Under night, Boom and Rikka were still wandering around the city. At the same time, carriages arrived at the Cisse Palace, and the dinner was about to begin.
As the main city of the Principality of Cisse, High Court is far more prosperous than Newk City, Parma City, and Crystal Castle. The so-called "city that never sleeps" describes its scene day and night.
The entire High Court is like a dolphin. The left side of the brain supports the prosperity during the day, while the right side of the brain maintains the extravagance and squandering at night.
Compared with other principalities in the ancient continent, Highgarden is like a windmill that never gets tired, always turning slowly in the wind.
And in the water that was involved, countless transactions and despicable activities were soaked. In the name of the banquet, the balance of power and greed was done to the best of the nobility.
Today I saw Grand Duke Grylls of Cisse, wearing a light blue brocade robe. He was standing in the corner talking and laughing with a certain marquis.
There was no complicated and lengthy opening remarks, and there was no ritual of praying to the gods. Nearly a hundred nobles gathered in a small circle, looking for someone to talk to.
If foreigners do not believe in gods, it is because they have their own gods. Then Cisse’s approach seems very contrary to common sense.
But everyone knows that Grand Duke Grylls of Cisse once said when he succeeded to the throne: Those who believe in the gods may starve to death, but those who are on my side can at least have enough to eat. p>
As soon as these remarks were made, the ancient continent was in an uproar. Scholars from the Principality of Moroniel (Star City) directly regarded the High Court of Cisse as the "place of the gods".
The response given by Cisse was to directly fight back and openly declare war with the royal city of Ogu City. But in the end, the matter was left unsolved. Perhaps no one except those involved knew the hidden truth.
From that day on, everyone from Cisse to Grand Duke Grylls to many poor people rarely believed in the gods anymore. In their eyes, those illusory legends were far less real than a copper coin.
Therefore, even at dinner parties held in the palace, the nobles' words and deeds were extremely bad. Sometimes a woman screamed, and sometimes there were bitter enemies scolding each other.
But no one has any intention of taking action. This is Grylls's bottom line and an unwritten rule. Let's play, make trouble, and don't make fun of Grand Duke Cisse.
The nearly thirty-meter-long wooden table was filled with food, and the carved gold shelves around it were filled with wine. The smoke of cigars lingered next to the crystal lamp, and the sour stench of vomiting was quickly removed by the servants.
If the pig farm is the filthiest place, then the palace of Xisai at this time is even better. It's just that the former is an animal and the latter is a noble.
As a crisp copper bell rang, the originally noisy hall gradually became quiet. The door opened and the entertainment program was about to begin.
A dozen jugglers jumped to the center of the venue. They were either shirtless or wearing clown costumes. They even led a few beasts and countless prop wooden boxes behind them.
The nobles were booed by the traditional fire-breathing performance, sullen by the magic show that deceived children, glared by the embarrassing joke, and fell silent by the so-called "animal taming technique".
"Where did they find these people?" asked a young earl.
"Reporting to your lord, they are a circus that has just been established." The waiter replied softly.
"Then kill them all. Since we can't please the audience, there is no point in living." Another voice sounded again, but this person's eyes were turned to Grand Duke Grylls.
"Wait... wait! We actually have one more program. If it still doesn't satisfy you all, we will end it ourselves."
The circus leader shouted with cold sweat on his face, no one wants to save him from dying like this, his death is worthless.
As soon as these words came out, Grylls' hand that was about to fall stopped motionless. He looked at this person curiously, and curiosity was one of his most enjoyable feelings.
The door to the banquet hall opened again, and everyone's eyes were attracted by the visitor. He was a very young boy, exuding a feminine temperament.
Although Cisse does not believe in the gods, he still retains numerous ancient customs. One of them is that women cannot participate in the choir and are not allowed to appear on the stage.
The so-called "castrati" are the product of this. They are all boys with loud voices. Before entering puberty, they undergo cruel castration surgery to change their developing voices.
Due to the exhaustion of male hormones in the body, their vocal tracts will become narrower day by day, and their vocal range will continue to expand over time. Coupled with their huge lung capacity and vocal volume, they have extraordinary voices that are more than three times that of ordinary people.<
/p>
Most of these "castrati" come from poor families, and there are only two options before them. Either they become such "incomplete" people and continue to live, or they starve to death.
Although this behavior goes against the will of the gods, the prospects for these castrated children are indeed bright. While not all of them will end up with an amazing voice, everyone will gain something that would be difficult to achieve in other circumstances.
Achieving perfect education.
Crisp, melodious, unparalleled, powerful and sweet, the singing voice was like a sacred beast from the Hall of Valor. The aria blurted out, and there was no sound in the banquet hall at this time.
The reserved and dignified psaltery is as rigorous as a saint; the round and clean legato is as complete as flowing water; the rapid and repeated tremolo is not like human beings, but better.
As for the impromptu cadenza at the end, the banquet hall has been turned into a stage. The nobles who are intoxicated by it are the most loyal listeners.
This is the perfect combination of a man's physique and lung capacity, and the vocal cords and larynx of a child. It also has the pure, soft and delicate voice of a woman.
The song ended and he spoke again. The boy did not pause or rest. He had only two meanings in life, one was to show off his singing voice, and the other was to earn more gold coins for his parents.
He never thought that one day he would be able to escape from such a life, because he was not a free person, but a slave of the circus leader.
After singing three songs, the young man bowed and saluted, appearing neither humble nor anxious. There was thunderous applause, and the nobles nodded with satisfaction.
"A castrato is a rare thing. I wonder if you are willing to part with me?" Grand Duke Grylls of Cisse asked softly.
"It is his honor to be appreciated by the Grand Duke." Although the circus leader was unwilling, he could only respond in this way. He valued his own life more than his property.
"Come here, give him ten crystal coins, which can be regarded as a little compensation." Grylls blinked and kept scanning the other person.
"As for you, you will be the protagonist of the banquet from now on. I have the crystal coins, and I can give you freedom. But these things all depend on the applause of the audience."
Grylls said again. These words made the young man cry with joy, but his final warning made him shudder.
The dinner party returned to normal again, with countless aristocratic women surrounding the castrato. But their eyes were not admiring, but seemed to be looking at a novelty.