Chapter 123 - View From the Balcony

Yuzu examined Lily Fang’s strings, confirming that her husband wouldn’t show up that evening.

“About that matter I was talking about before-“ Char Char’s face turned a bit serious, “You said you could introduce me to some people.”

“Ah, yes. The security escort contract work, right? I do have a few friends in the Ministry of Finance. They have to take frequent trips to the cities around the province to perform audits of the local lords.” Lily Fang said thoughtfully.

“That’s no good.” Char Char scrunched her face, “I’m looking for more personal security, not travel.”

“Yes I know, my dear.” Lily Fang smiled as she placed a hand on Char Char’s shoulder, “But these things must be done in steps. It’s easy to sell services to provide protection on the road to these specific aristocrats. If a good enough impression is made, new contracts can come out of it that are specifically what you want.”

“I see.” Char Char muttered, not convinced, “I guess I can talk to them.”

“There’s Mr. Ding over there, I can introduce you right now.” Lily Fang pointed across the room. She scanned the room again, frowning softly, “Maybe if we keep walking around we’ll bump into that husband of mine.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for him.” Char Char said cheerfully, “He’ll probably show up sooner or later.”

“I hope so,” The middle aged woman sighed as she looked down at her dress. It was a dark cobalt satin dress with a subtle wave-like pattern embroidered on it. The sleeves of the dress were tight to her arms and accentuated her slim physique. She tugged at it irritatedly, “I spent quite a sum on this dress. It would be a shame not to dance with him in it.”

For high class events like this it was a faux pas to wear a dress that one had worn to a previous occasion. One would rather not show up than be seen in an old dress. To a pawn shop owner like Yuzu the thought of using something only once was absolutely ludicrous, but that was the world of high society. In some circles even the jewelry and accessories needed to be new.

This was a world that Yuzu lived on the fringe of. Char Char and Sansen Zhao aside, there were many old family friends that were rich or powerful, or both. Up until six years ago Yuzu had thought it was normal to be invited to balls and galas throughout the year. She knew the etiquette and proper conduct that was expected of a young lady such as herself. She could play by the rules if she wanted to.

Because of this knowledge she was able to catch on to Victoria’s ploy. If it was someone else, they might have fallen into the trap and be blackmailed into following Victoria’s requests. After all, in high society reputation was everything. Even though Yuzu wasn’t technically in that world she still couldn’t escape the rules completely, and breaking the rules bore consequences.

These consequences just didn’t affect herself, but her friends and family as well. If her reputation was dragged through the mud, could Char Char invite her to events anymore? Even if Char Char wanted to invite Yuzu, Uncle Zhao might not allow it. Since Yuzu was Uncle Zhao’s guest by proxy, his reputation was tied to hers.

If Yuzu caused enough trouble, the reputation of those connected to her would lower. Even if Yuzu didn’t care for her own social standing, the people she cared about most definitely did. And this would cause effects not just in social relationships, but would have effects in business, money and future opportunities.

Yuzu was bound by the rules of high society whether or not she cared for them.

Of course, knowing the rules also let her play with them. Victoria Shum was a master of the high society game. She used the rules against her targets to force them to go along with her desires. If they didn’t go along with her they would face the consequences. She leveraged her status as the daughter of Earl Shum and used it as a weapon.

Victoria’s benevolent act of covering for Yuzu was her way of saving ‘face’ for all parties involved while still painting Yuzu as the instigator. When Diana had fallen to the floor, Victoria put on the pretense that nothing was wrong, that there was a ‘misunderstanding’. Why? Because even as she was attacking Yuzu’s reputation, she was also putting her own reputation in danger simply by being part of the altercation, even as the victims.

It was a formidable attack, but Yuzu managed to avoid it by skillfully playing along the same rules. This was exactly why Earl Shum had jumped on Yuzu’s explanation that Diana had tripped on her own dress. It wasn’t that he necessarily believed it, but because it put an end to drama. There was nothing malevolent about an act of clumsiness. The only one harmed was Diana, whose clumsiness caused an embarrassing scene.

In that situation Victoria couldn’t call Yuzu out, even if she wanted to. Otherwise she would be the one causing trouble.

Yuzu sighed as she quietly watched over the dance floor, wishing that she had just stayed home and avoided this whole mess.

The ball proceeded smoothly as the first dance began. The couples on the dance floor spun around in graceful circles as they performed a waltz. In this kind of event every gentleman and lady was expected to dance multiple times. The men, depending on their intentions, would either seek out beautiful women to be their partners or the wives and sisters of the men they wished to do business with. Displaying competence and social propriety on the dance floor was a quick way to get in the good books of those around them.

The women on the other hand mostly waited to be asked to dance. It was socially improper to decline a request for a dance, and for popular ladies they would keep track of requests on a ‘card’, going down the list throughout the night to make sure they didn’t offend anyone by missing their request.

Since it was also improper to ask what ‘place’ a man was on a lady’s card, the popular and powerful women could pick and choose her partners as long as she was discreet about it. In this way, even though men were in the dominant position of ‘asking’ for a dance, the women were often the ones with more power, able to directly pick out the partners that suited their purposes, while the men were forced to wait for their turn.

Of course, there were also the ladies that were ugly, or were clumsy dancers, or who did not have valuable social connections. These ladies had very few requests to dance. In this case the Master of the Floor was responsible to take care of them, subtly finding partners for them behind the scenes. A man in this position could not refuse the Master of the Floor’s request, and also had to put on airs to prevent the poor, unpopular lady from discovering that she was being ‘helped’.

The dancing would last for hours, giving everyone ample time to mingle, discuss business and make deals. These social events were the principal driving force of the affairs of upper society.

Yuzu hid in the shadow of the pillar overlooking the ballroom, leaning against the railing as she watched the ball proceed. She had no desire to dance or socialize, but instead carefully examined the attendees of the ball.

As the dances proceeded Yuzu identified three individuals who would be useful. The first was the Minister of Health, an older lady with a silver string. She had gray hair and wrinkled cheeks. She only participated in a few dances, and spent most of the time sitting in the refreshments area discussing the current events. The second was Lily Fang, who Char Char had already met with on her own. The golden threaded Lily Fang was only the assistant to the Minister of Finance, but she had many connections and more importantly she and Char Char already had a close connection.

With the support of both ministries Yuzu would be able to attract many patients to her shrine, which would enable her to have a constant influx of prayer energy.

The final person Yuzu was interested in was Earl Shum. Out of all the people at this ball, Earl Shum’s fate string was the highest connected. His string was interwoven with the threads of almost every single guest, and after analyzing his conversations Yuzu determined that he was the person to go to if she wanted quick and decisive action to take place on the political front. His string was also silver.

Of course, there wouldn’t be any point to Yuzu meeting these people herself. “Yuzu Xing” the pawnshop owner had no political weight and no social capital to ask them for anything. The person who Yuzu had to rely on was Char Char.

Being the social butterfly that she was, Char Char was constantly on and off the dance floor as she met with various noblemen and noblewomen. Even though the night was young, she had already had some potential clients for the security firm.

On the other hand, she hadn’t even mentioned the White Maiden this evening, much less bring about the topic of supporting the shrine. This was because she had not yet come into contact with any politicians, despite asking around. This didn’t discourage Yuzu. In fact, she had specifically come for this reason, to help Char Char connect with the correct figures.

Yuzu had one other concern that she had to pay attention to, aside from keeping an eye out for potential targets. Every so often the strings of various attendants curled around her own. These were the wait staff who answered to the Master of the Floor. They would report any lonely looking ladies, so that they could be assigned partners, and out of all the people at the ball Yuzu was certainly alone.

At first Yuzu flicked away the strands, effectively avoiding the notice of the floor staff, however after an hour of this her spiritual intuition acted up again. Much like with the girls before, she intuitively felt that any more manipulation of the strings would bring about the attention of a dangerous entity.

The string of a young servant carrying a tray of wine glasses twisted around Yuzu’s. In short time he would spot her, notice she was alone and report her to the Master of the Hall. By the next dance the son of a minister would approach her and make up a flattering remark about her dress before asking her to dance with him. By the rules of etiquette Yuzu would have to accept.

Yuzu frowned softly, hovering her hand over the string. She wanted so much to just flick it away.

“How dangerous could it be?” She muttered to herself.