He was the eldest son of House Tarly, but a cowardly, fat weakling who was always whimpering.
Although Tyrion had no intention of paying attention to such a boring person, he discovered at dinner that day that this fat boy was actually quite erudite.
Therefore, the two quickly found common ground and turned the topic to Jon's dream.
On this point, the conclusions drawn by the two book-lovers were surprisingly consistent.
That is, as the Stark family were descendants of the First Men, the blood of the ancients must flow strongly in their veins. Based on this trait, it was extremely likely that they could glimpse somewhere in the future within the river of time.
Of course, in this conversation, the fat boy named Samwell Tarly also learned Jon's name from the Imp and developed a trace of curiosity about this guy he had never met.
So when time flowed back to the Imp's side, Tyrion also began to suspect: Was what Jon saw and heard really true?
But unlike before, this suspicion was not about the authenticity, but about when exactly it would come true.
As for the dream about the she-wolf and the crippled lion, from any angle, it seemed to point to himself. As for whether the she-lion referred to Lady Stark or someone else, the Imp fell into doubt.
...
As time passed, the Hand of the King, who had gradually lost control of the North, began to sink deep into the quagmire of King's Landing instead.
After investigating cluelessly for a period, Duke Ned finally realized that relying on himself alone could not achieve his wish.
After all, he only brought fifty guards when he came here, and these rough men were not suitable for investigating cases.
So after being inspired by Grand Maester Pycelle, the first helper Duke Ned could think of was the Master of Coin, whom he disliked but who was quite capable.
Therefore, after hesitating for a long time, he bit the bullet and sought out Littlefinger.
"What advice do you have regarding Lord Varys?"
When saying this, the image of Jon walking with Varys subconsciously flashed through the Hand's mind; that was when Catelyn secretly visited King's Landing.
But considering what he wanted to investigate, Ned didn't intend to go directly to the Master of Whisperers for help.
At this time, the two happened to step into the garden. Littlefinger looked around left and right before lowering his voice to answer the Hand's question.
"Lord Stark, I must say this place is not suitable for discussing anything."
When saying this, the man wearing the mockingbird didn't forget to look around at all the figures in the garden.
Afterward, under Littlefinger's warning, Ned finally understood that the so-called palace garden was actually a secret battlefield where courtiers monitored each other.
In this hidden area where people could relax and talk at any time, every gardener, maid, and even the servant sweeping the corner could be the eyes and ears of any noble.
It is no exaggeration to say that they are extremely likely to be the eyes and ears of several forces at the same time.
Hearing this statement, Ned Stark also sensed something was wrong, so he decisively shut his mouth.
It wasn't until the two walked out of the garden and arrived at the door of the Tower of the Hand that Littlefinger answered the question Ned raised.
"Just as you are curious, nothing in King's Landing escapes Lord Varys. If you have any questions, you can go to him to find out."
"It's just that after that, the things you are investigating will probably also be grasped by the Spider. Presumably, this is the reason you came to me, right?"
Littlefinger, making successive conclusions, acted like a seasoned player in the game of thrones at this moment, personally teaching the Warden of the North, including the darkest side of King's Landing.
Seeing the other party reveal his inner thoughts with one sentence, the Lord Hand instinctively wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Littlefinger.
"So, you'd better find a few completely trustworthy people to do this, instead of doing it yourself wearing this noble badge, Lord Hand!"
"Of course, as thanks for your trust in seeking my help, I must remind you that in the weeks before his death, Duke Jon Arryn frequented a smithy at the top of the Street of Steel. That's all I can say..."
Hearing this clue, Duke Ned didn't feel much relieved inside; instead, he felt a wave of inexplicable vigilance.
Although Catelyn repeatedly stated that this Littlefinger in front of him, just like at Riverrun back then, was the younger brother she and Lysa trusted most.
But the older such friendship was, the more uncomfortable Ned felt.
He stared carefully at this former so-called love rival and recalled the look in this man's eyes when he looked at Catelyn again. An uncomfortable feeling changed the words of thanks he was about to say.
"Lord Petyr, perhaps I shouldn't trust you so much."
"Seven Gods above, this might be the wisest decision you've made since entering King's Landing!"
After that, Duke Ned parted ways with Littlefinger on the spot. Instead of listening to the Master of Coin's advice, he turned into a detective and continued his investigation.
Especially after getting the hint from Littlefinger, they went directly to the Street of Steel.
However, someone had already put Gendry the Bull under his control one step ahead of them, causing the Hand's investigation to be blocked again.
...
Leaving aside Duke Ned's encounter, Jon's current work was also somewhat hindered.
Unlike what he imagined, the so-called qualification review for the tourney was far from simple.
Regarding who could participate became an important topic for the Small Council.
However, as the organizer of this grand event, Ned had resisted it strongly at one point and insisted that having his name attached to this event could not be called an honor no matter what.
Therefore, the preparatory work full of red tape fell into the hands of Jon and Jory Cassel.
In Ned's original words, simply handing it over to Jon would only make him more worried, so someone was needed to supervise from the side.
However, the captain of the guards was an idiot who only knew how to swing a sword but couldn't read, so this job was eventually successfully stolen by Jon.
And after taking over the work of qualification review, Jon realized that the so-called tourney was nothing more than a war game between nobles, more like a pre-set reward.
First of all, commoner knights were absolutely not qualified to participate. To sign up, the lowest status required was to be a landed knight.
Speaking of this, one has to mention the current situation in Westeros.
Whether counting from Aegon the Conqueror or the Usurper's dynasty, the knight class was the most solid cornerstone of royal power, and their number was unimaginably large.
There were at least several thousand named knights in the Seven Kingdoms, including declined families. However, among them, definitely not everyone could participate in the tourney.
Secondly, the tourney was not a competition where you could just go as you pleased, but a strictly scrutinized and expensive war game.
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