Hanseong, Joseon
Early Autumn 1837
The letter had already been sent.
No one spoke about it openly, but it stayed in everyone's mind. It had passed through the gates under guard, carried beyond the borders of the kingdom, and once it left, there was nothing more they could do to guide it. Whatever came next would come on its own.
So they waited.
Days passed without anything unusual happening.
The city followed its usual rhythm. Markets opened early in the morning and closed before night. Officials moved between offices, carrying out their duties without interruption. Messengers came and went as they always did. From the outside, it looked no different from any other season.
Inside the palace, it felt different.
The quiet had changed.
It wasn't louder or more restless. If anything, it was more controlled. But there was tension beneath it now, a sense that something was being watched more closely than before.
Reports began to arrive more often.
