Chapter 50: light the way forward
It was dark at night, Sir Baylor sent the last guest off, and then dragged his exhausted body to Earl Layton\'s room.
"Father."
Earl Layton stood by the window, staring at the sea reflecting starlight and flames in a daze.
At this time, the "old town old man" completely lost the gentleness and friendliness he had when he met outsiders, and looked preoccupied.
However, Baylor was not surprised by this. He knew from a young age that his father had a laughing mask, which he would only wear when meeting outsiders.
Gradually, he also learned this skill.
It\'s a pity that he didn\'t learn the essence. Compared with his father\'s naturalness, he seemed a little deliberate.
The nickname of "Laughing Baylor" seems to be a mockery of him.
"What\'s the matter?" Earl Layton returned to the table and sat down, asking casually.
Baylor stepped forward and poured a glass of wine for his father, and then poured himself a glass, saying:
"Jenny just found me..."
Before he finished speaking, the old earl snorted softly and said:
"She wants to marry Renly?"
Baylor nodded, not surprised that his father could guess this matter.
After all, her daughter actually snatched the first dance that was supposed to belong to Miss Margery at the banquet. Her affection for Duke Renly has long been seen by everyone.
"No!" Earl Layton refused without hesitation.
"Father, are you worried that Duke Renly is unwilling to marry Jenny? But the Hightower family is also the number one noble in Westeros. You can test the Duke\'s attitude."
Earl Layton shook his head and said, "No matter what Renly\'s attitude is, I will not agree."
Baylor froze for a moment, hesitated and said, "Father, are you worried about the rumors about Duke Renly and his attendants?"
"No. Regardless of whether Renly likes men or women, I would not agree with Jenny marrying him."
Now Baylor didn\'t understand: "Why?"
Earl Layton took a sip of his wine and asked, "What do you think Ren Li is doing in Old Town? Is it really to see the towering tower?"
Baylor rubbed his wine glass and fell into deep thought.
Earl Layton reminded again after seeing this: "And your sister, why did she suddenly think of coming back to see me at this moment?"
Baylor frowned: "You mean, it\'s not a coincidence that my sister and Duke Renly appeared in Towering Tower at the same time?"
Earl Layton added another glass of wine to himself, and said, "I never believe in coincidences."
Baylor pondered for a moment, suddenly remembered something, said:
"In the middle of the previous banquet, Duke Renly suddenly wanted to paint a portrait of Miss Margaery. Could it be for this? Is he planning to propose marriage to the Tyrell family?"
"Why did they come here to propose marriage? Go directly to High Court."
Baylor choked when he heard this.
Looking at his dull son, Earl Layton couldn\'t hide his disappointment, but he still said patiently:
"No matter what they are planning, we don\'t want to participate, let alone get too involved with Renly. You tell Jenny, I will help her find a good husband, but Renly can\'t."
Baylor was a little reconciled, took a sip of wine, and persuaded him again:
"Father, are you being too suspicious? Maybe it\'s really just a coincidence. I think Duke Renly is the most outstanding figure among the younger generation of the Seven Kingdoms. If Jenny can marry him, it will be great for our family..."
"What is our language?" Earl Layton interrupted suddenly.
"Huh?" Baylor didn\'t expect his father to ask such a question at all.
Earl Layton asked again patiently: "What is the native language of the Hightower family?"
Baylor came back to his senses and blurted out: "We Light The Way. (We Light The Way
"Yes, we light the way forward." Earl Layton changed his tone, "I didn\'t ask you to lead the way ahead."
"Huh?" Baylor couldn\'t keep up with the old earl\'s train of thought.
Earl Layton sighed again, and explained:
"We light the way ahead so that others can lead the way, and we just follow behind. The road ahead is difficult, and although the scenery is boundless in front, you may die a miserable death. But being a lamp bearer in the back, Very safe.
Renly Baratheon, the first time I saw him, I saw endless ambition in his eyes. This is a guy who wants to rush to the front row. We must stay away from him, so as not to be splashed with blood in the future. "
Baylor didn\'t speak for a while after hearing this.
It seems that this is the first time he knows that his family\'s ethnic language can be understood in this way.
However, when he recalled the "brilliant deeds" in the history of the Hightower family, he had to sadly admit that perhaps this was the true meaning of the clan language.
Earl Layton didn\'t try to comfort him when he saw this, but just drank wine on his own, waiting patiently for his son to digest the political wisdom of the Hightower family.
This is the real mystery of how this ancient family can last forever.
It took a long time for Baylor to come back to his senses. The expression on his face was extremely complicated. He took a big sip of his wine and asked:
"You didn\'t let me marry Princess Ilia of Dorne, was it because of this consideration?"
"That\'s right." Earl Layton nodded, "Looking back at what happened to Yili, aren\'t you also very grateful for your decision to be a father?"
Baylor argued unconvinced: "But if Elia married me, she wouldn\'t die tragically in King\'s Landing!"
Layton shook his head, his tone full of vicissitudes: "You still don\'t understand. Some things have long been engraved on the slate of fate by the gods, and they are destined and cannot be escaped. The only thing we mortals can do is to try our best to avoid Guess who those poor people on the Fate Slate are from the faint whispers in their ears, and then stay away from them.
Of course, the wisdom of mortals is limited after all, we can\'t guarantee that we can guess correctly every time, so we can only stay away from all the guys who may become the guides. We can light the way for them, but we must remember to hide ourselves in the dark. "
Baylor sighed, and seemed to have figured out many things before:
"Duke Tywin proposed marriage to you for his second son, and that\'s why you bluntly refused?"
"Exactly."
"What about my sister Ellie? Didn\'t you marry her to the Duke of Mace?"
Earl Layton heard the words, with an undisguised sarcasm on his face: "Do you think the \'inflatable fish\' also looks like a guide?"
Baylor coughed a few times in embarrassment, but still refused to accept the air:
"But Tywin\'s second son, Tyrion, is just a dwarf. How can Duke Mace be better than him?"
Earl Layton chuckled and said:
"So what about the dwarf? The founder of the Academy, Perrymore Hightower, is also a twisted and crippled body? Changing the world does not necessarily depend on a strong body, and the same goes for a smart mind. And the dwarf in Casterly Rock City , He is the only one among Tywin\'s three children who has truly inherited the spirit of the lion. Son, you have to remember that some people are much taller than they look."
Baylor didn\'t want to argue with his father anymore, put down his glass, said good night, and was about to leave.
As soon as I got up, I heard my father say again:
"There is also Samwell Caesar, we can conduct normal trade with him, but don\'t get too close to him."
Baylor was stunned for a moment, and then asked in disbelief:
"You don\'t think that Samwell Caesar may also become the leader?"
Earl Layton asked:
"Give you two hundred soldiers, within half a year, can you gain a firm foothold in the Crimson Mountains and make tens of thousands of savages surrender?"
Baylor was speechless for a moment, sighed after a while, turned and walked out.
Just walked to the door, but he turned his head again, showing unwillingness:
"But father, if you keep hiding in the dark, don\'t you worry that we will be forgotten?"
Earl Layton snorted softly and said:
"Remember your Uncle Gero? He was a Hightower who didn\'t want to be forgotten, so he went to King\'s Landing. You must know what happened later, Captain of the Kingsguard, the most solid shield in front of the king, One of the best knights in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, \'White Bull\' Gero!
Hehe, what a great reputation!
I never thought that such a famous knight of the Seven Kingdoms could appear in the blood of Hightower.
But what about the result?
Didn’t he die in the Tower of Bliss? "
Earl Layton leaned back and leaned back in his chair, hiding his face in the darkness, his tone became tired and deep:
"Being forgotten is better than being destroyed."
(end of this chapter)