In the "A Name Known to Many" card, I thought I’d have fun playing through the Veilgarden again, before heading to the Shuttered Palace (persuasive 90) so I selected:
"You’ve been investigating the secrets of Veilgarden, and working on your own prose"
I wrote a short story, and got to "A Name Signed with a Flourish" of 2, but none of the other options in Veilgarden or the cards over last few days allowed me to get into the Ambassador’s Ball. I don’t know if that was a bug or if I missed something, but I’ve reset the question now get back to the Palace.