"You're talking nonsense!" Manager Wu said sternly, "How could it possibly be broken? Are you insinuating that we dropped the inkstone and are blaming it on your Hanlin Academy?"
Ning Zhiyuan had his doubts as well, but since no one believed him, he felt so constrained that he didn't dare to voice his questions. Now that Xiao Liulang had spoken up, he found a bit of confidence to add, "I also don't think it was me who broke it. The floor below is wooden, and the object wasn't placed very high. Who knows how it lightly tapped and then split in two..."
Scholar Han turned to Xiao Liulang, "Do you have any evidence?"
While he didn't wish for Ning Zhiyuan to be guilty, he wouldn't absolve Ning Zhiyuan by making someone else take the blame either. Princess Xinyang was not someone with a good temper, and the consequences of slandering her servants were severe.