Porcelain, affected by firing temperature, soil quality, and glaze, typically yields only five or six usable pieces per ten, which is rare, and three or four per ten is considered lucky. If luck was poor, it was even possible that not a single usable piece emerged from an entire kiln. Yet, even with such failures, there would be some flawed, imperfect, or cracked pieces; it was impossible for every single piece, like the ones Song Tao produced in this firing, to be shattered, with not a single intact bowl.
Not to mention Song Jiyun, everyone present had their attention drawn there.
Prince Ning’s expression darkened as he walked over with furrowed brows.
The earlier comfort and ease were no more.
"What happened?" he demanded sternly.
Several officials from the Three Departments also gathered around.
Song Tao looked ashen, her lips white, and she knelt on the ground trembling, sifting through the shattered sagger, muttering repeatedly, "Impossible! Impossible!"
Fear, shock, and unrest seeped from her very bones.
Something about this emotion seemed amiss!
Song Jiyun quietly raised an eyebrow.
In the past, Song Tao had fled in embarrassment before her, but this was different; this was a profound fear.
Was it because Song Tao also knew she was a pawn in Prince Ning’s hands and that he wouldn’t spare her now that she had failed?
But what conspiracy had they been plotting before?
Was it because she had guarded strictly, denying them any opportunity, or was there something else peculiar about the situation?
Song Jiyun pondered internally, feeling that there was likely something odd here.
Could it be that Yuan Yunzhong had helped her?
She scanned the crowd for Yuan Yunzhong.
The crowd had surged towards Song Tao, and she couldn’t find him after a long while.
However, Prince Ning’s face had turned steely as he reprimanded the government officials helping Song Tao with the sagger, "Hurry up!"
There were still more than a dozen sagger unopened.
If none were intact, wouldn’t it prove that Song Tao had previously been framing Song Jiyun?
He, the one supporting Song Tao in the lawsuit, would be stuck with the stigma of "failing to discern character."
His gaze towards Song Tao grew somewhat sinister.
"It was Song Jiyun who ruined me!" Song Tao, as if suddenly remembering something, shouted, then lunged toward the glazing materials on the side. "Only if the glaze material is faulty, could all porcelain embryos crack."
Song Jiyun was taken aback.
It truly was so.
Had someone tampered with Song Tao’s glaze material?
Song Jiyun’s thoughts raced. Though she had no answers, she needed to manage the situation before her and prevent Song Tao from slinging mud at her.
"Third Miss Song," she addressed Song Tao, "although this is the main entrance of the Colored Glaze Factory, it is also the hall established by the Three Departments. You must be responsible for what you say. You claim that I harmed you, you need to produce evidence. Otherwise, I must ask the honorable officials of the Three Departments to preside and sue you for defamation!"
Song Tao’s rush towards the glaze seized up.
Initially, in order to avoid suspicion and to not provoke any discord, both their glaze materials and the wood used for the furnace had been prepared by the Manufacturing Office, and then piled together for them to randomly pick from.
Her current accusation towards the glaze implied accusing the officials of the Manufacturing Office of negligence.
These were minor issues; the critical point was, how could her glaze be faulty?
Song Tao, recalling what she had done, no longer cared for those concerns and hastily unveiled the pot containing the remaining glaze material.
Many glaze materials are made from ash and various minerals ground into powder, which all looked like shades of deep and light plant colors at a glance, indistinguishable from one another.
She dipped her index finger into the pot, took some glaze material, and tasted it.
Song Tao tasted a strange flavor.
Indeed, someone had tampered with her glaze!
"The glaze has been sabotaged!" she screamed, her eyes seeking help from Prince Ning.
Prince Ning’s brows furrowed even more deeply.
Yet Yuan Yunzhong stepped forward from the crowd.
He was dressed in a dark cyan fine cloth Taoist robe, which enhanced his noble appearance, elegant demeanor, and graceful movements.
"Third Miss Song said someone tampered with your glaze," he said, his voice clear and even, yet mysteriously making it perfectly audible to those standing within a yard of him.
The officials of the Three Departments immediately looked his way, greeting him one after another, "Lord Yuan has arrived!"
"My nephew is here!"
"My cousin is here!"
Yuan Yunzhong greeted each person in turn.
The front of the Glazed Factory had turned into a place of reunion.
Those at the back who couldn’t hear what was being said were pushing forward, shouting, "Those at the front, stop talking and listen to what this new official has to say. I only caught half of it; this new official is asking questions!"
Many echoed, "Yes, yes! Let us at the back hear what’s being said too!"
"Then don’t push!"
Amidst the babble, Yuan Yunzhong finished exchanging pleasantries with everyone but didn’t even glance at Prince Ning, and continued to ask Song Tao, "You mentioned that your glaze was tampered with, is the ceramic pot in your hand the evidence?"
Song Tao instinctively clutched the pot closer to her chest, lips trembling, and remained silent for a long while.
The crowd that had been enjoying the spectacle suddenly fell silent.
Yuan Yunzhong asked again.
Now, most of the onlookers could hear, and those at the back had it relayed to them word by word.
Song Tao’s gaze shifted uneasily, as if she had something to say but hesitated.
Yuan Yunzhong’s expression turned solemn in an instant, and he bowed to the chief judges of the Three Departments, saying, "Since the Third Miss Song cannot clarify, can we conclude that what she just said is not factual, but rather a slip of the tongue under emotional distress?"
The chief judges of the Three Departments exchanged glances.
Yuan Yunzhong was playing the role of a Litigation Master.
Scholars truly despised litigation masters.
It was clear that the rumors in Capital City weren’t false; this Young Master Yuan and the woman from the Song Family Kiln Factory share a lovers’ vow.
The chief judge from the Ministry of Punishments cleared his throat and said, "Third Miss Song, do you have any objections?"
Song Tao was suddenly flustered.
Having never been through this, she did not know the correct response, but her instinct for self-preservation told her this was a very critical moment, and she looked again towards Prince Ning for help.
Yuan Yunzhong saw this and laughed, "Are you hoping for Prince Ning to make your decisions for you? It’s understandable; you, a young lady who has never travelled far, to stand before so many and present evidence, must be too much for you."
He finished speaking and looked towards Prince Ning.
Prince Ning’s expression grew even uglier.
Song Tao however, realized that Yuan Yunzhong was trying to pin her actions on Prince Ning, making everyone think she was just a puppet of the Prince.
Her heart raced for a moment.
But when she saw the sharp, dagger-like gaze Prince Ning shot her, she immediately lost her nerve, not daring to entertain wild thoughts any longer, and hurriedly said, "No, it’s not."
Should she tell everyone that there was something wrong with her glaze?
The thought spun in her mind, and she quickly made up her mind.
Let the taller ones deal with troubles when the sky falls.
If something happened to her, wouldn’t she still have Prince Ning?
Prince Ning wanted her to accuse Jiyun as a way to counter Yuan Yunzhong. As long as Prince Ning still needed her, she could escape.
As for the future, since she could impress Prince Ning with her porcelain-making skills, and he needed to continue smuggling, he would surely protect her.
At worst, she would just work for him without pay.
Song Tao gritted her teeth and said, "The glaze in this pot that I am holding was what I used before, and it indeed has issues."
Whether it’s the Manufacturing Office or Supervising Pottery Officer Wan Xiaoquan, they may be experts in the eyes of the Three Departments, but to those of us who have been making porcelain for generations, they are merely outsiders who might not truly articulate the complexities involved in porcelain-making.
She believed neither the Manufacturing Office nor Eunuch Wan could accurately determine what was different about the glaze in her pot.
Song Tao’s heart steadied, and her eyes hardened.
She loudly declared, "Someone definitely switched my glaze."
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