Xu Jing, however, is unaware that while she is observing the corpse, someone else is observing her.
Xiao Yi stares intently at Xu Jing, who is almost unblinkingly looking at the corpse on the ground without a trace of fear on her face. His eyes narrow slightly, and his brow unconsciously furrows tighter.
Although from every aspect, he does not want to have any further involvement with this woman,
meeting her again this time, she constantly agitates his nerves, conveying to him that she is highly suspicious.
Xiao Yi is not someone who likes to seek trouble, but as a court official and a legitimate heir of a noble family, his nature is inherently suspicious.
Could this woman's sudden drastic change have some underlying reason?
Could this reason be related to him? Could it pose any threat to him?
Before he can ascertain these matters, it seems he is unable to immediately draw a clear boundary with this woman.
As these thoughts run through Xiao Yi's mind, he presses his lips into a thin line, retracts his gaze from Xu Jing, and looks at the forensic doctor examining the corpse.
The forensic doctor's surname is Wu, the only forensic doctor in Anping County, and he previously assisted with the examinations in the county's cases.
He carefully examines Peng Shi's body from head to toe, occasionally lifting the eyelids and pinching the body, saying, "The deceased's body is already in advanced rigor mortis, with the time of death estimated within twelve hours. Aside from the wound on the chest, there are no obvious external injuries..."
Upon seeing the wound on Peng Shi's chest, he becomes especially serious, even undoing Peng Shi's clothing and bending down to take a closer look for quite a while.
Soon, a look of slight puzzlement appears on his face as he suddenly retrieves a long silver needle from his toolkit. After wiping it with soap water, he inserts it into the deceased's mouth.
The members of the Peng Family are clearly quite astonished to see the forensic doctor's action.
Isn't this test only conducted when poisoning is suspected?!
Does this forensic doctor actually suspect that their Lord might have been poisoned?
Aunt Xue can't help but exclaim, "What's the matter with you, forensic doctor! It's obvious our Lord was stabbed to death! Do you even know how to conduct an autopsy properly!"
Xu Jing subtly glances at Mrs. Cao and Manager Mu standing in front, noticing Mrs. Cao's face turning slightly pale, while Manager Mu remains expressionless, his eyes fixed intently on the forensic doctor on the ground.
He Xiang supports Mrs. Cao, her eyebrows tightly furrowed, seemingly a bit tense and confused.
Xiao Yi looks at them, then forcefully raps the gavel, saying sternly, "Silence!"
After a long while, the forensic doctor finally removes the silver needle from the corpse's mouth, revealing a noticeable darkened section at the end of the needle!
A muted gasp of disbelief reverberates through the courtroom, as everyone present looks at the silver needle in shock.
The silver needle...it actually turned black!
Could it be that Peng Shi was really poisoned?!
At this moment, the forensic doctor speaks, "Everyone, please do not rush to conclusions. The silver needle turning black does not necessarily mean the deceased was poisoned; it could've been tainted by something foul in the corpse. We need to wash it with soap water first. If the blackness doesn't fade, then it indicates poisoning."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jing can't help but pull at the corners of her mouth.
This forensic doctor seems to be quite capable. He is correct; the needle turning black does not necessarily indicate poisoning, but it's not simply due to some filth either.
The principle behind the silver needle test is that when silver comes into contact with toxic substances containing sulfur, it forms a black layer of silver sulfide, but it can also turn black when in contact with hydrogen sulfide produced by the putrefaction of a corpse.
Upon hearing the forensic doctor's words, everyone cannot help but fixate on the silver needle in his hand as they watch him take a clean cloth, dip it in some soap water, and vigorously wipe the blackened part of the needle.
Soon, he unfolds the cloth, and the commotion in the courtroom intensifies.
—The blackness on the silver needle was wiped away!
Sitting at the head of the courtroom, Xiao Yi involuntarily knits his brow as he looks at the silver needle in the forensic doctor's hand.
The forensic doctor, seeing this, lowers the needle and turns to face Xiao Yi, bowing as he says, "Vice Minister Xiao, I have meticulously examined this corpse…"
He hesitates as if somewhat uncertain, continuing, "This corpse was indeed stabbed in the chest with a knife, and the murder weapon is the knife that was found sticking in the corpse at the scene!"
Just as he finishes speaking, He Xiang can't help but exclaim agitatedly, "I said, how could our Lord have been poisoned! He was precisely stabbed to death by this vile woman!"
"This vile woman has the audacity to plead her innocence! It must be her, the murderer, right? And Vice Minister Xiao has wasted his effort!"
"This ruthless, vile woman should be executed immediately! Her two maids must have been her accomplices and should be executed together!"
Chunyang and Chunxiang, who had just managed to kindle a glimmer of hope, turned pale as they looked at the scene in disbelief.
They hurriedly turned to look at their lady, only to find her face tense, lips tightly pressed, brows deeply furrowed, as she stared peculiarly at Peng Shi on the ground.
Chunyang and Chunxiang only assumed their lady was too overwhelmed to react, and Chunxiang couldn't contain herself any longer, thudding to her knees, anxiously pleading, "Vice Minister Xiao, our lady is truly innocent! We implore Vice Minister Xiao to seek clarity!"
At the same time, they secretly hope that despite what the forensic doctor has said, Vice Minister Xiao's brilliance should reveal that their lady is not the culprit.
It's impossible... it's impossible not to see it!
However, Xiao Yi just remains silent for a long moment, his eyes dark.
Xu Jing turns to look at him, and after a while, finally sees him thinly part his lips, speaking in a calm voice, "Since this is Wu Wuzuo's judgment, I will of course take it seriously. Guards..."
At this, not just Chunyang and Chunxiang, but even Xu Jing's eyes widened slightly, and she let out a cold laugh shortly after.
Very well, she thought her transformation seemed a bit too calm for this man, turns out he was waiting for this.
She couldn't believe that with Xiao Yi's abilities, he couldn't see the oddities in Wu Wuzuo's behavior just now.
Yet he makes no mention of it, only stating that he will take Wu Wuzuo's judgment seriously.
This man is clearly probing her, indirectly challenging her.
She could understand why he would test her this way, but as a fellow investigator, she couldn't agree with using perfunctory means to test others while conducting a case.
If she didn't possess any investigative capability herself, perhaps she would have been pushed to the brink by him in an instant.
Xu Jing, barely concealing a smile, looked at the man seated above, then suddenly stepped forward, her voice cold, "Vice Minister Xiao, I do not accept Wu Wuzuo's judgment. I request to prove my own innocence!"