King's Landing:
Red Keep, King's Chamber:
"This troubled daughter! How dare she run away halfway through!"
Viserys angrily smashed the wine glass, his face livid with anger.
He had spent a great deal of manpower and material resources arranging a tour for the crown prince.
How will the nobles view the royal family when they hear the news?
Alicent sat opposite him and whispered, "Don't be impatient. Rhaenyra isn't that confused."
"Then she should take the tour seriously!"
Viserys was about to explode.
Alicent sighed and said perfunctorily, "Where can she go? You should think about it carefully."
Just feeding an adult dragon costs a fortune.
Ordinary nobles can't afford that.
Viserys was stunned when he heard this and considered a possibility. "You mean she went to the Valley?"
"Obviously."
Alicent lowered her eyebrows, her tone very subtle.
"So..."
Viserys thought of his nephew, and his anger subsided. He wondered, "When did the two of them become so close?"
"Who knows? Maybe Rhaenyra found the parade boring."
Alicent forced a smile and secretly picked at her nails.
When she was nervous, she used pain to hide her feelings.
Viserys glanced at her and vaguely realized that his wife was reluctant to see her daughter's good relationship with her grandson.
Was it jealousy or political inclination?
The former was more likely; Alicent and her nephew had a good relationship, and the whole Red Keep knew it.
The latter was troublesome.
His court had only been stable for a few years, and it was too soon for another internal struggle.
Alicent noticed her husband's gaze, and her heart tightened immediately. She changed the subject. "Have you heard that Lady Rhea is looking for a marriage partner for Aemon?"
"When did that happen?"
Viserys's face changed slightly; he was sensitive about this topic.
"A month ago, she visited relatives and friends in the valley under the pretext of hunting," Alicent said.
"There is such a thing."
Viserys was surprised.
This matter was related to whether Rhaenyra could firmly sit on the Iron Throne.
Didn't Lady Rhea know that Aemon was his chosen wife?
Alicent pretended to be puzzled. "Lady Rhea loves her son dearly. Isn't that a good thing?"
The intelligence of women is beyond imagination.
She knew that Lady Rhea looked down on the Targaryens, so she found a girl from the Vale for Aemon.
This coincided with her own idea.
As long as it wasn't Rhaenyra—that selfish fool wasn't worthy.
"It's just nonsense, this country fool."
Viserys had a good temper, but he still couldn't help but curse inwardly after hearing it.
He and his brother Daemon had married Vale women and established a deep alliance with the Vale.
The next generation could marry Stormland and the Westerlands, but they couldn't continue to fight the Vale.
Alicent added fuel to the fire, saying: "Aemon is busy in the Vale, and it seems that he doesn't object."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Viserys waved his hand confidently. "That's Daemon's son. Targaryens will be attracted to each other."
Why didn't Daemon look down on his first wife?
The biggest reasons are pride and prejudice.
According to the "Targaryen Law of Mutual Attraction," Daemon's ideal wife must be of ancient Valyrian blood, at least.
Lady Rhea is obviously not.
As a result, he married Emma Arryn of the Valley.
Emma is a good woman of noble birth.
Her mother is Daenerys Targaryen, the sixth daughter of her grandfather, the King of Ages.
In fact, Emma is Daemon's aunt.
Emma was born with Targaryen features, including silver hair and purple eyes. She married back into the royal family after becoming an adult.
Daemon recognized this and was more demanding and picky about his wife.
Unexpectedly, however, he was used by his grandmother, Alysanne, to marry into the Runestone family.
The contrast was too great, leading to Daemon's extreme behavior.
He insulted his first wife, calling her a "bronze bitch," and mocked the women of the Vale, saying they were worse than goats.
Alicent stopped talking and picked at her nails harder.
She knew her husband was right.
After Viserys finished speaking, he smiled first and his mood improved. "Forget it. Don't worry about Rhaenyra for now. Let her relax in the Vale."
"But what about Lady Rhea?"
Alicent protested.
"Don't worry. She won't succeed."
Viserys smiled deeply, but resentment remained in his heart.
He felt guilty and angry about his sister-in-law.
On the one hand, he felt sorry for her as a widow and for his brother Daemon's failure to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband.
On the other hand, he was angry that she didn't know what was good for her and always went against the royal family.
If she had the courage to castrate Daemon on their wedding night, why couldn't she take it out on her son?
Damn Daemon!
"You're right, but Rhaenyra still has to resume her journey as soon as possible."
Alicent knew persuasion was useless and hoped Rhaenyra would leave the Vale quickly.
"Okay, I will write a letter to scold her severely."
Viserys said sternly, observing his wife's words and deeds.
He had already decided that the other party simply couldn't tolerate Rhaenyra's closeness with Aemon.
What a strange possessiveness.
Hearing this, Alicent relaxed.
Viserys seized the moment: "The kingdom has been quiet for a long time. After Rhaenyra's tour is over, how about we hold a grand tournament?"
"That will cost a lot of money."
Alicent said helplessly.
"The treasury is full. We have enough to spend."
Viserys patted his belly and smiled like a rich man. "Let's celebrate our ninth anniversary next year."
The king was flattered at that moment.
He hoped they wouldn't cause too much trouble to meet his wife and daughter's expectations.
Alicent raised her eyes and nodded with a smile. "Okay."
...
Valley.
River Valley, a vast plain.
"Yo, Yo!"
A white deer ran freely, and the silver-haired boy riding it pulled the bow sideways.
A hare fled in front of them, turning and moving flexibly.
Whoosh!
Aemon shot an arrow, and the dragon bone bow rebounded slightly.
The arrows flew like shuttles, piercing the hare's neck accurately.
"Good archery!"
Sir Ryan, wearing a white cloak, rode up on horseback and praised him.
I have seen it countless times, yet I am still amazed by the prince's remarkable archery talent.
Aemon was used to it and rode a deer to retrieve the prey.
Sir Ryan waved his hand, signaling the team behind him.
"Stop and rest where you are."
Gunthor pulled the reins and tied the two-point flag to the soft grass.
Eight hundred newly recruited young men ran after the horses, sweating profusely.
They were all recruited locally from the valley, including new residents, orphans from the new fields, and people from the Firesmith tribe.
They were all between 14 and 30 years old, the prime age for plasticity.
The valley was suffering from a lack of war horses, and the enemy was the High Mountain Clan of the Moon Mountains.
They were longbow soldiers.
Each person has a set of copper-inlaid leather armor, a scimitar at their waist, and a longbow and quiver.
This was the best equipment the valley could provide.
"Sir Ryan, can the next batch of building materials be delivered on time?"
Aemon peeled the rabbit skin off on the spot and made a fire to roast it.
Sir Ryan helped out and hesitated. "A small group of pirates from the Three Women's Kingdom is in turmoil. The maritime trade in the Strait of Sin is affected. Almost all ports are crowded."
Ryan lives in Seagull Tower in Seagull Town, where he is in charge of the landing and transportation of building materials.
Recently, however, the situation has been difficult, delaying transportation times in Seagull Town.
Aemon nodded. "I am planning to pave a good mountain road from Raven Ridge to the River Valley, which will save a lot of time."
Rhaenyra is working hard on this project.
Sir Ryan's smile was stiff, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"A princess of a country paves the way for you. You are really brave."
On the way here, the golden dragon was in a bad mood.
Aemon was seriously pickling rabbit meat and suddenly thought of two people.
Daemon is on the Stone Steps Islands.
The pirates of the Three Women's Kingdom are in turmoil and will have to fight every day.
He spent several years in the Stepstones as the "King of the Sea" before returning to King's Landing in 111 AC to reconcile with his uncle.
But he had another purpose.
At that time, Rhaenyra had no one to love, and he wanted to seize the Iron Throne through her.
Now that Aemon is here, he naturally has no such plan and is still catching crabs in the Stepstones.
"I don't know why I can't hold on," he thought.
Aemon thought to himself.
The Stepstones are subjectively stuck between two continents and would indeed be a good place to collect taxes.
However, the islands are composed of nothing but stones.
It's impossible to develop the economy, and it's wishful thinking to build a port.
Daemon was cheated by the sea serpent Corliss and is now trapped in the Stepstones, fighting pirates from the Three Women's Kingdom.
Speaking of the sea serpent, Laenor naturally thought of Corliss.
Aemon secretly complained, "If the port is affected, is Driftmark Island also affected?"
It makes sense, then, that Laena broke the appointment.
"Prince!"
Suddenly, a shout came.
Aemon frowned. "What's the hurry?"
The new soldier said nervously, "We found someone stealing sheep. It seems to be the Mountain Clan."
"Lead the way."
Aemon left the half-cooked rabbit and set off immediately.
Soon, they arrived near a stream.
From a distance, they saw about a dozen men wrapped in animal skins driving a herd of goats into the mountains.
Aemon was surprised and said, "It's really the mountain clan."
The river valley was in ruins, and the people's houses were still simple. Of course, there were no sheep pens or cow sheds.
Except for chickens and ducks, livestock such as cattle and sheep were raised freely.
They ate, drank, defecated, and urinated on the grass. At night, they returned to the Long Lake in groups.
Unexpectedly, a group of mountain clans arrived.
"Capture them and ask which tribe they are from."
Aemon ordered and took the lead in drawing the bow and arrow.
Whoosh!
The dragon bone bow was powerful, and the arrow shot out like a meteor.
With a puff, it pierced a person's head, entering the skull and landing in the grass.
"Draw your swords! Catch them!"
One hundred longbowmen were dispatched to surround them, drawing their scimitars.
Due to the disparity in numbers, they tied up more than a dozen members of the Alpine clan in a matter of moments.
"We ask, you answer."
Gunthor handed Bantor, a leader-like Alpine clan member, to His Royal Highness for interrogation.
Aemon asked, "Which tribe are you from?"
Upon looking at them, he saw that this group of Alpinists also had tattoos on their bodies and one or both ears painted black.
"We are warriors of the Black Ear Tribe."
The little leader said with a dissatisfied look on his face and a stiff neck.
Aemon raised his eyebrows, thinking that there were all kinds of monsters and ghosts.
Looking at his posture, Aemon couldn't bring himself to ask anything.
He casually pointed to a longbowman from the Pyrosmith Tribe and asked, "Where is the Black Ear Tribe, and how strong is it?"
The longbowman stepped forward and replied, "The Black Ear Tribe is located in the Moon Mountain Range, north of the Alpine Mountains. It is a large tribe of 3,000 people."
They are also neighbors of the river valley.
Aemon nodded and waved his hand. "Kill him."
"Don't..."
The young leader tried to beg for mercy, but a scimitar was inserted into his head.
"Yo, yo."
The white deer took a step back, afraid blood would splash onto its silky fur.
Aemon pondered silently.
The longbow soldiers are almost trained; at least, they can draw the bow and shoot arrows.
It's time to find a high mountain clan to serve as a whetstone and capture a group of coolies.
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