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[Trigger warning for violence. Please proceed with caution.]

Kyungsoo disappeared the second they got back to the Do mansion. He was probably busy preparing for the primaries, Jandi decided, seeing as how they were coming up and he was still doing poorly in the polls. How ironic would it be if, even after marrying me, he failed miserably in the election? she thought, chuckling to herself. Now that would serve Do Mansoo right.

Speaking of her father-in-law, she hadn’t seen him since the press conference the day before. She wasn’t particularly sure she wanted to see him, actually. Kyungsoo had turned out nicer than expected, if rather cold and confusing, but Jandi was convinced Do Mansoo was exactly as he had seemed: authoritarian and dominating. The servants’ fidgety behavior only confirmed these suspicions for her - there was no way the household staff was so frightened of Kyungsoo, who seemed to treat them politely at least.

“Is my father-in-law home?” Jandi asked one of the maids, a young woman carrying a tray of drinks. “I noticed there are more cars parked outside than before.”

“Yes, Young Mistress. He’s entertaining some of the other Capital gentlemen in the sitting room.” The maid nodded at her tray. “I’m bringing them refreshments now. Would you like us to bring you something as well?”

“Yes, please.” Just now realizing she hadn’t eaten since dinner the previous day, Jandi felt her stomach rumble. Lunch sounded wonderful. Guided by another of the serving staff, she found her way to the room next to the sitting room. As she waited for her lunch to arrive, she squirmed, not used to being waited on hand and foot. Usually, she was cooking in the kitchen with her parents, chopping onions and laughing at her own stinging eyes or sneaking her siblings scalding hot bites of whatever was in the pan.

Stop it. No more moping, she told herself, straightening her spine. Longing for home won’t do you any good here. To distract herself, she sat down on a cushion and listened to the gentlemen’s conversation next door, which she could just make out through the wall.

“... horrible bastards, all of them,” said a voice sounding like her father-in-law. “Kicking up a damn fuss in the eastern villages over nothing.”

“Not just the villages, I’ve heard,” said another voice. “They’ve started infiltrating the cities as well. Not the Capital, mind you, but some of the outskirt cities along the Golden River.”

“Attacks, you mean? Military advancements?”

A snort. “Hardly. They don’t have the equipment or manpower necessary for that. But some of the Golden River cities are turning rebel, according to my sources. Too many young people. And women. They want change.”

“The Golden River cities have always been prone to political flip-flopping. A bit of gerrymandering will fix that for the next elections, no problem. You know old man Kim has been itching to redraw a couple borders.”

Someone cleared his throat nervously. “But I’ve heard it’s spreading. It’s not just along the Golden River. I’ve heard the rebels have come as far inland as Gyeongdo.”

“Gyeongdo?” A glass slammed down on the table. “That’s not possible! Gyeongdo is a conservative stronghold, has been for decades!”

“That’s what I’ve heard, I’m telling you.”

A tense silence ensued.

“You’re all damn fools,” Mansoo said, his voice hard. “The rebels are too divided to be accomplishing anything worthwhile. They don’t have a united purpose, a leader, an ideology, anything! A waste of time and energy, that’s all they are.”

“If you say so,” someone else said, sounding doubtful. “But I’m relocating my factories along the Golden River anyway. I don’t want to be caught up in any funny business if it gets out that the rebels are recruiting in one of my factories.”

There was a general murmur of agreement, and Jandi could almost see the scowl on her father-in-law’s face. Rebels, she thought in awe. I didn’t know there were rebels anymore. I thought they were all crushed twenty years ago in the last failed rebellion.

Jandi was starting to think there were a lot more secrets here in the Capital than she had ever thought possible. First, there was the emperor’s startlingly good health, and now the rebels that the government had bragged about obliterating two decades earlier were back. Are the same people leading them? Their children, perhaps? Have they formed a more cohesive front this time? 

Twenty years ago, the rebel forces had been severely fractured along ideological lines, their ultimate downfall. Some had wanted to assassinate the emperor at that time while others had only wanted more transparency from the central government. Others, desiring social change just as much as political change, advocated for women's rights, and others yet had wanted the empire dissolved into smaller nation states. Jandi was sure there had been even more rebel divisions, but government censorship of textbooks and the threat of political prison had eradicated those from the collective memory entirely.

Some tiny, rebellious part within Jandi was exhilarated by what she was hearing. Yes, she missed the countryside and her family, but there was so much information, so much intrigue here in the Capital to be investigated. Her mother had affectionately nicknamed her Lady Nose for her eagerness to snoop since childhood, and Jandi had found on multiple occasions that Lady Nose had survived beyond childhood.

Her lunch arrived, luckily with no wolf hearts this time, and Jandi dug in with relish, stuffing steaming hot vegetables into . The gentlemen next door had moved on to other topics Jandi didn’t care to eavesdrop on; cigar brands and methods of rolling tobacco didn’t particularly interest her, so she turned her full attention to savoring the scrumptious meal before her. At this rate, she wasn’t going to be the scrawny country girl for much longer, not if they kept feeding her like this.

The servants milled around, more visible and anxious than they had been thus far. Apparently, the Empress Dowager herself was visiting the Do estate tomorrow to discuss campaigning strategies and potential future policies with the Do men, and the entire household was in a tizzy cleaning and cooking. Jandi was in a bit of a tizzy, too - she desperately wanted to meet this woman who alone represented her in a male-dominated Capital. I wonder if she’ll be very tall, Jandi wondered, chewing thoughtfully, or perhaps she is very short. Media photographs aren’t the most reliable. Will she have a dominating presence, like my father-in-law?

A shout came from outside, and Jandi peered out the window. A delivery boy gesticulated wildly next to a truck, and what seemed