Fine white salt slipped from Tywin's fingers.
Beautiful salt grains.
It's different from the salt grains we're used to eating and seeing: regular salt grains are large, pale yellow, and sometimes have a bitter taste.
Tywin's fingers were covered in salt, fine as sand and white as snow.
He touched his lips with his finger; it was salty and delicious.
A packet of fine white salt with absolutely no bitter taste. It was crystal clear, unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
Salt was very expensive for ordinary people, and poor families ate very little salt and couldn't afford it. Salt was extremely profitable, but for the Western Regions, which had abundant gold and silver mines, the profits from mining and producing salt naturally couldn't compare to those from producing gold and silver.
The famous Golden Road, which begins at the Lion's Mouth in Casterly Rock and ends in King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, was specifically used to transport gold and silver ore to the mint in King's Landing. At the end of each month, wagons and oxcarts carrying the ore would crammed the entire road, stretching endlessly. The wagons and oxcarts of the major families of the Westerlands were all on the Golden Road, hauling away ore and bringing back golden dragons and silver stags.
"Send it to the kitchen and tell the chef to use this snow salt in today's cooking."
"Yes, sir."
Squire Potter carefully wrapped the salt.
There is a common saying about salt: "Salt is as precious as gold."
"Expensive" refers not only to the price, but also to the scarcity of the item; things are valued for their rarity.
Scholar Potter carefully wrapped the snow-white salt and covered it with a brocade box.
Where did the snow salt come from?
As white as snow, Tywin casually named this salt: Snow Salt.
"In his letter to me, Maester Harry said that Sir Gregor had accidentally brewed it."
"Oh!" Tywin said casually.
Sir Potter strode out. He couldn't stand the smell of blood and the stench of animal fur and flesh in the room.
Because of the long-term slaughter of wild beasts and livestock, the air in the slaughterhouse smelled strange and unpleasant, making it difficult for Scholar Potter to feel comfortable every time he entered.
"Sir Potter," Tywin said. He carefully wiped his hands clean and then carefully trimmed his nails.
Lord Tywin Lannister was skilled at butchering wild beasts and livestock; he enjoyed doing it.
Even the best butcher among the servants couldn't match his skinning skills.
"Send Gregor's two letters to Tiger Saloth in King's Landing."
"Yes, sir!"
"Tell Tiger that he needs to discipline his sons."
"Yes, sir."
*
King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Red Keep, the castle where the king resides, is located on Aegon Hill.
The Red Fort is surrounded by cliffs on three sides, making it impossible to climb over; there is only one entrance and exit through the north gate.
The Red Fort gets its name from the tall walls built with red rocks.
On either side of the main gate of the Red Fort are the left and right barracks responsible for guarding it.
Next to the military camp on the right is a row of neat stone houses, where the royal courtiers lived.
Next to the military camp on the left, there was also a row of neat stone houses, which were the temporary residences for nobles from all over the Seven Kingdoms who came to King's Landing on business.
King Robert Baratheon decided to travel north to Winterfell to visit his brother, Lord Eddard Stark, whom he had not seen for more than ten years, and to respectfully invite the stubborn Eddard Stark to come out of retirement and serve as his Hand of the King—the second most powerful person in the world.
Knowing Eddard Stark's indifference to fame and fortune, the king had no choice but to personally invite him. Eddard was a frozen stone from the North that could not be summoned with a mere raven. The king and Eddard grew up together in Arryn Vale, their bond surpassing that of blood brothers. The late King's Hand, Jon Arryn, was their shared foster father.
King Robert was a man who loved to show off and make a grand display. In addition to the royal courtiers, the great lords in various places also received his raven letters, ordering them to send their nobles to accompany him north.
Aside from Dorne, thousands of miles south of the kingdom's southernmost territory, the Iron Islands in the Sunset Sea, and their current destination—the northernmost edge of the kingdom—the other subordinate states, in order from south to north, were: House Tyrell of Highgarden in the Reach, House Baratheon of Storm's End in the Stormlands, the King himself and his courtiers in the Royal Lands, House Lannister of Casterly Rock in the Westerlands, House Arryn of the Eyrie in the Vale, and House Tully of Riverrun in the Riverlands. All had received the King's raven command—he ordered them to send their most powerful nobles to accompany him north. The more people, the more carriages, the grander the procession, the more lively the scene, the more satisfied, happier, and more delighted King Robert Baratheon became.
Tiger Shallow was sent by Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock in the Westerlands to deal with King Robert's orders.
King Robert Baratheon is the son-in-law of Tywin Lannister. Queen Cersei Lannister is the eldest daughter of Lord Tywin.
Tiger Saloth, representing the nobles of the West, was uniquely granted the opportunity to accompany the King north, a great honor for the Saloth family. Tiger Saloth was overjoyed; he felt an unparalleled sense of glory.
Tomorrow, a large contingent will set off from King's Landing and head north to Winterfell. This should have been a joyous occasion, but Tiger Shallot was filled with dread and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He had just received two letters.
The letters were sent from Casterly Rock in the Westerlands. Neither letter was written to Tywin Lannister by Lord Tywin, but rather to Ser Gregor the Mountain. Tywin forwarded Gregor's two letters to Tiger. Tywin did not write to Tiger; instead, Maester Potter added a note to Gregor's letter: "Earl Tiger, Lord Tywin told me that he thinks you should discipline your son."
That sentence is even more heartbreaking than Tiger losing Alva Sarout.
In Westeros, apart from the heir to the family estate, other sons have no right to inherit or distribute any of the family's property. How much they receive depends entirely on the patriarch's discretion. All the family's wealth and lands belong solely to the heir, a principle dictated by the laws and traditions of the Seven Kingdoms. However, the laws and traditions cannot prevent conflicts of interest among brothers. Some brothers kill their elder brothers to become heirs themselves. Conversely, some elder brothers choose to eliminate their brothers to solidify their own position as heirs.
However, these extreme cases are rare.
Of Tygo's seven sons, only the eldest, Ador Sallo, was of great importance to the family. The rest were destined to forge their own paths. This is why many sons of high-ranking nobles choose to become mercenaries, or even join the Night's Watch at the Wall to avoid the power struggles within their families. For example, Ser Weimar Royce, the youngest son of the Vale nobleman Yorn Royce, a high-ranking official.
Who is Weimar Royce?
He was the arrogant commander in the opening trio of the first episode of "Game of Thrones," the young ranger who insisted on going to check on the wildlings' deaths despite the advice of his two subordinates, and was the first to be killed by the White Walkers.
In this world, the lives of offspring who are not the heirs of the family are not particularly important to the family as a whole in critical events.
Tiger arrived in King's Landing. His youngest son, Alvar, and his men abducted the Mountain's daughter and raped her in the mines. The Mountain, enraged, came to cause trouble. But none of these things mattered. What mattered was that the Saloth family's actions had offended Lord Tywin's authority.
Even Gregor, that roughneck, knew to report the matter to Lord Tywin Lannister in two consecutive letters, while none of the six sons of the Saloth family reported it to Lord Tywin Lannister, nor did they inform Earl Tiger. Instead, they secretly plotted a bloody resolution, which violated Lord Tywin Lannister's taboo.
Furthermore, the Mountain was Tywin Lannister's dog, and the Salloo family showed no respect for their master by killing him, not even bothering to inform him. This was an extremely foolish decision.
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