Crown of Silence

The next day, early morning. ♦♦  ♦♦

Mr. Sidney, who had not slept all night, turned his head from his office and saw the morning light outside the window, his eyes bloodshot.

The middle-aged man in aristocratic attire knocked on the door politely, and Bain's eyes were full of joy: "Sir, the dean has just got on the carriage and headed to Wellington."

"He ignored the opposition of the Ministry of Education and risked offending five or six big families to expel the Cameron family's McCann from the college. He must make concessions."

Sidney had expected this. The departure of the dean means that the musicians faction will remain silent in the past two months. The aristocratic faction has the upper hand, which is a good thing. However, as one of the representatives of the aristocratic faction of the academy, he cannot be happy at this moment.

"It's a pity that McCann, although he is a parallel importer, he is still a chief."

"He was caught smoking mandala, and he brought it upon himself." Sidney said coldly: "This matter may have been deliberately arranged by his younger brothers and sisters in order to seize his inheritance rights."

"No matter what, the sovereignty of this exam is in our hands, sir."

Bain said: "The Royal Academy of Music will never be allowed to degenerate like this anymore. Musical rhythm is the privilege of the blood of glory. Seeing those shameless guys daring to appear in my class makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Of course." Sidney nodded.

The aristocratic faction has the power to control the admissions examination, which undoubtedly means disaster for poor candidates. Especially in a place with rich aristocratic blood like the Royal Academy of Music. But many people with noble backgrounds regard those untouchables who are equal to them as a thorn in their side...

Only this time, as soon as he said this, Sidney couldn't help but feel a headache: "You can do whatever you want this time, but there is one person... who must be treated with caution."

"Could it be that the rumor about Bach is true?"

Although not many people knew about it, Bain had obviously heard about what happened last night. But because this thing is so absurd and weird, many people don't want to believe it.

"I thought about it all night last night, and it may not be false. I even think... that bastard Maxwell has known about it for a long time, and he just keeps pressing this news, wanting to see me make a fool of myself."

Sidney's face was gloomy: "I won't show up for this exam. It doesn't matter how you clear out the others, but you must treat that oriental brat with caution. Bain, do you understand what I mean?"

"rest assured."

Bain chuckled softly: "A letter of introduction is just a letter of introduction after all, but aren't we? If you fail the exam, even if it's really Bach, you can't say anything, right?"

"It seems you are already prepared?"

"We have carefully prepared the content of the exam, and there are... special links. Everything is under control, sir."

"Then go ahead." Sidney nodded with satisfaction: "The school committee will remember your contribution."

"This is what every noble blood should do."

Bane bent down to say goodbye and closed the door for him with a smile.

-

Every time Ye Qingxuan entered the Royal Conservatory of Music, he had a special feeling.

It was like something had been sucked out of the air, something was missing. Just like saltwater fish entering fresh water, lizards in foggy swamps come into the desert... I always feel slightly smoother when I breathe,

But I have lost my usual feeling, and I don’t know whether it is good or bad.

But when he walked into the school gate, he seemed to be the only one who felt this way. When he looked around at the others, he found that they all had calm faces, as if they didn't notice anything.

Ye Qingxuan twisted his neck in discomfort and continued to move forward under the leadership of the school staff.

Because it was a formal exam today, he didn't bring Lao Fei. It would be terrible if someone thought you were cheating. It is because of this that Lao Fei is particularly unhappy today.

"Please go this way."

Ahead, school guards guided them through the sprawling school district. In the shade of lush trees, the buildings of each faction of the academy can be vaguely seen. After walking in it for a long time, I suddenly felt disoriented.

It is said that the entire school was designed by the artist Hermes a hundred years ago. The division of the school district and some buildings have not been changed for a hundred years, and the strong atmosphere of the Queen Victoria period still remains.

That short-lived era in history ended with the great disaster brought by the steam engine, and the design was no longer common. Ye Qingxuan was very excited to see such an ancient style today.

Everyone in the team marched forward solemnly, only Ye Qingxuan looked around, sometimes exclaiming in a low voice... Occasionally, when an aristocratic student looked over, the word 'bumpkin' was clearly written in his eyes. At this point, Ye Qingxuan just rolled his eyes and turned away.

"This is a public lecture theater. Just wait patiently here."

After pushing open the two heavy wooden doors, the school janitor pointed to the wide space behind the door: "Your names have been posted on your seats. A teacher will be here to hand out test papers later."

Ye Qingxuan sat down in his seat and looked around. Outside the window are thick woods, and among the layers of emerald green, only the square and fountain in the distance can be seen. I don't know how much money was spent when building the academy. There were exquisite patterns on the high-hanging dome, which stopped Ye Qingxuan's gaze for a long time.

But for some reason, he always felt a gaze coming from beside him.

When he turned his head to look, he saw Banner staring at him, with no expression on his pale face. After a long time, he slowly withdrew his gaze and stopped looking over.

"Are all nobles this crazy?"

Ye Qingxuan muttered silently in his heart.

-

As time passed, someone finally walked through the door and handed out the test papers.

"The exam lasts four hours. No whispering, no cheating, no handing in papers in advance, no looking around... Next, the exam begins."

The man with a gloomy face finished speaking coldly, then turned and left without giving the candidates any time to ask questions.

Before leaving, he closed the wooden door that was thick enough for one person.

In the silence as the door slammed shut, everyone looked at each other blankly, wondering what the school was doing. After a long time, someone finally stopped thinking and started to answer the question.

Then... he made a surprised sound.

Ye Qingxuan heard someone in front of him curse in a low voice, but when he was immersed in reading the test papers, he was stunned. In the six-sheet paper, in addition to one page devoted to questions on grammar, music theory, and mathematics, four pages are devoted to essay questions!

A full four pages!

And it’s an advanced topic that has nothing to do with basic music theory!

'The influence of the Order's reform system on the Anglo system a hundred years ago', 'The rise and representative figures of the Psalm Faction', 'A brief introduction to the seven major questions raised by Hermes', 'The similarities and differences between Rune Grammar and Common Language Points', 'Four Merits of Saint Gregory', 'Five Rules of the Cantor'...

Until the last page, it was completely blank.

"Did I make a mistake? This is Trinity College!"

Some candidates grabbed their hair in pain and made painful sounds. The music theory and mathematics I learned after not sleeping all night last night are completely useless!

"Didn't I say that the most difficult thing is advanced mathematics..."

"I haven't learned any rune grammar at all!"

While complaining in a low voice, Ye Qingxuan grabbed the paper and looked around in astonishment.

"Isn't the back door open... too much?"

He clutched the pen, feeling a pang of conscience.

-

-

In the busy examination room, no one thought about looking up at the exquisite dome of the examination room.

No one thought that there was a group of people holding wine glasses on the dome, leisurely looking down at them with sad expressions.

Just above the second floor of the lecture theater, there is a hidden floor that no one knows about. In the magnificent hall, the floor turned out to be completely transparent, like crystal. The examiners monitoring the examination room sat on the sofa, looking down at the changes in the examination room, and exchanging opinions with each other.

"It seems that this year's exam questions are very effective."

Several examiners looked at each other and laughed.

They stared at the sad expressions of the candidates and congratulated the people around them: "Genius idea, Mr. Bain!"

"Excellent."

Bain nodded implicitly, rubbed the goatee on his chin proudly, and said with a smile: "After all, the chant faction is also a part that musicians must understand. If the untouchables don't understand, they can't blame others, right?"

"The Royal Conservatory of Music is the place with the strongest Anglo-American academic style. Just taking advanced mathematics and basic music theory is probably not comprehensive."

Someone responded: "I suggest that this part be expanded in future examinations and education. The status of theology cannot be shaken."

"Agree!"

"Then it's settled."

Bain said: "I will report it to the school committee later. If all the families here agree with this matter, even the dean cannot have his own way, right?"

This proposal naturally won a lot of response and approval.

"The test questions this time are so difficult, what if no one can answer them?" someone asked softly.

"The total number of candidates is two hundred and seventy. We don't need to take care of the more than one hundred black necks who have been removed. We only need to ensure the remaining one hundred people."

"Yes, theology is part of the education of aristocratic families. Even if you are not good at it, you won't be like those low-class people who can't write a single sentence except to praise the saints, right?"

The examiners looked at each other and laughed.

The children of most families must begin to receive education in various aspects when they are still underage, ww.anｓ. coｏIncludes art, theology, and liturgy. It is much better than a commoner who has attended public school for at most two years and only memorized some hymns.

Once the scope of the exam deviates from basic subjects, it is simply a massacre that meets the regulations.

It is always easier to pick up the taller one among the short ones, and besides... the final interpretation is in the hands of the examiner. This time the hand and tail were done more beautifully, even if the dean came back, he couldn't say anything at all.

Seeing the blank expressions of the specially recruited civilians, Bain couldn't help laughing.

During the long examination, someone pushed the door open and quietly sat on a chair in the corner.

The smiles on the aristocratic examiners' faces faded slightly. They just glanced at the old man with disdain and then looked away.

After the noble faction gained the upper hand, the musician faction obviously no longer struggled, and seemed to have given up completely under the instruction of the principal. For the sake of fairness on the surface, the principal just randomly assigned an inconspicuous teacher as the representative of the invigilator, just to go through the motions.

Compared to those nobles who were dressed elegantly and had their hair done meticulously, the clothes of this old man were much more ordinary, and he looked just ordinary, not worthy of the identity of a musician at all.

He sat silently in the corner, without saying a word, just looking down at the candidates' answers. On his right arm, the mechanical metal prosthesis exuded a gloomy glow of slightly rusted black iron, and the four fingers stretched silently.

He looked attentively and attentively, like a child.