As the sun sets, hundreds of bonfires rise on the banks of the Trident River.

The skinned cattle and sheep rotate slowly on the barbecue grill, overflowing with fat and fragrant, and the servants quickly cut the roasted meat and put it on a plate, smearing it with spices and brine, and serving it with some vegetable salad and cream, and finally brought it to the table of the nobles.

"Sam, you scared me to death before!"

Natalie Dane cautiously leaned into Samwell's ear. The little girl is wearing a sleeveless and collarless sundress today, revealing her fair and flawless shoulders and a pair of well-proportioned arms, and her soft long hair is pulled into a simple bag, which is extremely cute.

"What scared you to death?" Samwell cut the steak for the little girl and smiled, "Do I have a conversation with the king?" ”

"yes." Natalie rolled her eyes and looked around for a while, and when she saw that everyone was listening to the bard singing, she lowered her voice and said, "How dare you talk to the king like that?" Don't you worry that he will be angry? ”

"And is he angry?"

"Uh...... It doesn't seem to be. ”

"That's fine." Samwell shrugged, "Everyone's temper is different, like our king, he seems to be irritable, but as long as you can get into his eyes, you will find that he is actually very tolerant and easy to get along with." ”

"Oh......" Natalie asked, tilting her little head, as if she didn't understand, "how can you get into the king's eyes?" ”

"What are you talking about?" Without waiting for Samwell to answer, Margaery Tyrell approached.

This "Gaoting Rose" is also very cool, the skirt of the tulle silk dress only reaches the middle of the thigh, revealing a large area of white beauty, and the slender feet like snow jade step on a pair of chic sandals, which looks comfortable and lazy.

"We're talking about our esteemed majesty the king." Samwell looked at the delicate rose in front of him, his eyes twinkling slightly.

He suddenly remembered that the Duke of Lanli was secretly planning to sacrifice Margaery to Robert, and this time he came to meet him, could it be that he arranged for the two to meet?

Although in the original book, Duke Lanli's plan did not succeed, it was also when Robert did not meet Margaery.

Now that the plot has changed, will Robert be moved when he sees this rose from the High Court?

"Speaking of kings, Sam, you seem to know him well." Margaery sat down on a bench beside Samwell, her eyes full of inquiry.

"How so?" Samwell shrugged, "This is the first time I've met Your Majesty today. ”

"Then you are indeed not small, you dare to provoke Your Majesty like that."

"Because I believe Your Majesty is not the kind of narrow-minded person."

"Then what kind of person do you think Your Majesty is?" Margaery asked thoughtfully, taking a sip of wine.

"Your Majesty......" Samwell shook his glass, thinking about the wording, when he suddenly heard a commotion.

"Enough!" King Robert's loud voice quickly overpowered all voices, "Cersei, she's just a little girl, what do you care about her!" ”

Samwell saw Queen Cersei standing up with her skirt on her face, as if she were wearing a snow-white mask, and she seemed to say something to the king, and then left the table.

Then came the voice of Duke Eddard, the Hand of the King, but it was a little far away, and Samwell couldn't hear it clearly, only vaguely hearing a few words "Arya" and "apology".

"Ed, needless to say! Your daughter Arya is not wrong, Cersei is a really annoying woman, hahahaha! Robert's voice was clearly audible, and after reassuring the Stark father and daughter, he turned to his son and reprimanded,

"Joffrey! You are my son, the future king of the Seven Kingdoms! So I don't want to see you make such a little report again! That's what a decent person should do! ”

Joffrey was so scolded that he didn't dare to speak.

Robert snorted again, then let his son go, waved his hand at the crowd, and said, "Go on, keep drinking!" Keep eating! ”

The banquet was once again noisy.

Samwell noticed that Arya Stark had run out despite her father's call, and seemed rather unconvinced.

"What just happened?" Natalie asked curiously.

Samwell shrugged, saying he didn't know either, he hadn't seen the story.

However, he looked at Prince Joffrey, whose face was blue and his expression was distorted, and suddenly he wanted to laugh a little.

Margaery was also curious, so she got up and went back to the main table, and after some inquiry, ran over to tell Samwell and Natalie.

Samwell then realized that it was Prince Joffrey who was complaining to his mother just now, saying that during the day, Duke Eddard's second daughter, Arya Stark, said that he hated the queen, and then the queen angrily questioned Duke Eddard, which led to the scene just now.

"Do you know what the most interesting thing is?" Margaery grinned and gossiped, "The person who pointed out Arya for speaking ill of the queen is not only Prince Joffrey, but also her own sister, Sansa Stark." ”

Samwell wasn't surprised, because it did look like the silly girl had done it.

"Looks like Miss Sansa really loves her fiancé." Samwell said meaningfully, wanting to tease the Rose of the High Court next to him, who wanted to be the queen, but he didn't say much when he thought that Natalie was also there.

Although there was a not-so-pleasant episode, the feast soon became cheerful again.

Several jugglers jumped around the bonfire, doing all kinds of difficult and dangerous actions, which caused everyone to scream and applaud continuously.

During this time, Samwell noticed that Prince Joffrey had secretly left his seat, apparently because he was in no mood to stay here after being scolded by his father.

Next on the stage was a gray-haired man in a red and black cloak, who seemed to be a bard, humming softly while playing the harp:

"The wives of the people of Dorn are as beautiful as the sun,

Her kisses are warmer than spring;

But the swords of the Dornites are made of black iron,

Their kisses are terrifying......"

The man's voice is mellow and has a unique charm of a bit rough, and the interpretation of this song "The Wife of the Dorn" is so moving that it makes people mistakenly believe that he himself once slept with a Dorn's wife, and then died in a duel with her husband.

“…… The wives of the Dornes sing when they bathe,

a tone as sweet as a peach;

But the sword of the Dornite has its own song,

Sharp and arrogant as a leech......"

And while everyone was immersed in the song, Samwell narrowed his eyes and stared at the "bard".

This is a middle-aged man who is not very tall, with an ordinary face, difficult to recognize when thrown into the crowd, with a knotted chin, covered with a short beard, a yellowish complexion, and small eyes that are almost narrowed into a narrow slit, as if he does not want people to see his heart through this "window".

Samwell knew that this man was probably not a bard!

“…… Brother, brother, my doom is coming,

The Dornites took my life,

It doesn't matter, mortals will eventually die,

But I have tasted the wives of many benefactors! ”

When the last tune of the ballad slowly faded away, enthusiastic applause and cheers followed.

King Robert admired the man's performance and rewarded him with a few silver deer.

The bard bowed in thanks, then retreated to the sidelines, crouching in a no-man's corner and enjoying the barbecue and mead.

Seeing this, Samwell also got up and left the table and walked over to the man.

"I love your songs." Samwell laughed, "What's your name?" ”

"Sir, my name is Bell." The bard stood up and said respectfully.

"Bell......" Samwell pouted, "that's a good name, especially for a bard." ”

Truly.

Legend has it that a bard of the same name was a guest in Winterfell, and because he was dissatisfied with the Duke of the North's contempt for him, he eloped with the Duke's daughter, leaving behind only a Winter Snow Rose and a legend.

"Sir, I'm far worse than that Mr. Bell." The bard apparently knew who Samwell was talking about, "That Bell wrote the ballads that will last forever, and I would only cover tunes that someone else had written." What's more, I don't have the courage to kidnap Miss Noble. ”

"I don't think you're too cowardly." Samwell stared into the bard's eyes and asked, "Are you from the North?" ”

"Yes, sir, I'm a native of the North."

"Really?" Samwell laughed meaningfully, "A northerner singing the ballad of the southernmost Dornes on the continent. ”

"People always yearn for things they can't get, and I've seen a lot of wind and snow in my life, so I've always longed for Dorne, with its crimson mountains and hot deserts."

"There is some truth. However, I don't think you are from the North. ”

"And where do you think I'm from?" The bard's tone is flat.

"I think you should be further north."

The bard's eyes finally fluctuated.

The north is further north, beyond the Great Wall of Desperation.

"This man." The bard regained his indifference, at least outwardly, "Do you think I resemble a savage north of the Great Wall?" ”

"Nope." Samwell shook his head, "I don't think you're just an ordinary savage. ”

The bard stopped talking, and stared down at the campfire.

Samwell leaned into his ear and whispered:

"Am I right? King of the Outer Cypriots, His Majesty Mance Raide. ”

For a moment, Samwell seemed to feel the bitter cold from the far north.

But soon, it disappeared into the humid heat of the south.

As if it were just an illusion.

Seeing that his identity was recognized, Mance Rader smiled freely, and did not try to deny it anymore, but said curiously:

"How did you recognize me? Also, I don't know your name yet. ”

"Samwell Caesar." Samwell reported to himself, "As for how I recognized you, hehe, keep it a secret for now." ”

"Since it's a temporary secret, you can tell me the next time we meet." Mance said in a tone that could not be questioned.

Samwell smiled noncommittally, and then his tone became cold:

"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that your true identity will be revealed and your head will be caught?"

(End of chapter)