Related Cases (1)
Related Novels (1)
Related Chapters (5)
The Turfan Verdict
Words: 3230 · Source Novel:: The Forger's Silence
Modern archaeologists unearth the original Wang Wenhuan v. Zhang Weiren case file alongside Simo's pigment analysis in a Turfan tomb. A forensic conclusion is finally written: the painter murdered himself to testify, making his death the most eloquent silence in legal history.
Reopening the Case
Words: 3509 · Source Novel:: The Forger's Silence
The loan case Wang Wenhuan v. Zhang Weiren is retried. Zhang Weiren, now a broken man, testifies fully. The magistrate and his nephew are executed, and Simo's silent protest is entered as evidence in the Tang courts.
Father's Eyes
Words: 3153 · Source Novel:: The Forger's Silence
Wang Wenhuan discovers the painting and realizes his son intends to expose the magistrate. Before he can flee to the capital, Li Yao's men strangle him and stage his death as a suicide by hanging, leaving the room in chilling stillness.
The Ledger of Bodies
Words: 3058 · Source Novel:: The Forger's Silence
He finds that his father's loan case was a sham to launder gold from forgery sales. The county files Wang Wenhuan v. Zhang Weiren are themselves forged—real debt papers written over a hidden roster of murdered painters.
Debt of Shame
Words: 3124 · Source Novel:: The Forger's Silence
665 AD, Gaochang. Creditor Wang Wenhuan drags debtor Zhang Weiren before the county office. Zhang cannot pay in cash and forcibly offers a scroll attributed to Gu Kaizhi as collateral. Wang takes the painting home, unaware it is about to infect his household with quiet horror.