Chapter 81 The Lion’s Fangs
"The Lion will not let provocation go unchecked," Archmaester Pycelle still looked groggy. "The Iron Throne allows the Vale to act, er, I don't mean to let go, but... the Iron Throne gives the Vale greater autonomy in law enforcement. Cough!”
Everyone in the imperial meeting seemed not to have heard, and kept their original postures, either bowing their heads and saying nothing, or lying on the backs of chairs to rest.
Jaime Lannister, who had escaped from King's Landing before, suddenly led the army of the West out of the Golden Tooth City and attacked the two thousand soldiers stationed at the mountain pass in the Riverlands. Lord Vance of the Riverlands was killed in the battle, and Lord Clermont Piper was killed. Prisoners, two thousand Riverland soldiers were wiped out.
"The eagle and the lion are biting the trout at the same time. Three dukes are participating in the war. Can the Trident River still pay taxes on time?" Varys seemed to have become the finance minister at this time, and his worry was palpable.
Varys is obviously reminding everyone of the debt problem of the Iron Throne. The ambiguous relationship between the Iron Bank and Tywin is the main reason why the Iron Throne is hesitant about the operation in the west. The reason why the treasury wealth can be accumulated rapidly in the early period of the Mad King's era is different from that of Tywin. There is a direct link between Win Lannister's filling of the Iron Throne with the output of the Westerlands gold and the financial disputes in the Iron Bank.
Pycelle shook his head, "The kingdom's finances cannot be separated from the West, and it cannot be separated from Lord Tywin. Since the Valley will enforce the law after the Riverland attacks the Valley, then the West naturally has the same rights."
"Hand," Renly said, "If the Iron Throne does not intervene at this time and punish the perpetrators in accordance with the laws of the kingdom, the Trident may really become a fire. If winter comes suddenly, it will be a disaster."
"Master, you must do something. My good brother cannot be counted on," Renly said. "This war can only be stopped if the Tullys are punished, even your lady, who started this."
The Imperial Council fell into silence, and this silence lasted longer than the previous times.
"What does the King think? What does His Majesty say? This is what we are curious about, Lord Ed." Varys asked, with curiosity even in his eyes.
Eddard lost the slightest trace of temper when he thought of what Robert had said to him.
"Look at what stupid thing the heir of the Tully family has done?" Robert drank a swig of ale with meat crumbs on his lips. "If you don't give him some color for such stupid things, he will never mature in his life!"
"Now that Attis has led his troops out of the Bloody Gate, let him teach Edmure Tully a lesson, and then reconcile after the lesson is disastrous. Whoever wants to fight can fight me," Robert patted the table, which was wooden. Shaking again and again, it was obvious that he couldn't resist the heavy blow, which made Ed couldn't help but think of Cersei's face, "You will make the announcement at the right time, and this matter will be over quickly."
After coming back to his senses, Ed looked at the important ministers of the Imperial Council and stood up, "Order the Riverlands, Western Territory, and Valley to stop all wars. If any party resumes war without authorization, the Iron Throne will declare it a treason and a nationwide crusade."< br>
Pycelle frowned tightly, and he was about to speak.
"I have made Tywin Lannister the Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom and a member of the Royal Council. I have ordered Edmure Tully and..." Eddard glanced at everyone, "and Catelyn Stark to come to King's Landing to accept the Lord Chancellor Lan Li Baratheon's question, and the taxes of Riverrun were increased by one level to show the justice of the Iron Throne."
Pycelle seemed to want to say something more, but was stopped by Ed's gesture, "The meeting is dismissed!"
Renly left the table quickly, as usual.
Pycelle stopped Ed who was about to leave and wandered closer.
"Anything else, Grand Maester Pycelle?" Eddard asked.
"Forgive me that I have a poor memory and forgot to remind you that the books you asked for were borrowed from the Citadel," Pycelle said. "Last time I went to the Prime Minister's Tower to look for you. Unfortunately, you went to see King Robert and were not here. Red Fort”
Ed nodded, "Thank you very much, Grand Maester Pycelle, the book is here."
"In your bedroom, you are busy with everything, so it's normal that you didn't notice it, haha." Pycelle said with a smile, seeming to be out of breath. Ed didn't waste any time and walked towards the door.
"If you wish to meet King Robert, I'm afraid you won't have the chance," Pycelle said.
Ed frowned slightly, "Where did he go?"
"Hunting, obviously, this tourney that had to be ended in a hurry due to insufficient bounty made the king very dissatisfied." Pycelle folded his fingers and said to Ed.
"Damn Robert!" Eddard cursed softly.
"Sir," Jory, the captain of the guard, came in, "The golden robes captured Janos Slynt, who you ordered to be arrested earlier, and he was escorted to the Red Keep."
Ed blinked a few times, things kept coming one after another, and he seemed to be wrapped up in chores.
"Forgive me for withdrawing, Lord Pycelle." Ed nodded to Pycelle.
Pycelle looked at Eddard's back as he left the throne room. The prime minister was wrapped in a brown coat with a direwolf head embroidered with silver thread. He had a ferocious mouth open. He could tell at a glance that he was chasing prey in the vast wilderness. time appearance.
"Goodbye, Eddard Stark," Pycelle said softly.
Sansa looked at Joffrey in front of her, who was whispering loving words to her. Her heart was pounding, and crimson clouds were floating on her cheeks. Because of the wolf incident, Joffrey had not been with her for a long time. Speak well.
"I still want to express my apology, my prince." Sansa's hand was held by Joffrey, and their faces were very close. "I am really sorry about Arya's wolf. Fortunately, she followed Arya. The Duke of Tis went to the valley, otherwise he would have caused trouble if he were still in King's Landing."
For some reason, when she was about to leave the bedroom today, the "lady" chewed the hem of her skirt desperately, not wanting Sansa to go out. She was no longer as obedient as before. Sansa was angry because her skirt was torn into tatters. , hurriedly asked the nun to change into a new one, and locked the direwolf in the room regardless of the direwolf's howling.
Joffrey's expression was slightly uncomfortable, but he quickly adjusted back, "It doesn't matter, my lady, you will be my queen in the future. How can I not forgive the little pet that the queen's sister raised?"
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There was a lot more joy in Sansa's expression. She couldn't believe that her prince was so generous and reasonable. She was thinking about what would happen if she and Joffrey had children in the future.
Cersei walked in. She was so energetic. The queen's temperament and beauty were perfectly reflected in her. A standard smile appeared on Sansa's lips. She looked at the queen and bowed slightly, "Queen."
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The queen held a small red box in her hand, with a smile on her face, "Sansa, I hope you can wear this at your future wedding to Joffrey."
The small red box was opened, and the exquisite jewelry necklace appeared in Sansa's eyes. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaimed, "Gods!"
The color of the gems on the necklace was like the golden sands of Dorne, dazzling and eye-catching. Cersei took the silver-wrapped necklace and hung it around Sansa's neck. "You are so beautiful, Sansa." The queen praised.
"Thank you, my queen." Sansa turned to Joffrey after putting on the necklace. After receiving the prince's praise, she suddenly bloomed like a red rose, her face flushed with a sweet smile.
Cersei looked at Sansa, squinting her eyes slightly and smiling, "Sansa, let's go out for a walk."
"Lady" chewed the chain around her neck fiercely, bared her fangs, and stared at the door.
(End of chapter)