don’t wish to handle such cases can always pass them off to junior staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan had been a junior for too short a time to have encountered many such families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zaoyang hadn’t expected this answer. He paused, then took the towel his granddaughter handed him and scrubbed his face hard, wiping away all traces of makeup and tears, revealing a face aged by time. He smiled again: “I didn’t expect we’d end up using our privileges after all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan shook his head: “For this case, I came here with a special task force of over twenty officers from headquarters. Also with us is Senior Inspector Liu Jinghui from the Shannan Provincial Public Security Bureau—he’s known in our province as the ‘King of Deduction,’ having once apprehended four criminals based solely on a single letter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan paused, then continued: “To meet our needs and respond to this case, the Zhengguang Bureau mobilized every single officer—thousands gave up their vacations. Patrol cars ran hundreds of kilometers daily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Previous investigative teams and officers who gathered leads over the past twenty years have revisited this case dozens of times. Their records pinpointed Zhang Xiao Ming’s movements in the days before his death down to the minute. There are also thousands of photographic negatives, video tapes, and other physical evidence—all still pristine after more than twenty years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To gather evidence, our officers endured harsh conditions, traveling across the entire country. The National Security Branch made special arrangements, allowing even our regular officers to fly within a 2,000-kilometer radius. The funding allocated by Zhengguang Bureau? It’s more than an ordinary person could earn in ten lifetimes. But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But…” Jiang Yuan looked at Zhang Zaoyang and said, “We didn’t do all this just because the Zhang family has privileges. We truly wanted to solve this case. Especially after learning that Zhang Xiao Ming’s death involved a spy hiding in the capital—everyone gave it their absolute best. That kind of dedication? No privilege can buy it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zaoyang sat there, stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was over seventy now, and the compliments he’d heard in his life could fill a library—organized and categorized with precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on this emotionally charged afternoon, Jiang Yuan’s words filled his heart completely, leaving it trembling long after they ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Youyou, Zhang Xiaoya’s daughter, walked over, sat gracefully on the tea table, and began brewing tea for her grandfather and Jiang Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was around twenty, her face full of youthful plumpness. She appeared calm, but her eyes kept glancing toward Jiang Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Youyou had never seen her godlike grandfather show such a side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire story of the Jianmen Academy case wasn’t a secret in this room—any Zhang family member who knew the truth could tell how impossibly difficult it had been to solve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because they understood how hard-won justice was, the Zhang family’s emotions were so overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before today, Tang Youyou had imagined Jiang Yuan as an utterly brilliant, supremely skilled, charismatic, and unwavering police officer. She never imagined that upon meeting him, he’d deliver such a flawless, brilliant, powerful, and resolute compliment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now did Zhang Zaoyang recover his composure. His face flushed as he nodded to Jiang Yuan, then turned to Tang Youyou: “Youyou, you must learn from Jiang Yuan. This—this is what true sincerity looks like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Youyou’s last bit of baby fat trembled: “Ah, yes, yes, yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1144,"2026-06-20T18:55:03.377Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","208c924ae1a3c4b3d88370efe2f6460368fa4e71093d51251aa7ccc62a2a6bb5","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-992","the-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-chapter-990",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-nation-s-forensic-medical-examiner-cover.jpg"]