The Norse Diplomatic Ball

I lay back on the couch, flipping my book leisurely. It had been 3 months since Lu Qing Yu first caught me sneaking out. Nothing much had changed. I was battling boredom, finding most of my previous hobbies obsolete. Having had not much experience or talent for the 4 arts - qin (琴, a seven-string instrument), Go (棋 qi, a strategy game), calligraphy (書 shu) and painting (畫 hua). between the previous Ling Yue and I, there wasn't much for me to do besides read and eat. I still snuck out every now and then, and occasionally, Lu Qing Yu sent some things over. I supposed the biggest change was the subtle tension in the harem. When 1 person developed favour with the emperor, everyone else was on guard.

Even the Ling Clan's letters toward me became increasingly friendlier as they heard about it. However, it wouldn't be peaceful for long. "Young Miss, the Emperor sent these over." Qiu Ci announced. Again, an eunuch, the royal tailor and an entourage of servants carrying boxes and pushing clothes racks came into the room. What did he send this time? I don't remember any catalysts.

"The Emperor has announced that these will be gifted to Noble Concubine Ling Yue for the purpose of the Norse Diplomatic Ball, held next week." "Norse Ball?" I asked, turning. "Noble Concubine Ling, you got fitted for these 1 month ago." Oh yes, I remembered having to spend a few days standing and posing while hoards of servants with measuring instruments hovered around me. Though if I remembered correctly, the Ling Clan also recently sent some fancy outfits over. "Bring over the clothes the Ling Clan sent over. I want to view them together. I'll look at these now." I said.

"Very well." the Eunuch said. And so I stood still as boxes were opened and displayed. At the same time, someone came over with the Ling Clan's clothes. I furrowed my brows. With them both in the same room, something was apparent. Why was the style... so different?

The Ling Clan had sent over clothes in the style of flowy patterns, peachy and cornflower hues, adorned with many flowers and pearls. Matching accessories were equally elegant and delicate. However, the things Lu Qing Yu sent over were in either deep and striking hues, or paired with gold or black to create a contrast. The clothes were decorated on both the body and sleeve-bands, which were embroidered with flowers and butterflies. Moreover, they had a rather imposing beauty to them. It was quite clear how differently the two parties viewed me. "Will you try them on, Your Highness?" the royal tailor asked, eyeing the Ling Clan's clothes. "Err, of course." I said.

I put on the first outfit, which was deep red and black, and decorated with a smattering of gold bits, emeralds and rubies and topaz. Admittedly, it was pretty, but wasn't this too forceful? Who did he think I was? A dagger wielding bandit? The second, third, and fourth outfits were no different. "The royal tailor and the tailor department spent an entire month making these. The designs were approved by His Highness himself." Qiu Le whispered in my ear.

Ah, so they would be heartbroken if I didn't wear any of these, huh. I glanced at the entourage, who looked at me with glittering eyes. Now that I looked closely, the servant outfits looked like the robes of the imperial tailor department. Hmm. I looked at the Ling Clan's outfits. They did usually send me a lot of clothes. It wouldn't hurt to repay some good intentions by other people once in awhile.

I pointed at the last outfit still in its box. "Let me try that one. Immediately they got to work. Soon I was dressed in a long white and icy blue gown, with silver motifs. It was embellished tastefully with opal, mother of pearl, pink diamonds, blue topaz and moonstone and featured an overarching headdress that looked suspiciously like a tiara. It gave the impression of glacial peaks against an aurora. I looked like an ice princess.

Satisfied, I accepted this one. The rest were a bit much for my taste. "I like this one. I'll wear it." I said. At this, the royal tailor preened proudly. "His Highness looked over the designs for this outfit himself. At every step of the process, we had to submit the design, progress, and materials used to His Highness. His Highness truly has you in his heart." He said. Despite having achieved the purpose of their visit, the entourage remained in the room, looking expectant. After exchanging some pleasantries, I managed to shoo them all away.

"What's this Norse Diplomatic Ball about?" I asked Qiu Ci and Qiu Le once the entourage had disappeared. "Young Miss, envoys from Novgorod are visiting!" Qiu Le said. "They're said to be very strong, with large builds, golden or red hair and blue eyes!" Qiu Ci added. After hearing this much, I realised this description sounded familiar.

"The country north of the northwest region?" I asked. "Yes, that's it!" I brought out the crummy world map from the study and looked over it. This indeed looked like where Russia should be. It couldn't be that this was the same country, right? Why were they here to visit? Nevertheless, Huaxia had a bad problem with the Northwest tribes and bandits for hundreds of years. If we could ally with the people of Novgorod and corner them from both sides, they would be easier to handle. The only issue was...

"There are translators who speak the Norse language?" I asked skeptically. This wasn't 2020, where one could learn a language remotely. Who would manage to plant themselves in Novgorod, bypassing the bandits, and stay there to learn by immersion? "The palace managed to find a nomad." Qiu Ci said. Outwardly, I acted disinterested, but how could I?

As an avid learner of languages in the past, I was able to speak Russian, which I was hoping was closely related to the Norse language used here. I was thinking my language skills were going to die out stuck in Yuan An, but apparently not! This was an opportunity!

The day advanced upon us quickly.

At dawn, the preparations begun. I noticed on my morning walk that the palace was even busier than usual. The entire imperial palace compound was decorated in gay, auspicious colours and fine pottery, art and treasures were displayed openly in a show of power. Every tile seemed to be polished, and even the grass looked trimmed! By late morning, beautiful palanquin processions could be seen traveling along the path to the ball, and servants half-dashed about, going about their respective errands with haste.

Everyone had been assigned a role, even me. Apparently, all the concubines received an ornate card stating their seats and roles. As noble concubine, I was seated with the other 2 just below the Emperor and was asked to "maintain decorum and elegance. Nod and smile appropriately and don't make big movements or draw attention to oneself" in front of the envoys.

"That's basically telling us to be figureheads." Noble Concubine Ju lamented to us in the corridor behind the hall. "That's right, but what else can we expect? At least we got new things for the occasion." Noble Concubine Shao said. She eyed my outfit. Although all the concubines in the harem got new outfits, and they were also studded with jewels and elaborate designs, the difference in quality and thought put into the designs was apparent.

Although Noble Concubine Shao was practically dripping in silk and fine jewels, some of her pieces looked out of place. She had clearly supplemented her outfit with some of her own jewellery to make it look more imposing. Compared to that, Noble Concubine Ju had supplemented her outfit with fresh flowers woven into her hair, making her smell like fragrant flowers and look delicate. I wasn't sure how she would keep up that hair since the flowers would turn bad and smell after a few hours, but I'm sure she had a plan.

The 3 of us took our seats in the second row of the purpose-built main platform. For the ball, the newest ballroom was used. It was a state-of-the-art open-air ballroom, and other than the harem, many important ministers and officials were attending. It was so big that they even decided to invite 4th rank officials, to welcome the diplomats. Usually, 4th rank officials would only be invited for the annual ball. This ballroom too, was furnished with elaborate, luxurious designs, and seating was assigned based on rank and position.

All the concubines were required to attend, even the newest girl who just married in a week ago. Usually, only selected concubines would attend. The newest girl stuck to herself in her corner. I heard she still had difficulty processing that the Emperor completely ignored her on their marital night and didn't consummate the marriage. To give her some face, he slept in the same room, but on the sofa. Halfway, the concubine felt it wasn't right and gave him the bed. Thus, she slept on the sofa herself.

A roar of applause drew my attention to the front as 3 striking figures entered the hall with smiling faces, flanked by chief ministers and an unknown man. It was obvious to me in their subtle dressing differences that they were 2 envoys from Novgorod and someone likely from another northern country. Which was it?

Having likely never seen a foreigner before, the girls, or "sisters" in the harem couldn't hide their shock although they tried to be discrete. Many peered openly behind their fans and tea cups. Hushed conversations were going around the harem as they discussed their thoughts. Noble Concubine Shao even turned and gave me a pointed look, raising her eyebrows. "What?" I asked quietly, not understanding her gestures.

"Sister Ling, these barbarians sure look odd, don't they?" she whispered. I frowned. "Just because they aren't from Huaxia doesn't make them barbarians. They have their own customs and traditions." I corrected, feeling uncomfortable with her remarks. After spending 3 months in this era, I still couldn't get used to the traditional thinking of the people who lived here.

I would give Noble Concubine Shao the benefit of the doubt. People's attitudes were often shaped not only by their personalities, but also the result of their upbringing and experiences. For a noble lady raised carefully only to be married off to the Emperor and neglected, I was sure she hadn't had varied experiences or the opportunity to meet people from other walks of life. The lifestyle of ladies in this era was still very much restrictive. I wasn't sure I could do anything to change her mind, but at least I shouldn't condone her behaviour.

As we settled in, the ball commenced.