Chapter 170: Guest-Starring as a Coroner

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin's eyes darkened; the medicinal herbs in her own pharmacy were carefully selected, and the processing and manufacturing of the finished medicines underwent strict quality control, making it absolutely impossible for any case to result in death.

It was likely that someone did not value human life, but this time they dared not directly cause trouble at the hospital where the Emperor held shares; on the surface it seemed targeted at the pharmacy, but their true intentions were sinister.

If the matter escalated directly to the Jingcheng Prefecture office, how could the pharmacy survive, and how could the hospital proceed smoothly?

Jun Jun Zijin felt a fire burning in her heart but showed no sign of it on her face; she took out a silver ingot, stuffed it into a Yamen Runner's hand, and said:

"Brother Officer, please wait a moment; allow me to go to the hospital to give a few instructions."

The Yamen Runner did not refuse, showing even more respect toward Jun Jun Zijin.

Jun Jun Zijin found He Ling'er and gave her a series of instructions:

"Ling'er, you will hold the fort at the hospital. The people maintaining order around the hospital are all from Prince Chen's faction. I have left Feiyan here; if any emergency arises, have Feiyan come find me. I will be back shortly."

Last time, Prince Chen had arranged personnel for her to guard the hospital, and today they were conveniently deployed to maintain order at the hospital.

Regarding this incident, He Ling'er also understood the situation; she nodded heavily, her eyes revealing determination:

"Jun Zijin, go ahead and rest assured; I am here."

After hastily giving her instructions, Jun Jun Zijin took Jun Caicheng and followed the Yamen Runner to the Jingcheng Prefecture office.

Inside the Jingcheng Prefecture office, the atmosphere was solemn and oppressive. Three corpses lay quietly on the ground, surrounded by Yamen Runners and onlookers from the common people.

Magistrate Tian of the Jingcheng Prefecture sat in the main hall, his face gloomy; upon seeing Jun Jun Zijin enter, he immediately greeted her respectfully and said politely:

"Princess, you have finally arrived. These three died in a miserable manner; the families insist they died suddenly after taking medicine from Tong'an Tang Pharmacy, yet the medicines they consumed were different."

Magistrate Tian stood beside Jun Jun Zijin, explaining the details of the two other deaths in detail:

"Princess, all three share a common characteristic: their lips were black, their faces green, and their eyes bulging; these are signs of poisoning. The families of the deceased insist that before they died, besides taking medicine from Tong'an Tang, there were no other abnormalities."

Jun Jun Zijin frowned slightly and asked:

"Has the coroner performed an autopsy?"

Magistrate Tian wore a bitter expression, as if he had a belly full of grievances to pour out:

"The coroner has already dissected two of the corpses, but the strange thing is that no poison was found in the stomachs or throat tubes; nothing was discovered at all."

"Then it wasn't a problem with the medicine they took; why did you summon my sister? She is not a constable."

Jun Caicheng said to Magistrate Tian with a hint of confusion.

Magistrate Tian hurriedly forced a smile, his facial wrinkles crumpling together:

"Young Master Jun, the Princess possesses superior medical skills and broad knowledge; furthermore, the people of Jingcheng all know that Tong'an Tang is an enterprise under the Princess's ownership. Now that this incident has occurred, if we do not invite you, it will be difficult to satisfy the public. We hope the Princess can help uncover the truth; otherwise, who knows how many more people might die because of this. Moreover, these rumors and slanders are extremely detrimental to your reputation and that of Tong'an Tang."

"Sister, what do you think? If it is not a problem with our pharmacy, and if we cannot help, we will leave; I want to see who dares to make things difficult for you."

Jun Caicheng stood before Jun Jun Zijin, casting a glance at Magistrate Tian.

Jun Jun Zijin shook her head slightly and said to Jun Caicheng:

"No need. I can give it a try; this is a good opportunity to teach you about autopsies."

Jun Jun Zijin understood that Magistrate Tian was not wrong; if the cause of this matter could not be found, many more people would die because of it.

Moreover, the person behind this was truly vicious; although it seemed targeted at her pharmacy, if handled poorly, the hospital would not be able to extricate itself either.

The person behind the hospital was the Emperor; if something went wrong, the Emperor might blame her.

That person played a very good game of chess; how could she let him have his way?

"Excellent, thank you, Princess, for stepping in."

Magistrate Tian of the Jingcheng Prefecture, who had been crying, suddenly brightened in the eyes, finally showing a genuine smile.

"Do not thank me too early; I can only try my best, after all, I am merely a Physician."

Jun Jun Zijin poured a bucket of cold water on him. To be honest, this was her first time guest-starring as a coroner.

Magistrate Tian did not mind; with a face full of smiles, he dared not be negligent and immediately ordered the Yamen Runners to carry the remaining corpse into a clean room.

He did not dare to let this deity go to the gloomy and filthy morgue.

Just as everyone entered the room and at the very moment the door was closing, a voice rang out:

"Wait, wait for me!"

Guo Guo Yuanzheng appeared before everyone, running all the way and panting heavily.

Seeing Guo Guo Yuanzheng covered in sweat, everyone was stunned; Jun Jun Zijin raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.

"Guo Guo Yuanzheng, you are..."

Jun Jun Zijin broke the silence first.

Guo Guo Yuanzheng took a deep breath, calmed his breathing, and said:

"Princess, I originally came to ask you a question; coincidentally, I found you performing an autopsy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity; please let me come in and observe."

Guo Guo Yuanzheng did not wait for Jun Jun Zijin's answer; while speaking, he squeezed his way inside.

What kind of place is a government office? As a Court Physician, he could not enter arbitrarily, but once he got inside, there was no way to get him out!

Seeing that Jun Jun Zijin did not stop him, Magistrate Tian of the Jingcheng Prefecture felt he could not say anything either. Fine, it was just one more person; if he wanted to watch, let him watch.

Guazi had already brought the instruments, and everything was ready; apart from that set of silver-glistening surgical knives, Jun Jun Zijin had nothing particularly special about her.

Yet, that set of specially made stainless steel surgical knives was enough to make everyone in the room marvel.

"What kind of knives are these? They are so peculiar!"

The coroner stepped forward again and could not help but ask Jun Jun Zijin; his eyes, staring at the surgical knives, almost popped out of his head.

Compared to his own set of rust-stained knives, Lady Lady Qingping's set could be called a perfect work of art, while his own were utterly unwatchable.

"Surgical knives, used specifically for surgeries."

Jun Jun Zijin explained without being stingy.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The coroner could not help but reach out his hand, wanting to touch this set of knives.

Just as his hand reached halfway, Jun Jun Zijin gently stopped him.

"Don't move; this is very sharp."

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin glanced at the coroner, who looked somewhat disappointed, and then said:

"Once the autopsy here is finished, I'll give you this set of knives."

Hearing this, the coroner's eyes lit up; after repeatedly expressing thanks, he stepped back to the side.

Jun Jun Zijin first examined the corpse's ears, nose, and mouth, found nothing unusual, then pulled the Bai Bu down from the body to expose the bare upper torso.

Jun Jun Zijin clasped her hands together and bowed three times to the corpse. The dead take precedence; this is respect for the deceased.

Only after finishing all this did Jun Jun Zijin take out the scalpel.

She used a Y-shaped incision method, cutting from the sternum down to the abdominal cavity in a Y shape, opening the abdomen, and then removing the organs one by one for examination.

While dissecting, she explained the process to Jun Chengcai.

At first, Jun Chengcai's face looked somewhat grim, but he soon calmed down, not even willing to blink his eyes.