Chapter 73
Her smile froze on her face as Mei Yi reached out and took the letter.
My condolences, my condolences. What more does she have to mourn?
The handwriting above belonged to Scholar Luwen; she examined it repeatedly, finding not a trace of forgery.
Those trained crows could fly to suitable castles at their master's will. She did not know how many crows Scholar Luwen had sent out to find her.
The words were like knives, each cut speaking of her inadequacy and arrogance.
She wanted to clench the parchment, melt it in her palm, to grasp it and crush it, to tear it and toss it into the sky to drift away on the wind, to draw her sword and burn it to ash, but she could do nothing, holding the thin parchment and repeatedly examining each cold, hard character on it.
"Miss, what's wrong?" Haerwen noticed something amiss and stepped forward to ask.
"Sir, let Sir Mei Yi have a moment of quiet," the Count said sadly.
Mei Yi gently handed the parchment to Haerwen, picked up the wine jug, gulped two mouthfuls, then glumly set it down.
She was not a lover of alcohol, and no drink could truly make her drunk; this action could only invite her own mockery.
"Count, please help me reply, saying I have understood the contents and will return immediately."
The Count nodded silently.
At that moment, a warrior hurriedly walked up onto the battlements, glanced at Mei Yi, and handed a small scroll of parchment to the Count.
The Count reached out and took it.
"My lord Count, I take my leave," she said, turning and departing.
She walked downstairs, and Haerwen followed closely behind.
"Sir Mei Yi," he called after turning to her, "ah, I hope you can endure. You should also read this letter."
What could be worse? she thought.
She helplessly stopped, turned to look at the Count. The Count stepped forward and handed the letter to her.
"This is a letter found on Viketalang by the soldiers," the Count said in a low voice.
She took a deep breath, accepted the letter. Two wax seals hung from the letter's exterior; on one seal was depicted roughly two black crows holding a crown, beneath which was a dark red eye. The other seal she had seen many times—the golden sea monster of the Greyjoy family.
"This is the personal crest of Youlon Gelei Qiaoyi," the Count said, following her gaze.
Mei Yi unfolded the scroll, seeing only the following written:
"My dear younger brother, my only younger brother. I have prepared a gift for you; guess what it is?"
"Ha, it is a youthful, beautiful maiden, a true maiden. Her lineage is noble; her paternal line descends from the ancient King of Winter, his direct descendant; her maternal line comes from the Tully family that has ruled Riverrun since the Age of Heroes, a direct Tully descendant."
"Have you guessed who she is?"
"The gift is the legitimate daughter of the Stark of the North and the Tully of the Riverlands, Sansa Stark. Rest assured, although she married the Lannister dwarf, I assure you her hymen remains intact."
"What kind of wife could I still give my younger brother?"
"Haha, come back, younger brother, come back; this gift is yours, as long as you wait for her to bear a little sea monster, the North will also be my gift to you!"
"My dear younger brother, have you seen this? Reply to me."
"By the way, I haven't examined the sister-in-law's genitals; I had my mistress do the check."
"Your only brother, the King of the Iron Islands, Youlon Gelei Qiaoyi."
"It seems he can't marry this Stark lady, right?" She clenched the sword in her hand, feeling utter humiliation from head to toe. "My lord Count, can we send a reply to the Iron Islands?"
"Sir Mei Yi, there are plenty of prisoners; letting them carry a message back is simple," the Count replied.
"My lord Count, I originally wanted to exchange Viketalang for peace in Seaborder City, but now I see I must seize the prisoners for use at Winterfell," Mei Yi said.
"Sir Mei Yi, I understand the importance. Rest assured, I can handle the hostage exchange. Trading his younger brother for your sister is a no‑loss deal for Youlon. Viketalang is already a renowned warrior and captain, and moreover the heir apparent of the Iron Islands."
And what of Sansa?
Mei Yi nodded, "Thank you, my lord Count."
She turned and descended the wall, her mind in turmoil.
"Miss, what about Sansa?" Haerwen asked.
"When Sansa returned from Dragonstone to Winterfell, she was seized by the Iron Islands' Youlon." Mei Yi stopped abruptly, "Those also taken by Youlon included Stannis's people, though whether they will survive is uncertain."
She stopped.
"Young lady, matters have priorities and urgency; you should hurry back to Winterfell City." Harwen said.
"What Soros observed has now all come true. I'm afraid, Qiongen..."
"Qiongen naturally has his destiny, young lady. Pull yourself together; there are still battles awaiting you in the North." Harwen said.
"Let's go to Twin River City." Mei Yi said, "According to the schedule, we might still be able to return to the Northern Lands together with Keleduo."
"If this is just bullshit fate."
"Young lady, you will henceforth be the lady of Winterfell City." He hesitated, "If, if..."
"What 'if'? You're a northerner; why be so fussy?"
"Hey, alright! Young lady, if the officers of Winterfell City all encourage you to ally with Bolton through marriage, perhaps we wouldn't have to fight the Boltons." He summoned his courage and said.
Mei Yi stared at Harwen.
This is an extremely likely scenario. Mei Yi had to consider this matter. If they deemed she would fail, this proposal could not be better for them.
Unless, she could give Winterfell's followers immense confidence.
Perhaps!
"What do you think?"
"Perhaps not fighting would be good for the North. But afterwards, Stark would no longer be the leader of the North. Perhaps, the name Stark will also become a swan song in the North; your descendants may have Stark blood, but they will not bear the name Stark, just like that king of the river and hills, something something the Fourth, in your song."
Telisidumude the Fourth.
His son, Telisidumude the Fifth, briefly continued his rule; with his defeat, his name and family disappeared into the river of history.
If one day the name and history of Stark were to vanish from her hands…… she could not imagine it.
An eight-thousand-year-old family, scattered because of her incompetence.
Perhaps the actual outcome wouldn't be so terrible, but just thinking about this scene, she actually felt utterly lost, utterly distressed.
- yes
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Also "young lady" is a title, not a name; we exclude generic forms of address (not ranks). "young lady" is a generic term of address (like "young lady") not a rank, so exclude.
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Thus we have place: Sea Border City, title: Count.
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"Ha Erwen" is a person's name (likely "Harwin"?). We'll add pinyin: Ha Erwen.
"Sea Border City" again.
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- "Rushing Flow City"
- "Twin River City"
- "Green Fork River"
- "Trident River Basin"
Sea Border City is somewhat remote from Rushing Flow City, let alone the far-off Twin River City.
Twin River City's estrangement from Rushing Flow City also has geographical factors.
Just like Stream Land, Fei Lin Te's Finger, Barren Grave Village, Old City, Widow's Lookout at Winterfell City, these are all places that need to be thoroughly cleaned up; fortunately, I have many subordinates and also need a lot of territory.
etc are comments.
- "Fei Lin Te's Finger"
- "Barren Grave Village"
- "Old City"
- "Widow's Lookout"
- "Winter-facing City"
From a geographical standpoint, it is only natural that the truly suitable place to govern the Riverbetween Land should be He Lun Bao located on the shore of Divine Eye Lake. He Lun Bao truly embraces the Three Rivers, controls the Barbarian Thorns, is able to truly centrally govern the Riverbetween Land, and is absolutely a great place.
- "Riverbetween Land"
- "Divine Eye Lake"
- "He Lun Bao"
What a pity.
"Giddy-up!" She patted Hei Tie's thick neck.
The Riverbetween Land had had no rain for many days; the soil linking Sea Border City and Twin River City was loose and dry, perfect for riding; Hei Tie ran, neighing and whinnying, utterly delighted.
Mei Yi withdrew her gaze from the eagle's back in the sky, threw herself onto Hei Tie, and instantly felt her whole body merge with the horse, all worries and anxieties cast behind her.
Her hooves flew up, kicking up clouds of dirt behind her, she galloped forward with all her heart, forgetting her brothers in Winter-facing City, forgetting her sisters wandering abroad, forgetting her deceased father Ai De, forgetting her fellow brothers who worried for her.
- 【129】 etc.
She also wanted to shake off the person on her back, the parasites on her back.
She spread her arms wide, pressing them tightly against the horse's back.
The cool sensation instantly merged with the fire in her chest; she let out a long neigh, making her hooves move faster and her footholds more firm.
The wind whistled past the tips of her ears, the landscape flew by her field of view, beautiful as a painting.
Ha Erwen was left far behind by her, the prepared horses were also left far behind; when she finally came to her senses from the ride, the world had completely changed.
we have.
we need.
we need.
we need.
we need.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
we have.
"Well, let's see what kind of woman Lord Ai De has found." She turned her head and rode the black iron toward Twin River City.
End of Chapter
