Chapter 126

Chapter 126 Campfire Dinner

  As the sun went down, hundreds of bonfires were raised on the banks of the Trident River.

  The skinned beef and sheep were slowly turning on the grill, the overflowing fat was spreading tangy aroma, the servants quickly cut the roasted meat and put it on the plate, spread spices and salt, and added some vegetable salad and cream , and finally delivered to the dining table of nobles .

  "Sam, you scared me to death before!"

  Natalie Dane said carefully in Samwell's ear. The little girl was wearing a sleeveless and collarless suspender dress today, revealing her fair and flawless shoulders and a pair of well-proportioned arms. Her soft long hair was tied into a simple bun, which looked extremely cute.

  "What scared you to death?" Samwell cut the steak for the little girl and said with a smile, "The way I talked talk to the king?"

  "Yes." Natalie rolled her eyes and looked around for a while, seeing everyone she lowered her voice while listening to the bard singing, "How dare you talk to the king like that? Aren't you worried that he will get angry?"

  "Then is he angry?"

  "Uh...he doesn't seem to be."

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

  "Oh..." Natalie seemed to understand, tilted her head, and asked again, "Then how can I get into the king's eyes?"

"What are you talking about?" Before Samwell could answer, Margaery Tyrell arrived with question .

  This "Highgarden Rose" was also dressed very coolly. The skirt of the tulle silk dress only reaches the middle of the thigh, revealing a large area of slender legs. Her feet like snow stepping on a pair of uniquely shaped sandals, making her look comfortable and carefree.

  "I'm talking about our respected Majesty the King." Samwell looked at the delicate rose in front of him, his eyes flickering slightly.

  It suddenly occurred to him that Duke Renly was secretly planning to dedicate Margaery to Robert. Could it be that he had come to greet him this time just to arrange for the two to meet?

  Although in the original book, Duke Renly's plan did not succeed, it was also when Robert had never met Margaery.

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

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

  "How could that be?" Samwell shrugged, "This is the first time I've met His Majesty today."

  "Then you are indeed very courageous, to dare to provoke His Majesty like that."

  "Because I believe that his Majesty is not the kind of narrow-minded person "

  "Then what kind of person do you think His Majesty is?" Margaret asked thoughtfully while sipping the wine.

  "His Majesty..." Samwell shook his wine glass and was thinking of words when he suddenly heard a noise.

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

Samwell saw Queen Cersei standing near Robert, as if wearing a cild mask on her face, she said 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 so Samwell couldn't hear clearly, and could only vaguely hear a few words of "Arya" and "Apology".

  "Ned, needless to say! Your daughter Arya is right, Cersei is really annoying, hahahaha!" Robert's voice was clearly audible. After he comforted the Stark father and daughter, He turned his head to look at his son again, and reprimanded,

  "Joffrey! You are my son, the future King of the Seven Kingdoms! So I don't want to see you make such small reports again! What are you ,a child ? !"

  Joffrey was so dejected by the scolding that he dared not speak.

  Robert snorted again, before letting his son go, and waving to the crowd, "Go on, go on drinking! Go on eating!"

The banquet resumed its uproar.

  Samwell noticed that Arya Stark ran out despite her father's call, and seemed quite unconvinced.

  "What happened just now?" Natalie asked curiously.

  Samwell shrugged, saying that he didn't know, he had never seen this episode.

  However, looking at Prince Joffrey, who was livid and distorted, he suddenly wanted to laugh.

  Margaery was also very curious about this, so she got up and went back to the main table. After inquiring about it, she ran over and told Samwell and Natalie.

  Only then did Samwell know that Prince Joffrey had complained to his mother just now, saying that during the day, Duke Ned's second daughter, Arya Stark, said that she hated the queen, and then the queen angrily questioned Arya Stark.

  "Do you know what the most interesting thing was just now?" Margaery gossiped with a smile on her face, "The person who accused Arya of speaking ill of the queen, besides Prince Joffrey, was actually her own sister, Sansa Stark."

  Samwell wasn't too surprised, because it really seemed like something that silly girl would do.

  "It seems that Lady Sansa really loves her fiancé." Samwell said meaningfully. He wanted to tease the Rose of Highgarden who wanted to be queen by the way, but thought that Natalie was also here , so he didn't say much.

  Although there was this unpleasant episode, the banquet soon became cheerful again.

  A few jugglers were bouncing around the bonfire, doing all kinds of difficult and dangerous moves, which caused the crowd to scream and applaud.

  During the period, Samwell noticed that Prince Joffrey left his seat secretly. It seemed that after being scolded by his father, he was not in the mood to stay here anymore.

  Next came a grey-haired man in a red and black cloak who seemed to be a bard, humming softly as he played his harp: "The Dornishman's wife was as fair as the sun and her kisses were warmer than spring."

"But the Dornishman's blade it was made of black steel, and its kiss was a terrible thing."

  The man's voice was mellow, with a rough and unique charm, and slo he interprets the song "The Dornishman's Wife" very movingly , and even made people mistakenly think that he himself had slept with a Dornish wife, and then died in a duel with her husband.

  "...the Dornishmen's wives sing when they bathe,

  with a tone as sweet as a peach;

  the Dornishman's sword has its own song,

  as sharp and cold as a leech..."

  And when everyone was immersed in the singing However, Samwell narrowed his eyes and stared at the "bard".

  This middle-aged man who is not tall, with an ordinary face, hard to recognize in the crowd, with a knobby chin, covered with a short beard, with yellowish complexion , and his small eyes were almost narrowed into narrow slits like he doesn't want people to see his heart clearly through this "window".

  Samwell knew that this person might not be a bard!

  "...Brother, brother, my end has come,

  the Dornishmen have taken my life,

  it doesn't matter, mortals are mortal, but I have tasted the wife of a Dornishman !"

After the slowdown, warm applause and cheers followed.

  King Robert admired this person's playing very much, and specially rewarded him with several silver stags.

  The bard bowed to thank him, then retreated to the sidelines, crouched in a deserted corner and enjoyed the barbecue and honey wine.

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

  "I like your song very much." Samwell said with a smile, "What's your name?" "

  "Lord, my name is Bell." The bard got up and said respectfully.

  "Bell..." Samwell, "It's a good name, especially for a bard."

  Indeed.

  Legend has it that a bard with the same name was once 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 a winter snow rose and a legend.

  "My lord, I am far worse than that Mr. Bell." The bard obviously knew who Samwell was talking about. "That Bell wrote songs that will be passed down forever, but I can only cover songs written by others. What's more , I don't have the guts to kidnap the noble lady."

  "I don't think you're that timid." Samwell stared into the bard's eyes and asked again, "Are you from the north?"

"Yes, sir, I am a native of the North."

  "Really?" Samwell smiled meaningfully, "A northerner sings the ballad of the Dornish people in the southernmost part of the continent."

  " People always yearn for what they can't get, I have seen a lot of wind and snow in my life, so I have always yearned for Dorne, which has red mountains and hot deserts."

"It makes sense. However, I don't think you are from the north."

  "Then where do you think I am from?" The bard's tone was flat.

  "I think you should come from further north."

  The bard's eyes finally wavered.

  The further north than northern border , that is beyond the Wall.

  "My lord." The bard regained his indifference, at least on the outside, "do you think I look a savage north of the Wall?"

"No."

Samwell shook his head, "I think you are not just an ordinary savage."

  The bard fell silent, staring down at the campfire.

  Samwell leaned into his ear and whispered,

  "Am I right? King beyond the Wall, His Majesty Mance Rayder."

  For a moment, Samwell seemed to feel the severe cold from the extreme north .

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

  As if it was just an illusion.

  Seeing that someone had seen through his identity, Mance Rayder smiled freely, and didn't bother to deny it anymore, but asked curiously:

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

  "Samwell Caesar." Samwell reported himself, "As for how I recognized you, hah!, let's keep it a secret for now."

"Since it's a secret for the time being , please tell me next time we meet." Mance said in an unquestionable tone.

  Samwell smiled noncommittally, but then his tone became cold:

  "Your Majesty Mance, aren't you afraid that your true identity will be exposed, and you will be caught and beheaded right here right now?"

[END]