NOVPUBHe admitted that his performance in bed wasn’t great, 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
but he wouldn’t stand for anyone claiming his musical talent fell short!
It was merely a matter of being out of practice; given a little time, he was certain he could return to his peak.
As the door to the cell was about to shut, Liu Shang suddenly stood up and exclaimed loudly, "Wait!"
Li Nuo and the others turned to look at him.
Liu Shang looked at Zhang Sizheng and said, "Esteemed sir, could you please leave this zither with me? I will return it to you when I leave tomorrow."
Zhang Sizheng thought for a moment, then had the ancient zither sent into the cell.
It was clear that Zhang Sizheng was also a lover of music. As he walked out of the cell, Li Nuo asked Zhang Sizheng, "Lord Zhang, do you know if any of the scholars in this session have surpassed Lord Liu in the Music Department?"
Without hesitation, Zhang Sizheng declared, "Absolutely not possible. Even before the Imperial Examination, Lord Liu was already known far and wide as a musical genius. Even if his current standard is not what it once was, he is still beyond comparison with the other scholars. None of this session’s scholars in the Music Department have stood out as remarkably as Lord Liu did back then..."
Li Nuo expressed his surprise, "Is he really that impressive?"
Lost in memories for a moment, Zhang Sizheng then added, "Not only was Lord Liu the Music Department Top Scholar of his session, but his result in music was also the rare ’excellent’. Looking back at nearly a decade of Imperial Examinations, only Lord Liu and Lord Li have achieved such a ’excellent’ rating in the Music Department..."
It seemed Li Nuo had underestimated the Director of Music.
The Imperial Examination had ten levels of grading, much like the rating of officials, divided into A, B, and C, with each level further divided into high, medium, and low.
A+ was already considered the highest evaluation in the general sense.
But above A+ was another level named ’excellent’.
However, it was extremely difficult to attain an ’excellent’ rating in the Imperial Examination; it meant that the subject was perfect and flawless.
A full score in Mathematics could earn an ’excellent’ rating.
After all, the nature of the subject was clear-cut: right is right, wrong is wrong, with little room for dispute.
Although Mathematics in the Imperial Examination was challenging, there were always a few ’excellent’ papers each year.
Music was different, it was subjective; the preferences of the examiners could influence the scoring to some extent.
An ’excellent’ rating in music was as significant as a perfect score in the college entrance examination language test—the difficulty incomparable to that of Mathematics.
Not to mention ’excellent’, even achieving an A+ was difficult.
Most of the time, the top scholar in the Music Department only managed an A or A-.
When Li Nuo left the Ministry of Justice, he faintly heard the sound of a zither coming from within...
Zhang Sizheng stood outside the cell, a look of surprise on his face.
Indeed, he was one of the only two Music Department Top Scholars over the past decades to have achieved ’excellent’, and when he played the zither for the second time, it was already much better than the first.
By this time, Li Nuo was already seated in the carriage.
For the current Liu Shang, who disdained even the Law Code, there was no need to test those students.
The hopes for the previous Music Department top scholars weren’t great either.
It was better to urge Liu Shang a bit more.
Given his talent, if he applied himself to practice for some time, he might just be able to return to his peak.
He would decide what to do after Liu Shang got out of the Ministry of Justice.
Housekeeper Wu’s skill in driving the carriage had improved so much. Li Nuo leaned back in the carriage, planning to rest a little when suddenly he heard a strain of music.
Li Nuo wasn’t particularly adept at appreciating music, but he found the tune quite pleasant.
He opened his eyes and said, "Stop for a moment."
The carriage slowly came to a halt, and Li Nuo lifted the curtain to look outside, his expression slightly stunned.
It was Jade Sound Pavilion.
He thought for a moment, then jumped down from the carriage and walked into Jade Sound Pavilion.
He had previously had little interest in listening to music, but since he intended to participate in the Imperial Examination, it was impossible not to understand music.
He wondered about the level of musicianship at Jade Sound Pavilion; if he could find a musician approved by the Law Code, it would save him a lot of effort.
Considering the size of Jade Sound Pavilion, he couldn’t even guess how much silver it made every day. Li Nuo didn’t believe that every entry was honestly taxed.
Such matters were fine if not investigated, but once scrutinized, there was bound to be an issue.
The business of Jade Sound Pavilion was booming.
The first floor was packed with no empty seats, and on a stage surrounded by translucent curtains on the second floor, one could vaguely see a musician performing.
She was playing the very tune that Li Nuo had just heard.
Inside the counter, several women were chatting. One of them glanced up and suddenly paused, then quickly stepped out from the counter and approached Li Nuo, saying, "Young master, you’ve arrived; let me take you upstairs..."
Other guests in the hall began to whisper to those next to them upon seeing this.
"Weren’t they saying that all the private rooms upstairs were taken?"
"It must be some big shot; places like this always have a few rooms reserved for important figures."
"Who is this man? He looks unfamiliar..."
Amidst the buzzing of the crowd, Li Nuo was led by the woman to an upstairs room.
He looked around and noticed this seemed to be the same room he had been in before.
A voluptuous woman was arranging flowers in a vase on the table. Hearing the sound at the door, she turned to look, paused for a moment, then quickly got up and greeted him with a soft, sultry voice, "Young master, you’ve come..."
A short while later.
In a room on the second floor of Jade Sound Pavilion, Li Nuo gently sipped his aromatic tea, admiring the arrangement of flowers on the table.
Unexpectedly, the master of floral artistry at Jade Sound Pavilion was none other than the Phoenix Lady herself.
This meant she was undoubtedly skilled in painting as well.
Usually, those who were adept at painting wouldn’t have shabby calligraphy skills either.
She was also the Pavilion Master of Jade Sound Pavilion, so she must have some musical ability too.
