Chapter 36

The King of Chu took the revised score to the Taiyue Bureau to find Shi Guan. He was told that Shi Guan had been overworked and was resting at home for two days.

The King of Chu waited two days. When Shi Guan returned, he handed over the score.

Shi Guan stared at the score for a long time, then squinted and said, “You can’t revise this score.”

The King of Chu didn’t really understand these things. His knowledge of music made it hard enough for him to follow along. Besides, Tao Sheng’s earlier comments about making things up made the King of Chu feel a little guilty.

However, even when facing Shi Guan’s questions, the King of Chu insisted, “I think this was built based on the original with no differences, unless you’ve seen the original.”

Shi Guan smiled and actually pulled out a music score, saying he couldn’t revise the book, so he worked hard to make one. Fortunately, this score wasn’t a unique copy. He and several students searched day and night, eventually finding an identical one in a corner of the library.

The score wasn’t too incomplete, and with a bit of processing, they managed to restore it.

The King of Chu then realized he had been tricked by Shi Guan.

Squinting at Shi Guan, he said, “Even if you have the original, that doesn’t mean the version I had edited is wrong.”

Shi Guan snorted coldly, as if to say, “I’ll prove it today.” He ordered one of the musicians to play both pieces for the King of Chu.

After listening, the King of Chu was pleased. To him, the songs sounded the same.

Tao Sheng was also worried when she saw the song. She kept muttering that if it didn’t work, she could just do something else. But she didn’t expect the finished piece to sound much like the original, at least to her.

However, Shi Guan insisted that professionals would hear a big difference between the two.

After Shi Guan spoke, everyone around agreed.

The King of Chu looked around and snorted at Shi Guan, saying, “This is the Taiyue Bureau, your domain, Lord Shi, so of course, everyone’s on your side. But I don’t believe it, and I want the most impartial person in the world to judge.”

Since both had made big claims in front of the emperor, they eventually went to him.

The emperor had been bored lately, so when he heard there was something interesting to see, he quickly agreed to the King of Chu’s request and invited some professionals to evaluate the music.

Shi Guan’s wife’s brothers were close to the Crown Prince, and Shi Guan himself was a strong supporter of the Crown Prince. Even though it was just a music dispute, it was also partly a political one.

Because of this, Shi Guan would never say the score the King of Chu brought was good. The King of Chu was now in an awkward spot. The emperor seemed to have forgiven him but not fully. Even if he wasn’t biased towards the Eastern Palace, he likely wouldn’t support the King of Chu for the sake of his own future.

Everyone said Shi Guan’s version was more accurate. While the King of Chu’s version was fine, it had some modern elements added in later revisions, making it feel incomplete.

Decisions at court were mostly based on whoever spoke last, with the emperor making the final judgment. After everyone gave their opinions, the emperor said in a deep voice that the original version had a free, unrestrained spirit, while the King of Chu’s version was lighter and smoother, which he personally preferred.

In conclusion, the emperor said, “I still like the version compiled by the King of Chu.” Then he asked, “Where did you find such talented people?”

The King of Chu quickly answered, “She is Miss Luo, cousin of Ji Zhuangyuan, a master at playing the zither and the last disciple of the former Grand Music Master Wei.”

“Oh, it’s her.” The emperor nodded. “Didn’t Lord Shi mention the Taiyue Bureau was lacking talent? Let her join then.”

Tao Sheng was confused when she received the appointment letter.

This was an official document with the emperor’s seal from Xuan Zheng Hall, delivered as an imperial edict. It started with many compliments, and at the end, it mentioned that due to Tao Sheng’s exceptional skills, she was granted entry into the Taiyue Bureau.

The Taiyue Bureau originally belonged to Taichang Temple’s Etiquette Institute but recently gained more importance as the emperor wanted to promote ritual music. As a result, the Ministry of Personnel made reforms, turning the Taiyue Bureau into a higher-level unit with a fourth-rank official position.

The emperor was serious this time, giving her not just an unranked position, but an eighth-rank one as the music director.

Tao Sheng’s heart raced.

She had thought that after arriving in this world, her career of promotions and salary increases was over, but this argument with the King of Chu had given her a big surprise. A few days ago, she felt that her work wasn’t aligned with her talents, but now she had a job that suited her profession.

This imperial edict was drafted by Ji Yanming’s colleague in the Hanlin Academy, and the writer used very refined language. Tao Sheng, having no formal training, had to read it three times to fully understand.

Besides the long praises and job description, there was also a more personal touch, advising her to take care of family matters before officially reporting to the Taiyue Bureau in a month.

_

Xu Xiang returned to the Duke Ling’s mansion covered in dust. Several gatekeepers, seeing him, greeted him with smiles, “Brother Xu, you’re back. It must have been tough out there. Come in and tell us what’s new.”

The prince was kind, and each time Xu Xiang went on a mission, he received many benefits, making it a desirable job. The fact that Xu Xiang got this opportunity showed his special standing with the prince.

Everyone knew Xu Xiang had gone on a long journey to the northwest, so they expected him to come back with extra rewards and teased him to treat them.

Xu Xiang, though having worked for over five years, was still only in his twenties. Unlike the veterans, he just smiled and said, “We’ll have drinks together when there’s time,” before leaving.

After sending away the gatekeeper, Xu Xiang went west to the prince’s study and handed over the results of the investigation to Guan Muyun. These results were based on the clues Xu Xiang found in Qin County and Beijing, along with documents that Shen Ruojin had accidentally wetted at the polo field last time.

Guan Muyun accepted the documents and told his maid to reward Xu Xiang with twenty taels of silver, saying that the matter ended there. Since he and Shen Ruojin were about to get married, there was no need for further investigation, except that the matter had to be kept strictly confidential.

After Xu Xiang left, Guan Muyun thought for a long time before finally opening the contents of the report. Xu Xiang was indeed thorough, as the report was written in great detail with a clear timeline.

It was mentioned that after Marquis Wenyuan and his wife returned from Qin County, Miss Shen fell seriously ill. Perhaps to take care of her feelings, they did not recognize Tao Sheng immediately. Later, Ruojin joined the selection for the princess’s companion and entered the Eastern Palace. However, Ruojin claimed she knew nothing about Tao Sheng’s affairs until after she was chosen, which created a contradiction.

The matter of the Shen family had not been made public yet, and if he sought confirmation from them, it might reach Ruojin’s ears and cause trouble. He closed his eyes and threw the document into the teapot. What was the point of verifying these things? It could only harm their relationship and cause unnecessary problems.

He was certain that Ruojin was the one for him.

Shifting to Shen Ruojin’s thoughts, she was unaware of the near crisis of trust with Guan Muyun. Her focus was on the wedding and dowry. She knew her father and grandmother were selfish, but she hadn’t expected this extent.

Currently, her family was arguing over money with Luo Xin, but her mother refused to cooperate. The more they hid the dowry, the more resistant Luo Xin became to contributing to the wedding preparations.

Her brother Shen Yue understood her situation and offered to help buy her dowry, but he had no independent property or money despite being the eldest son of a marquis. Tang Yizi, Shen Yue’s wife, had a dowry, but she often complained to her parents about her husband’s confusion. As a result, her family took control of her dowry, making it difficult for Shen Yue to ask them to contribute to his sister’s wedding.

Ruojin felt powerless.

In the capital, it was customary for a dowry list to be sent to the groom’s family for review in advance. The Duke’s Mansion had not received such a list for Ruojin, and they soon realized the Shen family hadn’t made any purchases. When the Duke’s wife, Lady Lingguo, heard this, she angrily called Guan Muyun to scold him, saying, “No matter how poor the Shen family is, they were once the Marquis of Wenyuan, appointed by Emperor Jing. It’s ridiculous for the daughter of such a family to marry without a proper dowry. I never imagined our family’s prince would choose such a family.”