Chapter 133 Autopsy
Xiao Yuxuan was still in a daze when she came out of the palace.
The seventh prince said that they should dismember those who died from the plague and find their main damaged organs...
This is the work of a coroner. Xiao Yuxuan had no experience dealing with coroners, and even hearing the words "dismemberment" or "dissection" made her feel numb all over.
But now that I've come to my senses, I realize it's not all that impressive.
Wasn't she herself someone who had died once? So many horrifying corpses were relatives that some people longed for but could never see again in their entire lives... Thinking of this, she no longer felt afraid.
However, to do this, one must first register with the government, obtain the necessary documents, and then request a coroner.
It's not appropriate for her to get involved in this matter.
To register with the government, one must provide a household registration certificate indicating good citizenship, and men must be at least twenty years old and women at least fifteen. Xiao Yuxuan was not old enough.
The carriage stopped in front of the Princess's residence. Xiao Yuxuan was helped down by Bi Sui, but unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
It is Qu Sisi.
She looked much better, probably because she came to see her without her pipa. Her clothes were simple and natural, and her fair face, without any makeup, had a pair of dimples on her cheeks, making her look delicate and lovely.
"Miss Xiao!"
When Qu Sisi saw Xiao Yuxuan, she was overjoyed and raised her hand to call out. Then she ran to him.
"Miss Xiao, I've finally been waiting for you!"
"Thanks to you for arranging for the royal physician to treat my father, he is much better now. He was even able to get out of bed and play the pipa this morning."
"I'm glad your father is alright. It was just a small favor. Why did you come all the way here?"
Qu Sisi's home wasn't very close, and judging from her simple and frugal attire, she wouldn't hire a carriage. If she were to come by, it would probably take her half a day.
"Of course I should thank you in person, but the epidemic is serious recently, and I know your family will not let you go out easily, so I came out to try my luck. Who would have thought that your servants would say that you were in the Princess's residence? It really startled me."
Qu Sisi is only sixteen or seventeen years old. Her father is still alive and she spends her days with the pipa. Her young face still retains the innocence and liveliness of a young girl.
"Here you go. This is the sheet music my father and I made. It's the only one of its kind in the world. Although I don't know if you're interested in playing the pipa... However, if you want to hold a banquet in the future, you can have a musician play to entertain you. You can come directly to me, and I won't charge you."
After she finished speaking excitedly, she saw the other person take the sheet music, flip through two pages, and then hum the tune softly. Her anxiety immediately vanished.
I thought Miss Xiao would find the return gift too meager, but I didn't expect her to like it so much.
After reading a few lines, Xiao Yuxuan knew that this musical score was the famous score of Qu Sisi, which had been lost for a long time and only fragments remained. After Qu Sisi, the last pipa inheritor of Qu Sisi, passed away, this score was sold for an astronomical price. Later, it was lost and only fragments remained, making it even more priceless and unavailable.
A fine zither is rare, and a fine musical score is even rarer; this gift is truly precious.
"Thank you, I like it very much. It seems that this score can also be played on the piano."
Qu Sisi's eyes lit up. She had finally found a kindred spirit. She exclaimed excitedly, "Miss Xiao, you truly have discerning eyes!"
“But…” Xiao Yuxuan changed the subject, “But recently there has been an epidemic, and the Princess has unfortunately been infected as well. Even if I am happy now, I don’t have time to think about it carefully. I will have to put the musical score you gave me on the shelf for a while.”
Speaking of this, Qu Sisi also felt a pang of sympathy.
My father is not fully recovered yet, and if he catches the plague, the chances of survival are slim.
“Miss Xiao is right. Right now, the epidemic is the most important thing.”
"I've been helping Doctor Pei and the imperial physicians develop a prescription for the epidemic recently. I just went out to visit a very experienced senior, and he gave me a method..."
As Xiao Yuxuan spoke, she kept an eye on Qu Sisi's expression.
When the words "coroner's examination" were mentioned, her expression remained normal, and she was not frightened.
Before Xiao Yuxuan could explain why she couldn't go to the government office, Qu Sisi interrupted her—
"Go to the government office to find a coroner? That won't do, that won't do!"
You have no idea how many eyes are watching you in the capital. The storytellers in the teahouses have told almost everything about your sister's situation recently, and they've even made up a lot of unfounded stories about you.
If those common people knew you went to see the coroner, they'd probably spit all over the Xiao mansion.
These days, being a coroner isn't a desirable profession.
Dealing with the dead is considered to be fraught with yin energy and disrespectful to the deceased; these two things are the greatest sins. If it weren't for the fact that the government needed such people for its investigations and offered generous rewards, probably no one would be willing to do it.
And those cases that require a coroner to examine the body are all extremely heinous crimes, such as poisoning or disposing of a body.
"By the way, you shouldn't be of marriageable age yet, right?"
"If you trust me, I'll go for you."
The following afternoon, the coroner that Qu Sisi had invited went to a secluded courtyard.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, I found several doctors and two little girls already standing inside.
However, their attire was very strange. Not only did they wear face masks, but they also wore long, narrow, lacquered cloth hoods that resembled caps, and they wore lacquered cloth gloves with separated fingers.
This bizarre attire almost made the middle-aged man burst out laughing.
"What are you doing? This is ridiculous—"
As soon as he finished speaking, the doctor pressed him down and put him in the same kind of lacquered cloth, wrapping him up completely before leading him inside and closing the door.
The coroner dared not laugh anymore. He silently followed the people inside, and when he entered the room, he was startled by the neatly arranged corpses inside.
"My God, where did you get so many bodies from...?"
The coroner didn't finish speaking because he saw a familiar face.
It was his neighbor, Grandpa Sun, who passed away yesterday due to the epidemic.
Those who died from the epidemic could not even enter their own family graves, for fear of defiling their spirits. In addition, so many people died during this period that funerals could not be held.
Therefore, most people simply wrapped the deceased in straw mats and hastily threw them into a place on the outskirts of the capital specifically for storing corpses of the plague, waiting for the officials to burn them every night until they turned to ashes.
"Coroner, I suppose Miss Qu already explained the situation to you before you came here."
The older-looking girl stepped forward and said.
"These are people who died because of the epidemic. Thank you for your concern."
The coroner looked away from Grandpa Sun and instinctively wanted to touch his face, but found that he was covered in something, so he gave up.
"You're too kind, young lady. This is simply my duty."
The coroner's gaze swept over the people in the room—people he didn't recognize, but who had been alive and well just a few days ago—and his heart sank.
"Please, everyone, leave now. I'll be the only one here."
Several imperial physicians wanted to stay and help, but the coroner asked them to leave.
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