Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Grandmasters are human, scum are human. What difference is there?” Hermes rebutted. “Who can claim that they’ve never done anything wrong? In the end, committing sins is too easy for a man. Grit your teeth, stamp your feet, harden your heart, and you can do it.

  “The first half of the phrase ‘respect elders and care for children’ said that you have to respect people when they age. It’s not just to respect their age but the fact that they’ve done more evil than you. You’re respecting who you’ll become after committing those sins.”

  “Can you spit out the chicken bones before you talk?” Even though Bai Xi had prayed many times for her cheap teacher to get run over by a carriage, she was still a bit worried seeing how he was stuffing his face. “You’ve been eating non-stop for the past two hours. Are you okay? Did you get dumped?”

  “Some things happened. They’re not the best but it’s better than a breakup, so my appetite grew.” Hermes used his teeth to open a bottle of champagne. Tilting his head back, he took a large gulp and exhaled in satisfaction. “Life is hard. Eating is one of the few pleasures. Bai Xi, you’ll understand me in the future. Thank you for your concern, but shouldn’t you be more concerned about the appraisal result?”

  -

  A handful of rice was scattered onto the ground. White doves flapped their wings and descended from the shelf like flurries of white snow to eat. A breeze blew lightly through the flowers and grass refreshingly.

  A youth sat on the bench of the Musician Union’s garden and played with the doves. Stumbling footsteps grew closer.

  It had only been a few minutes, but Ye Qingxuan could barely recognize Ingmar now. His face was sheet white; his expression was pathetic and haggard, completely different from the original pride.

  As if he would melt under the sun, he avoided it and stumbled through the shadows, mumbling to himself. He seemed to be cursing or refuting, or just madly raving. When he saw the youth sitting quietly before him, he stopped abruptly.

  This was probably the worst coincidental meeting.

  “Ye Qingxuan,” he muttered hoarsely.

  Ye Qingxuan looked back at him with cold eyes as if observing his pathetic appearance. Ingmar’s features twitched. He instinctively wanted to leave but his dignity forced him to stay. He looked at Ye Qingxuan too—staring at him. Ghost fire seemed to burn in his dull eyes.

  But as he looked, he laughed involuntarily. It was an ugly laugh full of complicated self-mockery. “I never thought that I would lose to Abraham, fall into your hands, even after all my efforts.”

  “If you want to think like that, then do that,” Ye Qingxuan said lightly as he looked back. “It’s more embarrassing if you lose to me.”

  “Don’t be so naïve,” Ingmar clenched his teeth and said hoarsely. “The winner hasn’t been decided yet. You think I don’t know about you and that wh*re Lola? What a joke! She can’t decide anything by herself. You think you have a sure victory?”

  Ye Qingxuan did not move. He retorted, “Is that not so?”

  “…” Ingmar’s face practically turned purple. Face twitching, he said through clenched teeth, “Since you thought you’d definitely win, why did you drag Bart back? Why?”

  “It’s simple.” Ye Qingxuan scattered a handful of rice. He looked up and smiled under the sun. “You wouldn’t lose horribly enough otherwise. Ingmar, that would be too easy for you.”

  “Ye Qingxuan!” Ingmar roared. “Don’t push things too far!”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” The youth nodded and wiped his smile away.

  Under the sunlight, he opened his hand. The rice fell and a few doves flew over to eat it. The pure white feathers crisscrossed and scattered the sunlight. The youth’s face was shrouded in a mass of blurry light and shadows.

  He looked at the flying birds and muttered to himself, “Sadly, I understand the principles but why are these doves so big?”

  -

  Sunlight fell onto the long hall, cutting open the darkness and casting jagged shadows. Barthélémy paced soullessly and saw Heisenberg sitting by the corner. Taken aback, he nodded at the man and continued forward. He could not help but pause when he passed by.

  Grandmaster Heisenberg looked up and took a cigarette out his pocket. Barthélémy hesitated but accepted it. He breathed in after lighting it and began coughing. He was old now and nothing like before; this fact saddened him.

  Holding the cigarette, he sat beside Heisenberg in silence. After a long while, he said quietly, “Anta, I’m starting to have doubts.”

  “You’re just indecisive,” Heisenberg said lightly. “You’re always like that, avoiding problems. That’s why Professor chose me in the end.”

  “Yeah, you’re decisive and much better than me.” Barthélémy sighed sadly and felt his thinning white hair with a bitter expression. “Anta, do you still remember things from before?”

  “Before? How could I not?” Speaking of the past, a tinge of nostalgia appeared on Heisenberg’s sinister face. “Back in the day, everyone liked you. I was that annoying guy that couldn’t fit in. I always watched you all from afar and wanted to be like you. I used to envy you back then. But then the inheritance book was lost and they found it in my room. For my punishment, I had to guard the abyss for six months and missed the inheritance ceremony.”

  Barthélémy smoked and said hoarsely, “I did that. I framed you.”

  “I know.” Heisenberg nodded.

  “I regret it.”

  “I know too,” Heisenberg said. “That’s why I never envied you after that.”

  Barthélémy remained silent. Heisenberg looked back at his ‘old friend,’ at the man who never became involved in disputes after this, and his eyes grew pitiful and complicated. “It’s all in the past, Barthélémy. It has passed,” he said. “Thanks to you, I was no longer weak and became who I am.”

  “It’s my fault.” Barthélémy hung his head. “Anta, I don’t want to make mistakes anymore.”

  “The parliament sent a letter to you too, didn’t they?” Heisenberg saw through his pain. “If you reject them, most of your research funds will be cut off. You won’t be able to continue researching. That’s why you’re in pain—you can’t face yourself.”

  “What do you think I should do?”

  “That’s your problem, not mine.” Heisenberg gave him one last glance. “Sometimes you must commit evil to survive in this world. You’re scared of becoming like that but I’m not.”

  He rose and left. Barthélémy sat in the quiet yard alone.

  -

  When Ye Qingxuan returned to the hall, there was still no one there. The grandmasters had not returned; the scholars and reporters could not enter before the session reopened. The hall was silent and still.

  A servant cautiously took down the Church’s curtain. There was no one behind it. After Archbishop Mephistopheles had proved the translation method’s validity, the Church left—this was their usual style. Believers of God should not be involved with matters of fame and fortune.

  But after he had left, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt a little worried that the parliament would try something.

  “That…boy over there, come over.” Suddenly, a crisp voice sounded behind the royalty’s curtain. It sounded like a little boy. Taken aback, Ye Qingxuan walked over after a short hesitation.

  The steel knight guarding the curtain did not move as if he had not heard anything. Ye Qingxuan was not sliced in half for approaching the royalty either.

  “Come closer,” the child-like voice urged.

  249 I Have Something to Say

  “Come closer,” the child-like voice urged.

  Ye Qingxuan stepped within and half-knelt in greeting. “Your Highness, crown prince.”

  “You, look up. Let me see,” the child-like voice commanded.

  Ye Qingxuan looked up and could not believe his eyes. In the seat before him was a little boy wrapped in white clothing. Was this the legendary retard crown prince? He must be twenty-four years old now. But
why did he look like a seven or eight-year-old?

  The boy sat on the chair with a youthful face and curious eyes. The quiet girl beside him saw that Ye Qingxuan dared to look up and furrowed her brows, her eyes growing upset.

  “Come closer,” the prince said.

  Ye Qingxuan took another step forward. He felt the boy’s eyes on him, doubtful yet focused. Then the boy reached out and touched his face, finally carefully touching his eyes.

  “So pretty, like Auntie. Too bad it’s white hair.” He sounded disappointed. Suddenly, he asked, “People with white hair are always bad. Are you bad?”

  Ye Qingxuan froze. He did not know what to say and could only chuckle wryly. “I was born with kindness in my heart.”

  The boy’s eyes grew more curious but the girl beside him wrinkled her brows and said quietly, “James.”

  The boy instantly became dejected and waved his hand. “I know, I…go away. I shouldn’t talk with people I don’t know.”

  Ye Qingxuan lowered his head, turned, and left. The boy watched his silhouette from behind the curtain.

  “Mary, I like his eyes,” James said quietly. “His eyes are like Auntie’s. When I saw him, I remembered that Auntie hugged me before.”

  Mary was silent for a moment. She petted his hair and said gently, “James, did you forget again? Auntie has already left Avalon.”

  “She…will never come back?” James looked hesitantly at the steel knight outside the curtain. “Christine, will Auntie never come back? Can you make her come back? They all say I’m going to be King. I can forgive whatever crime she committed.”

  “My apologies, Your Highness.” The girl’s reply under Galahad’s armor was hesitant and troubled. “She—she went somewhere far, far away. We can’t catch up to her.”

  James looked at her blankly. “She’s Uncle Lancelot’s sister. Can Uncle Lancelot not catch up to her either?”

  “Your Highness, even Fa—Lord Lancelot has things he cannot do,” Christine replied quietly, lowering her head. “Your Highness, please do not be sad. If she knows that you still remember her, she must be happy.”

  James’s expression darkened and did not reply.

  -

  Ten minutes later, the final break was over. The appraisal council began once again.

  The doors opened in the silence. The council members returned to their seats emotionlessly. The gavel pounded, lifting heavy echoes as if it had fallen onto each person’s heart. This was the final voting session, but no one wanted to be the first to speak. They stared at each other. Finally, they turned toward the royal seat as if waiting for something.

  After a long while, a cold feminine voice sounded. “The verification of theories will be analyzed by scholars. The academic disputes will also be managed by the academic world. Here, the Anglo Royalty has no reign and does not wish to be involved in academia.” Mary’s cold voice seemed to travel from a great distance. “The result of this appraisal should be decided by the grandmasters.”

  The royal reply was as many had expected—they would not express their opinion easily. The royalty had a detached status here and had not participated in the appraisal. They were only here as a witness and to ensure the effectiveness of the result.

  Seeing that the royalty was set on not getting into this mess, the grandmasters instantly felt a slight headache. The hot potato was once again in their hands.

  Who would catch it?

  It did not feel right for anyone to speak first. This was not just a simple appraisal—it held the weight of the academic world and involved the lifelong reputation and career of two scholars. A careless mistake could drag them into this as well. Even the hot-tempered Sergey who hated hypocrisy had fallen silent.

  In the silence, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel annoyed. He glared at Lola who was pretending to contemplate. Where was the support that they had agreed on? What was she waiting for? Waiting for midnight snacks?

  As if perceiving his annoyance, Lola subtly raised an eyebrow toward the youth. There seemed to be ineffable resentment as they exchanged gazes. Ye Qingxuan felt his blood chill. Her eyes clearly said that she had been starved for too many days and was about to feast soon!

  Ye Qingxuan subconsciously touched the base of his neck, feeling a bit pained.

  “Lola, you bad woman, I’ve finally managed to recover, but all that meat I ate will go to waste if you bite my neck!”

  Clenching his teeth and stomping, he quietly made a hand gesture. “Fine! You can suck as much blood as you want!”

  And so Lola smiled in satisfaction.

  -

  “Here, I’m the lowest in both age and experience. Why don’t I go first?”

  No one had expected Lola to end the silent stalemate. The others nodded after hesitating. “There is no difference between low and high before the truth, but ladies should go first to show that scholars are also refined,” one said.

  “In my opinion, Mr. Abraham’s achievements in classicism and interpretation of music theory cannot be denied. The appearance of the translation method has created a new path in the academic world. In comparison, Mr. Ingmar’s interpretation results have many points of doubt. It’s difficult to be self-explained. Therefore,” After a pause, she said quietly, “I agree that Mr. Ingmar’s results are plagiarized.”

  “I disagree,” someone quickly expressed before the others could speak. The audience froze and looked to the center of the judges’ seats.

  Heisenberg.

  Amidst the crowd’s boos, Heisenberg stated coldly, “The validity of the translation method has been proved, but there is no direct evidence of Mr. Ingmar’s plagiarism. One cannot make arbitrary judgement. In comparison, Mr. Abraham’s evidence cannot persuade me. Testimonies that did not pass the Union’s audit cannot be counted as ‘evidence.’ Therefore, I disagree with the accusation.”

  The room instantly fell into controlled chaos as everyone discussed in low tones. Within the chaos, the haggard Ingmar could not help but feel a bit of joy. The parliament still had not abandoned him. His sacrifice was worth it.

  “Silence! Silence!” The gavel pounded thrice, shattering the chaos, and reinstating silence.

  Everyone looked toward Sergey, who had a dark expression. His own gaze shifted between Abraham and Ingmar. Finally, the angry eyes weakened. “At first, I thought that Abraham had plagiarized. Then I thought that Ingmar is terrifying. Perhaps he was framed, or perhaps Abraham is the correct one. I’m sorry, I cannot remain unbiased.”

  Sergey was known for his strict personality and ways. Everyone knew that he could not stand any injustice. The more he understood the weight of the consequences, the more cautious he became. In the end, he was no longer sure who the true plagiarizer was.

  He sighed and uttered, “I abstain.”

  Seeing Sergey abstain from voting, Ingmar’s expression grew excited. He practically could not stop himself from dancing. Abraham and Ye Qingxuan had done everything they could, but so what? What could they do! They were still powerless against him.

  Clenching his jaw, excitement burned in his eyes once again.

  Barthélémy was next.

  He remained silent though expressions battled. After a long while, his expression turned bitter and complicated as if he was mocking himself. Before stating his opinion, he had held hope he might not need to do so. Now, he finally realized that he could not escape from this.

  Who was this appraisal really for? Ingmar and Abraham offstage; Lola, Heisenberg, and Sergey onstage; or himself?

  He looked up at Heisenberg whose expression was cold as still water. Heisenberg had voted against the claim, following his heart. Once this appraisal ended and the details were spread, his lifelong reputation would most likely be doubted.

  Barthélémy knew that Heisenberg had committed a sin but he did so without hesitation or regret. Now, Barthélémy finally realized how fake he himself was.

  He bitterly murmured, “Anta, I’m sorry, I cannot continue doing wrong, but I have no
courage to fight back and refuse the parliament’s funds. I’ve finally realized how laughable I am.” He looked up and said loudly, “I abstain!”

  The room fell silent.

  Ingmar’s smile froze.

  No one had thought that the voting would be so unexpected. First, Lola, who had always remained neutral, voted for Abraham. Heisenberg followed closely after and voted against. Then Sergey, who never gave in, and Barthélémy, who held the highest status in the academic world, both abstained from voting.

  Of the five judges, one agreed, one disagreed, two abstained…And so everyone looked toward the last man.

  The Eastern man who had just been watching the show froze. The show was interesting but once it involved himself, it was not fun anymore. He raised his hand and subconsciously scratched his face.

  “So it’s up to me?”

  Silence.

  He sighed. “To be honest, I’m only learned in Eastern runes. I don’t know much about Western music theory and took this position with many fears.”

  Everyone’s expressions grew stunned. “Took this position with fears? Then why did you come?! Why don’t you abstain too!”

  This appraisal had turned into a joke! But Mr. Hu did not disappoint everyone.

  “Since neither side can compromise, the situation now is very messy and difficult to distinguish. I have a suggestion, if you all can hear me out.” Mr. Hu’s words had caused everyone to hold their breath but this *sshole was going to keep them in suspense!

  250 You Shall See Me

  “Since neither side can compromise, the situation now is very messy and difficult to distinguish. I have a suggestion if you all can hear me out.” Mr. Hu’s words had caused everyone to hold their breaths but this *sshole was going to keep them in suspense!

  He lifted his teacup and drank slowly. After pretending to cough for a long time, he stated, “Why don’t the two both publish the Voynich Manuscript at the same time and give up any copyrights or profits, putting it in the public domain. This way, both men can enjoy the name and glory and won’t have any disputes in the future. What do you all think?”