Chapter 36: Where are the remaining Gold Dragons?

Cyril the old man's words made Arthur feel a bit uncomfortable inside.

Was Cyril, who stole the Gold Dragon, wrong? He was indeed wrong.

But Cyril, who hoped his son would become a dragon, was not wrong; he only hoped his son could become someone of substance.

However, because the noble class controlled the vast majority of resources, commoners had not even the slightest chance to get ahead.

Paths like those in the history of Daxia in his past life—studying and then becoming an official through academic excellence; joining the army and being ennobled for distinguished military service; or even self-castration to enter the palace and serve the Emperor and his consorts to elevate one's class—hardly existed in Westeros.

Even the two well-known figures of low birth in King's Landing, Lord Varys the Spider and the Master of Coin Petyr Baelish, Littlefinger, were not truly of common origin.

Varys had dragon blood and was likely a descendant of the Blackfyre branch, a bastard line of House Targaryen.

And Littlefinger Baelish was a noble with a clear genealogy and defined lands, even if he had been a bit destitute in his youth.

Moreover, Littlefinger had always represented the interests of the emerging merchant class on the east coast of Westeros, and he was supported by many minor nobles in The Vale who had wealth but no status.

Of course, such minor nobles should be called Newlords, to distinguish them from the old nobles who only held land (similar to the concepts of new money and old money).

As for the mercenary Bronn and the Onion Knight Davos, they both fought for their lives, and such examples could be counted on one hand across the entire continent.

True commoners in Westeros, aside from donning the black to become members of the Night's Watch or running to the Citadel to carry chamber pots for senior Maesters, had almost no paths for advancement.

Born a commoner, a commoner for life; no surname, no house sigil, no house words, and no Knight to fight for them.

No opportunity to receive an education, no opportunity to be treated by a Maester, and no opportunity to pursue equality.

The degree of class solidification was comparable to a slave society.

Cyril remained silent for a long time; Arthur walked over holding a torch and took a look—the old man's head was tilted and his eyes were wide, he was already dead.

"Sigh! May you have a better rebirth in the next life." Arthur could only offer him this blessing.

After closing the old man's eyes, he also sat on a chair and leaned back to doze for a while.

"They're back." The sleeping Arthur was shaken awake by Yule.

The Lord picked up his Great Hammer, ready to get to work.

A moment of sentimentality would not limit his performance.

It was near Dawn, and the outside was gradually brightening, but the room remained dark, enough to obscure vision.

The eight of them hid by the walls, waiting for the gamblers to enter.

Arthur and Javier agreed to let this professional officer give the order to attack.

After all, Arthur only had astonishing combat power; he hadn't been through real combat in terms of command.

According to Yule's intelligence, there were about nine of these Spinach Laymen; six armored veterans plus Javier and the God of Hammers Arthur were enough to deal with them.

Arthur still had to keep his movements light, lest he kill everyone with a few hammer blows.

"Damn it, my luck today is really rotten."

"Yuehan, you've made us lose a lot of money again; you don't mind, do you?"

"How could I? Being able to let my brothers have a good time is the greatest meaning of my Gold Dragon."

"Is your old man alright?"

"If he's dead, he's dead; who cares about a basement maggot like him."

Just listening to the scattered dialogue from outside was enough to make Arthur's blood pressure rise.

That is my money, my Gold Dragon.

He shouted silently.

Creak~

The wooden door opened shakily, and two people walked in first, followed by seven more in succession; after a long while, the last person entered.

After confirming there was no more sound outside, Javier ordered the attack.

"Ouch, the Shadow can hit people."

"I don't owe the gambling den any money, how could someone come to collect a debt?"

"My lord, this Knight lord, hit my butt lightly, my asshole is still useful."

Within a few breaths, the ten caught-off-guard people were all lying on the ground.

Arthur had only broken the leg of one of the Spinach Laymen, and the battle was already over.

The Lord scanned back and forth and finally found Yuehan.

He was closest to the door; it looked like he was the last one to enter.

"Where is my Gold Dragon?" Arthur demanded.

Yuehan had been beaten quite badly and was dizzy; he squinted and scrutinized for a long time before recognizing this was his Lord.

"By the Seven, how did you find this place?" Yuehan did not answer Arthur's question but screamed in terror instead.

After giving the soldiers beside him a look, Arthur sat on the chair and watched as the soldiers gave Yuehan a few hard kicks.

"Don't hit me, don't hit me, I'll talk, I'll talk."

After the soldiers stopped kicking, Yuehan caught his breath and said, "There is some in my shoes, and some in my bosom."

"Hmm?" Arthur was furious, "Where is the rest?"

He keenly sensed a problem.

Because although a Gold Dragon was small, several hundred of them together were not small; what could fit in shoes and a bosom was not much.

It was only about a few dozen coins.

"Some of the rest went to pay gambling debts, some were spent letting my brothers have a good time, and some were lost last night," Yuehan answered while groaning.

The soldiers nimbly searched all the Gold Dragons from Yuehan, about thirty or forty coins.

"Seven hundred coins, and only this much is left? How did you spend them?"

Because of the abundant produce, the per capita cost of living in the Riverlands was very low.

For a commoner, a few copper coins a day are enough to fill their stomach.

For Arthur to mobilize over three thousand people to work, the net cost of food alone is only two or three Gold Dragons per day.

This is even with the account Arthur ordered to add chicken and mutton to every meal so the peasants would have the energy to work.

Six hundred-plus Gold Dragons is an amount that ten gamblers could not possibly spend in nearly a month.

Even if they purely lost it all gambling, it would be impossible to lose that much.

Because Meiren Jishi is a commoner's market, one cannot gamble for very high stakes there.

If someone were to truly throw away several Gold Dragons in one go, they would immediately be noticed by the owners of Meiren Jishi—House Wylde.

House Wylde are Landed Knights who owe allegiance to House Tully, but they have a very good relationship with the nearby House Blackwood.

If such a wealthy person appeared at the market, upstarts like the Wyldes would inevitably try to curry favor and befriend them.

But the fact that they are still here safe and sound means their spending did not attract attention, which is to say they didn't spend much at all.

"Search them too."

The soldiers received the order and began to frisk them.

"My lords, we really have no money, just the little bit on Yuehan."

"You're beating Yuehan, why are you hitting us?"

The other nine people also did not reveal any useful information.

Aside from a few copper coins, nothing else was found.

Arthur looked at Yuehan, who was closest to the door, and suddenly remembered that just a moment ago, he had been walking at the very back.

He suspected there was something fishy going on.

He had Yule take one of the gamblers out to the courtyard, and then they began to beat him.

The screams were constant; it truly was enough to make those who heard it sad and those who listened shed tears.

When the gambler in the courtyard could barely even groan, Arthur dragged the man out to the wilderness beyond the courtyard.

Yule followed him out.

It was far enough that the people inside the room absolutely could not hear what was said.

"Where is the rest of the money?"

The gambler's face, beaten into a pig's head, revealed a trace of surprise, then he immediately feigned confusion: "My lord, I don't know what you are talking about."

"I don't need you to tell me." Arthur was confident in his heart, "Watch him, I will be right back."

It was definitely Yuehan who hid the Gold Dragons; it is hard to say how many people know the location, but the others definitely know that Yuehan hid the Gold Dragons.

That is enough.

PS: A Game of Thrones joke every day:

After the High Sparrow took control of King's Landing, Margaery Tyrell expressed her loyalty to the High Sparrow, saying:

"Since ancient times, all reforms have been achieved through bloodshed. Today, in King's Landing, we have not heard of anyone sacrificing themselves through blood; this is why the reform has not succeeded. If there is to be any, please let it start with Sexi Bailaxien."

Seeking recommendation votes and monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)