My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 282 - 163: First in the Spring Exam_2

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was the Prime Minister of Taichang, he would have reported them to the Ministry of Personnel long ago.

Lord Liu, who had recently been promoted from Director of Music to Prime Minister of Taichang—jumping from a Standard seventh-rank to a Secondary Fifth-rank—a true three-level leap, undoubtedly emerging as a rising star in the court of Daxia with limitless prospects, he dared not provoke.

Liu Shang was indeed tired of listening and considered these performances an insult to his ears.

However, he also knew that he couldn't have too high expectations for these spring examination candidates; he leaned back into his chair and said, "The remaining candidates, let the two of you decide, whatever you judge, this official will agree with..."

The two examiners discussed and decided to give the candidate just now a B.

Although his performance in the Music Department was indeed lacking and could reasonably be graded B or even B-, a B- would mean he couldn't pass the spring examination; in such cases, they usually showed some leniency.

The next moment, one of the examiners spoke up, "Next."

Li Nuo walked into the room.

The first thing that caught his eye was a large screen.

Behind the screen, he could faintly see the silhouettes of the three examiners.

The Music Department had no written exam; to avoid favoritism among the examiners, a screen was placed between them and the candidates, so neither could see the other.

An examination official checked Li Nuo's examination certificate and then pointed to a wooden box at the doorway, saying, "Please draw your examination topic from this box."

Li Nuo reached into the wooden box and pulled out a wooden placard that read 'Cloud Gate·Chapter Six'.

There was limited time for the examination, so it wasn't possible for candidates to play through all Six Musics; they generally drew a section to play, but candidates couldn't cheat—they had to be proficient in all Six Musics; if they drew one they didn't know, they'd have to wait another four years.

The official said, "Please play Cloud Gate, Chapter Six."

Li Nuo sat at the instrument, first tested the sound, and made some fine adjustments to several strings.

This was the first step of the Music Department examination, and due to the excessive tension, many candidates would forget this step, resulting in their grade being lowered by one level, potentially costing them the next opportunity.

After tuning the instrument, he slowly began to pluck the strings.

Behind the screen,

Liu Shang, who had been lazily reclining in his chair, resting with closed eyes, slowly sat upright.

His eyes remained closed as he listened quietly to the music coming from in front of the screen.

Before long, the piece ended.

Liu Shang slowly opened his eyes.

This performance was simply flawless.

Not just for a spring examination; even in the Imperial Examination, it would be rare for someone to play at this level.

This was the standard of a Music Department Top Scholar.

Even if Liu Shang played the piece himself, he couldn't do it any better.

That was after months of diligent practice.

Just a few months ago, he was inferior to this candidate.

Liu Shang stood up subconsciously, wanting to see what kind of person was behind the screen, but was stopped by the wrists by an examiner sitting beside him.

The examiner looked at him in shock, "Lord Liu, what are you doing? The examiner is not allowed to see the candidates privately; otherwise, their score will be invalidated and you will also be punished..."

Liu Shang halted his steps, and sat back down.

Even though it drove him nearly mad with curiosity, he still had to abide by the rules of the examination.

The two examiners couldn't help but be astonished.

"Above the spring examination, to have such talented individuals in the Music Department, could it be the musical genius from Jin State?"

"That's impossible; he has already passed the Jin State spring examination, and he can directly attend the Imperial Examination. It's unlikely that he would appear here."

"It seems that this year's competition for the Music Department Top Scholar will be exceptionally fierce..."

One examiner tentatively proposed, "A+?"

The other nodded and said, "This official thinks so too."

Within the Music Department, A+ is already the highest evaluation.

Most of the past Music Department top scholars scored either an A or an A-.

At this time, a voice broke the silence.

Liu Shang was furious, "What A+? This performance is without a fault, if this isn't considered outstanding, then what is considered outstanding? Do you even understand music?"

The two were embarrassed.

If someone else had said this, the two would have turned hostile by now.

But the speaker was the Prime Minister of Taichang, the former Music Department top scholar, the foremost authority on entering the path through music in Daxia.

No one understood music better than him.

They exchanged a glance and could only say, "If Lord Liu says it's outstanding, then it's outstanding..."

The candidate's score from a moment ago was judged to be outstanding, and behind the screen, Liu Shang was restless.

He truly wanted to see what that musical genius looked like.

But the spring examination was very strict; the examiners only had the responsibility to judge, knowing neither the candidates' names nor even their examination numbers; after the examiners decided on the results, dedicated personnel recorded them.

He would have to wait until after the spring examination was over to inquire further.

...

Li Nuo stepped out of the Examination Hall, Li Anning had been waiting at the door for who knew how long; her first question was, "How did it go?"

Li Nuo gestured to her with a confident hand movement.

The results of the Music Department were actually determined on the spot, but they wouldn't tell the candidates.

On the official Imperial Examination, the top scholars of each subject would only be revealed at the very end of the examination.

The next morning, the list of candidates who had passed the Music Department was posted on the walls outside the Examination Hall.

In this subject, another two hundred or so people were eliminated.

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Ordinary Music Department top scholars would also only score an A or an A-; although the spring examination's requirements were lower, to obtain a B, one would still need some natural gift in music; purely relying on practice without inborn talent, it would be very difficult to reach that level.

After the Music Department, only less than four hundred candidates from the Seventh Examination Hall remained.