Chapter 1326: The Great Artist

Swish.

Hearing these words, the crowd's expressions changed; they turned their heads in unison to see the newcomer, and their brows furrowed even further.

Why did he come?

The person who arrived was an old man dressed in pale silver attire, wearing a monocle with a gold chain; everyone his gaze swept over dodged and flickered, not daring to meet his eyes.

He stepped into Count Austin's castle with a steady gait.

Seeing him, Count Austin felt his heart tighten; he was indeed a guest he had invited, but he had held no hope that he would actually come.

A smile hung on Theresa's face as she bowed respectfully, performing a salute: "Respected Duke Mitchell, I did not expect you to arrive."

Duke Mitchell was the most serious and impartial duke in Austria, and also one of Austria's pillars.

He had already served three Grand Dukes; he was a true veteran figure.

Moreover, he was a lover of music; no one expected Count Austin to be able to invite him today.

Duke Mitchell removed his hat in salute and said indifferently: "Thank you, Grand Duke Theresa."

After the two exchanged simple greetings, Duke Mitchell ignored Theresa and cast his serious gaze onto Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng just looked at this serious old man like that, a faint smile hanging on his face.

But what happened next, no one expected.

Duke Mitchell actually removed his hat to Liu Zheng, this Longyan person, and bowed at seventy-five degrees, the most respectful of courtesies.

"Hello, very pleased to meet you, I am Duke Mitchell." After rising, Duke Mitchell took the initiative to extend his right hand.

Liu Zheng shook it casually and said indifferently: "Liu Sheng."

At this moment, the European Nobles could not sit still; Duke Mitchell was actually shaking hands with a Longyan person—this was simply a fantasy.

Their Austria had already gone to war with Longyan.

And Duke Mitchell was still showing goodwill here; what was the meaning of this?

Duke Mitchell swept his cold eyes around the surroundings and said indifferently: "Art knows no borders; Liu Sheng must have come here to attend the ball in the capacity of a Longyan artist."

Liu Zheng nodded; that was indeed the case.

"Then let us say no more; since Liu Sheng was willing to come, it means he is our friend now."

The crowd was silenced, having no Method to refute him.

Mitchell revealed a smile and said indifferently: "Liu Sheng, I do not know if you trust me, but if possible, I can act as the notary for you and Theresa."

Liu Zheng thought for a moment; this Duke Mitchell still had some status in Austria.

Forget it, he just wanted to play around; winning or losing was not important to him.

Theresa also agreed; she looked into Liu Zheng's eyes and said: "I hope you understand, regardless of whether Duke Mitchell is the notary or not, I will judge fairly."

Liu Zheng indicated that it did not matter.

"Oh, I believe, I believe."

Seeing his appearance, Theresa was instantly infuriated, her silver teeth clicking together; there was not even half a shred of belief in her in his expression—it was clearly a face of disbelief.

"Hmph." Theresa turned and walked away, sitting to the side.

Only Liu Zheng and Theresa remained on the stage, and now the entire venue had quieted down.

This era did not yet have electricity, so to hear the music clearly, one had to be very close.

The scene went quiet in an instant; they were all European Nobles, and they still possessed that much cultivation.

Liu Zheng cleared his throat, and Xie Chan took a breath, feeling a little nervous.

Immediately after, she felt Liu Zheng standing beside her, whispering to her: "It's nothing, these are just a bunch of European bumpkins."

The two were communicating in Longyan Language, and because their voices were low, no one could tell what it meant.

Xie Chan covered her mouth and laughed; that group of European Nobles off-stage really were bumpkins, dressed in such cumbersome clothes, and they hadn't even seen a Longyan guzheng before.

Being teased by Liu Zheng like this, Xie Chan really wasn't that nervous anymore.

Xie Chan

plucked the guzheng.

A song, "Laughter in the Vast Sea," began to play.

The people present were clearly listening, entranced; Duke Mitchell closed his eyes to appreciate it carefully.

The sound of the guzheng came in waves, gradually moving from near to far, as if it had come from the edge of the sky and was returning to the edge of the sky.

Just as the sound of the guzheng faded into the horizon, Liu Zheng's singing voice poured in at the perfect moment.

"The vast sea laughs, the tides on both shores surge."

The brains of the European Nobles were directly sent into a roar; all sorts of grand ambitions, chivalrous tenderness, and countless words were stuck in their chests at this moment.

This song was in Longyan Language; they could not understand it, but they were greatly shocked.

Count Austin was even more astonished; when he was young, he had fought on the battlefield, experiencing countless campaigns.

Now old, he missed the days on the battlefield; time makes one old.

His body was no longer what it once was, but he had not expected this song to grant it the strength to start over.

Following that was the second line.

"Floating and sinking with the waves, remembering this day."

"..."

Count Austin's old tears streamed down; he felt as if these two lines of lyrics were writing his life.

Theresa understood the language, and the shock in her heart was even greater than everyone else present.

She had not expected Liu Sheng to be able to write such moving lyrics; she could not find a single word in the Austrian vocabulary to express such lyrics.

Suddenly, she remembered the language she had studied, where there were two characters whose meaning she had never understood until now.

But at this moment, she suddenly understood.

"Artistic conception."

This must be what artistic conception is.

Teresa took a deep look at Liu Zheng; he was indeed a great artist, though even after hearing this much, she still couldn't tell which note in the melody was off.

Immediately after, the drumbeats and singing began.

"The rivers and mountains laugh, the misty rain is far away."

Teresa finally understood why that slightly dimmer note had to be used.

This was the state of mind of the characters in the story; the future was uncertain, and one wondered where life would lead.

Teresa took a deep look at Liu Zheng; this time, she truly acknowledged Liu Zheng's ability.

Soon, the singing reached its end, leaving only the guzheng ensemble.

The European Nobles were all breathing heavily; at this moment, the way they looked at Liu Zheng was different.

They hadn't expected this Liu Sheng could write such a piece of music.

It was too amazing; they were now full of admiration, as this Longyan really had some real talent to be able to write such a song.

Amazing, amazing, truly too amazing.

At this moment, they recalled what Duke Mitchell had said—that art knows no borders; this was truly a golden rule.

However, the song should have reached its finale, so why was the sound of the guzheng still continuing?

It looked as if Liu Sheng still had lyrics left.

The European Nobles expressed their confusion, and even Duke Mitchell, who was very knowledgeable about music, felt it was strange.

According to their understanding of music, with the guzheng sound having played for so long, Liu Sheng's song should have finished.

But it hadn't; Liu Sheng was still holding his breath.

This passage of guzheng was a solo, and it hadn't weakened in the slightest.

If the lyrics were to cut in at this moment, it would likely cause a clash.

Both the singing and the instrumental sound would be unclear, ruining the aesthetic beauty of the music.

They thought that a great artist like Liu Sheng should not be ignorant of such things.

But the next second, their ears pricked up, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.