As soon as he arrived at King's Landing, the journey was bumpy. Before the king could see his pregnant Queen Sansa, he was invited by his courtiers to attend a royal meeting.
In addition to the vacant Hand of the King, Captain of the Kingsguard, and the Grand Maester who has not yet arrived in the capital from the Citadel, the other six members of the Royal Council and the specially invited Dragon Queen Daenerys and Olenna, the head of the Rose House
The lady, Queens Margaery and Sansa all appeared in the Round Table Hall.
"Your Majesty, I am ashamed that I failed to organize the security and guard work of the Red Castle and King's Landing. I have a lot to do with the Duke of Metz's accident."
Tristan Legg, commander of the King's Landing Guard, was the first to express his stance.
He still knew a little about the king's temperament. The tall and handsome Arthur I tended to listen to soft words. As long as he could admit his mistakes in time, he would generally not be held accountable.
What's more, he basically made no mistakes in Mace's death.
"This is a tragedy."
The king first looked at the Queen of Thorns with a forced expression of sadness, and then asked:
"Assassination of the king is an unforgivable crime. How far have you reached in the investigation? Can you find the real murderer?"
To be honest, the death of a mediocre man like Mace made Arthur's situation awkward.
In order to win over the powerful Riverbend people, the next prime minister must also come from the Rose family and their relatives.
If someone with skill and ability comes up, he will still have to fight with the new prime minister for several rounds.
Lord Justice Randyll Tarly, who was in charge of the pursuit, and Sea Lord Paxter Redwin looked at each other, and Lord Randyll, who was not involved, reported to the king.
After Earl Tully nodded and saluted King Arthur I, he said slowly: "We have searched the entire Red Castle to confirm that the murderer the guards witnessed was not a servant or a guard, but that he came from a secret passage underground. At present, we have found one house and one house.
We are investigating the residents of King's Landing, but it is not yet clear whether the murderer is still in the city."
He told everyone present the current progress, and then put forward his own conjecture:
"According to the bachelor's opinion, and my personal guess, it was actually two people who killed Grand Bachelor Geman and the Duke of Metz."
"During the pursuit of the murderer, we learned from the servants that there was a male servant who claimed to be a servant of the Tyrell family and a servant of Harrenhal at the same time. Therefore, it was hidden from both parties who were not familiar with it. It is very likely that he was the one who killed Gehrman.
The murderer of the Grand Maester, but has disappeared from the Red Keep and is nowhere to be found."
"As for the murderer of the Duke of Metz, he probably broke in suddenly. Based on his familiarity with the secret passages of the Red Castle, he is most likely a subordinate of a previous courtier, or even a former courtier."
King Arthur I listened quietly to these facts and conjectures, and then encouraged the two courtiers to continue digging in this direction.
"The murderer can always be found!"
The Queen of Thorns looked at Landao who was speaking expressionlessly throughout the whole process. She was quite dissatisfied with the progress of chasing the murderer.
Of course, since his son Metz is dead, it is no longer important who the real culprit is. What is important is to use this matter in exchange for more benefits.
"Your Majesty, can I say a few words?"
After Randyll had a chat with King Arthur I, Lady Olenna interrupted in time.
King Arthur I stretched out his hand and said, "Please speak."
The Queen of Thorns is much more realistic. This meeting will definitely require her to appoint a new prime minister, but she doesn't know who the Rose family will nominate.
"Let bygones be bygones, we have to look forward. Your kingdom is being unified rapidly, but the most important king's hand is vacant, which is not good for the governance of the kingdom. Since my son is the former prime minister, I boldly
Propose to the Iron Throne to appoint Willas Tyrell as the new Hand of the King."
This proposal not only surprised Arthur I, but also made several other courtiers unable to believe it.
Ever since Willas had his leg broken by Prince Oberyn, he has been staying in Highgarden and rarely comes out for activities.
According to the Queen of Thorns' formulation, her eldest grandson represents the Rose family and is stationed in King's Landing. She returns to take charge of the territory, while Garland is responsible for the defense and military of the Reach.
Before the king and courtiers could react, Lady Olenna announced: "In addition, Loras is already a member of the Kingsguard, and I propose that he be made Captain of the Kingsguard."
"Queen Margaery is also pregnant. The king should follow the Targaryen family's practice and choose a dragon egg for the child to be born."
She fought for the interests of her family one after another.
The first two requests were within Arthur's expectation, but the third one shocked him.
As a husband, he also knew that his second wife was pregnant on the way, but he didn't expect that the Queen of Thorns would also know about it when he arrived at King's Landing and bring it up at such a high-end meeting.
Sansa, who was sitting behind the king, glanced at Margaery next to her while holding her belly.
The more she looked at it, the more displeased she became, so she shouted: "Your Majesty, the child in my belly doesn't even have dragon eggs yet!"
Little Rose was very quiet and said nothing, letting her grandmother fight for her.
The courtiers congratulated the two queens on their pregnancies, but the king silenced the conference hall with his hands.
"Lady Olenna, Duke Willas's legs and feet are inconvenient, and I feel uneasy for him to come all the way to King's Landing."
He declined the Queen of Thorns' proposal, and then came up with a compromise solution:
"Let the mature and stable Earl Redwin serve as the King's Hand and let him recommend a Sea Lord to me."
"As for the Captain of the Kingsguard, the false king Joffrey's treatment of Ser Barristan Selmy was not legal, so the nominal Captain of the Iron Guard is still Ser Barristan, even if he is in Slaver's Bay."
Although Villas sounds gentle and kind, he is much smarter than Mace, Paxter and others. Arthur also wants to reduce the power of the nobles, so it is naturally impossible for Villas, a top nobleman, to serve as the Hand of the King.
"Barlistan is the Queen's Guard, and he is mine!" Before Lady Olenna could speak, Daenerys couldn't help it.
A fight in bed is a fight, and some things have to be calculated carefully.
She came here for the Iron Throne.
The Queen of Thorns echoed: "That's right, Slaver's Bay is not the territory of the kingdom. How can Ser Barristan be the captain of the Iron Guard?"
Paxter was her nephew and son-in-law, so it was not unacceptable for him to be the Hand of the King, and for someone nominated by his family to be the Sea Lord.
Anyway, as long as some smart people are sent to follow Paxter, the situation can always be controlled.
King Arthur I pointed at Lady Olenna, "Please remember that Slaver's Bay has been included in the territory of the kingdom, but the distance is too far, making it inconvenient to communicate back and forth."
With Dany, a reckless woman, he is quite confident in taking Slaver's Bay.
"As for the dragon eggs you mentioned, after this meeting, the two queens can choose their own. We have four dragons, and it will be very convenient to hatch the dragon eggs."
The king himself didn't know how to hatch dragon eggs with a dragon, but he pretended to be experienced and let the more amateur Queen of Thorns guess.
After hearing that she could choose dragon eggs right away, Lady Olenna did not bother about the captain of the Iron Guard.
The important thing is the dragon. As long as Margaery's children have dragons, everything is under control.
"As you wish, Your Majesty! We Tyrell and all the Reach families obey your every king's command."
The matter of the new king's hand was thus settled, but the situation on the northern and southern battlefields made Arthur unhappy.
It was Randyll Tarly who told the king about the situation in the Stormlands and the North.
"Somehow, Storm's End was captured by the Golden Company, and King Aegon VI officially raised the banner of three red dragons. Ever since the news spread that Brightwater was captured by Ser Garlan, the soldiers of the Florentine family
Becoming very uneasy, they kidnapped Ser Axel on the eve of the fall of Storm's End. Of course, this could also be a play directed and acted by Axel."
"It is said that Illyrio's slave-selling operation in Volantis was very successful. A certain consul met with the cheese seller and promised to provide him with troops to make the slave-catching operation smoother."
"The Golden Company is arresting our farmers in the southern part of the Stormlands. This makes many Stormland nobles uneasy. They sent a letter to the Iron Throne, asking us to send soldiers to drive out the Golden Company."
After Earl Tully spoke for a while, he took a sip of wine before continuing.
"In the north, I don't know who reported the news to the Bolton family and let them know about the gathering of troops in the valley. Roose Bolton personally led the army south. They marched along the White Blade River. It seemed that they wanted to block the army in the valley.
Hong Kong and prevent them from entering the northern border."
"In addition, the Bolton family has used ravens and messengers to swear allegiance to you and the Iron Throne."
According to what Arthur knows, after Daenerys's three dragons appeared in King's Landing, the entire valley began to actively respond to the previous order issued by Arthur I to regain the North, and some families also began to gather soldiers to prepare to garrison the Great Wall.
Assist in defense.
Even the Arryn family sent a letter saying that they would send a king to serve as cupbearer to the Iron Throne.
If there is no surprise, this is the hostage given to Arthur by the Ying family.
"Who is the cupbearer they sent? Has he arrived in King's Landing?" Arthur asked.
The Grand Maester was supposed to be in control of the Raven, but Gorman was dead and Pycelle was sent to the Night's Watch, so the Assistant Maester handed the letter from the Raven to the Lord Commander of the Watch, Tristan Legg.
He explained to the king: "Your Majesty, the cupbearer of the Arryn family is Myrcella Baratheon. She has set off from Seagull Town and will arrive in the near future."
Myrcella, named Robert's daughter, is actually the illegitimate daughter of Jaime and Cersei.
According to the customs prevailing in the Seven Kingdoms, the real name of Myrcella who grew up in King's Landing should be Myrcella Weishui.
The little devil who had been silent all this time suddenly became dissatisfied, "Myrcella is my niece, how can she be considered the cupbearer of the Arryn family? She has not entered into a formal marriage contract with Lord Robin Arryn!"
Arthur also agreed with this statement: "Yes, this woman cannot be considered a member of the Arryn family. Let them send more important members. Of course, since Myrcella Vishui is coming soon, let her be my attendant."
Bar! As an illegitimate daughter, she has nowhere to go."
Previously, in order to control Tyrion, Jaime has never been sent to the Great Wall. Now that the West has been pacified, the current situation of the Lannister family is in line with the king's vision, and Jaime is not of much use. It is time to send him to serve as a vigil.
It's time for people.
"I am the Duke of Casterly Rock, and I can let Myrcella live there." Tyrion shouted loudly.
The king already had two wives, a mistress, and was flirting with his nominal aunt. He could not trust his beautiful niece to stay with the king.
"Myrcella grew up in the Red Keep. Going to Casterly Rock would be torture for her. That's it." Arthur I made the final decision.
Then he turned to Prince Oberyn, "Where are your Dornish armies? If you want Nightsong City, you must contribute to the destruction of the Golden Company and Aegon VI."
The Red Viper spread his hands and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I have just arrived in King's Landing. I don't know when my brother will send out the army!"
He is not in a hurry anyway. Thanks to Prince Doran's forbearance, Dorne's strength has been completely preserved, and Arianne has also successfully hooked up with the new king. Apart from the lack of a queen, the Martell family has gained enough benefits.
.
"Send the raven to urge you. Daenerys and I are both in King's Landing. Don't think about hedging your bets. You must send troops to fight in the future."
Arthur I said seriously.
According to Prince Doran's steady style, he must bet on the two major dragon forces, but Daenerys's behavior of riding a dragon all the way to King's Landing will definitely disrupt his plan.
Anyway, Dorn has no reason to watch anymore.
At present, the situation in the Stormlands is relatively stable. It is difficult for the Golden Company to stabilize the situation in the southern part of the Stormlands, and there is no extra force to continue to expand northward.
And Earl Matus Rowan is also integrating the armies of the Riverbend Army and the northern families of the Stormlands, and will soon be able to attack south.
If Dorne also attacks northward, it is possible to drive the Golden Company out of the Stormlands before reinforcements from Volantis arrive, or even directly let this mercenary group take over Westeros.
"No problem, Your Majesty!"
Prince Oberyn nodded and agreed.
The meeting lasted for a long time, and after the current affairs of the kingdom were discussed, King Arthur I gave several tasks to Tyrion, the finance minister.
"Duke Lannister, you must redesign the sewage system for King's Landing and try to build a water purification plant so that the civilians can have clean water to drink."
Because of the extremely poor water quality of the Blackwater River, most of the aristocrats and wealthy businessmen in the capital used low-alcohol wine as their daily beverage.
The common people do not have the financial resources and can only use river water.
"Okay, okay." The little devil agreed, although he didn't know why the finance minister did the job of a bachelor.
"Finally, all the nobles who came to King's Landing with their consultant maesters, send your maesters to treat the people. Diseases are very popular during this time, and we have to curb this trend."
King Arthur I declared.
The courtiers carried out the king's orders.
…
After the meeting in the Round Table Hall, the two queens, the new Prime Minister Lord Paxter Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns and others went to Maegor's Tower to participate in the selection of dragon eggs.
The remaining six dragon eggs have been well hidden by Arthur. They are usually hidden in Harrenhal during wars. After welcoming Sansa to the Red Keep last time, these six dragon eggs were also taken to Maegor's Tower and placed in
In the secret closet of the king's chamber.
The princes and nobles who participated in the selection of dragon eggs stayed in the Queen's Ballroom on the first floor, while the king, his attendant Podrick and others went to find the dragon eggs.
Soon, the round stone that the Queen of Thorns and Margaery thought about day and night appeared in their eyes.
Giant dragon eggs are probably the most beautiful things anyone has ever seen, with their rich textures and colors and their shells lined with tiny scales.
Queen Sansa was the first to pick up a red dragon egg. The light of the candle shone through her white fingers and shone on the egg, shining like polished light.
She smiled and said to her husband: "I think it looks like fine ceramics or enamel, or blown glass, but the dragon egg is much heavier than them. In terms of weight, it is like a solid stone."
Although she knew that Arthur had extra dragon eggs, this was the first time she saw them, so like an ignorant little girl, she first picked up a favorite dragon egg and held it in her hands.
Queen Margaery didn't like the red dragon eggs very much. Her beautiful eyes turned around on the remaining five, and then discussed with her grandmother.
The colors of the remaining dragon eggs are: green, blue, light yellow, gray purple, and black brown.
"Go green, I like green, it looks very lively." Little Rose said softly to her grandmother.
The Queen of Thorns had her own idea, "The black and brown one."
Although it is rumored that the size of the dragon can continue to grow, but according to the known facts, the black dragon grows faster than other dragons, and the upper limit is much higher.
For example, Balerion, the black god of death, Alduin of the King, and Drogon, the black dragon of Daenerys.
So Margaery held the black-brown dragon egg in both hands and turned to the king: "My son has chosen this dragon egg."
Arthur nodded and admitted that the dragon egg temporarily belonged to the child in Margaery's belly.
Lord Redwyne, Hand of the King, expressed congratulations to his niece Margaery, and the Queen of Thorns and her granddaughter also smiled and played with the dragon egg.
But Sansa was unhappy, "My child also wants a dragon egg, and this is the red one."
Hearing this, Mrs. Olenna turned her head warily and reminded: "Your Majesty, don't forget our agreement."
They had reached a secret agreement before. The Tyrell family would pay for Alduin and the food expenses of the dragon that would hatch later, in exchange for the child born by Margaery picking up the dragon first.
It's okay to pick the dragon egg first, but if Sansa also picks a dragon egg, the Queen of Thorns won't agree.
Arthur looked at Sansa helplessly. If he let her down holding the red dragon egg now, he would probably break her heart.
But things are not going well for the Queen of Thorns either.
The gold mines in the Western Territory have not yet started operating, and the current king is still very poor and cannot do without the support of the Rose Family.
"Let's do this. The dragon egg chosen by Margaery will hatch first. When Sansa gives birth to a son, I will hatch the red dragon egg."
Arthur I promised this.
Lady Olenna is quite satisfied with this plan. There are enough loopholes in the king's words to exploit.
As long as Sansa can't give birth to a son, or even as long as Sansa can't give birth to a child, it doesn't matter if she gets the dragon egg.
It's just a priceless stone.
After getting the dragon egg she wanted, Sansa didn't care about her husband's promise.
After picking the dragon eggs, the Queen of Thorns and Lord Redwyne left Maegor's Tower at the same time, and Arthur sent the two queens to their respective rooms to raise their babies.
After the king had settled his two wives, Podrick suddenly told him: "Prince Dany wants to see you in the throne room."
Arthur was curious about why Daenerys chose this location, but he knew that the dragon queen probably wanted to have a showdown with him.
To show his sincerity, he changed into the black dragon leather armor before going to the throne room to see Daenerys.
The heavy door slowly opened. After Arthur entered, he ordered Podrick and the guards to close the door and guard the door.
Sure enough, a serious-looking Daenerys sat on the Iron Throne. She raised her beautiful and delicate chin and announced to her eldest nephew who was slowly walking over:
"Only one person can sit on the Iron Throne, and that is me, the true Targaryen."
The Dragon Queen, who has inhuman beauty, is wearing a long white dress, with her hands resting on the armrests of the Iron Throne.
Her fair skin formed a sharp contrast with the dark throne, making her seem to be flowing with a faint brilliance.
"Let me discuss this matter with you." After the king finished speaking, he walked up to the high platform and began to persuade the beautiful and charming Dragon Queen.
Ten minutes later, Podrick, who was guarding outside the throne room door, suddenly heard a crashing sound at extremely high speed and a continuous stream of "Oh, Arthur!"
The way the two negotiated was really strange, Pod thought to himself.
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