The atmosphere at the banquet remained jovial, but Catelyn's eyes revealed deep worries.
She picked up her wine cup and put it down again; when facing the congratulations of others, her smile seemed somewhat mechanical and stiff.
She thought for a moment, then finally made up her mind to ask the crowd, "On my way here, I heard that Tywin's fierce general, Gregor Clegane, was killed by Jon himself. Is this true?"
Before anyone else could speak, a distinctly youthful voice rang out.
"Absolutely true, My Lady!"
The response this time came from a young boy's voice. Everyone turned to look and saw that it was Lyman.
Lyman first stood up and bowed to Catelyn, then looked at Jon.
When Jon also turned to look at him, the smile on Lyman's face was practically impossible to hide, and his limbs were so excited he didn't know what to do with them.
He tugged at the corner of his clothes to make them appear neater, cleared his throat, and said, "If it weren't for Big Brother Jon that day, Darry City would have been breached by the Mountain. It was Big Brother Jon who defeated the Mountain, and it was Big Brother Jon who avenged my father. Moreover, my brother Martin is now the captain of Big Brother Jon's personal guards.
All of Darry City's forces are under Big Brother Jon's command, and everyone greatly admires Big Brother Jon!"
Lyman repeatedly referred to him as 'Big Brother Jon', and none of the other lords in the military tent expressed any opposition or inappropriateness.
And his two bastard cousins both looked approving.
But in Catelyn's eyes, this was unacceptable!
Although Lyman was only eight years old, he was an Earl. Although Jon was an adult, he was only a bastard. The current situation could only mean one thing: Jon's prestige within the Eastern Army was frighteningly high.
Roose Bolton, who was closest to Catelyn, squinted at her, and suddenly, it was as if a plan formed in his mind.
An index finger rubbed back and forth on the base of his wine cup, and his eyes, like blood leeches, crawled between Jon and Catelyn.
However, Catelyn also knew that now was not the time to trouble Jon. Perhaps she could find an opportunity to talk to Roose Bolton later.
So she looked at Roose Bolton, Harrion, Meiqi Saiwen, and the other lords and spoke again, "My Lords, as you all know, Renly was assassinated, and now the Stormlands' army is basically under Stannis's command. Furthermore, he controls the strongest naval fleet in Seven Kingdoms.
Stannis is a stubborn man. Once he captures King's Landing and gains the throne, the independent status of the North will be challenged. Although I am but a woman, I wish to know what you, My Lords, plan to do next."
As Catelyn spoke, she looked at Roose Bolton.
Roose Bolton also realized that his guess might be correct, so he said, "My Lady, I have already discussed with Jon, with Lord Jon, that our next step is to capture Harrenhal, cut off communication between the Western Army and the Crownlands, and by controlling Harrenhal, if Stannis wishes to meddle in the Riverlands or the North in the future, he will have to face this largest castle in Westeros."
Listening to Roose Bolton's explanation, Jon's eye twitched.
Could this guy's intention to sow discord be any more obvious? House Bolton, after all, was an 'old noble family' of the North, yet he called a bastard like himself 'Lord'.
Jon looked coldly at Roose Bolton, seeing that he then deliberately mentioned having discussed the capture of Harrenhal with him, which undoubtedly further elevated Jon's status in the army.
Because Jon was right there, he couldn't add fuel to the fire with false statements.
But even merely describing the facts heightened Catelyn's vigilance. Sure enough, Catelyn spoke again, "Lord Bolton, you don't have to be so polite. Although I am not Jon's mother, I watched him grow up.
Robb entrusted the command of the Eastern Army to you, so the person he trusts most must be you. Such a major military plan should be discussed with the other Lords."
Catelyn's words, both in and out of context, were practically saying, 'Jon is just a bastard, why are you being so polite to him?'
And her words also indirectly strengthened Roose Bolton's authority, especially since she emphasized the word 'other'.
"Ah~" At this moment, Meiqi Saiwen stood up and said, "My Lady, don't underestimate Jon. If it weren't for him, these old bones of mine might have become a Lannister captive.
At that time, we were almost certainly defeated. I had an arrow in me, and the Western cavalry behind me were in hot pursuit. If it weren't for Jon, I might have died in Tywin's prisoner-of-war camp."
Soon, Harrion and Wendel of the Manderly Family also jumped out to 'support' Jon. These were all old noble families whose status was in no way inferior to Dreadfort, and they were especially close to House Stark.
Although Jon knew they meant well, at this moment, they could only make things worse.
Catelyn had disliked Jon since childhood, blaming him for the woman who 'stole Eddard's love'.
Now that Jon might actually threaten Robb's position, it made her even more disgusted.
Sure enough, after the reception banquet ended, Catelyn and Roose Bolton held a private meeting.
"So, Jon now has an army of a full five thousand men, and these five thousand men are not under your command?" Catelyn asked with some surprise.
Five thousand men, though merely 'patched-together soldiers', in Catelyn's eyes, this was already almost equivalent to the number of soldiers Winterfell could gather at one time.
"Yes, My Lady, but this is also His Majesty's intention. In fact, when we first went south, His Majesty only allocated fewer than five hundred men to Jon.
But he expanded his forces to five thousand by gathering stragglers and recruiting Riverlands militiamen..." Roose Bolton cleverly omitted the most crucial part, and Catelyn gave him the response he wanted.
"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Catelyn said sharply, her body immediately stiffening. "The entire Eastern Army is only a little over twenty thousand men, and Jon, this bastard, alone commands five thousand. Nearly a quarter of the army is not under your command. This is inexcusable, no matter how you look at it."
"My Lady, these are all men Jon recruited..."
"Still unacceptable!" Catelyn reiterated, her tone as resolute as if she were hammering nails into a tabletop. "Leave this matter to me. I will go find Jon."
"My Lady... I have disappointed His Majesty."
Catelyn waved her hand, immediately intending to confront Jon. Watching Catelyn leave, Roose Bolton's lips curved into a smile.
"This is good, My Lord. Lady Catelyn will surely take that bastard's military power. Then we will control half of the Northern Army," Polliver, beside Roose Bolton, said excitedly.
Roose Bolton smiled without speaking. He felt that what he was doing now was no different from what Jon had done earlier; both were a strategy of retreating to advance.