"Rong San, I've finished examining Shangguan Hong's body. Sign this autopsy fee application form."
A man with a cold, ethereal beauty walked in from outside the door.
Lin Qingge's gaze fell on the snow-white lab coat, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise, saying:
"Good heavens, do forensic examiners have to apply for labor fees for autopsies on a case-by-case basis nowadays?"
"Detective Lin, let me introduce you~
This is Murong Bai, a Professor of Pharmacology at Harbin Medical University.
It's said that Principal Wu Liande had to visit him three times before he agreed to return from abroad~
He and I are childhood friends.
He usually teaches at the university, and when there's a case, I shamelessly ask him to help our patrol station with autopsies~"
Specialized forensic identification organizations only appeared in the mid-to-late Republic of China period, so forensic examiners were almost unheard of at the time.
The patrol station had no budget and couldn't afford such a distinguished expert, so it was reasonable to adopt a per-case fee method.
Understanding the reason, Lin Qingge nodded slightly, as if acknowledging the introduction.
"Bai Er, this is Detective Lin, Director Xu's prize student~"
"This Detective Lin is quite handsome, especially his physique, which makes him appear as delicate as a woman."
Sensing a hidden meaning in the other person's words, Lin Qingge's lips twitched, and he retorted:
"Indeed, some people say I have a feminine appearance, but having the honor of meeting Forensic Doctor Murong's androgynous and peerless beauty today, I feel quite manly myself."
"Hahaha, Bai Er, I didn't expect your sharp tongue to meet its match!"
Hua Jinrong immediately mocked Murong Bai mercilessly. Seeing the latter cast a wistful glance at him, and knowing this was a precursor to his anger, Hua Jinrong quickly backed down and changed the subject:
"By the way, Bai Er, what was the cause of death for old Master Shangguan?"
"According to the autopsy results, Shangguan Hong died of heart failure, a type of sudden cardiac arrest.
Didn't you send a cup to the laboratory for testing?
The test results from there have just come out.
Although the cup was washed, traces of sleeping pills were detected on the outer wall.
In addition, a small amount of digitalis was also detected.
While digitalis is a medication for heart disease,
overdosing can lead to digitalis poisoning, causing the user to die of heart failure in a short period.
This is consistent with Shangguan Hong's cause of death."
"Let me process this. Old Master Shangguan first saw the photos that Lu Huaiying gave him.
Upon learning that Mrs. Shangguan, Xiahou Jin, had a lover outside, he contacted lawyer Lin Yan to change his will overnight~
And Mrs. Shangguan somehow found out about this.
To avoid exposure, she decided to go all the way, drugging old Master Shangguan's milk and sneaking into his study to retrieve the photos~"
After listening to Hua Jinrong's analysis, Lin Qingge shook his head in disagreement:
"The first part is fine, but the latter part has two points that are difficult to explain.
First, if Mrs. Shangguan knew that Lu Huaiying had shown the photos to old Master Shangguan, she would definitely know that Lin Yan had been to old Master Shangguan's home that night.
After all, Lin Yan entered the Shangguan residence openly through the front door.
Second, if Mrs. Shangguan truly wanted to kill old Master Shangguan, she only needed to administer digitalis. Why would she add sleeping pills to the milk?"
"Boss, could it be that Mrs. Shangguan thought poisoning alone wasn't foolproof enough?
She added sleeping pills so that old Master Shangguan would die peacefully in his sleep."
"No, sleeping pills have a certain respiratory depressant effect, which would, to some extent, reduce the efficacy of digitalis.
Moreover, some cardiac patients might wake up midway after taking sleeping pills, especially when experiencing shortness of breath due to a heart attack.
Since the killer knew that an overdose of digitalis would be fatal, it implies they possessed some pharmacological knowledge and wouldn't make such a basic mistake."
Murong Bai, who had spoken up to explain, then directly slapped the application form in his hand onto Hua Jinrong's forehead.
Hua Jinrong was not offended, but said with a smile:
"Bai Er, I know you're jealous because I'm better looking than you, but you shouldn't lay hands on me whenever you get a chance~"
"Sign it quickly. I have classes to attend back at school this afternoon and don't have time to bicker with you here."
"Heh, men~
Indeed, once you have something, you no longer cherish it~"
Looking at his dramatic childhood friend, Murong Bai rubbed his temples with a headache:
"Hua Jinrong, if you don't want your mouth anymore, I don't mind poisoning you into silence."
"Don't do that, Bai Er. Gentlemen use their words, not their fists. I'll sign it for you, alright~"
After seeing Murong Bai off, Lin Qingge refocused his attention on the case:
"Detective Hua, Lu Huaiying mentioned that after seeing the photos, old Master Shangguan did not appear overly surprised or angry, as if he had already known.
And according to those around him, old Master Shangguan and Mrs. Shangguan had always been on good terms and doted on Shangguan Yuyan.
There must have been a trigger that made old Master Shangguan discover Mrs. Shangguan's infidelity, leading him to seek out Lu Huaiying.
Also, Shangguan Yuyan served the milk, while Mrs. Shangguan entered the study to retrieve something.
And the prerequisite for Mrs. Shangguan entering the study to get something was not to be seen by old Master Shangguan."
"If that's the case, then Shangguan Yuyan put the sleeping pills in the milk~"
"Shangguan Yuyan and Mrs. Shangguan are mother and son. If Mrs. Shangguan asked, she probably wouldn't refuse.
As for the digitalis, based on the current information, it's impossible to determine who added it to the milk."
"Boss, besides the butler, Wang Bo, only Shangguan Yuyan handled the milk. How could it not be her?
However, Shangguan Yuyan looks so gentle and weak, I never expected her to be so vicious, even killing her own father!"
Yan Tinghao said indignantly, but Lin Qingge shook his head:
"Actually, not only Butler Wang Bo and Shangguan Yuyan had the opportunity to handle the milk, or rather, to poison it."
Hua Jinrong, who instantly understood, couldn't help but tap his thigh with his fan:
"I remember Butler Wang Bo said that to ensure freshness, the milk that old Master Shangguan drank was delivered to the villa by a special person every morning.
After delivery, the butler would refrigerate the milk to prevent spoilage.
Therefore, the killer only needed to put the medicine into the milk bottle at any time during the day.
Even if he wasn't in the villa at night, he could still cause old Master Shangguan to die of heart failure~"
Hearing this, Lin Qingge gave Hua Jinrong a look of appreciation:
"Detective Hua, please have someone find the milk bottle, conduct an analysis, and then question the Shangguan family's servants about who touched the refrigerator yesterday."
Refrigerators were a rare and precious commodity in this era. Even a wealthy family like the Shangguans had to spend a fortune to acquire one from overseas.
Therefore, the Shangguan family's servants basically wouldn't touch it voluntarily.
"Oh, right, except for Senior Sister Leng, no one else left the villa, so those missing photos are very likely still in the villa.
However, it's not impossible that they were burned. Have your subordinates pay close attention to places like the stove."
After giving these instructions, Lin Qingge completed the bail procedures for Lu Huaiying and took him back to the detective agency.
Yan Tinghao also wanted to follow, but unfortunately, he had classes in the afternoon, so he reluctantly returned to school.