Testimony 

Lin Miaoyin died of illness in her previous life. In the period before her death, she lay in her hospital bed all day and often went to check what would happen after a person died. 

Then she learned that after a person dies, rigor mortis begins in some parts of the body within one to two hours and fully spreads within four hours. When she pressed the corpse’s arm earlier, it was already stiff, indicating that Old Man Liu had been dead for over two hours. 

It normally only takes half an hour to get from the clinic to the Lin family’s house. 

Just now, the Liu family said that Old Man Liu died as soon as he arrived at the clinic. Even if he was delayed in the clinic for a while, it would not take more than two hours to move him to the Lin family. 

The only explanation is that Old Man Liu had died a long time ago, but they concealed the time of his death and put the blame on someone else. 

After she figured it out, she came to Meng Yuanzheng. He raised his head, looked at her with a bruise face. He pressed his lips tightly and said nothing. 

“Was Old Man Liu already dead? Do you still remember what happened?” she asked. 

When these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked. The Liu family almost jumped up and shouted, “What nonsense are you talking about!” 

Meng Yuanzheng frowned, and every movement of his mouth made him gasp. He recalled what happened during the day, “On my way back from the commune, I happened to see them carrying an old man out. Because I had learned some first aid knowledge, I went forward to check. The old man was almost dying. I did chest compressions, and the old man showed a little improvement. When they saw this, they hurriedly carried the man away… I followed them, and when we arrived at the health clinic, they suddenly said that the old man had died…” 

“It was you who killed my father! If you hadn’t delayed us, we could have gotten to the clinic in time!” the Liu family shouted. 

“Were there many people around when you performed the chest compressions?” Lin Miaoyin ignored the others and asked Meng Yuanzheng. 

Meng Yuanzheng shook his head, “Not many. It was only crowded at the health clinic.” 

He himself was quite confused. He remembered that after he performed chest compressions, the old man seemed to improve slightly. How could he have died so suddenly? He felt completely helpless. 

Lin Miaoyin nodded, returned to the body and glanced at the people around her. She noticed the angry and guilty expressions of the Liu family. 

Father Lin and Mother Lin could see that Lin Miaoyin knew something, but they couldn’t stop her. They could only watch anxiously and find a straw raincoat and a hat to wear to avoid the rain. Many neighbors who heard the news came to watch; they were also wearing straw raincoats and hats, all whispering among themselves. 

“What exactly are you trying to do? My father is dead, and you still want to cause trouble! Give us an explanation so we can take him home sooner!” The Liu family acted as if they were deeply offended. 

“We all know that people’s bodies become stiff after they die, and it takes at least two or three hours for places like the arms to harden. You claim that Old Man Liu died at the health clinic, so I ask, what time was it?” Lin Miaoyin asked. 

“This…” The Liu family was suddenly speechless. 

“It was around 6:40 in the afternoon. I put on my watch and looked at it,” Meng Yuanzheng said in a deep voice. 

Lin Miaoyin continued, “It’s just getting dark now; it shouldn’t be past eight o’clock. Why are these parts of Old Man Liu’s arms already stiff? Didn’t he say it was only about an hour before he died? Judging from this, it looks like he’s been dead for at least two hours.” 

“Stiff or not, my father’s death can’t be faked! My father was obviously fine when Meng Yuanzheng pressed his chest!” Old Man Liu’s eldest son shouted. 

Lin Miaoyin sneered and was about to refute him when, suddenly, a woman’s voice interrupted, “I can prove that Meng Yuanzheng is innocent!” 

Everyone looked and saw a young woman coming up the road while holding an umbrella. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with twin braids, a military-green coat, pants, and green rubber shoes. Even in the dim light, her beautiful face was visible. 

“Who is that?” 

“Seems to be the new educated youth who arrived today.” 

“Educated youth? What brings her here?” 

The onlookers looked at her and pointed at her. 

The woman approached calmly and steadily and showed a gentle smile, “I heard Meng Yuanzheng was wrongfully accused, so I came to testify.” 

When Father Lin heard this, he hurried forward to greet her. He knew the woman and asked, “Comrade Zhu, were you there today?” 

“Yes, I happened to run into Meng Yuanzheng on the road this afternoon. He helped me carry my things in the morning, so we knew each other. I greeted him, and we saw them carrying an elderly man. We both learned first aid in school, so we went to take a look. After Meng Yuanzheng did chest compressions, the old man seemed to improve a bit. I had something to do and left first. When I returned, I heard about this so I rushed over.” 

Comrade Zhu? 

Lin Miaoyin’s heart skipped a beat as she scrutinized the young woman, realizing this was none other than Zhu Wanqin, the original story’s protagonist! 

Why did she come here? In the original story, there was no mention of Meng Yuanzheng being accused of murder. She had assumed it was left out because it wasn’t relevant. But now that the female protagonist had appeared, it didn’t make sense for the plot to disregard this scene.” 

While Lin Miaoyin was thinking, Zhu Wanqin had already walked up to Meng Yuanzheng, her eyes were full of tenderness and concern. “They… they actually beat you like this…”  

“You obviously mean well; how could this happen…” She said and reached out to touch the wound on his face. 

Meng Yuanzheng drew his head back and looked at her unkindly. 

Lin Miaoyin was at a loss for words; the female protagonist was indeed as kind-hearted as in the original story, but this wouldn’t do—she couldn’t let her get close to Meng Yuanzheng. 

“Zhu Wanqin, right? Didn’t you say you would testify?” She stepped forward and said loudly. 

The Liu family members looked at each other, a little hesitant. They were originally prepared to accuse Meng Yuanzheng of harming Old Man Liu, but now a female educated youth suddenly jumped out. 

This woman had indeed come with Meng Yuanzheng in the afternoon, but she had just watched for a while before leaving.  

Zhu Wanqin said in a gentle tone, “My family studied medicine, so I know a little bit. Let me be fair. Under the circumstances at that time, it’s very likely that Old Man Liu had an acute heart attack. If I’m not mistaken, Old Man Liu’s condition hasn’t just developed in a short time, has it?” 

Seeing that the Liu family did not refute, she smiled and said, “An acute heart attack leads to fainting and suffocation. Pressing the chest is a correct first aid method. It is just that it cannot guarantee success. But what it can guarantee is that a few chest compressions won’t cause death.” 

The Liu family looked troubled. She continued, “Anyway, this incident cannot be blamed on Meng Yuanzheng. If you don’t believe it, you can ask a professional doctor. Oh, that reminds me, what this sister just said about the body forming rigor mortis after death is also correct. If the arm is really stiff, then the time of death must have been before arriving at the health clinic. Roughly speaking, it was shortly after I left.” 

After hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but look at the Liu family with suspicion. 

A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Miaoyin’s mind. There seemed to be a brief passage in the original story that mentioned that the female protagonist and the educated youth who came with her complained that the Liu family was too cruel. Seeing that their father was about to die, they threw him out since if he died at home, it would be bad luck. 

Then the two of them complained that poor and remote areas produce unruly people and such things still exist, suggesting that the country urgently needs new educated youths like them to change the situation. 

Now it seems that she’s blaming the Liu family. 

So, Lin Miaoyin struck while the iron was hot and said, “As everyone knows, since Old Man Liu had a stroke, you sons have had several quarrels over who should take care of him. Last time he had a stroke, you didn’t send him to the clinic, and he became paralyzed. Yet this time, you’re so proactive.” 

“You! What do you mean!” Liu’s daughter-in-law shouted.  

“What I mean is that maybe when you all noticed he was about to die, so you deliberately carried him out of the door to die outside!” 

Authors Note: 

Meng Yuanzheng: She, she wants to touch me. 

Lin Miaoyin: What are you afraid of? If she touches you, isn’t that what you’ve been dreaming of? 

Meng Yuanzheng:!!! 

I checked Baidu regarding rigor mortis and acute heart disease, and I believe I didn’t write anything wrong. If there are any issues, feel free to point them out in the comments, and I will definitely correct them. Thank you for your support. 😘😘😘