The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Duke Tywin's breakfast table wasn't for just any noble to sit at.

Sitting to Tywin's left and right were the Mountain and Jeyne. Jeyne was seated next to her biological father, Gawen Westerling. Gawen Westerling was worried about his daughter's health, after all, last night was the night the Mountain legally ravaged a delicate flower.

Tywin looked at Jeyne with a fatherly gaze, and although he didn't speak, Jeyne understood the meaning in his eyes. Tywin was the kind of person who dared to say and ask anything directly, including about his daughter's 'private matters'. It was just like a casual conversation about the nice weather today. To Duke Tywin, worldly rules were just rubbish.

An elephant doesn't care about the opinions of ants.

Both fathers were concerned about her health.

After all, Gregor Clegane was a demonic beast, even more terrifying than a wild animal.

"I'm fine!" Jeyne's beautiful face flushed slightly. "Ser Gregor, he… he really loves me." By the end, Jeyne's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Tywin didn't care at all, but she did.

Tywin nodded and gestured for the servants to bring the food.

Gawen Westerling was expressionless, but secretly relieved.

Gregor treating Jeyne this way was probably also related to Tywin's prestige. After all, Jeyne was Tywin's adopted daughter, and the Duke's honor could not be violated.

Gawen gave Duke Tywin a grateful look.

But the Duke was expressionless, not responding to Lord Gawen's flattering gaze, as if he hadn't seen it at all. His majesty always made people feel uneasy.

All sorts of lavish dishes were brought up in a continuous stream, and in just a short while, plates piled upon plates covered the table.

Sitting next to Gregor was Lord Olyver.

Lord Olyver was a Lannister and also an important minister of Tywin's, so he was qualified to sit close to the Duke.

"Ser, your men broke a few of my teeth last night," Lord Olyver said, his speech slurred.

"Lord, if they didn't break a few of your teeth, I would have broken a few of your bones. Look, both of my fathers are here, and the great nobles of the Westerlands are also at this table. I'll say one thing, from now on, no one is to touch my wife, no matter the reason, or it won't just be a matter of a few broken teeth and bones. Your little games with mistresses and the like have nothing to do with the Clegane family. Don't try to lure her into your schemes through noblewomen and needlework. Don't play your ugly tricks in front of me."

The lords and knights sitting in the dining hall all had mistresses. In this backward and primitive era with no entertainment programs, the rich and powerful, in times of peace when they weren't fighting, thought of carnal desires when they were well-fed. Besides satisfying their crotch with all kinds of lewd tricks through various channels, there were no other more advanced forms of entertainment.

Gregor's 'shameless' and crude words made the lords at the table lose face, and Lady Jeyne's face flushed even redder. Mistresses and lovers were the ugly social atmosphere of the nobles in this world, and everyone enjoyed it, but Gregor spoke so bluntly at such a noble occasion, tearing off the nobles' fig leaf without any psychological barriers.

This also made Lady Jeyne feel a little embarrassed.

Lady Jeyne was a clever person, and in the awkward atmosphere, she said softly, "Ser Gregor, serve Father some soup."

So, Gregor Clegane served soup to the fearsome Iron-Faced Tywin.

The awkward atmosphere was dispelled by Lady Jeyne effortlessly.

Since his wife died in childbirth twenty-five years ago, Duke Tywin had never been close to any woman again. Many talented matchmakers were scolded by him and dared not come to his door again, and he never went to the brothels he loathed.

People said that the departure of Duke Tywin's wife, Joanna, took away the good qualities in Duke Tywin's humanity, and he lost his smile ever since.

Joanna was Tywin's cousin, and from any point of view, their marriage was very happy. At that time, there was a saying circulating - Lord Tywin ruled the Seven Kingdoms, and Lady Joanna ruled Lord Tywin.

But after Lady Joanna's unfortunate departure, Tywin's character had nothing but cruelty and ruthlessness, no more tenderness and compassion.

Duke Tywin also held an attitude of disgust and revulsion towards the mistress trend prevalent among the nobles, but he would not say it.

But Gregor Clegane said it at his breakfast table on the second day of his marriage, not giving any lord face.

At this table were all big figures: Lord Marbrand of Ashemark, who was related to the Tywin family; Lord Lefford of the Golden Tooth; Lord Crakehall of Crakehall; Lord Swyft of Cornfield; Ser Kevan, Duke Tywin's shadow in Casterly Rock; Ser Harys of Silverhill was also qualified to sit here, but Ser Harys was accompanying the King and Queen in Winterfell in the North, so the younger generation of Ser Harys was not qualified.

As Gregor served Tywin dishes and soup, everyone began to eat.

*

"Father, may I say something small?"

Jeyne smiled charmingly, her charm captivating.

It is said that women are men's schools, but in fact, men are women's schools, and women can easily get their diplomas. For example, Jeyne here with the Mountain, their night made many men and women fantasize.

Duke Tywin stared at Jeyne Westerling.

"Father, our Clegane lands are small, and our people are few. We want to establish a mercenary company in Lannisport to take on some mercenary work needed by the nobles to earn some pocket money, is that okay?"

Duke Tywin stared at Jeyne without speaking.

Under the table, Lord Gawen gently kicked Jeyne.

Lord Olyver's heart skipped a beat.

He was beaten last night, and this morning Jeyne said she wanted to establish a mercenary group in his city. This was an alarming signal, because one of the soldiers Gregor had just recruited was a guy named Chiswyck, Chiswyck used to be the leader of the disbanded mercenary group, the Company of the Cat.

However, Chiswyck had already agreed to recruit his former subordinates and let them give up being pirates and join the Lannisport fleet. This was a verbal agreement that had already been reached with Ser Gregor. Why would Jeyne suddenly mention the establishment of a mercenary company? This seemed to be a slight conflict with the agreement. If Jeyne's mercenary company only took care of the mercenary tasks on land, it could barely be justified.

Lord Olyver looked at the Mountain next to him, and the Mountain also looked like he didn't know anything.

"Girls really can't be kept at home," Lord Gawen joked, "You've only been married into the Clegane family for a day, and you're already thinking about making a living for your husband's family. I raised you for fifteen years, but I raised you for nothing!"

Ser Kevan said, "Jeyne, Ser Gregor won a gold mine from the Serrett family, you don't need to worry about food after you marry him,"

"A small gold mine, a place that the Serrett family doesn't even care about, how long can it be mined? That little gold mine will soon be exhausted. We are married, and we will have children in the future. I don't want to have to rely on Father to help us make a living then."

Kevan was shocked.

He recalled the look in Duke Tywin's eyes last night in his home, in the maester's tower study, which contained a warning about the future of the Westerlands: gold mines, which have been mined for a thousand years, are getting less and less. The gold mines of the Westerlands will soon be exhausted. Once the gold mines that support the economy, army, and regime of the Westerlands are exhausted, what will become of the Westerlands? What will become of the Lannisters?

Casterly Rock was built because a mountain was hollowed out.

And the richest Westerlands in the world have actually reached the end of their history of relying on gold mines.

Lady Jeyne's sense of crisis about her family's future, on a larger scale, is the crisis of the entire Westerlands. However, except for Duke Tywin alone, no one felt that the crisis of the Westerlands was coming.

When all the nobles were indulging in extravagance, scheming against each other, competing with each other, and guarding against each other, Tywin's vision had already seen the future of the Westerlands plummeting sharply.

Duke Tywin nodded: "Jeyne, I support the Clegane family in establishing a mercenary company in Lannisport." He stared at Lord Olyver, whose face was not very natural.

In fact, before this, Gregor had told Duke Tywin that he wanted to find a way to make money, to make a lot of money, and Duke Tywin told Gregor to take on mercenary tasks in Lannisport. Trading ports are the places where mercenaries can most easily find work.

What he didn't expect was that this time, Miss Jeyne subtly brought it up again at breakfast in the form of a small father-daughter chat.

Lady Jeyne played a little trick, which was deliberately said for Lord Olyver to hear.

Lord Olyver knew it well.

The Earl suddenly became suspicious, and recalling the beating last night, he felt a faint sense of unease.

Could it be that the 'loyal words' he had given to Duke Tywin at Lord Kevan's house last night were known by Gregor? Or did Jeyne guess something?

But how was that possible?!

A person's shadow and a person's name slowly floated in Lord Olyver's heart: Maggy!

Sweat suddenly broke out on Lord Olyver's forehead and the tip of his nose, but it was mixed in the hot sweat, and no one could see it.

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