The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Entering the territory of House Westerling, Jeyne Westerling and her uncle, Rolph Spicer, led a hundred Westerling soldiers to greet them.

This immediately made Edmure feel respected upon entering Westerling lands.

Jeyne Westerling's beauty and the elegant demeanor of a noble lady greatly surprised Edmure. He had imagined the woman who married the Mountain to be an elephant, but instead, she was a lark.

The female guard beside this lark was indeed an elephant. She was Bernie's wife, previously nicknamed 'Bull' by Bernie, but later renamed Zerilda by Jeyne, or Zeri for short.

Edmure thought Zeri was a better match for the Mountain, and he doubted how Jeyne's delicate frame could withstand the Mountain's nightly crushing.

Although single, he had plenty of experience with women.

Edmure envied that a scoundrel like the Mountain had married such a beautiful and dignified noble lady.

Edmure, as the heir to the Riverlands and future Lord of Riverrun, was twenty-five years old and still single, as he hadn't found a noble beauty who stirred his heart. He had yet to encounter a daughter with Jeyne's temperament and beauty. Edmure's title, power, wealth, family background, appearance, future prospects, personal honor, and everything else far surpassed the Mountain's, but in the matter of finding a wife, he didn't have the Mountain's good fortune.

Edmure didn't know that the Mountain's marriage was forced. The four major families of the Westerlands looked down on House Westerling's decline, especially since Jeyne's mother wasn't a noble but the daughter of a Lannisport spice merchant. As a result, Jeyne, the well-bred lady carefully cultivated by House Westerling, was taken advantage of by the Mountain.

Edmure was truly enamored with Jeyne, but she was already the wife of his friend, the Mountain. Out of respect for his friend's wife and fear of the Mountain's strength, Edmure chose to treat her with courtesy.

Among nobles, it was fashionable to secretly develop the wife of another into an underground lover. Edmure, shocked by Jeyne's beauty, dismissed this suicidal idea, nipping the temptation to dig his own grave in the bud.

The Mountain and Jeyne were truly a couple. Seeing Jeyne's slight frown, he knew something was on her mind.

"Jeyne, what's wrong?" the Mountain asked. He and Jeyne walked to the side, intimately close to each other.

"Several children in the countryside have died from drinking milk," Jeyne said softly.

Children in the countryside?

Yes, in this season, there's a saying that drinking milk is like drinking poison. Nobles are more particular and generally have the poor try food first. If there are no problems, then they eat it. Larger noble houses even have dedicated tasters. For example, when Ser Addam Marbrand sent the mine captain Alan Sharrett's wife, son, and brothers to Clegane, Alan's wife offered to be the Mountain's taster to save her life.

Tasters don't just taste milk; they taste all food.

"The thermometers you wanted have been made, nine in total. I don't know if this year's milk sickness has already broken out, but it's a bad sign."

"Then we should buy up all the milk in the territory. Has the decree been issued?"

"Mother and Father are hesitant. They said they'd wait for you to return."

The Mountain's face immediately darkened.

Jeyne said softly, "Ser Gregor, you didn't tell me what to do with the milk after we buy it."

"We can start by buying the milk. This decree was already announced during the recruitment. In July, if there are problems with the milk of any of our people, we will buy it all. This is a decree to gain the people's trust. A lord cannot break his word; it's a major taboo."

"Milk spoils easily," Jeyne said cautiously, observing her husband's expression.

"I know," the Mountain said, even more displeased.

His brother-in-law, Reynard Westerling, and Foul Mouth were responsible for entering the gold mine in Castamere to mine and privately mint gold coins. Pollyver Clegane's wife, Ester, and her grandfather, Master Boose, came specifically from Clegane's Holdfast to teach the technique of minting gold coins. In the desolate underground of Castamere, Reynard and Foul Mouth were producing money every day.

The Mountain had also told Lord Gawen Westerling that he would pay for the milk purchase and the training of soldiers.

He had the confidence to do so.

But the reality was that they still had to wait for the Mountain to return…

"Mother and Father didn't say they wouldn't buy it. They're just slowing down. It's only just the beginning of July; there's still plenty of time!" Jeyne said softly and carefully.

The Mountain's face darkened further. In his understanding, there was the military order and the political decree, neither of which could be broken.

"A military order cannot break faith with the army, and a political decree cannot break faith with the people," the Mountain said softly to Jeyne. "If House Westerling wants to rise in the Westerlands, it must first gain the trust of the people and obtain their support. Neither military orders nor political decrees should be delayed."

Jeyne, intelligent and quick-witted, was speechless and at a loss for words.

The Mountain beckoned Bernie to come forward.

Bernie followed not far behind his idol. He was boasting to his wife, Bull Zeri, about the legendary stories of him and Lord Mountain all the way, stopping gods and killing gods. Of course, his own legendary stories were the main focus, with Lord Mountain as secondary. Seeing the Lord summon him, he immediately rode forward.

"Go tell General Rolph Spicer to send soldiers to announce throughout the territory that anyone with milk that can't be drunk should transport it to the Crag. Ser Gregor has ordered it to be bought. Also, considering the trouble of sending milk to the Crag each time, have the dairy farmers drive their cows to the Crag. We will buy fresh milk every day."

Bernie said, "Yes, Lord, but if all the cows are driven to the Crag…"

"Don't worry, the Crag is very large. At least two-thirds of it is abandoned and dilapidated. Those houses have been uninhabited for nearly a hundred years, enough for the dairy farmers to live in. They can also freely feed their cows in the meadows and woods inside and outside the Crag, and then sell us the milk to make money. It's convenient for everyone."

"Yes, Lord!"

Bernie received the order and came to Rolph Spicer, who was bringing up the rear, and repeated the Mountain's order.

Rolph Spicer was a little strange, because the Mountain said to buy the milk in the name of Gregor Clegane, not in the name of Lord Gawen. But he didn't think much of it. Brother-in-law Gawen and sister Sybell were waiting for the Mountain to arrive before announcing the purchase of milk. It wasn't inappropriate to buy it in the Mountain's name. The Mountain was also paying for the milk purchase and the raising of soldiers. Outsiders didn't know, but Rolph knew this secret.

So, the order was passed down, and the Westerling soldiers rode in pairs to deliver the order to all the vassals of Westerling, large and small.

The Mountain and his wife stopped by the roadside after walking for a while, waiting for Edmure to come up and walk together.

"Ser Edmure, I have already ordered the purchase of milk throughout the territory. Tomorrow, you will see the thousand soldiers of Westerling drinking fresh milk to replenish their strength at dinner. As long as we cooperate, the milk of the Riverlands dairy farmers will never be poured into the river again. Year after year, month after month, the Riverlands will be able to drink fresh and nutritious good milk."

"If this is really the case, Mountain, I, House Tully, will really not haggle over the thirteen thousand gold dragons and thousand warhorses you extorted from me. Of course, there's also the cooperation on snow salt and noodles. Now that I'm here, not a single one can be missing."