NOVPUB"Twins..."
Li Nuo tugged at the corner of his mouth, knowing the Yin Yang School couldn’t predict everything.
Predicting offspring and marriage prospects was even harder than determining one’s fate.
If he truly had that ability, the court of Daxia would have honored him as the State Preceptor, not left him to tell fortunes on the streets.
Housekeeper Wu cheerfully drove the carriage.
Although the Li Family had never had twins,
the Song Family had plenty, so the fortune teller’s words weren’t baseless.
Thus, he spent ten more taels of silver to ask for more predictions.
The fortune teller said that the young master had several destined romantic connections.
He also mentioned that the Li Family would prosper in the next generation.
He felt that the old man had some ability, but not much.
How could the young madam allow the young master to have multiple romantic connections?
If the young master dared to have other romantic connections, with her temperament, she might break his legs...
Although he didn’t believe these words, he didn’t ask for his silver back.
He took it as buying some peace of mind.
Back at the Song Residence, during lunch, Li Nuo looked several times at the wife sitting opposite him.
After more than a month of daily interactions, their relationship had become quite harmonious.
Although there had been no major progress yet, he couldn’t help but look forward to the future.
Despite the fortune teller’s nonsensical predictions, he was genuinely curious about what their future children would look like.
Would they resemble the wife more, or him?
Given their genetics, the child would be attractive whether they resembled him or her.
Song Jiaren picked up the last shrimp and, seeing Li Nuo staring at her, decided after a moment’s thought to place the shrimp in his bowl...
...
After lunch, as Li Nuo prepared to oversee Zhou Yu practicing at the Horse Field, Housekeeper Wu came in and said, "Young master, there’s news about the official you paid special attention to last time..."
Li Nuo couldn’t recall at the moment and asked, "Which official?"
Housekeeper Wu replied, "The Director of Music, Liu Shang."
Li Nuo remembered, this man was the Music Department Top Scholar from the last Imperial Examination and also his target for scouting talents for the Music Department.
Asking Liu Shang for music lessons was just an excuse for appeasing his father-in-law; Li Nuo’s real intent was to acquire his music skills.
Upon hearing this news, he perked up and asked, "What about Liu Shang?"
Housekeeper Wu said, "He didn’t return home after leaving the Music Bureau at noon but went straight to the brothel..."
Zhou Yu was a potential talent with a promising future.
Liu Shang was a proven asset of immediate utility.
With progress in the affairs of the Music Department, Li Nuo lost all interest in going to the Horse Field and immediately said, "Let’s go to the Ministry of Justice!"
In Chang’an, Hundred Flowers Building.
On the second floor, inside a private room.
A seductive woman draped in a translucent garment, her pale skin partially visible, closed the door and, sitting at the table, a young man before her, performed a courteous bow, saying, "This humble woman will first play a tune on the qin for the distinguished guest..."
The young man waved his hand and said, "No need for the qin, take off your clothes."
The seductive woman was momentarily stunned. Although not the most elite in Chang’an, Hundred Flowers Building was only slightly less esteemed.
Clients who came here generally possessed some scholarly decorum; rarely did she encounter a guest as impatient as this one.
She looked at the impatient guest and feigned a blush, saying, "We will reach that step eventually; why hurry, my lord? My qin skills are quite exquisite. Please listen..."
She leisurely sat down and plucked the strings, sending a soulfully pleasing melody.
For an ordinary person, this tune would be delightful, relaxing one’s mood and bringing joy.
But for a connoisseur, it was riddled with flaws.
The young man sitting at the table listened with furrowed brows, his fists clenching inside his sleeves.
What kind of playing is this!
Incorrect pitches, poor performance!
Chaotic rhythm, poor performance!
Blindly pursuing technique with no emotion, the worst of the worst! 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
The most outrageous part was that before playing, she hadn’t even tuned the qin, which explained the inaccurate pitches. Although the deviation was slight, it was still unbearably jarring to his ears...
After the piece ended, the seductive woman slowly stood and, swaying her hips, moved beside the young man, sitting in his lap as she exhaled a fragrant breath and smiled, asking, "How was my playing, my lord?"
The young man, expressionless, said, "Very good. Don’t play again."
As his words fell, he scooped the woman up and threw her onto the bed.
The seductive woman cooed in protest, then closed her eyes, waiting for his next move.
But after a long wait, nothing happened.
She only heard a few notes of the qin.
Getting up from the bed, bewildered, she looked over.
She saw the guest sitting behind the qin, occasionally adjusting the strings, apparently tuning...
After a while, he played a few notes, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Then he stood up, walked briskly to the bed,
and one by one, threw his clothes onto the floor.
Soon, the room filled with a more urgent melody.
Moments later, Liu Shang exited the Hundred Flowers Building, taking a deep breath.
At home, having to endure that faithless, flirtatious wife, coming to the brothel for joy, he was forced to listen to that woman play the qin.
Such dreadful qin skills, utterly unbearable; he could play better with his feet. How could she dare claim she was good?
However,
although her qin skills were inferior,
her beauty was genuine.
After venting, Liu Shang’s mood finally improved.
Looking at the bustling crowd on the street, his mind felt clear, and he began to ponder: being ruled by bodily desires, was this truly living? If life wasn’t for satisfying desires, what then was its true meaning...
