Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord.

Chapter 158 Robert's Bastard
King's Landing - Tower of the Hand
Ned Stark returned to the Prime Minister's Tower with a tired face. He had just hired a swordsmanship master for his little daughter and hurried to attend a royal meeting. His heart was full of worries about the current situation. As the war was approaching, Robert had recently taken on the rare responsibility of being the king. He no longer dropped everything to go hunting, but still accompanied himself with fine wine every day. Most of the work fell on him.

When he stepped into his study and prepared to take a rest, his guard pushed the door open, saluted Ned and said, "Sir, just now a child stuffed this note into my hand, said only one sentence, 'Give this to the Prime Minister', and hurried away."

After saying this, the guard respectfully handed the note to Ned.

Ned opened the note and his eyes suddenly fixed. There were not many words on it, only an address, and below the address, there was a book title written: "The Genealogy and History of the Major Noble Families of the Seven Kingdoms".

Ned sat there quietly, holding the note in his hand, his eyes were complicated, and his thoughts were surging like the tide.

The address and the title of the book above kept appearing in his mind, especially the title - "Genealogy and History of the Principal Noble Families of the Seven Kingdoms".

He suddenly remembered that Grand Maester Pycelle had mentioned to him that Jon Arryn had been reading this book in the days before his death.

He didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now that this note appeared, he had to re-examine this detail.

Ned has always suspected that Jon's death was not natural. His sudden death was too strange, and his wife Lysa Tully sent a letter to Catelyn saying that Lannister killed Jon.

Ned originally wanted to conduct a thorough investigation, but as the shadow of war gradually approached, the urgency of state affairs forced him to temporarily put aside the investigation into Jon's death.

This note seemed to be the guidance of fate, drawing his attention back to the mystery of Jon's death.

Now this book is gathering dust on his desk. It was the one Ned had borrowed from the Grand Maester before, but he gained nothing after flipping through it.

And that strange address may contain the key clues to unlock the truth of Jon's death.

Thinking of this, despite the physical fatigue that was always with him, Ned still stood up, took a deep breath, and cheered himself up.

Ned looked at the guard in front of him and said in a steady voice: "Get ready and follow me to this place."

The guard was slightly stunned, then responded: "Sir, where are you going?"

Ned handed him the paper iron, pointed to the address on it and said, "Go to this place."

The guard took it and glanced at the address. A puzzled look appeared on his face, but he knew he shouldn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I'll prepare it right away."

Ned traveled through the streets of King's Landing with only two guards, and finally, he arrived at the address.

Ned looked up and saw a seemingly ordinary blacksmith shop. He was confused as to why that address was actually a blacksmith shop. He really didn't understand what the place had to do with Jon.

When the guard at the side saw the sign of the weapon master hanging at the door of the shop, his heart moved slightly and said, "Sir, I have heard of this place. There is a weapon master named Tobmoth who is very famous in King's Landing."

Ned nodded slightly after hearing this. His eyes stayed on the sign for a moment and he said, "Let's go in and take a look."

They walked slowly into the shop. Ned looked around. The air was filled with the smell of metal and fire, and the sound of clanging and hammering was endless.

Tobmoth heard someone coming into the store and quickly stepped forward to greet him. When he saw the King's Hand emblem on Ned's chest, he immediately bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Sir, I wonder what you want from me today?"

Ned looked serious and asked directly, "Tobmoth, let me ask you, has the former Prime Minister ever been here?"

Tobmot was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment and said: "The former Prime Minister did come to me, sir, and came to me several times. Unfortunately, I didn't have the honor and never fought for him."

Ned was even more confused after hearing this and asked, "What is Lord Arryn doing here?" Tobmoth replied respectfully, "To see my apprentice, sir."

After hearing this, Ned Hao said, "I want to meet that apprentice, too."

Tobmoth bowed and said, "As you command, sir."

A moment later, the apprentice Gendry was brought to Ned. When Ned saw the young man in front of him, he had the answer in his mind.

He knew at a glance that the young man was Robert's bastard.

Gendry has a similar face and temperament to Robert, a strong physique, and a unique expression. These characteristics made Ned, who grew up with Robert, instantly see the connection between the two.

Ned walked closer, looked him over, and asked, "Gendry, what did you talk about when Lord Arryn came to see you?"

Gendry shrugged. "He only asked me questions, sir. How I was doing, how my master was treating me, how I liked my job, and about my mother, who she was and what she looked like."

Ned frowned slightly and continued, "So what's your answer?"

Gendry pushed aside a lock of newly fallen black hair. "She died when I was a boy. All I remember is that she had yellow hair and sometimes sang to me. She worked in the tavern."

Ned couldn't help but smile. He reached out and touched Gendry's head, gently ruffling his thick black hair. He looked him in the eyes and said, "Young man, do your work well."

Gendry nodded shyly. Although he didn't quite understand the lord's intentions, he could feel that he meant no harm.

Watching Gendry leave, Ned sighed and said to Tobmoth, "If he wants to learn sword skills in the future, let him come to me."

Tobmoth replied, "As you command, my lord."

Ned nodded slightly, turned and walked out of the blacksmith shop.

The guard at the side led the horse over and asked, "Sir, where are we going now?"

Ned took the reins and said calmly, "Go back."

After meeting Gendry, Ned's doubts were not resolved, and his thoughts became more complicated. He decided to look through the book again to find clues.

Just as Ned and his party rode away, they did not notice that not far behind them, several figures hidden in the crowd were quietly watching their every move.

As Ned left, a figure immediately rushed towards the Red Castle.

Petyr was dressed in exquisite yet understated attire, moving gracefully through the corridors of the Red Keep.

The humble smile on his face was like a mask as he greeted the nobles he met. His words were polite and friendly, giving no sense of what he was thinking deep in his heart.

After a while, he arrived at the entrance of Maegor's Holdfast.

His eyes became sharp instantly, and he quickly glanced left and right. After making sure that no one was paying attention, he quickly climbed the stairs like an agile cat.

(End of this chapter)