Chapter 38 Littlefinger’s Attention

On the second day of the team competition, the highlight of the tournament was the knight's jousting. If it were before, this would definitely be the competition that everyone paid attention to. But after watching such a wonderful group competition yesterday, watching the knight's jousting now It seems so bland.

Not to mention ordinary people, even King Robert, who has always been keen on tournaments, did not come to the scene to watch. Of course, King Robert's absence may also be related to the fact that he was beaten yesterday and his face was bruised and swollen, and the swelling has not subsided yet.

Because of this, although the number of people participating in the knight joust is the largest in history, with more than 800 knights competing here for the final championship, the atmosphere in the entire jousting ground seems very deserted, and most of them belong to some knights. Relatives, friends and peers are watching.

Such an atmosphere caused the participants to lose their fighting spirit and even become careless. As a result, various accidents occurred frequently on the competition field, and many originally outstanding knights lost due to various inexplicable reasons.

However, such a bad competition attracted many viewers who had already lost interest. However, what these viewers came here to see was not the exciting showdown of every knight confrontation, but to see why those superior knights were so outrageous. He made a mistake and fell to the ground in a panic.

Compared to the deserted competition ground, the taverns inside and outside King's Landing were extremely lively. Those who exited in time and did not participate in the group competition yesterday were thankful that they had escaped disaster. At the same time, they were also discussing yesterday's group competition. It's just that the direction of the discussion has changed from the various exciting battle scenes in the initial competition to a discussion of the actual combat power of the bear hunter Lind.

In yesterday's competition, Linde's performance was so outstanding that he far surpassed anyone else in the competition, and he almost completed the feat of killing a hundred people, which made countless people obsessed with him.

Especially after learning about Linde's origins, countless low-level warriors gradually regarded Linde as an object of worship, just as some knights of the Seven Kingdoms worshiped Arthur Dayne, the Sword of Dawn.

However, no matter how great a person is, there is no shortage of opponents and detractors, let alone Lind.

There were many people who were jealous of Linde's fame, as well as relatives and friends of those who died at the hands of Linde on the fighting field. They all sneered at Linde's character, because in their opinion, those killed by Linde were Most of those warriors were killed by Linde after being attacked from behind while fighting other people. Therefore, even though Linde was very powerful, he was extremely despicable.

However, those Linde admirers have a different view on this, because in their view, yesterday's competition field was just like a battlefield. The most important thing is to use all means to kill the enemy. As for whether it is despicable or not, it is not so important. Important, because only those who survive in the end have the right to be talked about whether they are despicable or not.

People on both sides quarreled fiercely over this, and even ended up fighting. Of course, there were also many people who were drunk and wanted to find a reason to fight.

For this reason, the golden robes in King's Landing City are ten times busier than usual. From morning to night, they can be seen in groups at any time in large and small taverns in King's Landing City, arresting those who make trouble. Throw it into the dungeon.

In this regard, although the golden robes were full of complaints, they were already happy in their hearts, because everyone who was caught had to pay a fine, and although most of the fines had to be turned over, some small changes had to be handed over. They can scrape it off and keep it for themselves, which undoubtedly gives them an extra income.

As for the residents of King's Landing, they were even more happy and had no complaints at all. In their eyes, the melee between those in the tavern was much more interesting than the duel between knights. Therefore, many people in King's Landing could be seen doing nothing around the taverns. The civilians watched the melee in the tavern with great interest, and from time to time they made some shouts with a strong sense of encouragement to add to the fun.

However, not all taverns are so lively. Some high-end taverns on Silk Street appear to be much calmer.

Although the guests there are also discussing the matter of Bear Hunter Lind, most of them don't think there is anything special about Bear Hunter Lind. Even if his combat power is amazing, in their eyes it is nothing special. He's just a high-level thug. At best, he's just another Magic Mountain.

What they really envy is the Tyrell family, because Lynd is a member of the Tyrell family. Last night, news came out in the Red Keep. King Robert not only did not resent being beaten by Lynd, but actually admired Lynd very much. He believed that he was not afraid of his status as king and dared to take action on the fighting field. He was a true warrior, so he was prepared to give Linde other rewards in addition to the championship bonus.

Because of this, he also has a different view of the Tyrell family. It seems that he no longer cares about what the Tyrell family did in the Usurper War a year ago. This also means that business activities with the Southern Territory It's time to return to normal. This is the real reason why they gather in these high-end taverns.

In the box on the top floor of Todd's Pumpkin, Littlefinger, who had not returned to Seagull Town, signed several deals with several big merchants from the Reach. He carefully received the deal contract with a smile on his face and handed it over to the little one next to him. in the box.

Judging from the thickness of the contracts in the box, it is obvious that these big businessmen are not the first transactions he has completed.

Unlike others who have stopped discussing the resumption of commercial activities in the South, Littlefinger has foreseen what will inevitably happen in the future. In his opinion, King Robert's resentment towards the Tyrell family actually lies in This year has been spent in the process of neglecting the Duke of Tyrell. It is only a matter of time to reconcile with the Tyrell family and complete the conquest of the south. The appearance of the bear hunter Lynd just gave King Robert the final chance. Good steps.

So while everyone was still waiting and watching, Littlefinger negotiated a dozen large contracts related to the Southern Territory at the lowest price. As long as the business in the Southern Territory returns to normal, the large contracts in his hands can bring him more than a dozen Wan Jinlong's huge wealth will undoubtedly help him fulfill his long-cherished wish to enter the power center of the Seven Kingdoms faster.

"Sir, the things have been delivered." When Littlefinger was looking through the list of the next merchant to meet, his men entered the room and reported: "He is very satisfied with the gift, especially Valery. Those antiques from the sub-period.”

Little Finger reached out and touched the dragon bone dagger he had left behind on his waist, and said, "Are you just satisfied with those antiques? The dragon egg ones?"

The man hesitated for a moment and said, "He said the dragon egg was fake. It was a beautiful piece of art and very good."

"Fake?" Littlefinger was stunned, but didn't say anything. In his opinion, there are so many fakes related to dragons and Valyria, and it's normal for his own people to buy fake ones. It's important. What is clear is that his purpose has been achieved.

The subordinate continued to narrate: "The Lord said that as long as you make some outstanding achievements in Seagull Town, he is confident that Duke Jon Arryn will transfer you to King's Landing."

Littlefinger had a confident smile on his face after hearing this. It was a very simple thing for him to achieve results in Seagull Town, but how to convey his results to Jon Arryn's ears was the most difficult thing. things.

The reason why he did not choose to let the woman Lysa Tully speak for him was to avoid the suspicion of Jon Arryn, who was naturally suspicious. Lysa Tully was his most important chess piece. If it was not necessary, he would be It won't be used.

Now that he has found the right person to help him spread the word and build momentum, the next thing will be a matter of course. Maybe he will be able to live in King's Landing for a long time without waiting until next year.

Thinking of this, he could not suppress the expression of joy on his face, and he picked up the wine bottle on the table and poured himself a glass of fine wine from Qingting Island to celebrate his brilliant future in advance.

Just as he drank the wine in his glass, he suddenly heard the tavern hall downstairs suddenly become quiet, and a melodious and majestic singing came to his ears.

This was the first time he heard this heart-stirring song, and he couldn't help but ask the men around him: "What is the name of this song?"

Hearing this, his subordinates replied: "It's called the Bear Hunter's Song. It's the most popular song in the tavern these two days. Almost every bard is singing this song, but the ones who sing it best are those from the river. The Bard of the Bay.”

Littlefinger listened and asked: "The Bear Hunter's Song? Is the person in the song the bear hunter Lind?"

"Yes." The subordinate nodded and said: "The song talks about the bear hunter Linde avenging his father. He went into the forest alone to hunt mountain bears. Later, he was taken seriously by Joel Klein of the Klein family. He participated in the bandit suppression operation in the Red Lake Forest area of ​​the southern border not long ago. However, this is an old song. Now a bard has written what happened in the competition field yesterday into the song and compiled it into a new song. , I believe that song will be popular in King’s Landing for a long time.”

"Lind the Bear Hunter?" Littlefinger chewed Lind's name while listening to the melodious singing coming from downstairs, with a thoughtful look on his face.

The name he heard most in the past two days was the name of the bear hunter Linde, and his impression of Linde was no more than that of a powerful warrior. Now that he heard the song of the bear hunter, he vaguely felt that Linde was somewhat similar to him. Similarity made him a little curious about Linde.

At the same time, in the Tyrell family's camp, Lind received an invitation. This invitation invited him to attend the banquet held at the Red Keep tonight. The Tyrell family also received an invitation. , except that the invitation was for the entire Tyrell family, and this invitation was only for Lynd personally. It was obvious that at the moment when the invitation was sent out, King Robert already admired Lynd to the same level as Tyrell. Home same height.

"No, your movements are too stiff. It looks like a moving scarecrow. You should do this."

In order not to embarrass Lind at the banquet, Duke Tyrell specially sent an etiquette teacher to teach Lind some court etiquette.

Originally, the etiquette teacher thought that it would be difficult to teach people like Linde who came from a lower class background, so he only prepared a few basic etiquettes. But what he didn't expect was that Linde learned very quickly. In addition to the language deficiencies, at least he had already mastered etiquette. No worse than ordinary nobles.

In the tent, Garland and Fortimo, who were preparing to come here to watch Linde's jokes, were also a little surprised at Linde's performance. However, when they thought of Linde's miraculous performances in the past, they felt that Linde's current learning ability was not Nothing to be surprised about.

"Well, very good! You have done a good job in these etiquette actions. Now I will teach you how to talk to the palace nobles." After repeatedly watching Linde perform some extremely standard etiquette actions, the etiquette officer was satisfied. He nodded, and then planned to exceed the task assigned by Duke Tyrell and let Lind learn more noble etiquette.

"Forget it! I don't think any of the adults in the Red Castle would be willing to use an aristocratic accent when talking to him." Fortimo interrupted the etiquette officer's enthusiasm, and then looked at Lind Said: "You don't need to learn those complicated etiquette. The sword in your hand is your etiquette, and nothing else is important."

Lin De deeply agreed with Fotimo's words, so he rejected the etiquette officer's kindness.

After the etiquette officer left, several more tailors came in and helped Linde get his measurements. Although they could not make a finished noble costume in less than half a day, they improved the finished noble costume to the size of Linde's body. It can still be done.

After the tailor finished measuring Linde's body, Fertimo ordered them to leave, and then asked Raul to leave as well and guard outside.

When there were only three of him, Garland and Lind in the tent, the expression on his face became serious, and he asked Lind: "I heard some rumors in the camp today that you are selling cavalry. Team quota, what's going on? "

Garland also looked at Linde seriously at this time.

Linde nodded and admitted, "Yes, it's true."

Before Fertimo could speak, Garland asked with great concern: "Why? You should not be short of money, you shouldn't do it just for this..."

"No, Lord Garland, I am very short of money." Lind interrupted Garland and said.

Garland exclaimed with a puzzled look on his face: "Lack of money? How is this possible? Your bonus is with me and can be taken away at any time. It is a full 20,000 gold dragons. I paid it according to the full amount of Rose Trading Company gold tickets. Exchange without deducting a copper penny.”

"I wanted to build a suit of armor and new weapons, but I didn't have enough money," Linde explained.

"What? Twenty thousand gold dragons are not enough to make a set of armor and weapons. Are you going to use gold to make armor and weapons?" Garland looked at Linde in shock, but when he saw Linde's calm expression, he With an incredible look on his face, he guessed: "You don't really want to use gold to make armor and weapons, do you?"

Fotimo on the side also looked at Linde with doubts.

Linde nodded and said, "It's not wrong to say it's made of gold, because I want to use Valyrian steel to make my armor and weapons. Their value may be more than gold. Twenty thousand gold dragons." It’s really not enough.”