CH 17

Jiang Heng clearly hadn’t expected Ji Yao to be the one entering the room.

The case files he received weren’t complete. The files only mentioned the hospital as the entity involved, without specific personnel information.

Their gazes met in the air, and in each other’s eyes, they both saw the same disbelief.

Hao Yu stood up from behind his desk, glanced at Ji Yao, then at Jiang Heng. He seemed to sense an unusual atmosphere in the air.

“This is Mrs. Li Linghua’s representative lawyer,” Hao Yu introduced them to each other, “And this is our Dr. Ji, you know each other?”

“I know him,” Jiang Heng was the first to regain his composure. He smiled politely at Hao Yu and then turned to Ji Yao, saying, “I just had an emergency consultation at your hospital last week, and Dr. Ji was my attending physician.”

“Attending physician,” these words hit Ji Yao like a thud. He lowered his eyes, nodded slightly at Jiang Heng without any greeting, and walked straight to the side of the desk, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“Ah, what a coincidence,” Hao Yu dryly chuckled, rubbing his hands together, sitting back down in his chair. He continued the topic he had left unfinished earlier, “So, we understand Mrs. Li’s feelings of grief, but as I mentioned before, we followed the normal emergency procedure. Regarding determining a medical accident, you surely understand it better than the family members.”

Jiang Heng, with a polite smile, gave a slight nod but didn’t engage. He listened as Hao Yu continued.

“Therefore, we still believe that it’s best to resolve this through negotiation, if possible,” Hao Yu said. “There’s no need for the family members to be so stubborn.”

Hao Yu said this, but in reality, he didn’t have high hopes. After all, the people in front of them were not the actual family members; they were just “representative lawyers.” These individuals were doing this for money. If Li Linghua were to drop the matter suddenly, where would they earn their fees?

As expected, Jiang Heng was unyielding. He ignored Hao Yu’s statement and pressed forward, saying firmly, “Of course, we are all here to resolve the issue fairly and justly. Since my client has doubts, then let’s investigate this thoroughly. It’s in the interest of both the hospital, Dr. Ji, and my client.”

He had framed the nature of the issue as investigating the truth fairly and justly. Hao Yu had no choice but to admit that Jiang Heng had come prepared. The director sighed inwardly, looked at Ji Yao, wanting to seek his opinion, but Ji Yao seemed to have taken a strong interest in the cabbage decoration on Hao Yu’s desk, not looking up. Hao Yu tried to signal him several times, but Ji Yao remained oblivious.

Left with no choice, Hao Yu could only agree, “Indeed.”

Jiang Heng hadn’t paid much attention to Ji Yao’s presence. He acted as if he were genuinely focused on the matter at hand. He treated Ji Yao as an attending physician he had a casual acquaintance with, besides the initial greeting, not giving Ji Yao another glance.

Were the medical staff present at the time of the incident all here?” Jiang Heng asked.

“Two staff members are on rotation and not on duty today. You’ll have to come back another day if you want to see them,” Hao Yu said. “But even then, there might not be any progress. We’ll have to see when the time comes.”

On the day of Li Wen’s surgery, the emergency room had been extremely busy. Other than Ji Yao, the only staff members who had face-to-face interactions with patients and their families were two nurses.

However, the time that had passed and the attention the case had garnered had made it challenging for one of the nurses to recall the exact situation that day. She couldn’t definitively confirm whether Li Wen’s father had mentioned the medical history or drug allergies of the deceased or not.

“Dr. Ji,” Jiang Heng suddenly spoke up, “My client claims that Li Wen’s father clearly informed you of the deceased’s medical history, medication, and other details. Is this true?”

“No,” Ji Yao finally shifted his attention from the cabbage decoration, frowned, and said, “He didn’t say anything. He just cried and begged me to save his son.”

Jiang Heng tilted his head slightly, looking seriously at Ji Yao, and asked, “Are you sure?”

Even considering the breakup three years ago, Ji Yao had never heard such a distant and accusatory tone from Jiang Heng. Despite the passage of time, Ji Yao still felt uncomfortable.

Suppressing his discomfort, he leaned back against the chair, sounding impatient, and said, “I’m sure.”

“Second question,” Jiang Heng said, “The informed consent form for the surgery was signed by Mrs. Zhou Fang in the presence of Li Wen’s father, correct?”

Ji Yao hesitated for a moment before realizing that the “Mrs. Zhou Fang” Jiang Heng mentioned was probably the unnamed woman accompanying Li Wen’s father.

“… Yes,” Ji Yao knew this would likely be a point of contention for Li Linghua. He licked his lips and reluctantly admitted, “But it was because Li Wen’s father refused to sign.”

“Was there a clear act of refusal?” Jiang Heng asked. “Verbal or physical.”

No, Ji Yao’s heart sank.

At the time, the middle-aged man had been crying non-stop and had ignored Ji Yao’s request to sign the form. However, he hadn’t shown any explicit signs of refusal.

It was because he had been dragging his feet and refusing to sign that Ji Yao had automatically handed the notification letter to the more composed “family member.”

Ji Yao knew this answer might not work in his favor. He hesitated before answering.

Jiang Heng seemed to gather the answer from Ji Yao’s brief hesitation and didn’t press further.

“Can I take a copy of Mr. Li Wen’s medication records and the emergency medical record from that day?” Jiang Heng asked Hao Yu.

“Technically, yes, but you need to go through the proper channels,” Hao Yu said. “You’ll need an authorization letter to access specific information and an official review notice.”

Hao Yu was familiar with dealing with these matters year-round. He knew lawyers had the right to gather evidence, but medical records and medication information were crucial evidence, and the hospital’s stance was to provide as little as possible.

Thankfully, Jiang Heng appeared to be reasonable in his approach. He didn’t use a court-issued evidence gathering authorization letter to pressure them, so there didn’t seem to be malicious intent.

“Then shall I accompany you?” Hao Yu suggested.

“No need, please stay here,” Jiang Heng politely declined. He then turned to Ji Yao and asked, “Dr. Ji, since you’re on vacation, could you rscort me out?”

Hao Yu wasn’t too keen on allowing Ji Yao to have too much private contact with Jiang Heng. After all, Ji Yao was still young, and Hao Yu worried that Jiang Heng might inadvertently manipulate the conversation. He was prepared to refuse the request, but to his surprise, Ji Yao stood up before he could speak and said, “Let’s go.”

Ji Yao said this and walked past Jiang Heng. He left the office before Jiang Heng, who took his time catching up. After exiting the building, they walked together through a small garden behind the hospital toward Jiang Heng’s car parked in the rear parking lot.

Ji Yao wasn’t sure why Jiang Heng had asked him to accompany him. Ever since he had seen Jiang Heng earlier in the day, his mood had been complex and his emotions unstable. He felt a mixture of being wrongly accused and an inability to control his sense of grievance.

Ji Yao understood that if it were any other lawyer here today, he would be annoyed, but beyond that, he wouldn’t think much of it. Unfortunately, it was Jiang Heng, and he found it difficult to convince himself to remain composed.

Yet, he also didn’t have the position to respond as such. After all, the person before him was working professionally, merely handling a case that happened to involve him. It had been three years since their breakup, and Jiang Heng had no reason to consider Ji Yao’s feelings in his professional duties.

Jiang Heng’s car was parked in the hospital’s rear parking lot, and getting there required crossing a small garden behind the inpatient building. Ji Yao led the way, and neither of them spoke during the walk. It was only when they reached the center of the garden, where there was no one else around, that Jiang Heng slowed down and eventually came to a stop.

Ji Yao heard Jiang Heng’s footsteps behind him and stopped as well, turning around with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Heng pulled a slim box of cigarettes from his pocket and gestured towards Ji Yao, “Do you want one?”

Ji Yao wasn’t sure what Jiang Heng was up to, but he stared at him, trying to read his intentions from his face.

However, he couldn’t discern anything.

Ji Yao glanced at him, and despite knowing that Jiang Heng had come here today to find evidence against him, he couldn’t resist his habit.

He took the cigarette from Jiang Heng’s hand and slid it into his pocket.

“I don’t smoke,” Ji Yao said unkindly, “You shouldn’t either. The doctor’s orders are to quit smoking and drinking for three months.”

Jiang Heng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, seemingly genuinely amused. He put the cigarette pack back into his pocket.

“You’ve stirred up trouble,” after a brief pause, Jiang Heng’s playful expression faded, and he spoke more seriously, “Li Wen’s father is an outsider in this family. He’s been relying on Li Linghua’s support to establish himself in Shanghai. But over the years, he’s probably not content with being a mere son-in-law anymore. He’s accumulated quite a few debts outside due to his philandering.”

“Aren’t these your client’s private matters?” Ji Yao couldn’t help but taunt him. “You’re just telling me like this?”

“Public information is open for anyone who’s interested to find out,” Jiang Heng said.

Ji Yao didn’t yield to Jiang Heng’s provocations, but he couldn’t resist listening when the matter concerned him.

“Li Wen’s father is scheming to divorce Li Linghua and wants a share of the assets, but Li Linghua is prepared. She’s transferred most of the assets under Li Wen’s name. If they divorce now, he won’t get a penny,” Jiang Heng continued. “The woman you met earlier, Zhou Fang, is Li Wen’s father’s mistress. Lately, she’s been pushing for a divorce and a division of assets. There’s a lot more to this story that I can’t tell you. I can only say that Li Linghua suspects her son’s death wasn’t an accident but a murder. That’s why she’s clinging to it—you’ve stepped into the line of fire.”