Forensic Forensic - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Arriving at the hospital, Luo Jianan was stunned upon entering the emergency room—the hall was packed with people, some standing, some sitting, some lying down, and some even gathered to play cards!

Showing his badge to the police, he and Qi Ming made their way through the crowd to the emergency room where the medical staff were stationed. Xia Yonghui looked tired, his eyes bloodshot, having clearly not slept all night. He said that before calling Luo Jianan, the police, the hospital, and the family had been at a standoff in the emergency room for nearly ten hours. Originally, there were only two family members accompanying the vehicle, but once the victim died, those two summoned over fifty people within hours, blocking the emergency room like a market. The entire emergency center was paralyzed, and ambulances had to be diverted to the outpatient clinic.

Dr. He, an obstetrician who was involved in the rescue, and several assistants were trapped in the emergency operating room, unable to leave. People outside were clamoring to seize the body. Before the police arrived, it was Xia Yonghui and other medical staff on duty from other departments, along with several security guards, who kept the family members outside.

“These people are making absolutely no sense. Dr. He has already performed a miracle.” Xia Yonghui nearly lost his voice trying to stop the angry “family members,” and now it was difficult for him to speak. “Zhang Xiaohua was already dying when the ambulance brought her in. Dr. He immediately performed a cesarean section and saved the baby. But the baby was only 26 weeks pregnant, with severely underdeveloped lungs and facing multiple complications of premature birth, requiring at least a month in the neonatal ICU. When the family heard the daily bill of over 10,000 yuan, they became furious. They claimed it was medical malpractice, demanded the hospital cover the costs, and demanded Dr. He pay for Zhang Xiaohua’s life.”

“To put it bluntly, they just don’t want to spend the money,” Luo Jianan snorted. He had just glanced outside before entering. How many family members could there be? The same people he’d seen playing cards together were working on the road outside the hospital the last time he was there.

“By the way, boy or girl?” he asked.

“Boy.”

“No wonder. If it was a girl, she’d probably just run away,” Luo Jianan said, glancing sideways at Qi Ming. Qi Ming had just been in the operating room, and it was unclear what he’d been doing. Zhang Xiaohua had brought this upon herself, and no one could be blamed for it, but he could see that Qi Ming was in a very low mood. Luo Jianan could probably guess the reason for Qi Ming’s low mood—he’d diagnosed Zhang Xiaohua’s illness, but ultimately, he couldn’t save her.

As they spoke, the hospital leaders, who had just gone through another round of negotiations, gradually retreated to the emergency room. Their expressions showed they hadn’t reached an agreement. The other party, led by Zhang Xiaohua’s mother-in-law, a woman in her seventies, sat there quietly, neither arguing nor making a scene. She allowed a group of young people to take turns engaging in a war of words with the hospital’s negotiators. But every now and then, she’d hold one of her granddaughters in her arms, wiping away tears and muttering poignant words like, “Motherless children are so pitiful!”

“Doctor Xia,” Qi Ming suddenly said.

Xia Yonghui turned his gaze to Qi Ming. Qi Ming took off his coat and said,

“Please ask your hospital leadership for an autopsy.”

——————

While Xia Yonghui was discussing Qi Ming’s proposal with the hospital leadership, Luo Jianan whispered to Qi Ming, “Aren’t you forbidden from touching the body?”

“The police haven’t filed a case. All we need is authorization from the hospital and the family.”

“Will the family agree?”

“I’ll go talk to them.”

Qi Ming walked out of the emergency room and knelt down in front of Grandma Zhang Xiaohua, speaking to her in a low voice. Seeing the people surrounding Qi Ming, Luo Jianan immediately walked over, flashing his police badge, and forced them to disperse. After talking with the old lady for a while, Qi Ming stood up and said to Luo Jianan, “Go get the authorization form from the hospital and have it signed by the deceased’s husband.”

Luo Jianan asked in surprise, “Agreed?”

Qi Ming nodded as he walked.

“What did you say?”

“I told the old lady that in cases like this, the sooner the autopsy is performed, the better it will be to determine whether it was a medical error or natural death. Over time, the evidence will disappear. She’s already paying for the meals of over fifty people a day. If an autopsy is forced and the results are unfavorable to her, she won’t get a penny. I also told her that in Zhang Xiaohua’s case, if it was truly a medical error, she could demand at least two million yuan in compensation from the hospital. She’s a gambler now, and she’ll bet big at the slightest push.”

Luo Jianan rolled his eyes and asked in a low voice, “Are you trying to trick her?”

Qi Ming glanced back at him.

“Every word I say is true.”

The hospital also agreed to Qi Ming’s proposal. To ensure the legal validity of the autopsy report, a licensed physician would be assigned to oversee the entire process.

Qi Ming directly asked Xia Yonghui to perform the autopsy. Upon hearing this, Luo Jianan quickly said to Qi Ming, “Look, Dr. Xia is so exhausted. Why don’t you get someone else?”

Qi Ming, wearing a borrowed surgical gown and holding up his hand for disinfection, said to Luo Jianan, who was blocking his way.

“Move aside.”

Luo Jianan, looking unhappy, retreated to the hallway and sat down.

——————

The autopsy was performed in the operating room. After reviewing the medical records and considering the deceased’s bl00d pressure as high as 220 before death, Qi Ming decided to only test for symptoms of sudden death caused by high bl00d pressure to save time. Xia Yonghui asked what he was supposed to do, and Qi Ming told him to just observe and take notes.

Watching the bl00d flow from the incision, Xia Yonghui frowned and asked, “Why did you ask me to come to the stage?”

“Then why did you call Luo Jianan? Can he handle this medical dispute?” Qi Ming asked, his hands moving swiftly.

“Officer Luo said it himself, to call him next time a medical dispute arises.”

“Yes, let him say it himself. Even a comet hitting the Earth can solve it.” Qi Ming spread his sternum and examined the chest cavity. “Record it: aortic dissection.”

“Broken?” Xia Yonghui asked.

“No, it wasn’t the cause of death.” Qi Ming clamped the bl00d vessels with hemostats, neatly excised the heart, and placed it on a nearby tray. He recorded the necessary data before performing an independent autopsy.

“Teacher Qi, do you have any prejudice against me?” Xia Yonghui broke the silence in the room. Qi Ming paused, then said, “You’ve contaminated the crime scene with DNA. As a doctor, I believe this is a mistake you shouldn’t make.”

Xia Yonghui’s eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, gripping the clipboard tightly. He spoke in a low voice, “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Doctor Xia, if you truly respect your profession, you shouldn’t say such things.”

“Being a doctor isn’t a profession for me, it’s my destiny!”

Hearing this, Qi Ming turned and looked at Xia Yonghui.

Xia Yonghui raised his hand to remove his mask, took a deep breath, and said, “From the moment I was born, everything was planned for me: what school I would attend, what career I would choose. There was no other path for me except becoming a doctor. My family hasn’t been in the medical profession for three generations. My great-grandfather was an imperial physician, but he was executed for a misdiagnosis, and our entire family was exiled to Shu. From that point on, my family motto has been to never make a mistake, because making a mistake is punishable by death!”

Qi Ming stared at him silently, without saying a word.

“When I was five years old, memorizing the Treatise on Febrile Diseases, my dad slapped me for every mistake I made! I wanted to apply to the police academy, but my eyesight wasn’t up to par, so I secretly enrolled in forensic medicine. But do you know what my dad did? He went to the principal and had me transferred to clinical medicine!” Xia Yonghui smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I’m so jealous of you, Teacher Qi. I wish I could speak for the deceased like you do, instead of questioning whether I was at fault every time a patient dies!”

After listening to Xia Yonghui’s outburst, Qi Ming refocused his attention on the task at hand.

“You have to make your own path. Your parents’ slaps won’t stick with you forever—”

He paused.

“Records. Cause of death: rupture of a pericardial bl00d vessel.”

——————

After receiving the autopsy report, Zhang Xiaohua’s mother-in-law’s face changed drastically as her son read it. “Okay, you lied to me!” She pointed a shaking finger at Qi Ming’s face. “What did you just say? Huh? It’s clearly the hospital’s fault. My wife’s death couldn’t be in vain!”

“Both the hospital and the police forced Zhang Xiaohua to stay for treatment. She chose to leave.” Qi Ming, still in his scrubs, calmly advised, “Old lady, the doctors are collecting donations for your grandson. Don’t worry about the medical expenses for now. Go home and rest. We’ll sort things out later.”

“How could those black-hearted doctors have such good intentions? They only sent my grandson away—sent—”to make more money. She struggled for a long time, unable to utter the words “neonatal ICU.” Then, she changed the subject, “We can’t treat him! Get my grandson out, I’ll take him home and raise him myself!”

Qi Ming hadn’t expected her to be so insensitive, and he immediately flew into a rage: “He only weighs two pounds. He’ll definitely die if he leaves the incubator now!”

“I don’t care! I want my grandson!” the old woman said, plopped down on the floor, and burst into tears. “My poor daughter-in-law! My poor grandson!”

“You—”

The people around her rushed forward as they watched the old woman’s cries. There were over fifty people in the hall, but only six police officers, plus the hospital security, who combined wouldn’t even outnumber them by half. The scene instantly erupted in chaos. Qi Ming bore the brunt of their wrath, forced back repeatedly by the crowd. Luo Jianan had just bought buns for Zhang Xiaohua’s three daughters, and when he saw Qi Ming being surrounded, he rushed over, pushing his way through the crowd.

“Get out of the way! What are you doing? You all want to go to the police station, right?!”

Luo Jianan’s voice couldn’t outsmart those fifty mouths. He barely squeezed past Qi Ming and was about to push him into the emergency room for shelter when he heard someone shout from behind, “Beat those damn, black-hearted doctors!”

Luo Jianan’s face paled, and more fists and nails lashed out at him and Qi Ming.

Damn it! You dare to hit a police officer?!

After knocking down a man who was trying to grab Qi Ming’s braid with a single punch, Luo Jianan turned and shouted at Qi Ming, “Run! What the hell are you waiting for!?”

As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four. Qi Ming pushed one away, only to have more rush forward. Suddenly, someone tripped him, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. If Luo Jianan hadn’t reacted quickly and pushed the man away from Qi Ming, his hand would have been crushed. Reaching out to pull Qi Ming up from the ground, Luo Jianan was about to draw his gun and fire a warning shot when he suddenly glared and spun 180 degrees, holding Qi Ming.

“Bang!”

With a muffled thud, Qi Ming watched as red liquid flowed down Luo Jianan’s face.

Author’s Note: So, that chopstick broke for a reason!

Aaaaaaaaa, why haven’t you finished this volume yet? I need to write a side story about a middle-aged man in love!

First kill bonus, love you all!