The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 452: Sansa's Marriage (Subscription Requested)

(Bonus chapter for the reward from 【送子阿訇】3, sorry for the late update)

*

Littlefinger signed the Prime Minister's decree.

He ordered the Royal Executioner, Ilyn Payne, to lead five hundred guards, along with the Chief Commander of the Guards, Bronn, to march to the Riverlands to capture the ringleaders of the Brotherhood Without Banners and eliminate its members.

He ordered Randyll Tarly's army to take Harrenhal, contain the Riverlands lords, and then dispatch a thousand soldiers from the army to enter the Riverlands plains to capture the leaders of the Brotherhood Without Banners—the Hound, Beric, and Thoros—and eliminate the remaining members.

He ordered the Mountain to lead the Clegane cavalry, starting from the Westerlands, crossing the Red Fork, and entering the Riverlands plains to capture the ringleaders of the Brotherhood Without Banners and annihilate its followers.

Cersei was very pleased with Littlefinger's quick response. Grand Maester Qyburn immediately sent apprentices to the rookery to release ravens.

As for Littlefinger himself, he no longer held any hope for his father's life. The Lannisters were facing their darkest hour because Qyburn believed that Lord Tywin was still alive, making Littlefinger realize that his father was most likely gone.

However, he did not voice his judgment. His words would make many people uncomfortable or even resentful, while Qyburn's words gave everyone hope and eased their worries.

Royal Executioner Ilyn Payne and Commander Bronn received the Prime Minister's order, immediately mustered five hundred guards, and set off for the Riverlands.

*

Kevan Lannister was the Master of Whisperers, the eyes of the royal family, and the source of the latest news for the royal family.

"Prime Minister, Prince Oberyn Martell is three days' ride away from the Blackwater Rush," Kevan said.

With Tywin's life hanging in the balance, Kevan felt unprecedented pressure. He wanted to curry favor with House Martell, unite forces, and counter the increasingly powerful Tyrell family.

House Tyrell and House Martell had been feuding for centuries due to disputes over the territory in the Dornish Red Mountains.

The Lannisters needed the support of House Martell now more than ever.

Littlefinger glanced at his uncle's eyes and understood the meaning in them. Kevan hoped that Littlefinger, as Prime Minister, would go to the Blackwater River to welcome Prince Oberyn Martell.

A prince to the Prime Minister?

But Oberyn was not the ruling prince of Dorne.

For the Prime Minister of the Seven Kingdoms to personally welcome Oberyn Martell at the crossing was truly demeaning and obsequious!

Littlefinger decided to maintain his dignity as Prime Minister. Perhaps in his uncle's heart, he didn't regard him as a true Prime Minister.

"How many men did Prince Oberyn bring?"

"One thousand, Prime Minister."

"How many nobles? How many soldiers?"

"The great Dornish nobles have all come. The Prince himself brought two companies of a hundred men each."

It had to be said that Kevan's work as Master of Whisperers was quite good in such a short time.

"Uncle Kevan, may I ask you to represent the royal court to welcome Prince Oberyn at the Blackwater River?"

"As you wish, Prime Minister," Kevan said expressionlessly.

*

Westerlands, Clegane Village.

A raven flew into Clegane Keep. Maester Hallis received the letter and saw the Prime Minister's 'Hand of the King' wax seal on it. Not daring to delay, he immediately went out to the stables, fetched a horse, and headed towards the back mountain of Clegane Village.

From afar, he could hear the clanging of stonemasons striking tombstones. On the left side of the grassland, mounted archers were training their horsemanship; on the right side of the grassland, the soldiers from Crackclaw Point were training their cavalry charge formations.

Maintaining formation at high speed and avoiding collisions with allies in front, behind, left, and right required repeated training.

The Crackclaw Point cavalry was strong in individual combat and ambush tactics, but they would become chaotic when colliding with tightly formed infantry or cavalry formations. Their battle formation charge was a weakness.

The Mountain was patrolling the stonemasons' work on the back mountain with his guards.

Hundreds of stonemasons were carving tombstones for the one thousand four hundred and seventy-one victims of Clegane Village. The stonemasons came from Lannisport and the territories of other nobles in the surrounding area.

The Mountain was accompanied by a prison wagon, which followed him wherever he went. It wasn't a thumbscrew wagon, which was the treatment that Ser Kevan Lannister received on his day trip to Lannisport. Now, Ser Kevan's treatment had been upgraded to a spacious, normal prison wagon with iron bars on all sides, providing ventilation and light.

Kevan was in a completely infantile state, with a skull hanging around his neck. The skull was pierced with wire and hung around his neck. His ten crushed toes had been bandaged and medicated by Maester Hallis.

The day when all one thousand four hundred and seventy-one tombstones were carved and erected would be the day Kevan was slaughtered to commemorate the victims.

Maester Hallis rode over and handed the letter to the Mountain.

The Mountain crushed the Prime Minister's wax seal, unfolded the letter, and read it himself without consulting the two maids beside him or asking the maester to read it.

Without a doubt, the Mountain could actually read!

"The Prime Minister has ordered us to go to the Riverlands to剿匪 the Brotherhood Without Banners," the Mountain said, looking at the disfigured Kevan in the prison wagon. "Bringing this guy is a burden, so let's not bring him along. Comm Warner, go call Chief Joyce Foote to the castle. I want to hand Ser Kevan over to him."

"Yes, my lord."

"Also, summon Ser Anguy and General Julie."

"As you command, my lord."

Comm Warner was still young and followed the Mountain everywhere; his adopted son Landon Flowers had already joined the Crackclaw Point cavalry formation training.

*

Clegane Village, Clegane Keep.

Chief Joyce Foote, Ser Anguy, and General Julie arrived together.

The Mountain said, "I have received the Prime Minister's order to enter the Riverlands to suppress bandits. Chief Joyce Foote, after I leave, the patrols, cavalry formation training, security defense of Clegane Village, and Ser Kevan, I entrust all of them to you."

"My lord, we only want to fight, not train."

"No, you won't be fighting this time. You will train the battle formations and familiarize yourselves with the environment here in Clegane."

"As you command, my lord."

"Ser Anguy, General Julie, order four hundred light cavalry to prepare their horses, longswords, armor, bows and arrows, and provisions to go with me to the Riverlands to suppress bandits."

"As you command, my lord," Anguy and Julie were both surprised and delighted.

Suddenly, the sound of dense hooves rang out. A Crackclaw Point scout galloped into the courtyard, landing before his horse had fully stopped, displaying excellent horsemanship.

He strode into the main castle.

In the hearts of the Crackclaw Point soldiers, the Mountain was the king of Crackclaw Point.

"My lord Duke, a troop of cavalry has arrived on the main road outside the village."

"How many men!"

"Two hundred cavalry, bearing your lord's banner and a white seashell banner. There are several carriages in the troop, with boxes loaded on the carriages. We have stopped the cavalry troop, asking them to wait for notification. The young general of the other side is very rude, knocking down two of our brothers. We showed our swords, and they stopped at the entrance of the village."

Joyce Foote said, "My lord, let me take a hundred cavalry and capture the leader of the other side."

"No need, let them into the village. My brothers have arrived."

"As you command, my lord."

A moment later, the Mountain's brother-in-law, Raynald Westerling, and his life-and-death brother Bighead led two hundred cavalry, escorting the carriages in. The carriages were indeed piled high with boxes.

Sansa noticed that the wheels of the carriages were deformed, indicating that the carriage boxes were very heavy.

The boxes were carried down. The Mountain reached out and opened the lid of one of the boxes, revealing it to be full of glittering gold dragons.

The Mountain reached into the gold dragons, grabbed a large handful, opened his hand, and the gold dragons clattered down from between his fingers.

Joyce, Anguy, the scout, Sansa, Anna, Ellin, Marwyn, Norris, and others were all stunned.

The dazed Ser Davon in the prison wagon also had a rare glimmer in his eyes.

Could it be that all these boxes were gold dragons?

Yes, every box was full of gold dragons! Every box was a huge sum of money, and together they were a huge fortune.

House Westerling was famous for being old and poor, but no one would have thought that the family had hidden so many gold dragons.

Back then, Lord Gawen Westerling wanted to marry Jeyne Westerling to House Slynt, but was rejected; to Lancel Lannister, son of Kevan Lannister, but was rejected; to House Crakehall of Crakehall, but was rejected; to House Lefford of Golden Tooth, but was rejected.

The Mountain ordered, "Maester, have the Westerling soldiers move all the boxes to the cellar, and tell them how to stack them and where to put them."

"Yes, my lord," Maester Hallis was also a little excited.

Although so much money wasn't his personal property, just looking at it made him happy.

Sansa, who was very surprised, noticed that the young leader who transported the gold dragons, Raynald Westerling, was handsome, slender, and had very thick chestnut hair, with a thick goatee on his chin. Looking at the contours of his face, he did indeed resemble Lady Jeyne Westerling.

"Raynald Westerling, is everything in the Crag well?"

"Yes, my lord Duke. Before Ser Davon came to encircle us, we received a raven from our grandmother Maggy, notifying the people to escape in advance, and we also hid in the mountains early, escaping the disaster."

"Good, Castamere and Tarbeck Hall are my territories, granted to me by King Robert Baratheon, now I hand them over to you and Bighead to be responsible for, you can encourage the people to migrate to these places with fertile water and grass to settle down, reclaim wasteland, mine, and set up businesses."

"As you command, my lord Duke."

Castamere and Tarbeck Hall had been abandoned for thirty-eight years after Tywin Lannister implemented the 'extinction' policy. The gold mines in other places had been mined for thirty-eight years, while the rich gold mines in these two places had been sleeping for thirty-eight years.

When all the gold mines in the Westerlands were mined out, at most there would be two years left, but Castamere and Tarbeck Hall could still be mined for more than thirty-eight years. This wealth would easily make the Mountain and the Westerling family the most powerful nobles in the Westerlands, without exception.

Castamere and Tarbeck Hall were two absolutely super pieces of fat, and now they were already in the Mountain's pocket.

Raynald and Bighead hadn't seen the Mountain for a long time, and they were excited. Seeing the high point of Ser Davon made them even more excited.

It was just a pity that the Mountain was about to lead four hundred light cavalry to the Riverlands to participate in the suppression of the Brotherhood Without Banners, and Raynald and Bighead were reluctant. However, Dunsen, Polliver, Sweetmouth, and Lady Shataya would soon return to Clegane Village after finishing their government affairs.

For the sake of Raynald Westerling and Bighead brothers, as well as the two hundred Westerling soldiers who escorted the gold dragons to Clegane Village, the Mountain decided to stay for one more night. That night, Clegane Village held a grand banquet, and everyone reveled, drank, and sang.

During the banquet, the Mountain called Donald Westerling to his side, and called Sansa to his side, one on each side.

"Sansa, do you believe that your father Eddard Stark was saved by me?"

Sansa looked at the Mountain with a shocked expression.

Raynald was equally surprised. He looked at Sansa. Was this beautiful maid a Stark from the North?

"Lord Eddard promised my envoy, Lord Varys, that he would agree to a marriage according to my wishes at the appropriate time. General Raynald Westerling, from the oldest and noblest great noble family in the Westerlands, the heir to the Crag, the future Earl, he will soon become a true knight. I think his loyalty, martial arts, family background, character, and appearance are very suitable for you. Do you agree to this marriage, or do you disagree?"

Sansa didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"I'm going to the Riverlands tomorrow, and I hope to hear the answer now, or at the latest tomorrow morning."

"How can I know... if it's true that you saved my father..."

"Captain Ellin and Warrior Marwyn surrendered to me in order to get me to agree to let them participate in the operation to rescue Lord Eddard. As a condition of exchange, they became my personal guards and swore allegiance to me, until death."

Sansa looked at Ellin, the traitor she had always hated in her heart. Ellin was competing in drinking with a leader from Crackclaw Point. She looked at Marwyn again. Marwyn was fatter and was raising his glass and laughing.

Sansa looked at Raynald. The young general was secretly looking at her. When he met her gaze, the young general quickly avoided it, looking uneasy and blushing slightly.

This was a very honest young general!

"Lord Mountain, what if I don't agree to this marriage?"

"Then I will force you!"

"You said you had a marriage agreement with my father?"

"Yes!"

"Then contact my father and let him write me a letter. If my father agrees, then I agree."

"No!" The Mountain said, "It is very inconvenient to contact Lord Eddard now. You and Raynald get married first, and I will contact Lord Eddard when the time is right. Raynald, I will leave Clegane Village early tomorrow morning. Sansa is already your fiancée. Now I hand her over to you. To avoid suspicion, you should first take Sansa as your maid."

Raynald was overjoyed. Sansa's coarse rags couldn't hide her beauty and noble temperament. He had come to Clegane Village today and saw Sansa's extraordinary temperament and demeanor at a glance: "As you command, my lord Duke."

"I will arrange for Maester Hallis to secretly hold a wedding for the two of you in the Sept of the Seven and anoint you with the holy oils of the Seven. Sansa, this is the Westerlands, full of your enemies. Be careful."

Sansa could see that Raynald liked her very much. She wasn't disgusted with Raynald, but some of the things the Mountain suddenly said were too shocking to Sansa. The number one villain in the Seven Kingdoms, Tywin Lannister's dog, was actually the great benefactor who rescued her father.

Thinking of Tywin Lannister, thinking of the Lannisters, thinking of the Mountain torturing her with a skull, now that skull was hanging around Davon's neck.

"Lord Mountain, I will ask you a question, and if you answer me truthfully, I will agree to the marriage you arranged."

Sansa agreed to the marriage!

These words made Renard's heart beat faster. To be able to marry the beautiful Sansa, daughter of Duke Stark, Renard felt an indescribable gratitude towards his brother-in-law, the Mountain.

In truth, whether Sansa agreed or not, the Mountain would forcefully push the marriage through. Sansa understood this.

"Good, you ask!" The Mountain agreed.

"The skull head is the Slaughterer!" Sansa's voice was barely audible. "That night, you traveled a thousand miles to the Riverlands and killed Tywin."

The Mountain picked up his wine glass, glared at Sansa, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Thanks to 【Book Friend 20170112203949446】 for the reward, thank you, handshake!