The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Three days later, Casterly Rock was bustling with activity, and the Sept of the Seven was packed with people.

All the nobles of the Westerlands had arrived.

It was an unprecedented spectacle.

The Westerlands had only seen such a lively scene during Cersei's wedding and the Tourney at Lannisport.

Lord Gawen was standing beside Duke Tywin, extremely excited, feeling like he was floating on air.

Among the hundreds of noble families in the Westerlands, with honor and status, apart from Duke Tywin, it was his Westerling family.

The High Septon held the Seven-Pointed Star, chanting prayers in a loud voice!

Another septon was in front of the Maiden statue, applying holy oil to Jeyne Westerling's hair, brow, and the back of her hands.

Some of the great nobles chose the Father, some chose the Mother, the young nobles chose the Warrior, the maidens all chose the Maiden, some nobles chose the Smith, the elderly nobles chose the Crone, and no one chose the Stranger, who represented death.

Ser Gregor chose the Crone, and several nobles were already lined up. Gregor, without any courtesy, displaying the Mountain's spirit of shamelessness and disregard for life, strode forward. The priests maintaining order dared not step forward to stop him. He stretched out his giant hand and gently pushed aside several nobles, placing himself at the front of the line.

Sweetmouth Ralf of Clegane, beaming, was completely renewed, proudly wearing a three-dog golden badge on his collar. He accompanied Gregor with humble smiles, even more shamelessly following the Mountain and standing second in line. After being knighted by Gregor, he barely qualified to enter such an occasion.

This made several earls behind him feel humiliated. They dared not scold Gregor, but scolding Gregor's dog was a different matter.

A mere knight was several ranks below an earl.

Just as several nobles were so emotionally charged that they were about to attack Ralf directly, Gregor pulled Ralf in front of him, and the holy oil from the High Septon landed directly on Ralf's forehead.

Then, the acolyte's prayer began.

The knights were in an uproar.

But it was already irreversible.

So, they all chose to leave, unwilling to have holy oil applied and receive blessings in front of the Crone statue. Some went to choose the Father, and some chose the Mother.

To avoid disturbing the rituals in other places, low curses were constantly heard, just enough for Ralf to hear.

But no one dared to curse Gregor.

He was a madman, a demon, a violent maniac, and a beast.

Several brave knights were not afraid of Gregor, but due to today's grand ceremony, they had to swallow their anger and choose other statues for the holy oil ritual.

Gregor did not have the sense of honor of a knight; they did.

Ralf and Gregor were relaxed and natural, not feeling ashamed of their despicable behavior.

For shameless people, shamelessness itself is their honor.

*

Jeyne completed the holy oil ritual, received the blessings of two High Septons, and a choir sang a prayer song for Jeyne. The harp played sacred and solemn music, and the sound of the harp and the songs flew beautifully in the Sept.

The nobles who had received the holy oil ritual walked on the thick carpet, slowly queuing along the winding corridor, heading towards Tywin, who was sitting on a lion-haired chair. In front of Tywin stood his daughter Jeyne, who had already been baptized.

The nobles, regardless of age or gender, moved forward one by one, holding congratulatory gifts in their hands. Some were jade statues, some were silk fabrics, some were artistic weapons, some were expensive rouge, some were pearls and agates, and some were gold, silver, and jade. Rubies and sapphires shone brightly, and emeralds and moonstones competed for beauty.

On Jeyne's right side stood her father: her biological father, Lord Gawen.

Duke Tywin was dressed in brocade, majestic as a god, his face without a smile, as cold as ice. But Lord Gawen seemed drunk, his face flushed, his breathing rapid, his face full of smiles, and even veins appeared on his neck.

Gregor and Ralf also stood in the line. Gregor was a head taller than everyone else, and the nobles in front of and behind him felt the pressure of a ferocious beast approaching.

Jeyne was carefully dressed, covered in precious jewels. Whether it was her headdress, earrings, necklace, bracelet, ring, chest ornament, or belt, all were exquisite and valuable. Combined with her brocade and gorgeous clothes, she was as beautiful as a fairy, making it impossible to look directly at her.

In both his past and present lives, Gregor was seeing such a noble, elegant, and extraordinary classical beauty for the first time.

He was mesmerized and lost in thought.

In front of and behind Jeyne, several servants were busy collecting gifts. More than a dozen exquisite rattan baskets for holding gifts were lined up in a row. The officer in charge of announcing the gifts spoke clearly and accurately, announcing each noble's name, title, status, and residence castle, as well as the gift they presented. This was actually a remarkable skill.

Lord Gawen kept saying thank you, while Duke Tywin remained silent. The guests first paid their respects to Duke Tywin, and then presented gifts to Jeyne.

Duke Tywin generally nodded in acknowledgement, and shaking hands with those of higher status was already his thanks. Throughout the gift-giving ceremony, only the head of House Marbrand of Ashemark, the head of House Lefford of the Golden Tooth, the head of House Farman of Fair Isle, the head of House Crakehall of Crakehall, the head of House Lannister of Lannisport, the head of House Swyft of Cornfield, and the heir of House Sarwyck of Silverhill had the opportunity to say a few words to Duke Tywin.

When it was Gregor's turn to present a gift on behalf of House Clegane, he became the focus of everyone's attention.

People saw that his gift box was almost empty.

Many earls were standing aside, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Under the loud voice of the officer who sang the gifts, which everyone in the audience could hear, the gift announcement itself was a kind of on-site comparison and vanity fair.

Gregor first paid his respects to Duke Tywin, then lifted the red cloth of his brocade box. In the large gift box was a small brocade box tied with red silk, a palm-sized small package wrapped in brocade silk of unknown content, and a small silver gadget that no one had ever seen. The gadget was strung with a small rope woven from a mixture of gold and silver threads and noble silk threads, small and exquisite, looking like the number 6 or 9.

When the gift-announcing officer sang out 'Chopsticks, Snow Salt, and Golden Whistle,' the audience gradually quieted down.

Great and small nobles had never heard of chopsticks, snow salt, and golden whistles, nor had they seen these things. Everyone was surprised and uncertain, exchanging questioning glances and whispering inquiries.

No one dared to laugh at Gregor or deliberately provoke him any longer, in case Gregor's gifts were very precious, but they did not know it, which would reveal their ignorance and stupidity.

Jeyne and her father, Lord Gawen, had also never heard of chopsticks, snow salt, and golden whistles. They did not recognize these things, had never heard of them, and did not know how to use them or whether they were precious.

The officer sang loudly, 'Chopsticks are a noble utensil invented by Ser Gregor Clegane with the blessing of the Seven Gods, who has been granted wisdom and inspiration. They are ten times more useful than knives and forks in certain aspects of dining. Chopsticks have already received high praise from Lord Tywin and Maester Pycelle. The noble lords of the Westerlands will have the opportunity to receive chopsticks from Duke Tywin today. During the feast, Duke Tywin will personally demonstrate how to use chopsticks.'

The audience was silent. Jeyne looked at the beast in front of her in disbelief.

Gregor's eyes were on Jeyne's face. Jeyne looked up at him, and Gregor winked his right eye slightly. Jeyne quickly lowered her gaze, her pretty face blushing, incomparably beautiful.

Thank you: Thousand Corpses 775, Brave Household, Cloud-Raising Cat's Cat Slave for the reward and support, thank you!