Chapter 36: The Night Feast
In the evening, one of the biggest feasts in Harrenhal is underway.
A brightly lit hall, countless servants are busy bringing plates of delicious delicacies to the table, these servants are walking through like crucian carp crossing the river, row by row, row by row between the hall and the kitchen.
As the largest fortress in Westeros, Harrenhal is comparable to the throne room of the Upper Red Fort and St. Baylor's Cathedral. It can be seen how angry and ambitious the "Blackheart" Heron was back then, if it weren't for Aegon and his dragon, maybe "Blackheart" Heron would be the first person to rule the Westeros continent!
The long table in the hall was at least twice as long as Winterfell, and the entire hall was more than five times the size of Winterfell, and it was now filled with nobles and even a king with a crown.
This is not a time of strife of kings – a time of kings everywhere, and if kings are to be devalued, a time of strife of kings is definitely the lowest point of kings' value. At this time, there was only one man in the entire Westeros continent who was qualified to wear the crown of the king of the Andals and the "ancestors", the ruler and guardian of the Seven Kingdoms, and that was Aerys II Targaryen, the man known as the "Mad King".
At this time, Iriss had fallen into madness, but he had not yet received the "honorary title" of "Mad King", at least his madness had not reached the point where everyone knew about it.
He was sitting on the highest chair, staring at the metal chandelier on the ceiling and the white candle lit on it.
He looks terrible, and at 38 years old, he looks like an old man in his 60s, so it's no wonder that people below say that Rhaegar wants to replace him.
He had long hair, and since the Targaryens were naturally silver, he didn't know if it was white or silver, his long hair reached his waist, and his beard was the same length and his fingernails were naturally curved because they were too long, making him look like a madman from hell.
The reason for this is that since he was freed from Duskdale by Barristan Selmy, he forbade anyone to carry a "knife" near him. It was as if a person wanted to assassinate him, so things that require "knives" in daily life, such as haircuts, beard trimming, and nail clipping, could not be carried out normally.
This is reminiscent of Tiberius, the second emperor of Rome, who was so suspicious that if someone gave him a fish, he would make him scream: "Guards! Guardsman! That man wants to stab me with a fish! "However, there is indeed a person in the Celestial Empire who successfully assassinated Wang Lai with a fish, and that guy is called Zhuanzhu, and it seems that Tiberius's worries are somewhat reasonable.
The Kingsguard stood around the king, and Prince Rhaegar sat down, fiddling with his harp. Beside him, a woman with black hair and an extremely pale complexion sat quietly, wondering if the temperature in the hall was so high that the woman's face showed a sickly flush.
The relationship between the two seemed to be very good, and I don't know if it was due to fatigue or physical discomfort, Elia rested her head on Rhaeggar's shoulder, and Rhaegar turned back and whispered to her from time to time. This is his wife, Princess Elia Martell of Dorne, who is stunning at the tournament today.
Hansin and Roy sit at a table belonging to the nobles of the Vale with Jon Arryn, while Ed and his "wolves" sit at another table.
Robert held a wine glass and planned to invite Rhaegar to have a drink, wanting to drink with Rhaegabi, Rhaegar was definitely not Robert's opponent, after all, drinking was one of the "three major events" in Robert's life, Rhaegar categorically could not get benefits, and he would show his ugliness because he drank high, just thinking about it made Robert feel very excited.
Helplessly, he had just come to Rhaeggar's side and was about to speak, but he found a knight with a strange heraldic coat of arms on his chest with a skull and a kiss on his chest, and he stepped up, "Who are you?" Robert didn't have much of an impression of him.
"I am Sir Ricard Lommos, Prince Rhaeggar's squire, my lord. If you want to compete with Prince Rhaeggar, you'll have to get past me first. The knight snatched the glass from Robert's hand.
"Damn it!" Robert cursed in his heart, but as Rhaeggar's squire, Rickard Rommoth did have the right to replace Rhaegar in the war, so he had to mumble that he planned to get rid of this guy first, and then go to Rhaegard's bad luck.
Rhaegar began to play a piece of music he had composed, an unusually melodious, sad tune. God knows why he played such a disappointing tune on such a festive occasion?
But who made him the "Dragon Prince"? To have power is to be capricious! Or maybe it's a matter of appreciation.
The beautiful timbre of the harp and the pleasing sound of Rhaegar's piano seem to be killing their ears, which really responds to the popular saying, "I hear that my ears are pregnant!" ”
The song is sometimes meandering like a stream, sometimes majestic like the sea, as if composing a beautiful dream, with blue sky, blue sea, green trees, sunshine, and a gentle sea breeze. Let the listener seem to be transformed into a fish, a drop of water, happily passing through the stream and the ocean; It is as if I am feeling the tenderness in the arms of my lover, listening to the whispers of the mountain and sea oath in my ears, and the gentle touch. In the end, it was as if the dream was shattered, and everything was empty.
The women in the hall almost all had tears in their eyes, and even the men looked lost, as if they remembered their youthful years, those regrets that they missed and did not get by chance. Even Han Xing is not exempt from vulgarity! Rhaegar is really a first-class artist, and if he were in the real world, he might be able to become a music master of the Beethoven and Mozart levels.
This song contains the yearning for the blue sea and blue sky, poetry and distance, and free life, but the final ending is trapped in reality, like a prisoner of life, a bird imprisoned in a golden cage.
Isn't this a portrayal of Prince Rhaeggar's life? He seems to be honorable and luxurious, but since he was born, he has carried an unimaginable burden for ordinary people, a whole kingdom is waiting for him to rule, and he has to do everything to the best of his ability, because people have so many high expectations for him, but how much pressure does this give him? Is the prophesied prince so good?
Lyanna also has tears in her eyes, and frankly says that the yearning for freedom expressed in this sad song composed by Rhaegar is exactly what Lyanna wants.
"Crying nose, shame and shame!" Bunyan grimaced at Lyanna.
Apparently, Lyanna was indignant at his lack of appreciation, so she sobered him up with the wine in the glass in her hand.
Unlike Arya, who had a good father, Eddard, Lyanna's father, Duke Ricard, did not allow his daughter to act like a "wild girl", but fortunately, she had a younger brother Bunyan who could accompany her in swordsmanship.
So she yearns for freedom, loves equestrianism, yearns for a wild and unrestrained life, she seems to be a proud snow rose.
Once, a foreigner set up a genius gene pool, providing genius genes in it in an attempt to create a "genius" through IVF, but what is the result? After 20 years of tracking, it is clear that he is a physicist's genius gene, but in the end, most of them are engaged in art work, which can be described as a donkey's head and a horse's mouth.
Facts have proved that the advantages brought to them by genius genes are far less than the pressure brought to them, genius is not determined by genes, and finally foreigners also gave up this absurd idea. How similar is this to Rhaeggar's fate?
The "Dragon Prince" Rhaegar in everyone's eyes is not the real him, just a mask he knitted to meet the requirements of most people, behind the mask, is a sensual, music-loving, and longing for freedom soul.
He was trapped in the Red Keep, trapped in King's Landing, and even his marriage was "voluntary". Like a canary in a cage, he had to express his heart by singing, and he even went to the slums to hold a "concert".
It is worth mentioning that at the moment when Han Xing lost his mind, a member of the "Night Watch" gave an impassioned speech, encouraging the knights to wear black clothes, but most of them were still in a state of distraction, in fact, even if everyone was not in a state of distraction, no one would be willing to join the Night Watch.
The former Night's Watch was indeed the glory of the kingdom, but now it is the "garbage can" of the Seven Kingdoms, full of thieves, rapists, poachers, and illegitimate children. It would be a great insult to even breathe the same air as them.
Seeing that no one responded, the night watchman had no choice but to shrink back, but fortunately he seemed to be used to the cold scene, but he was not so disappointed.
When Han Xing broke free from the loss of music and the banquet had begun, his eyes began to look around on the long table that belonged to the wolves, and sure enough, on the long table that belonged to the "wolves", he found an unusually short figure, of course, this was only relative to the tall northerners around him.
Compared to the "little devil" Tyrion Lannister, he is definitely a "giant", he is wearing ill-fitting clothes, and he is staring at several knights not far away with a hateful eye, one is a pitchfork, one is a long-haired boar, and the other is the twin towers of the Frey family.
Needless to say, this little guy is Holland Reed, a native of Zedi.
Apparently Holland Reed had discovered the owners of those damned creatures, and Lyanna had apparently noticed them, and hated his brother "Mad-Wolf" Brandon about the lack of strict control of these people, and the fact that a few servants dared to punch and kick the Stark family vassals, which was a great humiliation to his own family.
"Big brother, you have to do justice for Horan Reed, he is the heir of the Greywater Wangreed family, you are the future head of the Stark family, shouldn't you stand up for him?" Lyanna said to his eldest brother "Wild Wolf" Brandon.
Brandon frowned, and said in a deep voice: "My sister, of course I want to stand up for him, but as you can see, after all, it is only a few subordinates, not to mention what witnesses are there besides you?" He stroked his head, obviously having a headache from it.
"Roy Tully and his bodyguard, Sir Hammer Segard, can bear witness to me." Lyanna said stubbornly.
"My sister, let's talk to you straight! I can't argue with their masters over a few, and besides, if I go, what punishment will they receive? At most, he was punished and apologized, brushed the stables, and did some physical work. On the contrary, it will seem that the Stark family is very petty, and it is not possible that those knights will take it as a provocation to their family. Obviously, although the "Wild Wolf" is wild, he is the heir of the family after all, and his father's cultivation and cultivation over the years have made him extremely stable and measured.
In fact, the "madness" of "Crazy Wolf" is only reflected in his fighting style, not his character, which can be seen from the fact that Petyr "Littlefinger" Berish had to fight him for Catherine, but he finally listened to Catherine's words and did not kill him. "Crazy Wolf" Brandon seems to be wild, but he is actually delicate and knows how to measure. He simply left "Littlefinger" with a long, but non-fatal, and non-crippling wound to get him out of the fight.
So it's understandable that he refused to stand up for Holland Reed.
"Damn, what kind of man are you, if I were a man, I would never let others bully my own people! But he broke his teeth and swallowed it in his stomach. Lyanna was so angry that her face turned red.
"Okay Lyanna, don't blame the eldest brother, we really can't meddle in the affairs of Horan Reed, after all, they are just a few servants, if they are knights, I believe that the eldest brother will personally challenge them! Don't talk about big brother, I'll go too! "Ai
De cleared Brandon, and Brandon immediately replied to him with a "really worthy of my good brother" look.
"Is that all?" Lyanna felt a little better, but she was still a little unwilling.