Neverland

Xu Muzhou actually doesn't quite understand the daily life and hobbies of these nobles.

For example, they insist on wearing ill-fitting hard leather high-heeled shoes, divide three meals into six meals, and dance and listen to music in addition to watching plays and drinking tea every day.

Generally speaking, daily life is very decadent and corrupt, Xu Muzhou, a good young man in the new century, thinks so.

Xu Muzhou took off his coat and handed it to the servant who served at the door. While walking into the banquet hall, he took a glass of light-colored champagne from the passing waiter.

Robert's castle is very large, and there is a large banquet hall on the first floor dedicated to holding balls. For this seven-day banquet, this room has been open to the public.

Xu Muzhou came a little later, and the first dance piece was already halfway through. Xu Muzhou himself knew nothing about dancing, so he didn't join in the fun by the dance floor. The leisure area is gone.

Most of the first dance music is prepared for nobles with high status. The nobles of the right age will use this method to build a good communication channel, expand their social network, and officially enter the nobles' social circle.

This seems to be a tacit understanding of the upper class, so in the first dance song, few civilians will rashly go to the dance floor to join in the fun.

After all, whether it is rejected by a noble lady or cut off by a noble youth, it is not a matter of face.

So at this stage, most of the guests without companions will consciously stay in the leisure area or the periphery of the dance floor, waiting for the end of the dance music to applaud.

The task Yan Cen gave Xu Muzhou was to get close to the social people invited by Catherine. It would be better if he could get the relationship network with Catherine from them.

Due to the noble status of Earl Robert played by Yan Cen, which limits his social status, this kind of matter can only be handed over to Xu Muzhou.

As for Song Yan, she had another task - Yan Cen asked her to check if there was anything unusual about the rose bushes outside the manor.

Xu Muzhou took a sip of champagne and looked around the leisure area.

Before coming, Xu Muzhou got Catherine's guest invitation list from Yan Cen. On the countess' invitation list, the two top two were the novelist Gail, who had been mentioned many times, and the music Dean.

Catherine's list only had names and positions, and there was no corresponding portrait for Xu Muzhou to identify.So Xu Muzhou sipped champagne in small sips, his eyes swept over the people in the leisure area one by one.

Different professionals will have different behavioral characteristics. For example, the beautiful lady who is choosing meals at the table, her steps are light, most of the meals she chooses are vegetables and fruits, and she refuses the salad dressing handed to her by the waiter , like a professional dancer.

Xu Muzhou adjusted his glasses, and his eyes fell on a certain middle-aged man across the long dining table.

The other party only wore a well-regulated black suit, which looked ordinary and nothing special, but his eyes kept falling on the band on the stage.Xu Muzhou observed him for a while, and found that his brows had been furrowed tightly, and he had been watching the band for 2 minutes.

Xu Muzhou had a clue in his mind, he drank another sip of wine, and walked towards the other party.

"You've been looking at that cellist for a long time." Xu Muzhou walked to the other side and asked with a polite smile, "Do you want to change the song?"

The man's eyes still fell on the band, and he didn't mean to reply at all.

Xu Muzhou raised his voice slightly, and asked again: "Sir?"

"Ah...?" The other party couldn't react in time, turned to look at Xu Muzhou, stood up quickly, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was too engrossed just now."

"It's nothing." Xu Muzhou shook his wine glass, sat down on the chair beside him familiarly, and then stretched out his hand to signal: "Please sit down too, don't be too restrained... I was asking you just now because I wanted to Do you want to change the song? After all, I think you have been looking there for a long time."

"It's not." The man shook his head: "It's just that the cellist in the band didn't take good care of his violin... His third string was a little loose, but he didn't notice it himself."

"Really?" Xu Muzhou asked with great interest, "But it doesn't sound out of tune to me."

"That's right." The man lowered his head, smiled shyly, and said, "It's just my personal opinion. Judging from the sound quality, this cellist's sanxian should be newly replaced, so it is different from other strings. There will be a slight difference in comparison ... but it doesn't sound obvious from the music."

"So that's the case." Xu Muzhou nodded, and asked again: "It's really amazing. Excuse me, how did you become so familiar with musical instruments?"

"I'm a composer." The man said modestly: "My name is Dean Carter, and I was invited by the countess to attend the banquet...I wonder who you are?"

"Russell." Xu Muzhou shook hands with him as he spoke. The musician was wearing a pair of white gloves. His wrists were very thin. There was only a thin layer of skin wrapped around the wrist bones, and the flesh under the flesh could almost be seen. Raised knuckles.

"It turned out to be a young master." Dean said with a smile: "Are you also interested in music?"

"Probably no one will be resistant to this mysterious art." Xu Muzhou put on a troubled look, sighed softly, and said, "It's just that I probably don't have musical talent, and I can't get inspired from music at all. .”

"How could it be?" Dean laughed, and he said patiently and gently: "Music, like painting, is the expression of the creator's inner emotions and a channel for emotional catharsis. In the long river of history, art is even more important than any The transmission range of the information delivery channel must be extensive.”

Dean spoke slowly, and Xu Muzhou couldn't help being really interested, and asked, "Is this your opinion?"

"Yes, but this is also true." Dean crossed his fingers and said seriously: "Please think carefully about what is the longest information left in history."

"Words, and music." Xu Muzhou said.

"That's right." Dean said with a smile: "Art is widely disseminated. When people listen to music, they not only feel the creator's state of mind and the emotions contained in it, but also the stories behind the creation are also spread along with the music. Well known."

As Dean spoke, he slightly raised his right hand, made a gesture of commanding the band in mid-air, and drew an arc lightly with his fingertips in mid-air, humming a song that Xu Muzhou had never heard before. minor.

The tone is soft and soft, with a long tail, and it sounds very gentle.

Xu Muzhou waited patiently for Dean to finish humming this piece of music, then clapped his hands lightly, and praised: "It's very nice."

"It's a nursery rhyme from the country," said Dean. "You may not have heard it, but country kids can sing it—no matter what country it is. It's an amazing thing because so many people who live in People in the countryside rarely come to towns, their information is blocked and barren, but they are invariably illuminated by the same piece of music, which may be the charm of music.”

When the musician talked about music, he swept away his shy temperament and became eloquent.

"You're right." Xu Muzhou said, "I'm also very envious of someone with musical talent like you."

"Countess Robert is also such a person." Dean said with emotion: "I have never seen a madam like her."

"Do you have any relationship with Madam?" Xu Muzhou suddenly became interested and asked, "...Well, because Countess Robert rarely socializes, I know very little about her. I only heard about her. I heard that she is a A very personable lady."

"I haven't met Mrs. in person either. But we've had several correspondences... Mrs. has given me a unique opinion on some of the pieces I've composed, and I've benefited from those comments." Dean said: "She must be A very delicate and pure person, only a loving person can fully immerse himself in music."

"Indeed." Xu Muzhou agreed.

"I came here this time because of Madam's invitation." Dean said with a smile: "Thanks to this Madam, she hopes that I can compose a song for her love with Earl Robert, and I will sing it on the seventh day." Play it at the dinner party."

The word "hope" instantly lit up the mission radar in Xu Muzhou's mind, and the non-existent mission antenna circled twice in Xu Muzhou's mind, and then precisely pointed at Dean.

"Did Madam raise any questions about this?" Xu Muzhou asked.

"Oh, your guess is really accurate." Dean said pleasantly: "Yes, the lady has a name-she wants me to compose this song with the theme of 'Quiet Moonlight'."

"Sounds very romantic." Xu Muzhou's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "So have you written the song yet?"

"...I'm ashamed to say it." Dean smiled awkwardly: "Although I already have an idea, the song I created always feels that it doesn't match the earl and his wife. I have also wandered around the manor in the past two days. Tried to find some inspiration, but couldn't find it."

"Perhaps I can give you some inspiration."

A dull voice suddenly sounded, Xu Muzhou and Dean looked up at the same time, and found a bearded man walking towards them not far away.

The man was wearing a camel-colored dress with a strange dark green shirt underneath, which looked nondescript.The hair exposed under the top hat is slightly curly, and the beard has not been taken care of for about a week. It grows like a clump of dry grass, and the whole person looks very decadent.

Xu Muzhou didn't speak, nor did he get up, he just looked at the man.

"Hello." Dean was the first to politely gesture to the other party: "Excuse me, are you..."

"Just call me Gail." The man took off his hat, bowed to the two of them, and then said, "The countess also made a similar request to me."

Dean didn't know who Gail was, but Xu Muzhou knew it very well—this was the second important person on Catherine's invitation list.

"Really?" Xu Muzhou said, "May I take the liberty to ask for details—oh, you know, I respect the Countess very much and want to know everything related to her."

"Of course." Gail took out his invitation card from his pocket and handed it to Xu Muzhou, not forgetting to explain: "It's a very special nursery rhyme."

Xu Muzhou turned over the page of the invitation, and found that there were a few lines of beautiful cursive characters written on the back.Xu Muzhou read this short nursery rhyme at a glance, and found that he not only knew this nursery rhyme, but was very familiar with it.

—Who killed the mockingbird.