Junseo did not know what to expect of a dinner with the Chens but the reality was nothing like he imagined. They were ushered to the Ambassador's private quarters at the back of the embassy and settled into a relatively modest dining room. There were a few fine art pieces around but nothing to suggest the extensive wealth and power the Ambassador was rumored to hold.

Lady Chen was much more subdued than he expected. She greeted her guests with heavily accented Hakkul forms appropriate for high court. His mentor surprise him with a fluid response in the dialect of the Qin court. Junseo followed his lead less eloquently but with enough assurance to signal the evening's conversation could continue in the language the Chens would be most comfortable using.

"Your young friend does not disappoint," the Ambassador said to his wife.

Junseo's struggle to respond was pre-empted by the western merchant, Benjamin Pierce loudly announcing himself. The man stumbled badly by using the familiar, rather than formal, form. The Ambassador's expression shifted for the briefest moment before he responded in slow Angla, "I am honored to welcome you to our home."

"The honor is mine," Merchant Pierce bowed to the correct degree but he abandoned his effort at proper forms when he spotted Junseo.

"Oh, my favorite translator is here," he turned to Junseo and stuck out his hand.

Junseo was momentarily confused.

"In Mearcan we shake hands when we meet, like this," Merchant Pierce used an uncomfortably strong grip as he pumped Junseo's arm up and down.

"I see. Thank you." Junseo said in Hakkul and then repeated himself in Angla.

The awkwardness was dispelled by the arrival of Assistant Treasurer Hwan and his family. They demonstrated the correct forms of greetings to their hosts but stumbled a bit when it came to the other guests. Ja-Kyung nudged ahead of his sister when she was to be introduced to Junseo and then made a point of loudly describing how he had met Go San Jin's training partner in the market.

"Yes, Me Yan's older brother has been a kind guide to this newcomer," Junseo's response in Shen came across as exceedingly humble, especially as he also thanked his hostess for her courtesy in including younger guests.

The final guest to arrive was the Junior Counsel from the Indachine embassy. She was impeccably dressed in flowing robes and wore a sheer veil to cover her face. Her slight accent gave a musical lilt to her formal greetings. Their interactions revealed her close friendship with Madam Chen.

The dinner conversation proceeded smoothly until Merchant Pierce tried to press his case for wider access to the Qin ports and Junseo struggled to reframe the demanding tones into something more appropriate for a social occasion.

While he may not have understood everything the Ambassador was annoyed enough to interrupt, "Perhaps our nation would be more interested in trade if your merchants offered anything other than poison."

The Ambassador looked to Junseo to translate. In turn Junseo looked to Knight-Master Lie to see how he might handle the insult offered being to a guest and got the sign from both men to make the position clear so he relayed the message exactly.

"Did he really say poison?" Merchant Pierce questioned Junseo, who at this point lost patience.

"I expect the Qin are no more interested in having their people enslaved to the drug trade than we are." Junseo said and turned away.

Assistant Treasurer Hwan drew a sharp breath then struggled to try to smooth things over with the indignant merchant. Ja-Kyung could not hide his pleasure in seeing the boy who had been in the spotlight all evening making such a misstep. His sister gave him a quick pinch to show her disapproval.

Across the table, Junseo turned to speak to the Junior Counsel. He apologized for not being up to holding a full conversation in her language. She just laughed and said it did not matter as her home dialect was only spoken by a few so she did not rely on translators, no matter how helpfully. Junseo blushed a little at her implied compliment.

"Madam Chen says you are here to compete in qualifying tournaments. I don't understand this tradition. Is it required of all graduates?" she asked looking to both young men.

"Service to the country is required of all young men. What services will be expected are determined by a combination of the standing in examinations and ranking in the tournaments." Ja-Kung jumped in with a response that Junseo dutifully translated into Angla.

"Are all your scholars expected to become warriors?" Merchant Pierce interjected.

"Only the best of them," Knight-Master Lie answered before Junseo could frame his own response.

"Then you must approve of the most recent pamphlet by the Sage of the Mountain and his City Friend," the Ambassador shifted the topic.

"In what regard?" Knight-Master Lie listened closely to the explanation and expanded on a couple of points and then mentioned a notable Qin strategist who had offered similar advice.

Lady Chen surprised the men with a long quotation from another classic. Junseo could not miss the look of admiration this earned from her husband. He had a slightly different interpretation but hesitated to offer it until the Junior-Counsel asked for his view.

"There is no doubt that having mastery over your own emotions is key in any battle but so is understanding the fear and rage troops might feel. You have to show you are just as human without forgetting they still depend on you to keep your head." He quoted a different passage from the strategist Knight-Master Lie had mentioned.

To keep up his end in the discussion that followed he could only provide succinct summaries in Angla to Merchant Pierce. Junseo did not think the man would follow the finer points the others were making. He wondered if the Junior-Counsel had intended to open a topic that would largely exclude the westerner. The man retreated to drinking more wine than advisable and then excused himself shortly after the meal was finished.

Junseo took advantage of the momentary lull to present the hostess gift he had prepared for Lady Chen. He offered her one of his clockwork flowers which bloomed multi-colored laminated petals. The papers he was returning were hidden in the bottom of the box. The secret compartment was marked with the half-circle sign of the Broken Wheel conspiracy. She gave him the slightest nod when she noticed this feature of her present. His relief was quickly followed by a wave of tiredness. He struggled to hide his yawns and Knight-Master Lie took pity on him and made their excuses.

The guard detail accompanied them to Knight-Master Lie's apartments in the Palace. They settled into comfortable chairs and chatted about the evening and its different players. Junseo recounted the conversations with Merchant Pierce so they could be quoted correctly in the reports. The report for the Inspector was very brief only listing who had attended the dinner and the package safely delivered. The longer version, with the details about the conversations but not their delivery, was sent over to the Protocol Office as soon as it was finished.

"Any interaction with a foreign national by even the most minor member of the Royal House has to be reported promptly," Knight-Master Lie explained. "There is no such thing as an innocuous meeting with a Qin, or even an Indachine official." He did not add that failing to report gave room for rumor and suspicion to sprout rapidly in the hot house of imperial politics.

"They knew you had the invitation." Junseo didn't see the need for urgency.

"Yes, but not what we learned from everyone who attended."

"We learned something?" Junseo yawned expansively.

"Definitely. Not the least of which was the familiarity between Assistant Treasure Hwan and the girl from Indachine."

"Oh. I forgot to mention I spotted Merchant Pierce speaking with Hwan Ja-Kyung in the market a while back. I wonder if that is why he was invited. I don't think Ambassador Chen was pleased." Junseo remembered how hard it was to smooth the sharp remarks he had to translate and winced.

"He was definitely not pleased with the over familiar tone the barbarian took with Lady Chen." His protective tone surprised Junseo who looked a bit closer at his mentor. He wondered if there was a spark of interest and if he should warn the older man about what he had heard about charm traps but decided it would be rude.