Four barrels of Qingtingdao wine were carried into the restaurant.
The castle's only cook and only servant who did housework came upon hearing the news.
The group opened the sealed lid of the wooden barrel, and a fragrant aroma of wine wafted out. The wine was crystal clear, a bright golden color, like a jar of clear, transparent liquid gold.
Sweet-talking Ralph put the lid on and said, "Lord Gregor hasn't arrived yet, so the first glass of wine should be for him to taste first."
"Yes, knight!" Polliver was very envious of Sweet-Talking Ralph becoming a knight, and he kept swallowing.
Scholar Harry shook his head and said, "Golden Green Island wine must be served in a wooden cup. I've heard Scholar Potter say that the most refined way to drink it is with a wooden cup carved from the trunk of the Golden Grapevine itself, which is the most distinctive and delicious way. Red Green Island wine can be served in a glass without any problem, but if you want the golden wine to have a pure taste, you must use a wooden cup."
"There are no wooden cups!" Sweet-talking Ralph said.
"Should we shake it first?" Dunsen asked Maester Harry.
"Yes, shake it first. The wine is wonderful, like golden honey," Maester Harry exclaimed in praise.
The bottom of the round wooden barrel has three small corks arranged in descending order of height. Turning the corks releases the wine. The staggered corks are designed to account for the pressure of the wine. If you turn the bottom cork first, the wine will flow out more rapidly and may splash. Drinking the wine in order of the corks releases a gentle flow without splashing.
Only the finest wines from Qingting Island have a design with three small corks; wine barrels from other places only have one small cork.
*
In the courtyard.
Alan Saloth bowed slightly to Gregor: "Lord Gregor, please enjoy your wine. We should head back now."
"Adu Sharoth is gone," Gregor said.
As soon as Ador Sharoth stepped out of the courtyard, he leaped onto his horse, and the sound of hooves filled the air. A group of cavalrymen escorted him and quickly left Criggon Castle.
"Yes, sir. Sir Ador has departed, and we should be going too. Farewell!" Alan Salot turned and left. His four wine-carrying guards immediately followed.
"You can't leave, Allen!" Gregor said calmly. His hand rested on the hilt of the greatsword.
He didn't ask Allen to stay; instead, he said, "You can't leave," in a tone that wasn't assertive, like giving an order. Gregor was always very assertive.
Alan Sallowt stopped and turned around: "Lord Gregor, is there anything else you need?"
"I'd like to buy you a drink," Gregor said.
Gregor has never trusted Allen even a little bit from the beginning until now.
I'd rather trust a criminal than a nobleman. This was a principle Gregor firmly believed!
"Great!" Allen smiled, as if he too was looking forward to having a few good drinks.
Gregor carefully observed Allen's eyes through the narrow gap in the mask, but he couldn't detect any trickery in Allen's eyes.
"Your four brothers should come too," Gregor added.
"Thank you, sir." The four guards carrying the wine were overjoyed and said in unison, their faces beaming with smiles.
There is no harm without comparison.
Gregor noticed the four guards' delight, but Allen only wore a polite smile, showing no eager joy.
As the captain of the Alva Guard, Allen was not entitled to drink the Golden Wine in the Salot family. This wine was kept by the family count and only allowed to be drunk by himself and his family.
Any man would be happy to drink the most expensive and best wine in the world.
Alan's smile seemed a bit forced, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. He might have drunk this wine before, perhaps after performing a meritorious service, or maybe Sir Alva had poured him a sip. Or perhaps Alan harbored deep resentment towards Gregor and had an inner aversion to drinking with him.
Gregor, Allen, and four family guards entered the dining room. On the long, narrow table, there was already a round, belly-shaped wooden barrel. The other three barrels of wine were moved into the kitchen basement and hidden by the chef.
Every household in the seven kingdoms had a basement because the harsh winters lasted for two to three years, or even ten years. During the summer, they typically needed to store enough food for ten years. The kitchen basement was used for this food storage. In some wealthy noble families, the basement was as large as the floor area.
A glass had already been placed next to the barrel.
There were no wooden cups, only glass cups.
Before Gregor arrives, none of his subordinates or servants will drink before him. This group, seen as utterly wicked by others, has a very strict internal hierarchy, unknown to outsiders. The loyalty of these villains, who do nothing but evil, to Gregor is also incomprehensible to others.
When they saw Allen enter with four of the Sarious family soldiers, Sweetmouth and the others looked on with suspicion.
"Pour the wine!" Gregor removed his helmet, which was heavy, but its effect on him was negligible. He placed the helmet on the table with a thud.
Maester Harry turned the cork, and golden wine flowed out.
The aroma of wine is irresistible!
Gregor tilted his head and gestured with his lips, indicating that Alan Salomon should drink.
Allen smiled slightly and reached for his wine glass: "Lord Gregor, I toast you."
Gregor nodded, and Maester Harry poured a second glass of wine.
Gregor raised his glass, gesturing for Allen to drink first.
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Allen brought the wine to his nose, took a gentle sniff, and closed his eyes to savor the aroma. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes, smiled at Gregor who was staring at him, and then slowly sipped the wine.
"Good wine, please, sir," Allen exclaimed contentedly, a trace of golden wine still lingering on his lips.
"You!" Gregor handed the wine to one of Allen's guards. Being tall and strong, he passed the glass across the table to Allen's back.
The guard hesitated for a moment, as if he couldn't quite believe it.
Such fine wine, Lord Gregor, would you please offer him a drink first?
After understanding Lord Gregor's meaning through eye contact, the guard was very excited. He took the wine glass, slowly sipped it, and found it to be mellow and pleasant. Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he drank the wine in several sips.
"Pour the wine!" Gregor said.
So Maester Harry poured two more glasses of wine for the other two Sallott family guards.
"Bring out a barrel of red wine," Gregor ordered the cook.
The chef dared not disobey and immediately went to fetch a barrel of red Qingting Island wine.
"Pour a glass for each of the five of them," Gregor said casually. He sat down, the tall stool beneath him groaning.
He neither removed his armor nor took off his greatsword. The stool he sat on creaked softly, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
Amid the gurgling sound of wine being poured, Sweet-Talking Ralph and Maester Harry slowly realized Gregor's intentions; the adults didn't believe the Saloor family's gift of wine was well-intentioned.
Allen raised his glass of red wine and laughed, "Lord Gregor, such fine wine! Let's all five of us toast you. What, you're too scared? Haha! Hahaha!" Allen downed his glass in one gulp and laughed, "So Lord Mountain is a coward after all, he wouldn't even drink the wine the Salomon family sent! But I just wish I hadn't had enough. Maester, pour me another glass! Haha, the famous Mountain wouldn't drink, do you dare? None of you dare?" Allen shook his head. "A bunch of cowards, cockroaches, rats, rotten fish."
"I'll drink!" Polliver shouted.
Gregor glanced at Polliver and said calmly, "Polliver, you dare to drink wine given to you by your enemy?"
"Sir, they've already drunk it, they're fine!"
"Their wine, they drank it without any problems, but that doesn't mean we can!" Gregor said coldly.
Upon hearing this, Allen's expression finally changed.