At the banquet hall where the reception was being held, dinner tables had already been prepared hours before the arrival of the imperial couple.
They were arranged in perfect order, long rows extending beneath the vaulted ceiling, each table marked with small placards bearing names and titles. Nothing was random. Seating followed rank, alliance, and purpose. Foreign dignitaries sat together but not too closely. Ministers were placed where conversation could be monitored without appearing managed. Industrialists occupied an entire section near the center, close enough to power to feel acknowledged, far enough to remember their place.
The hall itself had been dressed for the occasion without excess.
