When they left Highgarden, Lynd told Nameria about the potion, and she was a little surprised that Velas was actually the mastermind behind the potion shop.
She had no objection to Lynd's caution. After the two returned to Summerhall, they handed the potion to Moroa for inspection. At the same time, Nameria also began to take over various affairs of the Speaker of the Council Chamber from Moroa.
Lynd was not idle; he went to meet an unexpected guest.
"Lord Kevan, I didn't expect to see you here. May I ask what brings you to me?" Lynd arrived at the inn built specifically for visitors and directly asked Kevan Lannister, who had been waiting there for two or three days.
When Lynd returned to Summerhall and learned from Steward Moose that Kevan Lannister was waiting for him there, he was truly surprised.
Because the Lannister's relationship with him was mediocre, and due to Nameria, their relationship was in a semi-hostile state. When in King's Landing, Duke Tywin wouldn't even meet him privately, and now Kevan Lannister's proactive visit made Lynd unable to figure out Duke Tywin's intentions for a while.
The reason for this is that Kevan Lannister has always been known as Tywin's shadow; his every word and action are always related to Tywin, so there's no need to think much. His visit to Summerhall this time must have been at Tywin's behest.
Facing Lynd's inquiry, Kevan Lannister didn't waste words and directly stated the matter: "Lord Linde, I'm here this time hoping to sign a long-term grain purchase agreement with Nameria Fudeli, the Earl of Tengshi Town. We are willing to purchase all exportable grain from Tengshi Town at a price 30% higher than the regular price."
Lynd was not surprised by what Kevan Lannister said, as Nameria had previously mentioned that Casterly Rock wanted to buy grain from Tengshi Town.
After the extreme cold disaster, Casterly Rock had sent people to Tengshi Town more than once, hoping to sign a grain purchase agreement, but Nameria had rejected them with various excuses. Nameria was clearly still dissatisfied with Duke Tywin's actions regarding Tengshi Town back then.
"Shouldn't you be discussing this with the Earl of Tengshi Town? Why come to me?" Lynd feigned confusion.
Kevan frowned and said, "Lord Linde, you should know very well why I came to you. Why pretend to be confused?"
"Oh! I remember now, it's because Nameria doesn't want to deal with you," Lynd walked to the chair next to Kevan and sat down, saying with a smile, "But why doesn't Nameria want to deal with you? She shouldn't be the kind of unreasonable person, right? Has someone done something wrong and not even apologized yet?"
Kevan's face darkened slightly, and he said with a hint of firmness in his tone, "I don't believe there was any fault in what happened back then. A Lord who can't even govern his own territory, leading to rampant bandits there, even affecting the territories of other Lords..."
Before Kevan could finish, Lynd retorted, "That's not a reason for you to attack and plunder other Lords' territories. If everyone could use that reason to attack other weaker Lords, then the Seven Kingdoms would be in chaos. Don't you think so, Lord Kevan?"
Kevan fell silent for a moment, then, after a while, said, "We are willing to make compensation."
Hearing Kevan's words, Lynd was somewhat surprised. Undoubtedly, Kevan's actions represented Casterly Rock bowing its head, and Kevan's demeanor represented Tywin. Such an act of bowing did not fit Lynd's image of Tywin in his mind; he believed Tywin should be the kind of person who would stick to his guns and never yield.
However, Lynd quickly recalled a survey document about the grain in the Seven Kingdoms that Jon Bulwer had completed before leaving.
After the extreme cold disaster, except for Dorne, which was least affected, the grain in the other Seven Kingdoms was severely impacted. Large quantities of crops like wheat and corn were frozen to death in the fields, forcing various territories to use their stored grain.
Although this year's extreme cold disaster only affected the North, and the areas south of the Neck were fine, grain production in various places was still not high, insufficient to make up for the previous year's losses. Coupled with the extreme cold disaster and the appearance of the wights, Lords in various places felt the crisis was at hand and realized the importance of grain. Therefore, except for a few productive territories in The Reach that were still selling grain externally, no other place had sold a single grain, and they were even continuously buying grain, causing the price of grain to double compared to last year.
Lynd has always attached great importance to grain reserves, so he started hoarding grain very early. Thus, his granaries are now full. Sometimes he would release some grain to stabilize grain prices within his territory. At the same time, he also used this abnormal grain fluctuation to conduct a census and household registration for the population within his and Nameria's territories, by allowing only commoners who had completed identity registration within the territory to purchase grain at a fair price.
Compared to Lynd and Nameria's calm response to the unusual grain situation, the situation in the Westerlands was clearly not so good.
Having just experienced an extreme cold disaster, followed by the Ironborn raids, the Westerlands' grain harvest can be said to have been completely lost for the past two years.
Although the Westerlands is very wealthy and can purchase grain from overseas, this is not a long-term solution. Firstly, the shipping routes are too long, and accidents are likely to occur along the way; once an accident happens, everything is lost. Secondly, the price is too high; the cost of purchasing grain from overseas is already three times the regular grain price in the Seven Kingdoms.
In addition, the Westerlands' own grain production is not abundant because the Westerlands is mostly mountainous, and there are very few places suitable for growing grain. So few that all the grain-producing areas in the entire Westerlands combined cannot compare to the cultivated land area of a single minor Lord in The Reach. Therefore, the Westerlands urgently needs a place that can stably supply a large amount of grain.
Duke Tywin had seen the problems in the Westerlands very early on and had also thought of some solutions, which led to the plan to invade Tengshi Town.
At that time, Tengshi Town was very weak, but its territory was vast. Large plains west of the Mander River belonged to the Lord of Tengshi Town. This area was surrounded by water on two sides and had fertile land. Once taken by the Westerlands, it would inevitably solve the long-standing production problems of the Westerlands.
Unfortunately, the plan, which was originally extremely smooth, failed due to Lynd's appearance, and the subsequent series of disasters also led to the deepening of the Westerlands' predicament. Duke Tywin was well aware of this, which is why he sent Kevan to meet Lynd and, on behalf of Tywin, humbled himself, willing to compensate Nameria.
Lynd knew that Kevan's current stance had reached its limit. If he continued, he would truly become a mortal enemy of the Westerlands. Although he was not afraid of the Westerlands, he did not want to needlessly create an enemy at his side.
After understanding the current situation of the Westerlands, Lynd also stated his decision: "I will help you reconcile with Nameria, but I will not interfere with your grain agreement. The specific grain purchase price and your compensation to Nameria will be discussed by you and her. Is that acceptable, Lord Kevan?"
"Thank you for your help, Lord Linde." Kevan also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
For Kevan, bowing to Lynd was not an unpleasant matter. After all, Lynd's status as the Godsworn had now become a symbol of the Seven Gods Church. Bowing to him was equivalent to bowing to the Seven Gods Church. As long as he thought this way, that little bit of discomfort in his heart ceased to exist.
This long-term grain purchase agreement not only concerned the Westerlands' grain problem but also served as an opportunity to mend relations with Tengshi Town and Summerhall. After all, Lynd was now showing extreme assertiveness, and if such a powerful figure continued to stand next to the Westerlands as an enemy, it would not be conducive to the Westerlands' development.
Seeing that the matter was concluded, Lynd did not linger further. He stood up and prepared to leave, but he suddenly thought of something, stopped, turned to Kevan, and asked, "Lord Kevan, I would like to ask how Lord Tyrion is doing now?"
"Tyrion?" Kevan showed a look of confusion, not understanding why Lynd would suddenly ask about Tyrion, but he still answered truthfully, "He is currently serving as the Steward in Casterly Rock, assisting me in my duties."
"Only a Steward?" Lynd smiled and said, "When I was in Lannisport, I got along very well with Lord Tyrion, and I also felt that Lord Tyrion's talent was outstanding. For him to be a Steward is a bit of a waste of his abilities. If Duke Tywin doesn't mind, I hope Lord Tyrion can come to Summerhall to work for me. This would also serve to deepen our relationship. What do you think, Lord Kevan?"
Kevan looked at Lynd in surprise, seemingly a little taken aback by Lynd's high praise for Tyrion.
Although within the Lannister, Kevan was considered the least prejudiced person towards Tyrion, besides Jaime, he still didn't believe Tyrion had any outstanding qualities. In his eyes, Tyrion was just a nephew who liked to play small tricks and make sarcastic remarks out of place, with no real talent to speak of. This could be seen from his appointing Tyrion as merely a Steward, which reflected Tyrion's status and ability in his mind.
Therefore, Lynd's sudden mention of Tyrion and his expression of such high praise for him became, in Kevan's eyes, a sign that something was amiss, and he immediately thought of Tyrion's other identity: the first heir to Casterly Rock.
Kevan, thinking he had seen through Lynd's intentions, feigned contemplation, then shook his head and said, "This is not something I can decide. I need to return to Casterly Rock and inform the Duke."
"Indeed." Lynd nodded and said, "As the first heir to Casterly Rock, working under another Lord does require serious consideration. I suppose this must be Lord Kevan's concern, too, right?"
Kevan was somewhat surprised that Lynd had proactively revealed his thoughts and for a moment didn't fully grasp Lynd's words, unsure how to respond.
"What if Tyrion is no longer the first heir?" Lynd said in a deep voice, "What if I find a way to make Jaime take off his white cloak and return to Casterly Rock? Would you then agree to Tyrion working for me?"
"What? You can make Jaime take off his white cloak!" Kevan abruptly stood up, looking at Lynd with a serious expression, and said, "You're not joking, Lord Linde."
"Of course I'm not joking." Lynd shook his head and said, "Actually, after Jaime killed the King, his Kingsguard oath was already broken. You could completely have Jaime take off his white cloak, but you couldn't bear to forcefully command Jaime, so the matter was left unresolved. I am different. I can propose to King Robert to relieve Jaime of his Kingsguard duties. As for the reason, we can just find any excuse. At that time..."
"No!" Kevan shook his head and said, "If we really do as you say, Jaime won't return to Casterly Rock. He's more likely to go to the Wall and take the black."
Although Kevan was not familiar with Tyrion's personality and abilities, he knew very well what kind of person Jaime was. Just as he said, if Jaime was truly forced to take off his white cloak, the outcome would either be Jaime committing suicide or Jaime joining the Night's Watch.
Lynd then said, "What if I can make Jaime voluntarily take off his white cloak?"
Lynd wasn't speaking without reason. He only needed Varys to find an opportunity to slip a note to Jaime, threatening him with the relationship between Cersei, Joffrey, and himself, to make him take off his white cloak on his own.
The Red Keep was not yet what it would be years later; the guards inside the Red Keep had not fully become people of the Westerlands, and the Westerlands' network of connections had not firmly controlled King's Landing. Even if they wanted to resist, they couldn't. Jaime could only obediently take off his white cloak and return to Casterly Rock.
However, Kevan obviously didn't know that Lynd had leverage over Jaime. He just thought Lynd was speaking casually, so he still shook his head and said, "My Lord, this is a family matter of our Lannister, please do not interfere too much. As for Tyrion, I don't think the Duke will agree. If you truly need talent, I can recommend a few to you."
"In that case, never mind. Consider it unsaid." Lynd shook his head, said no more, and turned to leave the room.
Watching Lynd leave, Kevan's furrowed brows did not smooth out. He felt that Lynd's actions had a hidden agenda and that he wouldn't give up because of it. So he had already decided that upon his return, he would keep a close eye on Tyrion, preferably making him his attendant, always by his side, and as for places like brothels, he should definitely not go, to avoid any accidents where he might be abducted.
Far away in Casterly Rock, Tyrion was directing servants to iron various clothes, his mind already wandering to the brothels of Lannisport, wondering which one to visit that night.
Although his current position wasn't what he wanted, at least he received a good salary, enough to live the life he desired.
However, he had no idea that his carefree life would soon end, and the sole reason for all these changes was a thought that Lynd had inadvertently conceived.
Lynd had only casually mentioned Tyrion's matter; he didn't care whether it succeeded or not, nor had he considered what subsequent impact it might have.
After leaving the inn, Lynd found Nameria and told her about Duke Tywin. Nameria did not object to the matter.
In fact, she had long ceased to hate Duke Tywin's actions back then. The reason she hadn't met Kevan was simply that Kevan had bad luck; every time he wanted to see her, she had other things to do.
And now, the grain purchase agreement proposed by Kevan could not only find a good buyer for the surplus grain in her territory but also bring in additional compensation, which she naturally welcomed.
That afternoon, the grain purchase agreement, which would alleviate the Westerlands' predicament, was signed in the Council Chamber in Redemption Town.
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