He changed Tiwat

Han Fulai bowed slightly to the audience, and many audience members, snapping out of their reverie from the song, spontaneously applauded him.

In the audience, a pink-haired Fontainebleau reporter wearing a monocle quietly raised his camera and captured this wonderful moment.

Chapter 276 The Rose Was Stolen, Leaving Only Thorns

Seeing the audience's reaction, Han Fulai knew that his move was a great success—this is the value of Dr. Chen, a top superstar in the Chinese music scene, and it would work just as well in Mondstadt!

He certainly can't sing Mondstadt bards, but Mondstadt people don't sing pop songs either.

Edith challenged him to a hymn-singing contest, so he responded by singing hymns in return.

You sing your folk songs, I'll sing my pop songs, who's afraid of who?

The biggest advantage of pop songs over bards lies in their seamless rhythmic integration with the music. The pop singing style that Han Fulai just used perfectly blended every note in the lyrics with Wendy's accompaniment, which is completely different from the style of Mondstadt bards.

Most of Mondstadt's bard poems originated from folk songs, with lyrics usually preceding music. Moreover, the music was generally secondary, mostly improvised by the bards, and often didn't match the lyrics well. Folk songs were mostly sung a cappella.

In fact, this is true throughout the entire continent of Teyvat. After all, "idols" like Barbara are still a novelty in this world, and to be honest, Barbara's fame is mainly due to her looks. In terms of song quality, her past works are actually far inferior to "Red Rose," which Han Fulai brought from another world.

For the inhabitants of Teyvat, the true modern pop music style was still a completely new art form and a huge shock.

Han Fulai's rendition of "Red Rose" had been deeply ingrained in their minds, along with the melody. Every note seemed to be inextricably linked to a lyric, and from now on, whenever someone played that melody, they would immediately recall Han Fulai's "poem."

For Han Fulai, the success of this attempt completely made up for his shortcomings in singing.

In this way, he not only possesses a vast library of poems from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, but he can also sing the poems in the form of popular songs, and his expressiveness is no less than that of Mondstadt's bards.

Putting aside his singing skills and focusing solely on his creative abilities, he can now call himself the greatest contemporary poet of Teyvat.

As Han Fulai stood on stage, brimming with self-satisfaction, a pink-haired reporter from Fontainebleau in the audience was furiously scribbling in his notebook:

"What you can't have always stirs your heart, while those who are favored are always fearless."

It's unknown what kind of emotional journey Sir Humphrey, the author, went through to possess such profound and insightful understanding.

He held a woman in his arms, but his thoughts were on another.

He felt guilty towards the woman in his arms, yet he also longed endlessly for another woman.

What we can't have is what we desire most.

Who is that unattainable "red rose" in his heart?

The pink-haired reporter put away his pen with satisfaction. Yes, the first article for the "Badminton Festival Column" in the *Steambird News* was done!

On stage, Dr. Edith was also deeply moved by the song "Red Rose." She never expected that Sir Humphrey would be so powerful—not only could he speak eloquently, but he could also compose lyrics, set music, and sing on the spot. Even if you counted all the bards in Teyvat throughout history, there would be no one who could reach this level—could he really be the incarnation of Lord Barbatos?

Of course, she was just thinking that. Even if it were an incarnation of Lord Barbatos, it should be an incarnation of a Mondstadt person, right?

However, after listening to "Red Rose," Edith's previous fighting spirit towards Han Fulai has now turned into admiration.

His talent alone was enough to earn her respect. As someone who was buried in piles of papers, she could better understand how much accumulation of knowledge Han Fulai had put into his performance just now—even an ordinary person might not be able to read a prepared script correctly, let alone perform it live in front of a large audience. Even if he had memorized it beforehand, he still needed to be able to use it on the spot, right?

From a folklorist's perspective, Edith even saw the roots of popular folk culture in the song. She was certain that if Sir Humphrey could find a professional singer like Miss Barbara to collaborate with, they could definitely turn that style of music into a craze that swept through Mondstadt and even Teyvat.

Coincidentally, Barbara, who was on the judging panel, thought the same thing. If it weren't for her status as a judge, she might have invited the newly appointed honorary knight to form a creative team with her on the spot.

Having lost her will to fight, Edith's duel with Han Fulai is now more like an academic exchange and sparring session.

Of course, even in academic exchanges, Edith wouldn't hold back. Rather, she hoped to "throw out a brick to attract jade" and elicit more excellent works.

She cleared her throat and recited a new poem:

"Aft hae I rov'd by Cider Lake,

I once lingered on the shore of Guojiu Lake.

To see the rose and woodbine twine:

I am delighted to see the wisteria vines climbing the roses.

And ilka bird sang o' its Luve,

Even the birds sing of love.

And fondly sae did I o' mine;

I also sing passionately of my lover.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,

In my happiness, I picked a rose.

Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree!

Bright red, sweet, and with tiny thorns—

And may fause Luver staw my rose,

I didn't want my unfaithful lover to steal the rose.

But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

Ha, all that's left for me are the thorns!

—This is one of the poems in Mond's old-fashioned love epic collection, "I Hate You, the Liar of Marriage," titled "The Banks o' Cider Lake," which tells the story of a woman abandoned by a faithless man on the shores of Cider Lake.

The book "I Hate You, the Liar of Marriage" is full of similar-style "lament poems" written by women from various eras, towns, and social classes in Mondstadt.

Edith's choice is one of the more "refined" ones. If we were to choose something more colloquial... well, like "Love Liar, I Ask You," it would be a very direct question: "Where is your conscience?"

Her choice of this poem was actually a questioning of Han Fulai's poem "Red Rose," implying that he was the kind of "heartless man who stole the rose and left only the thorns."

Faced with Edith's question posed in the form of poetry, Han Fulai simply smiled and replied with two lines of poetry:

“O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem

If there is truly bestowed sweetness as decoration,

By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!

"Beauty will surely become even more unparalleled!"

Chapter 277 Edith's First Time

The two lines of poetry that Han Fulai just quoted in response to Edith are from Shakespeare's famous poem praising roses, Sonnet 54.

Edith used roses to question whether his love was genuine, and he, in turn, used roses to express his praise for true love:

“The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem

The reason why a delicate rose appears even more beautiful is...

For that sweet odour which doth in it live.

It's because of its sweet, vibrant fragrance.

The saying goes, "Fragrance is the ultimate beauty without form." The Chinese poet Wang Mian wrote in his poem "Ink Plum Blossom": "The tree by my inkstone-washing pond, each blossom a faint trace of ink. It needs no praise for its beauty, only its pure fragrance fills the universe." Qu Yuan also wrote in "Li Sao": "I am endowed with this inner beauty, and I further cultivate my abilities. I wear fragrant herbs and orchids as my adornment."

All of this is using "fragrance" as a metaphor for itself, and using fragrance to describe "beauty".

In modern times, films such as "Scent of a Woman" have also celebrated this exquisite fragrance. This demonstrates that people's appreciation of beauty is consistent across time and cultures.

Shakespeare often used "fragrance" as a metaphor for beautiful things in his sonnets, such as lovers or love.

And this song, Sonnet 54, is undoubtedly the pinnacle of it all.

The first two lines of Han Fulai’s poem say, “Beauty is more beautiful when it is decorated with truth”, and the last two lines say, “The beauty of a rose lies in its fragrance.”

These two sentences alone were already extraordinary. Dr. Edith even recalled the Sumeru Rose she had seen during her academic visit to the Sumeru Church.

In the outskirts of Sumeru, the bright and deep purple flowers of the Sumeru rose can always be seen everywhere, constantly emitting a rich fragrance that makes passersby stop and admire.

Although it is called "rose", according to the botanical classification of the biophysical school of thought, the scientific name of the Sumeru rose is actually "Sumeru purple rose".

From ancient times, the Sumeru rose has been used to make perfumes and fragrances. During festivals, the markets are always filled with the sweet scent of roses. In the renowned poems and writings of Sumeru, the Sumeru rose is often mentioned together with fine wine, becoming a classic image in Sumeru literature.

Edith's mind was silently filled with the classic folk song that had been passed down through Mount Sumeru—

"Quickly abandon this tedious ascetic practice,"

Accompanied by roses and fine wine,

There is nothing more important at this time!

Yes, whether on Earth or on the continent of Teyvat, people's perception of beauty is the same.

But Shakespeare's masterpieces are certainly not limited to this.

Riding on the momentum from his earlier rendition of "Red Rose," Han Fulai closed his eyes slightly, gathering his abundant emotions, and began to recite with deep feeling to Edith and the audience behind her:

“The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye

Wild roses bloom profusely but have no fragrance.

As the perfumed tincture of the roses,

Its beauty rivals that of a fragrant rose.

Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly

When the summer breeze lifts their hidden buds.

When summer's breath their masked buds discloses

They bloom on the branches, each one radiating its own unique charm.

But, for their virtue only is their show,

But their virtues are merely outward appearances.

They live unwoo'd and unrespected fade;

When it blooms, no one admires its beauty; when it withers, no one laments its decay.

Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;

It only ends up quietly perishing, far inferior to the fragrant bloom of a rose.

Of their sweet deaths are the sweetest odours made

Though her beauty was short-lived, her resilience left a lingering fragrance.

These two paragraphs compare wild roses, which have no fragrance, with roses, pointing out that although both are "roses," wild roses only have an appearance but no substance; while roses, even when they fall to the ground and are crushed into dust, retain their fragrance.

From the judges' professional perspective, Han Fulai's "original" sonnet, both in terms of literature and its connotation, far surpasses the "lament of a woman in her boudoir" that Edith just quoted.

Now that the competition has progressed to this point, no one doubts Sir Humphrey's ability anymore.

Not only did he compose poetry on the spot, but the quality of his poems even surpassed those of love poems that have been passed down in Mondstadt for a thousand years. In addition, he could also compose, set to music, and sing long poems on the spot—what kind of genius is he? Calling him "Sir Humphrey, who is on par with Barbatos" is by no means an exaggeration!

Under the admiring gazes of the audience, Han Fulai slowly recited the final two lines of the poem, which served as the finishing touch:

“And so of you, beautiful and lovely youth

You are the same, a beautiful and lovely young woman.

When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.

If your youth fades, my poems will forever preserve your truth.

This is the most widely circulated and quoted love confession line among young men and women around the world from Sonnet 54.

Using roses to symbolize lovers and the fragrance of roses to imply true feelings, Shakespeare's "Bible of Love Poems" is truly deserving of its reputation.

After Han Fulai finished reciting, he turned his gaze to his opponent, only to see Dr. Edith's face flushed as if she were drunk, and then... a red mark suddenly appeared from her nose—

nosebleed.

Edith is 28 years and 32 months old and has never been in a relationship.

While her peers were dating, she was writing her dissertation; while her peers were getting married, she was studying abroad; while her peers were having children... she earned her doctorate.

As we all know, there are three kinds of people in the world: men, women, and female PhDs.

As a female PhD student, this was the first time a young man had addressed her to her face as a "beauteous and lovely youth," and the first time she had heard someone say to her, "my verse distills your truth"...

Han Fulai was actually quite innocent; these were all Shakespeare's original texts, and of course, he wanted to faithfully reproduce the essence of the work when he copied it… But to Edith, these were "love poems" written on the spot by this talented, handsome, and somewhat dashing foreign knight of honor, in response to her poetry.

So, the moment the blood gushed from her nose, Edith blissfully fainted.

Chapter 278 Little Tune Who Suffers from Liver Pain

In the thousands of years of history of poetry recitation competitions, it is unprecedented for someone to recite a poem and make their opponent faint on the spot.

Edith's collapse threw the audience and contestants into a frenzy, especially Han Fulai, the culprit. He almost wondered if he had inexplicably triggered some kind of "word power" while reciting the poem, causing him to launch an attack on Edith that he himself was unaware of...

Although he didn't do it on purpose, he would definitely be responsible if anything happened to Edith.