Aiju did not really understand the theory of bloodline hierarchy, nor did she care which family in the Seven Kingdoms had a higher or lower lineage. She anxiously asked, "What about Zhong'er? Is she Robert's child?"
"Tyrion, you've seen Mya Stone. Does she resemble Zhong'er?" Dany asked.
"The hair is very similar. The brows, eyes, nose, and mouth are somewhat alike," the dwarf replied hesitantly.
"In that case, Pastor Nocamp, issue a written certificate for Zhong'er in the name of yourself and the Stone Sept," Dany said.
"Thank you, Your Grace! Thank you, Master Nocamp! Thank you, merciful Mother!" Aiju quickly pulled Zhong'er along to bow in gratitude.
However, Pastor Nocamp looked troubled as he glanced at the Dragon Queen. "Your Grace, is it appropriate for the Church to be involved in this matter?"
"It is merely a bloodline verification. It carries no political implication whatsoever."
After a moment's thought, Dany added, "Zhong'er, once you reach King's Landing, go to the Great Sept and explain your situation to the High Septon and the archseptons. Then have them issue two more certificates verifying your lineage."
"Why? Isn't Pastor Nocamp's certificate enough?" Zhong'er asked in confusion.
"This is a matter of protocol. The bloodline of kings concerns the state itself," the Dragon Queen said solemnly. "To prevent corrupt priests in the future from tampering with noble bloodlines, and to prevent powerful nobles like Cersei from coercing the High Septon, from now on, if a duke or king wishes the Church to certify their offspring's lineage, at least three priests must conduct the blood test together.
"They will be selected on the spot by drawing lots from hundreds of priests, and the verification will also be conducted on the spot. If conditions permit, it can be repeated across three different dioceses."
"You really think far ahead and leave no chance for future Cerseis or Margaerys," the dwarf said with a wry smile.
"There might be excuses for cuckolding one's husband, but replacing heirs and corrupting a family's bloodline is unforgivable. The Mother will never forgive it.
"The Faith of the Seven does not oppose divorce. If a marriage cannot continue, then end it," Dany said calmly.
The dwarf twitched his lips, unable to refute her.
The hall fell silent for a moment. Zhong'er looked at the Dragon Queen with hopeful eyes and asked, "Your Grace, from Stone Town to King's Landing is over a thousand kilometers. It's freezing, and there are White Walkers roaming. How are we supposed to get there?"
Dany replied casually, "The Blackwater hasn't completely frozen. Travel another hundred kilometers downstream and you should reach the main current, where you'll likely find a ferry crossing. When the volunteer corps leaves Stone Town, have them take you along part of the way."
"Oh…" Zhong'er felt a little disappointed that she could not ride a wyvern, but she wisely did not make such a request.
After the old pastor left with Zhong'er and Aiju, the dwarf smiled. "Actually, it would be more suitable for them to follow the volunteer corps to garrison posts. Wherever the corps goes, there is always demand for flesh trade.
"With her status as a Church-recognized daughter of Robert, she could easily support not just one child, but even ten."
"Better yet, they should follow you all the way?" Dany mocked.
The dwarf frowned. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm about to get married. I've reformed. I haven't visited a brothel in over half a year."
"Zhong'er, especially that Aiju, wants more," Barristan sighed. "They had no hope before, so they didn't dare to wish for more. But Mya Stone has set a precedent, not a very good one, just like the Blackfyres back then."
"Having such thoughts is normal. If she were content to spend her life in a remote village selling smiles, that would be strange," Dany said indifferently.
Then she looked out the window at the bleak, desolate town and sighed. "If even Zhong'er and Aiju are going hungry, how miserable must the common people be?
"Ser, take some men into the streets and find out who can no longer survive. Organize them to build sled caravans and relocate them to other castles."
"Do other castles even have enough food?" Barristan sighed. "There must be some source of income. If they only consume without producing, supplies will eventually run out."
Dany thought for a moment and said, "Fill the Westerlands with people from the Riverlands and the Reach."
"What?" Barristan was puzzled.
The dwarf seemed thoughtful.
"Use refugees from the Riverlands and the Reach to replenish the empty Westerlands."
"That's killing two birds with one stone," the dwarf said, casting Dany a surprised look. "The Lannisters and Casterly Rock are short on population and can take in hundreds of thousands of refugees. And Lannisport has the largest fishing grounds in the Seven Kingdoms."
After Barristan left, the dwarf finally asked the question he had been curious about but could not raise in front of others.
"What is the principle behind bloodline verification? It's remarkable. You didn't just come up with it on the spot, did you?"
The concept of bloodline verification had indeed formed in Dany's mind long ago, probably after she first used the witch's lens to observe the "genes" of greyscale patients.
After discussing the nature of spiritual matter with the president of the Necromancers' Association, she developed a hypothesis: if spiritual matter could be classified into active Type A and will-based Type B, then individuals of the same bloodline might share a unique similarity in the spiritual essence within their blood.
She then continued studying the principles of the witch's lens and eventually created a crude imitation of bloodline verification.
Of course, the witch's lens was the original.
But she had no intention of speaking carelessly about such matters in the sept.
In fact, aside from the one time she revealed the true identity of the Seven, Dany never discussed topics related to "I am the Mother" with the dwarf.
This time was no exception.
"The Mother's divine power is boundless," she said calmly.
The dwarf glanced around and muttered, "There's no one else here."
"The Seven are watching you," Dany said sternly, fixing him with a gaze.
The dwarf fell silent.
"What about Euron? Why not just execute him?" he asked, changing the subject.
"That's none of your concern."
"How is it not? He murdered my uncle, my sister, my cousin, and tens of thousands of Lannister soldiers," the dwarf said unhappily.
"During the trial, it concerns the victims. Once the trial ends and the charges and sentence are established, the remaining punishment is left to the Seven," Dany said impatiently.
"What about Arya Stark? When and where will she be tried?" the dwarf pressed.
"In a week," Dany said after a moment's thought. "Let it be held in the Westerlands. A fair, just, and public trial will bring solace to the wrongfully dead there.
"But too many people died in Casterly Rock. It has become a haunted place, filled with an oppressive gloom. I have no desire to step into it again."
The dwarf's face turned pale, then flushed.
"Notify the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms. In seven days, at Fairy City, Arya Stark will stand public trial!"
Nearly two months after the fall of the Westerlands, the situation in the Seven Kingdoms had finally begun to stabilize under the tireless efforts of the Dragon Queen.
In particular, with the establishment of fifteen volunteer corps drawn from the Westerlands, Riverlands, Crownlands, and Reach, totaling 45,000 men, the war against the dead had passed the phase of passive defense and entered the second stage: defensive counterattack.
At the very least, no more lords would be wiped out in confusion by a single wave of wights.
In simple terms, the "peak of the epidemic" had passed. The turning point had arrived.
Of course, the losses during this period were enormous. Including the Westerlands, more than fifty earls' castles had fallen, along with countless villages and towns. The total death toll exceeded three million, and over two million refugees and nobles had been displaced.
Of these, 1.5 million deaths came from the Westerlands alone. The Reach accounted for more than 500,000 deaths. For example, Goldengrove, under Count Mathis Rowan, originally had over 80,000 people—this number referring to the entire population of the domain after they had all gathered in the castle. In the end, only a few hundred were rescued by the Dragon Queen.
The remaining million deaths came from the Stormlands, Riverlands, Crownlands, the North, and the Vale.
Only half of the dead perished at the hands of the undead. The other 500,000 died from hunger, cold, disease, and long-distance migration.
For instance, during the massive 600-kilometer migration from King's Landing to Storm's End, tens of thousands died along the way.
Back in Last Hearth, Dany had promised those elderly people who went "out hunting" that if they followed her south, they would survive.
At the time, her tone was firm, her voice powerful, and her expression compelling, even though it had failed to persuade those elders.
Now, she could still speak with the same conviction, but deep down she had accepted reality: she could not save them. When the Long Night arrived, the first to be eliminated were the old and the weak.
Beyond basic food shortages, cold and disease posed even greater threats to the elderly.
Heated kang beds had already been introduced across the Seven Kingdoms, but people still had to go outside. Ordinary households did not even have proper winter clothing. How could they endure a Long Night harsher than winter itself?
Many elderly people stepped outside briefly, were struck by the biting cold, returned home with a fever, and died the next day.
Those from the southern regions, who had never experienced true winters, suffered the most.
To put it simply, if people from warm southern climates on Earth were suddenly sent to the northeast without heating or winter clothing, and with insufficient food, how many would survive?
Now that the Long Night had come, the climate resembled a Siberian winter. How could those "children of summer" endure it?
Seven days later, at Fairy City.
On the way from the guest chamber to the main hall, the dwarf cupped his hands and breathed warm air into them while stomping his feet. He said to Jon beside him, "Today is the coldest day in thousands of years. But in the next ten years, today will be the warmest and most comfortable. Doesn't that make you feel despair?"
"Honestly, not really. Beyond the Wall, the climate was always like this before the Long Night," Jon said, shaking his head.
The dwarf glanced at him. "Take off that winter bear-fur coat you're wearing, and you'll feel it. Those commoners don't even have torn sheepskin coats."
Jon looked down at his worn gray fur cloak and said indifferently, "In the North, everyone has fur clothing. Anyone without winter gear wouldn't survive. Even among ordinary merchants in White Harbor, my bear-fur coat isn't considered high quality."
"Do you know that in the past two months, 400,000 people in the Seven Kingdoms have frozen to death?" Tyrion said.
Jon nodded solemnly. "I've received reports from the Dragonstone network hub. The situation is dire. More people will die in the future, but at least the near-collapse has been stabilized."
The dwarf said softly, "How much responsibility do you think your sister bears for this chain of tragedies?"
Jon slowed his steps and said in a deep voice, "I think it would be best for both our houses if the feud between Stark and Lannister ends here. What do you think?"
A glint flashed in the dwarf's eyes as he slowed down as well. He murmured, "Over eight hundred lives… we're at a loss."
"But you bear greater guilt. Starting with my brother Bran, then my father, my brother Robb, Lady Catelyn, and my two sisters… Shouldn't you repay the debts you owe them?"
Jon stopped completely, standing in the snow-dusted courtyard. The howling northern wind made his cold, firm voice sound distant.
(End of Chapter)
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