Jinghe Year Fifteen, May eleventh, the eve of the wedding.
In the small courtyard of the Wei Residence, the jujube tree wore fresh green.
Today brought no guests, only gifts.
In the study of the Wei Residence.
A red-bound gift ledger lay open on the writing desk.
[Wei House Auspicious Gifts]
Its contents were sorted into categories, with each giver, each gift, and its estimated value recorded in turn.
This had been Qu Niang's idea.
After all, eyes throughout the court and the realm were watching: how many gifts they accepted, whose gifts they accepted, which households sent something, and which did not.
Every last detail would become a debt of human favors in the future. They could not afford carelessness.
At present, Qu Niang sat to the right of the desk, pen in hand, entering the records stroke by stroke in neat, elegant handwriting.
Cui Fu sat to the left, opening boxes, inspecting their contents, and announcing each item.
Wei Nisheng sat in the middle, responsible for examining the gifts and reading the accompanying cards.
"The Huguang Provincial Administration Commission: one Xiang embroidery screen and one box of Yuanzhou cinnabar seal paste," Cui Fu called at the top of his voice.
"Record it." Wei Nisheng did not even raise his head.
"Xu Li, a county magistrate in Jiangxi, in remembrance of our former neighborly friendship! A pair of Jingdezhen blue-and-white porcelain vases and ten jin of Mount Lu cloud-and-mist tea..."
The three continued like this, opening one gift, reading it out, and recording it. After two hours, they had filled almost half the ledger.
Among the gifts were sincere congratulations, exchanges of social courtesies, and attempts to seize the occasion to forge connections.
"Move these customary gifts into the storeroom first. We'll sort them later."
Wei Nisheng set