The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1443: Chapter 223: Moscow Trending Figures 2

At the ball in St. Petersburg, you can see all kinds of appearances: Germans, Swedes, Livonians, Finns, Kalmyks, Tatars, and so on.

Of course, this is not to say that the ladies of St. Petersburg aren’t beautiful, but due to the blending of these ethnic bloodlines with the Slavs, the pure original Slav beauty has gradually faded in Russia’s capital.

Many people who first come to St. Petersburg have the same doubt as Arthur, wondering with contradictory thoughts in their minds — St. Petersburg might be Russia’s capital, but it seems a bit unlikely that St. Petersburg is Russia.

Even Tsar Nicholas I himself admitted, ”St. Petersburg is Russian, but it is not Russia.”

The ladies of St. Petersburg are indeed beautiful, but they are not beautiful enough to be Russian.

Only at this ball in Moscow today did Arthur finally see the Slavic beauties that he believed should appear.

With soft facial lines, a broad and smooth forehead, a straight nose, full lips with graceful curves, and a rounded but not sharp chin.

Skin as white as snow, glowing with a healthy blush under the sunlight.

Golden, flaxen, brown, and black straight or slightly wavy hair, paired with large, rounded blue, green, gray, or dark brown eyes, giving a gentle yet mysterious feeling.

Right!

Isn’t this what Russia should be!

Where were you before?

Due to Duke Golitsyn’s special favor, Arthur naturally got a seat in the first row of the dance floor.

On festival days, these seats are typically reserved for the greatest nobles and senior court officials, and one cannot enter unless wearing their uniform or official attire.

In Russia, the best way to distinguish someone’s social status is by looking at what they’re wearing.

According to a decree issued this February, officials of rank ten and above have different embroideries on their official uniforms correspondingly.

First rank: embroidery on the collar, cuffs, pocket flaps and below, sides and bottom of the uniform, and below the back of the neck. Second rank: no embroidery seams. Third rank: no embroidery below the collar. Fourth rank: only embroidery on the collar, cuffs, and pocket flaps. Fifth rank: embroidery only on the collar and cuffs. Sixth rank: only half the length of embroidery as fifth rank. Seventh rank: embroidery on the collar edge and half the cuffs. Eighth rank: no trims on the cuffs. Ninth rank: trims on the collar and cuffs. Tenth rank: trims only on the collar.

If you can’t remember so many, that’s okay, because Arthur can’t actually remember either.

He simply understood these decrees as gangster rules — the more embroidery you have on you, the more badass you are in the gang.

Only those with neck tattoos (embroidery on the collar) are considered minors in the official system (tenth rank), those with two dragons on their arms (cuffs trimmed) qualify to carry knives (ninth rank), and those with full sleeve tattoos (cuffs fully embroidered) are generally untouchable (fifth rank), while those covered in tattoos from top to bottom (uniform fully embroidered) can call in carriages of people to arrange you anytime (first rank).

Besides that, there are a few small memory points.

For example, dark green uniforms symbolize ’Shuang Hua Hong Gun’ (military department), dark blue uniforms mean he’s a ’White Paper Fan’ (education and academic institutions), red uniforms represent this as an esteemed ’Five Elders’ (the Senate).

Arthur had just warmed the chair with his butt when a few guests who were chatting and laughing noticed this unfamiliar stranger.

They approached with a cordial hospitality and conversed with Arthur in French, a characteristic of Russian upper society, which, to some extent, also applies to all classes.

Everyone here is very polite; the big shots’ politeness is out of a vanity to showcase their good upbringing, while the small folks’ politeness stems from a sense of fear.

After a few pleasantries, Arthur learned that before the ball tonight, there was a play to watch.

However, that play, which he already saw in Paris, was Meyerbeer’s opera ”Demon Rob.”

This play caused a huge sensation when it premiered in Paris, and Heine even wrote an article praising it, successfully receiving a ’deserved’ ’gratitude payment’ from Mr. Meyerbeer.

Yet, although ”Demon Rob” has been performed countless times in Paris, it was the first time it had been adapted into Russian, so the guests who came here to watch were still quite enthusiastic.

In this aspect, Russian upper society is very much like Germany, treating anything that was highly praised in Paris as a treasure.

When it comes to court etiquette and social styles, Russians imitate the British, yearning for Britain’s so-called modernization.

Russian high society, especially the ladies and misses, spend time and effort seeking models of foreign fashion.

Sometimes, they are deceived in their choices, but the wrong choices create a unique elegance — an elegance without taste.

A Russian left alone would spend his life immersed in unfulfilled vain fantasies: constantly wanting to appear as an upper-class person, while deep down seeing himself as a barbarian.

Nothing harms a nation’s natural character more than constantly focusing on the social superiority of other countries.

This further harms their intellect, leading to frequent losses in some ridiculous foreign scams.

Is Russia barbaric? Perhaps a little, but not severely.

At least Arthur felt that the Russians he met were quite friendly to him, much better than his British compatriots in London.

When he was in St. Petersburg, due to unfamiliarity with Russian customs, he did some ridiculous things, yet whether gentleman or lady, they treated him with great tolerance. Perhaps it shouldn’t be called tolerance; it was more like indulgence.

If one must point out a fault in Russia, it’s that they are much harsher to their Russian compatriots than they are to him, a foreigner.

And that demeanor continued at today’s ball.

When the gentlemen and ladies surrounding Arthur heard that he was the British Knight hosted by Duke Golitsyn, their enthusiasm quickly turned to near doting levels.

They peppered Arthur with questions, with some gentlemen well-versed in Natural Philosophy wanting to show him their research, while the ladies were more interested in the clothing Arthur was wearing. They praised the way Arthur learned to pleat a frock coat from Disraeli and expressed a desire to hear the work of the London pianist that was so monotonous it couldn’t be matched by another — ”Clock.”

In such a short time, five or six people had already hinted at wanting to invite Arthur to their homes.

The enthusiasm of the gentlemen and ladies could almost melt the snow on the Kremlin’s roof; initially, the old fox thought attending the homes of these Moscow elites would be a good way to gather intelligence.

But, he soon realized that if you agreed to the first person, you couldn’t refuse the subsequent fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth.

Duke Golitsyn hadn’t even arrived yet, and Arthur’s schedule for the next week was already jam-packed, leaving no time even to use the bathroom.

Knowing he was in a predicament, Arthur had to bring up the one topic Russians fear the most — he started to talk about the Tsar.

”You don’t know, when I went to the Winter Palace last month to pay respects to His Majesty the Tsar, I inquired about the disaster that happened on December 14, 1825, during the ball.”

Sure enough, as soon as Arthur spoke, the scene immediately fell silent.

However, although everyone was quiet, not a single person left.

That’s right, Russians fear topics about the Tsar, but they are also most interested in topics about the Tsar.

Arthur, who had unwittingly caused this situation, found himself at a loss on how to continue since no one had withdrawn.

Instead, Helena, the Duke’s daughter holding a champagne glass, took the initiative to help him out, saying, ”Did His Majesty really discuss this topic with you?”