NOVPUBJade Sound Pavilion.
Second-floor room.
Li Nuo looked at his wet shoulder, his face a picture of helplessness.
Women really are made of water.
He only wanted to test his newly acquired ability in music; had he known it would make her cry, he would not have played just now.
Seeing her cry so sadly, those unaware of the situation might think he was a rich heir who had wronged a good family’s daughter.
However, the Music Department Top Scholar really was impressive.
The same piece, played by him, yielded a completely different effect.
Even though Phoenix was the composer, her performance couldn’t compare to his.
Li Nuo nudged Phoenix, who was still monopolizing his shoulder with her sobs, and said, "Hey, stop crying, you’ve made my clothes dirty."
She wore makeup, and these were the clothes he had only just changed into today.
Phoenix clung tightly to his shoulder, sobbing as she said, "Don’t talk, you’re so annoying!"
Li Nuo pushed harder, finding he could not budge her at all.
This woman was strong.
After a few tries, Li Nuo had to give up.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Phoenix finally stopped crying and silently left Li Nuo’s shoulder.
As Li Nuo’s gaze followed her, she huffed and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Li Nuo honestly replied, "Your makeup is smudged, your face is streaked with red, white, and black; aren’t you going to wash it off?"
Phoenix covered her face and ran back to the inner room.
The door slammed shut with a "bang."
A moment later, Li Nuo slowly exited the Jade Sound Pavilion.
His shoulder was wet and streaked with red and white—Phoenix’s rouge and face powder.
Phoenix might look delicate and fragile, but her strength was no small matter.
Li Nuo couldn’t push her away while she lay sobbing on his shoulder.
It had to be said, her qin skill was indeed good, only to have the misfortune of encountering an even more talented, unparalleled expert.
A Music Department Top Scholar who could acquire an "excellent" rating was naturally not an ordinary person. Liu Shang had clearly reached a certain realm in music.
Without any cultivation, he was able to control the emotions of his listeners with a simple qin.
This was even the result of neglecting his skill.
It was hard to imagine how strong he must have been at his peak.
After leaving the Jade Sound Pavilion, Li Nuo returned to the Ministry of Justice.
Only after catching up on the events since his departure, did he understand why the Law Code had been activated.
Liu Shang felt his pride wounded and had been frantically practicing qin in the cell. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Unbelievably, in just a short span of time, he had impressed the Law Code enough to gain its recognition.
Li Nuo had thought that the Law Code assessed an inmate’s abilities at the moment they were jailed.
Now it seemed that was not the case.
The Law Code had not favored the Liu Shang from before.
But once he played several times, found his groove, and improved in skill, he was immediately recognized by the Law Code.
What Li Nuo didn’t know was whether this dynamic ability capture considered only his time in the cell, or if it was deeply linked to him and would change along with his abilities.
If it were the latter, wouldn’t he have to continuously spur the other man on?
Otherwise, if the man’s abilities suddenly dropped below the Law Code’s recognition threshold during the Imperial Examination, Li Nuo could only brace for disgrace.
But after some thought, Li Nuo concluded it wasn’t the latter case.
Otherwise, abilities of the criminals captured in the past would have disappeared upon their deaths.
Relieved after leaving the Ministry of Justice for the second time, Li Nuo relaxed.
No matter what, he didn’t have to worry about the Music Department in the Imperial Examination.
Even without Liu Shang’s peak strength, not achieving top scholar for this department, his ranking wouldn’t be too far behind.
Phoenix’s tears were the best proof.
As the carriage headed toward the Song Residence,
Jade Sound Pavilion.
Phoenix sat in front of the mirror, putting on makeup.
She had even touched up her makeup while changing her clothes earlier, wanting to present her most beautiful self to that person.
It wasn’t for the sake of pleasing him, but to prove herself.
But instead of showing her most beautiful side, she ended up revealing her most disheveled state.
She simply couldn’t understand.
Did he come to Jade Sound Pavilion just to ridicule her qin expertise and then show off his own superior skills?
But she had to admit, his skills were truly exceptional.
He was able to flawlessly replicate the original piece after just one listen.
He could even perceive the story behind the music, beyond its melodic surface.
She felt that Li Nuo understood the piece better than she, the composer, did.
It wasn’t that he was ignorant of music.
Clearly, he was a Music Master whose expertise reached the peak.
Phoenix had seen other Music Masters.
But without exception, those few masters were all well beyond the age of sixty and had dedicated a lifetime to music.
Yet even they could not perform to the standard he had displayed just now.
Music does not necessarily get better with age.
Even though their understanding and intuition of rhythm were at their peak, their aging bodies failed to support a performance as flawless as in their youth.
Without more than a decade of hard practice, no amount of talent could achieve such a level.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help getting angry.
The major intelligence agencies of Daxia were a bunch of incompetents!
They had investigated such a young Grandmaster of Music for eighteen years, and the result was a simpleton…
Whoever believes that is the real fool!
Song Residence.
After being tied up with affairs at the Ministry of Justice and Jade Sound Pavilion, by the time Li Nuo returned to the Song Residence, it was almost dinner time.
After dinner, he and his wife retired to their room.
Lately, before going to sleep, they both would spend time reading.
The couple sat at their desk, facing each other, and Song Jiaren’s gaze casually swept over Li Nuo’s shoulder, "Your clothes are dirty, take them off and leave them aside. In the morning, I’ll have them washed."
