In Riverrun.
Seeing Robb Stark's righteous appearance, Rickard Karstark was no longer angry, but immediately stood out to persuade him: "Your Grace, although Lady Stark is at fault, her crime does not warrant death."
Catelyn Tully was the widow of the former Lord of Winterfell. Whether Robb Stark was posturing or ruthless, Catelyn Tully absolutely could not die because of him, otherwise his own guilt would be too great.
"Mother is at fault, and it is I, her son, who failed to discover it in time. I ordered the death penalty for my mother, but I truly cannot bear it. Why not let me, her son, take the punishment for her?"
"Your Grace, you cannot!"
"You cannot!"
"..."
Everyone panicked, kneeling on the ground, not daring to get up. They couldn't really behead their own King in the North.
Robb Stark sighed. The acting was done, the scene was over, and it was time to resolve this matter.
"Alright, everyone get up. Ser Rickard Karstark, our bloodlines originate from the same branch, both descendants of House Stark. By seniority, you are like a grandfather to me."
Robb Stark played the emotional card and personally helped Rickard Karstark up.
"This old subject is climbing the social ladder." Rickard Karstark was flattered.
"You are my kin, and your sons are my kin. How can one not be heartbroken to see kin pass away? This matter was my mother's mistake, but it has already happened. Now we must discuss how to handle it."
Robb Stark advised him kindly and continued: "When I returned just now, I already sent people to pursue the kingslayer to see if he can be brought back."
"Ser Rickard, your two sons, Torrhen Karstark and Eddard Karstark, both died protecting me. They are both honorable heroes and my good brothers."
"I remember you have another eldest son and heir, Harrion Karstark, who was captured by the Lannisters. I sent people to negotiate with the Lannisters two days ago, hoping to ransom him back. Moreover, there are many vacant castles in the North now; when he returns, I will grant him one."
"I also remember you have a daughter at home who is of marriageable age. In the name of the King in the North, I will decide that you may choose from the young talents of the entire North, regardless of whether their family is prominent or not."
Robb Stark's words were realistic and touching. Ser Rickard Karstark felt that since the other party had said this much, it could be considered treating him well.
He also felt that Robb Stark was indeed quite decent; if he continued to make a fuss, it would be disrespectful and ungrateful.
Consequently, Rickard Karstark lowered his head and accepted the result. He said: "Your Grace, it was this old subject who spoke too harshly just now. I hope you will be magnanimous."
Robb Stark knew this was over, so he stepped forward and hugged Ser Rickard Karstark, laughing: "What fault do you have? It is just a father's deep love for his son. Today, you and I, monarch and subject, speak freely; there is no right or wrong."
Kings Hand Ragu, standing behind Robb Stark, saw that things were resolved smoothly and showed a smile like an old father.
Ensuring House Karstark remains loyal to House Stark is just the first step of change.
Next, he must find a way to deal with House Bolton. Calculating the time, it should be soon that House Bolton, under the leadership of Roose Bolton, will gradually lean towards the Lannisters.
In Riverrun.
Ragu sat in his beautifully decorated large room, looking at the drizzle outside the window. Now Robb Stark regarded him as a trusted advisor and specifically prepared a high-quality room for him.
He had already done his best to prevent Robb Stark from experiencing the Red Wedding, hoping that everything he did this time would go as planned.
Just then, a crow cawed. The sound was sad and mournful, quickly arriving from afar.
Ragu looked out the window and saw a three-eyed crow standing on a nearby branch, watching him.
Before Ragu could speak, he saw the crow shake its wings, fly past his ear, and stand on the table in the center of the room.
"Long time no see, rhllor. May I come in?" The three-eyed crow spoke in human language, with the tone of an old man.
"You are already in." Ragu was speechless.
"Fine, forgive my uninvited arrival." The three-eyed crow was about to continue when Ragu interrupted.
"Brynden, you should still speak to me in human form. You look weird like this." After all, watching a crow speak human words was quite eerie.
"Fine, it is my fault."
The three-eyed crow, Brynden Rivers, spoke gently and elegantly, showing the grace of a nobleman. As soon as the words fell, the three-eyed crow jumped from the large table to the ground.
Its small figure was gradually wrapped in weirwood tree branches that appeared from nowhere, and the entire figure slowly became taller and wider under the cover of a blue shimmer, forming a human silhouette.
Finally, the blue light disappeared, and an old man in black, with a large red birthmark on his face and one blind eye, walked out.
The old man patted the wrinkles on his clothes and slowly sat on the chair next to the table.
"Sure enough, no matter where you go, you are still so flamboyant." Ragu laughed.
The three-eyed crow, Brynden Rivers, just smiled after hearing this, looked at Ragu and said: "rhllor, it has been so many years, you are still so unwilling to admit defeat."
"I am just a bit unwilling to give up." Ragu sat opposite him, pretending to be indifferent.
"Fate is something mysterious and profound. Even people like us who are already above all living beings cannot change it." Brynden Rivers sighed long, feeling very emotional.
"Did you come to find me this time just to be a repeater? You have said this sentence I don't know how many times; I have memorized it." Ragu said helplessly.
"You always say some strange terms I don't understand. This is your how many-th time coming back? The second? Or the third? Forget it, I can't remember either. I came this time to seek your help." Brynden Rivers said.
Brynden Rivers and rhllor had a deep friendship; the two had once fought side by side as comrades-in-arms in the Long Night.
"You will actually come to me for help? How did a person of such high prestige as you think of finding me?" Kings Hand Ragu said sarcastically, as if joking.
Brynden Rivers and rhllor chose two different paths. One merged his body into the weirwood tree to gain the perspective of the weirwood tree, knowing the past and present. The other merged his soul into the world, gaining the perspective of the fire element and the sky, able to know the past and explore the future.
Listening to Ragu's sarcastic words, Brynden Rivers showed no reaction but said seriously: "The agreement from back then has expired, or rather, that group of dead people never cared about any agreement."
"The red comet streaked across, magic recovered. It seems they should have known long ago."
After finishing, Brynden Rivers looked at Ragu again and said: "rhllor, I hope to use your power to find the location of Bran and the others. You know that now the weirwood trees have been cut down almost entirely, and I have a large blind spot in my vision. This child Bran is very important to us!"
Ragu looked at Brynden Rivers and laughed: "It seems you already know who he is."
Riverlands, Riverrun.
Hoster Tully is the head of House Tully, Lord of Riverrun, and Lord Paramount of the Trident.
He is the father of Catelyn Tully and Edmure Tully, the older brother of "Blackfish" Brynden Tully, and the foster father of "Littlefinger" Petyr Baelish.
In his youth, Hoster Tully was tall and burly, with blue eyes and auburn hair.
He participated in the War of the Ninepenny Kings many years ago, during which he became close friends with Petyr Baelish's father, so he brought Petyr Baelish back to Riverrun as a foster son.
In the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Hoster Tully was brave and fought well, with an outstanding performance.
During the War of the Usurper, he first married his two daughters to House Arryn and House Stark, forming a solid alliance of the fish, hawk, stag, and wolf.
Later, he personally led a team to crusade against the vassals loyal to House Targaryen, but unfortunately, after participating in the Battle of the Bells, he was injured by the then hand of the king, Ser Jon Clinton (the one currently following Aegon Targaryen).
In his youth, he hadn't noticed any discomfort, but as he passed sixty, the old injuries hidden in his body recurred, and he gradually became bedridden.
A while ago, when the Lannisters invaded the Riverlands on a large scale, Hoster Tully was already seriously ill, but he blocked the news from the invading Lannisters.
Moreover, to stabilize the morale of the army, when his grandson Robb Stark relieved the siege of Riverrun, he still braced himself and ordered servants to carry him to the gate tower to watch.
Unfortunately, the sun sets and the hero grows old. Now, this legendary and highly prestigious feudal lord of the Riverlands is on his deathbed.
Edmure Tully, Catelyn Tully, and others were kneeling before his bed, listening to Lord Hoster Tully's final instructions.
Hoster Tully spoke, saying vaguely and deliriously: "Where is Lysa? Where did my little daughter go?"
He can no longer recognize his own children, but he is still muttering Lysa Tully's name.
Edmure Tully and Catelyn Tully were silent. Although they had long sent people to the Vale to notify Lysa Tully, the other party did not come back, and not even a raven was sent back. They knew that the relationship between their father and Lysa was very bad.
Lysa in her youth fell in love with Petyr Baelish and slept with him, and even became pregnant with Petyr Baelish's child.
However, the class hierarchy in the world of Ice and Fire is distinct. It was absolutely impossible and unimaginable for Littlefinger, the son of a down-and-out knight from the Fingers, to marry the daughter of the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, Tully. So Hoster Tully drove Petyr Baelish away and forced his daughter Lysa Tully to have an abortion.
Later, the Lord of The Eyrie, Jon Arryn, wanted to find a fertile wife to give birth to an heir for himself, so Hoster Tully decided to marry his daughter Lysa Tully to him.
One must know that Lysa Tully was only in her teens back then, while Jon Arryn was already very old.
Although Jon Arryn was indeed very good to Lysa Tully, the age gap was really too large, and the young Lysa Tully thus became a victim of the fish-wolf-stag-hawk alliance brokered by Hoster Tully and Jon Arryn.
Lord Hoster Tully had always felt deep guilt towards Lysa Tully, and while delirious at his bedside, he was still muttering about her. He shouted: "Tansy... Tansy... I'm sorry, I was wrong."
However, Edmure Tully and Catelyn Tully did not understand the meaning, not knowing who Tansy was to their father.
In fact, Tansy was the key ingredient of the abortion medicine used when Hoster Tully forced Lysa Tully to abort, and he still felt guilty about it.
Subsequently, Hoster Tully mentioned his younger brother Brynden Tully, saying: "Where is Brynden? Has Brynden returned?"
"Brother, I am back." Blackfish Brynden Tully stepped forward to hold his brother's hand.
Because Brynden refused to marry the girl his brother had chosen for him back then, the two brothers had been at odds. When Lysa Tully got married, Brynden accompanied her to The Eyrie and served as a Knight of the Bloody Gate under Lord Jon Arryn.
Since then, Lord Hoster Tully had never mentioned the name of his younger brother Brynden Tully again.
Even though his hand was held by his younger brother, Hoster Tully showed no reaction; he was delirious and could not recognize his kin at all.
"Brynden... Brynden, do you hate me?" Hoster Tully shouted with lifeless eyes.
"Brother, I love you." Brynden Tully knelt before the bed, tears streaming down his face. It turned out that for so many years, his brother had always been thinking of him.
In the end, Lord Hoster Tully began to mutter in a whisper, his voice even lower and more slurred. Edmure Tully lay on his father's ear, weeping, listening to his final words.
Watching his father about to pass away, Edmure Tully felt as if his heart had been crushed, and he cried like a child.
Hoster Tully muttered: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Tansy... Tansy."
Finally, this highly prestigious feudal lord who had ruled the Riverlands for many years left the world amidst cries of guilt.