The neighboring courtyard had an underground ice room, and the corpse was placed in the room above the ice room.
After leaving the tea room, one could directly reach the neighboring courtyard through the winding corridor.
Early on, two Pharmacists had been waiting in the courtyard, "We greet Your Majesty."
Li Shimin slightly raised his hand, and the Eunuch beside him immediately said, "You two may dispense with the formalities, lead the way."
The two lit lanterns and led the way. Ran Yan wondered to herself why they would need lanterns in broad daylight! But she soon thought that it might be an ancient custom; after all, it was not causing any harm.
Walking along the winding corridor, the buildings on either side seemed to get denser the further they went, and the view became narrower. By the time they reached the end, a chill could be felt, indicating that this place saw no sunlight at all.
Upon further consideration, it seemed that each building around could receive sunlight for about three to four hours, but this spot was exactly at the intersection of shadows from both sides. Throughout the year, not a single day of sunlight reached here, and right underneath lay an ice room.
The door was locked, but one of the Pharmacists took out a key to unlock it, and the two with the lanterns went in first.
Seeing that Li Shimin was about to step inside, the Eunuch immediately said, "Your Majesty, please allow this slave to enter first."
However, Li Shimin did not pause his steps and walked straight in; in his life, he had killed countless people, and he was certainly not new to seeing corpses.
Following him, Ran Yan, Liu Qingsong, and all the Imperial Physicians entered in succession.
Upon entering the room, they were greeted by a chill, and the smell was not just of decay but something rotten. Thankfully, they all wore masks and had ginger in their mouths, which made the odor somewhat bearable.
"Open all the curtains around the windows," Ran Yan said.
"This..." The Pharmacist guarding the house hesitated.
Li Shimin said coldly, "Did you not hear?"
"Yes!" The two Pharmacists realized that the Emperor was in a bad mood, disregarding the usual proprieties, and immediately started pulling off the felt covering the windows.
With the Emperor’s support, what did they have to fear?
Liu Qingsong also removed the white cloth covering the body.
As the room suddenly brightened, everyone looked towards the platform where the body was placed and couldn’t help but gasp, taking a few steps back.
The placed corpse had developed green patches, its face was swollen and pale with a hint of blue-black, and the hair was unnaturally loose. The fingernails were also not of a length typical for men.
"Ah, I had tied his hair up nicely!" the Pharmacist exclaimed in horror.
"What are you yelling about? It’s all normal," Ran Yan said calmly.
Ran Yan performed autopsies on bodies, but in assisting them, she maintained sufficient respect for the deceased.
"After death, due to the contraction of skin and flesh, the hair and nails appear as though they have grown," Ran Yan said, checking the external appearance of the body again to ensure nothing was overlooked, before looking up and saying, "Your Majesty, I will begin the autopsy now, during which Liu who runs the medical office will assist in explanation. Please, Your Majesty and all the Imperial Physicians, bear witness."
"Hmm, begin," Li Shimin said authoritatively, sitting on a nearby couch, prepared to watch the autopsy. He did not even frown at the decaying state of the corpse.
Ran Yan used scissors to cut away the clothes from the body, revealing a naked torso. Observing her proficient technique, it seemed to the onlookers that this was not her first or second time doing this.
The Imperial Physicians internally reasoned that saving critically injured individuals also required cutting open their clothing; it wasn’t like they could ask someone shot with an arrow to raise their arms and undress!
This body was in a state of moderate decay. The groin area showed a network of decayed vessels, and the subcutaneous veins filled with decay gases and putrid blood formed a dirty green, net-like pattern. It was difficult to imagine this as a once-living man.
At this moment, the Imperial Physicians felt complex emotions, a mix of astonishment, horror, and eagerness to witness the autopsy overwhelmed them, causing them to freeze on the spot, unsure whether to step back or hide.
A few brazen physicians stepped forward, like Ran Yan, kneeling beside the body. Seeing this, the other Imperial Physicians were not to be outdone and hurriedly crowded closer.
Zhou Chu and Zhang Songhe, both Medical Directors, quickly concentrated on observing.
Zhou Chu asked, "What are these green striations on the legs about?"
Since this pertained to forensic medicine knowledge, Ran Yan responded, having also adopted Liu Qingsong’s method of using simplistic yet deep explanations aligned with traditional medicine, "After death, the body generates decay gases and putrid blood. The first places where the corpse odor appears are the head and then the chest and abdomen. The thoracic and abdominal cavities can’t contain such large volumes of gases, creating enormous pressure. This forces the decayed blood through the vessels toward the limbs and gradually to the surface. The striations we see are the decayed blood seeping from the vessels."