At the case analysis meeting, Mu Mian reported the autopsy results.
"The cause of the deceased's death was bleeding in the brainstem. This would damage the respiratory center, preventing the deceased from breathing on their own," Mu Mian explained. "There are many causes of brainstem hemorrhage, including any factors that raise blood pressure, such as emotional distress, strenuous activity, excessive drinking, and constipation."
"So, what caused the deceased's blood pressure to rise?" someone asked.
Mu Mian replied, "We found that the deceased's adrenaline levels were abnormally high, three times that of a normal person. Elevated adrenaline can cause blood pressure to rise. However, this could also be the result of adrenaline injection during medical resuscitation.
We detected some black ash-like substances in the deceased's body. It is weakly alkaline, and we are still analyzing what it is.
We also found cinnabar in the deceased's body. Cinnabar is both a traditional Chinese medicine and a toxic substance. Excessive intake can lead to mercury poisoning and affect the central nervous system."
Mu Mian displayed photos of the black substances on the screen.
"Could it be the residue of some toxic herbal medicine? Or perhaps ash from burning mugwort? It's said that mugwort ash can be used in medicine," someone suggested.
Chen Xue added, "I also suspect it might be some kind of plant ash."
"But who would feed such a thing to a child, especially a comatose one? It seems like they were deliberately trying to harm him," another person commented.
Mu Mian said, "It's unlikely to be medicinal residue. It appears to be ash formed from the combustion of a fiber-rich substance."
Zhang suddenly chimed in, "Could it be ash from a talisman? In our area, some very superstitious people go to temples to get talismans when their children are ill. They burn the talisman into ash and mix it with water to drink. It's said to be very effective. The talismans are usually drawn with cinnabar. Maybe Yangyang's family is also superstitious and secretly fed him talisman water?"
Others seemed to agree with Zhang's theory. If the child's condition worsened due to drinking talisman water, it would explain why Li Ruiqing hid the child's body and didn't want the police to investigate.
Li questioned, "Comatose patients are usually maintained with IVs. How could someone feed him anything?"
Chen Xue replied, "Comatose patients still need nutrition. They are typically fed through a gastric tube with liquid food like rice porridge or protein powder. It's likely that Yangyang's family fed him talisman water secretly, without the doctor's knowledge."
"Then, the person who fed him the talisman water is probably the child's grandmother or grandmother-in-law?" Zhang speculated. "Only older generations would be so superstitious."
As they finished the meeting and left the conference room, they heard that an elderly woman was causing a commotion at the police station entrance.
"You heartless people, how could you arrest my son? My grandson just died, and instead of investigating the hospital's doctors and nurses, you arrest my son... You're all in cahoots with the hospital, making things difficult for us ordinary folks..."
The woman was Yangyang's grandmother, Sun Guixiang, in her sixties, wearing a worn-out outfit, sitting on the ground at the police station entrance, crying and cursing.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered, with some even filming with their phones.
"Old lady, is what you're saying true?" an onlooker asked.
"My grandson suddenly passed away, and the hospital won't give us any explanation. My son and daughter-in-law went to the hospital to seek justice, but the police sided with the doctors and arrested my son. We're the victims here! My grandson's body is still warm, and they're already bullying us..." she wailed.
The onlookers felt sympathy for the poor old woman.
Fang Rui and Zhang hurried to the police station entrance to calm Sun Guixiang.
Zhang reached out to help her up. "Grandma Sun, let's talk inside, okay? It's hot out here, and we can get you some water."
Sun Guixiang swatted his hand away. "Inside? Do you think I'll come out alive? My son went in to cooperate with your investigation, and you locked him up. Are you planning to lock me up too?"
Fang Rui explained, "We detained him because he broke the law."
An onlooker asked, "What law did he break? You need to explain in detail. Just because you say he broke the law doesn't make it so."
Fang Rui replied, "I'm sorry, but we cannot disclose our work details to the public."
The crowd began murmuring among themselves. Some whispered, "If the procedures are correct, why can't they be transparent?"
Zhang was speechless. They didn't disclose details because they were afraid of online backlash.
Sun Guixiang, finding support in the crowd, became more assertive. She addressed the onlookers, "Come, everyone, judge for yourselves. Yangyang is my grandson. My son has the right to handle Yangyang's body as he sees fit, doesn't he? My son is Yangyang's father. What law did he break by hiding Yangyang's body?"
The onlookers were stunned into silence.
Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "You knew your son hid your grandson's body?"
"Of course I knew. I told him to do it. Are you going to arrest me too?"
The sympathy the onlookers had for the old woman vanished upon hearing her confession.
"Officers, arrest this old lady quickly. Maybe she killed her grandson herself."
"Exactly, I've never seen such an arrogant criminal."
"This old lady doesn't look like a good person. She has a fierce face."
Sun Guixiang was furious at this comment. She pointed at the young man who insulted her. "My grandson is the lifeblood of our family. Why would I harm him? You little wretch, slandering an old woman like me, do you have no conscience?"
Fang Rui called for two officers to take Sun Guixiang inside.
With the disruptive woman gone, the onlookers were about to disperse when Zhang stopped them.
"Please delete the videos you just took. Don't spread them. It's not good for the image. Thank you for cooperating."
"Oh, officers, you're in the right. What are you afraid of?"
"Exactly, let's post this old lady's tantrum online and shame her. Officers, don't worry, I'll blur your faces."
Zhang's tone became firm. "Please cooperate with our work."
"Alright."
"Deleted, deleted."
Zhang made sure everyone deleted their videos and repeatedly emphasized that spreading misleading videos online would result in severe legal consequences.
Once brought to the interrogation room, Sun Guixiang realized she might have said the wrong thing and started crying again. "Officers, please have mercy on my family. My grandson is gone, and I can't lose my son too... Oh, heavens, you can't treat an old woman like me this way..."
Fang Rui and Zhang watched her quietly as she cried. When she finally stopped, Fang Rui asked, "What did you feed Yangyang the night he died?"
