Red Keep, Grand Maester dormitory.
Gryn first patiently read the charges written by Pycelle by candlelight, and then picked up several Pycelle's previous handwritten documents to compare the handwriting.
Gryn showed a satisfied smile and said, "Grand Maester Pycelle, you should know the extent of your crime. This is not only a question of whether Lord Hand can forgive you, I don't think the Gods can forgive you either."
As he spoke, he put away the parchment.
Gryn added, "Because of this thing, I am willing to intercede with Duke Ned to help you get a chance to make atonement."
Pycelle raised his head suddenly, his tone a little unbelievable. "Really... really?"
After saying that, Pycelle looked at Lord Eddard with a serious face, his eyes full of pleading.
Lord Eddard's brows furrowed.
The Stark people have the blood of First Men flowing in their bodies. They follow the ancient tradition. The lord will listen to his last words and personally execute the condemned criminals.
Pycelle in his heart is a sinner who should be executed immediately.
Lord Eddard closed his eyes in order to suppress the anger in his heart. He warned himself again that this was not the North, and he had an agreement with Gryn that if Pycelle was not the direct murderer, he would give Take the Black a chance.
He nodded with difficulty, and Pycelle confessed and thanked him with tears in his eyes.
Gryn raised his eyebrows and said, "So... that person named Hugh, when can I see him?"
Pycelle wiped his tears and said, "Lord Gryn, tomorrow... the day after tomorrow at the latest, I will send him to you."
Gryn continued to ask, "Will anyone else know about this?"
Pycelle quickly shook his head. "I promise to hide it from everyone. I can definitely do it. I swear to the Gods."
Gryn shook his head and said, "No, Master Varys will know."
Lord Eddard raised his eyes to the sky. The bright full moon illuminated the silent night sky, full of mystery and beauty, which made people intoxicated... At this moment, he missed Catelyn's arms, missed the sound of children practicing swords in the practice field, and missed the North's cool days and cold nights.
Gryn stood with Lord Eddard for a while and said softly, "Duke Ned, you can treat this matter as a hunt. We cannot scare away the prey, and we must avoid adverse interference. Before we find the real prey, we can only choose caution and patience."
Lord Eddard withdrew his gaze and sighed, "Son, I understand this, but I just feel that I may not be suitable for staying in the south."
Gryn joked, "I think King Robert will be furious when he hears this and wants to tie you up."
Lord Eddard smiled helplessly, patted Gryn's arm and said, "Let's go in."
"I guess Lord Varys is already waiting for us."
Lord Eddard's gray eyes moved to Gryn, paused, and nodded in agreement.
Stomp, tap, tap... the empty corridor was filled with the sound of feet touching stone slabs.
Varys greeted him at the door of the room and nodded slightly, "Good night, Eddard Hand of the King, Lord Gryn."
Gryn stroked his chest and said, "Good night, Master Varys, please forgive me for disturbing you."
Lord Eddard lowered his eyes and looked at the smooth top of Varys's head, and said, "Varys, you seem to have known for a long time that I would come to find you."
Varys held hands together and said respectfully, "Eddard Hand of the King, this is not difficult to guess. I am Master of Whisperers. You will find me sooner or later. As for now... my Little Bird happened to see you. I was so happy that I couldn't help but go out to greet you."
Is it such a coincidence? Lord Eddard glanced sharply at the smiling Varys.
"Go in and talk."
After sitting down, Lord Eddard said directly, "Varys, tell me the cause of Hand Jon Arryn's death."
Varys looked hesitant. "Actually, many important ministers in Red Keep have noticed the problem, but we dare not speak out."
He sighed softly and continued, "Eddard Hand of the King, only now that you are here can I dare to reveal everything to you."
Lord Eddard's tone was filled with anger. "Since you knew the problems inside, why didn't you say a word? Although I have only been here a few days, if you are serious, there is no shortage of opportunities to tell me."
The smile on Varys's face immediately dissipated. He looked directly at Lord Eddard and said, "You asked me why I didn't report it to you in advance. My answer is... because I don't trust you, Lord Hand."
Gryn's brown eyes moved slightly, Varys was trying to gain Lord Eddard's favor. Looking at Varys's behavior at this time, he felt a particularly familiar feeling... Well, power players are good at playing various types of people, and he is the same.
Lord Eddard said lukewarmly, "Varys, you don't trust me?"
"Before tonight."
Varys nodded and said in a sincere tone, "Eddard Hand of the King, Red Keep There are only two kinds of people, one is loyal to the kingdom and the other is loyal to oneself. I am a timid person and I dare not easily judge which type you belong to... now..."
Varys showed a happy smile and continued, "Now I know clearly. I feel ashamed for having doubted your honor. I was blinded by cowardice. I am really ashamed."
Lord Eddard frowned and said, "Varys, who poisoned you?"
Varys shook his head and said, "Obviously he is someone who is very close to Hand Jon Arryn and often dines with him at the same table. There are too many suspicious objects!"
He showed a bitter look and said, "I have tried to persuade him several times. I begged Hand Jon Arryn to ask people to taste the food first before eating it himself, but he refused to listen and told me... Only people who are not worthy of being human would think of such a thing."
Gryn glanced at Lord Eddard who was silent and said, "Sir Varys, although there are many suspicious people, you are Master of Whisperers, and you must have a lot of clues. Do you have any suspects? Lord Eddard needs your information and candor."
Varys nodded slightly.
"After Hand Jon Arryn passed away, Lady Lysa took away everyone close to her husband when she left King's Landing, including Hand Jon Arryn's bachelor, steward, captain of the guard, as well as his knights and servants."
After a pause, he continued, "Lady Lysa took most of the people away, but not all of them. A few people stayed. There was a kitchen girl who had an enlarged belly and got married to Lord Renly's groom in a hurry. A stableboy became Gold Cloaks. A young waiter was kicked out because of stealing. The one who stayed was Hand Jon Arryn's attendant."
Lord Eddard's eyes trembled slightly and said, "Are you following Hugh?"
Varys was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "It seems that you have gained something tonight."
Lord Eddard looked at Gryn.
Gryn shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, "Duke Ned, Lord Varys's skills are well known to everyone. Sooner or later he will know the source of our intelligence."
Gryn said to Varys, "Master Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle also expressed doubts about former Hand of the King's attendant Hugh."
Varys slightly pointed his jaw. "Everything Hugh had was given by Hand Jon Arryn, but when Lady Lysa returned to Eyrie with his family, but he chose to stay at King's Landing. My Little Bird told me that he recently became a frequent visitor to Shataya's Brothel, and he also prepared shiny new armor for Tournament."
Gryn:"..."
Based on the original plot known to Gryn, he has determined that Hugh is the bait launched by Lord Petyr, and Varys intentionally facilitates Petyr's plan. They are all in order to arouse Lion-Wolf Conflict.
Petyr has directly or indirectly purchased the attendant Hugh. What he revealed when meeting Lord Eddard will definitely be designed false information, and the finger will be pointed at Lannister.
Varys has already seen through Petyr's conspiracy and is happy to help. They all hope that the situation will be chaotic.
Also, there are traces left by Hand Jon Arryn when he investigated the problem of Royal Bloodline.
Gryn took back his thoughts and planned to break this matter into two things.
Lord Eddard has already sensed the inexplicable danger, and he feels that it will not be too far away from finding out the real culprit.
If Lannister is the murderer of Jon...Tywin·Lannister will not sit still and wait for death, and he will treat the defeated without mercy. The end of Targaryen is the best lesson.
He must send a message to Winterfell as soon as possible and ask his wife to mobilize the vassals in his name to arrange the North's defense in advance. Unless Lannister is backed by all the military power in the south, it will never dare to invade the Neck, which has been prepared, and they cannot even dream of such a day.
If war is unavoidable, he and Robert would not mind hosting a grand banquet at Casterly Rock.
Direwolf showed his fangs, Varys glanced at Lord Eddard's expression, and his smile gradually deepened.
The eyes of Varys and Gryn collided, and Gryn had a smile on his face.
"Varys, thank you."
"Lord Hand, Varys are always at your disposal."
Tower of the Hand.
Just after breakfast, housekeeper Wei Yang Poole took Arya·Stark to the empty small hall.
"Boy, you're late."
Arya heard a strange voice in her ears, and she saw a bald man with a slim figure and a big aquiline nose walking out of the shadows. The strange man was holding a pair of thin wooden swords in his hands.
Arya was not afraid of suddenly seeing a stranger, but asked happily, "Who are you?"
"I am your dance teacher."
The bald man spoke with an accent, like Free Cities, maybe Braavos, or Myr.
The bald man threw a wooden sword to Arya. She reached out to catch it, but she couldn't reach it. There was a click and the wooden sword fell to the ground.
"Boy, from tomorrow onwards you have to catch it when I throw it. Now pick it up."
Arya protested. "I'm a girl!"
She discovered that the wooden sword was like a real sword. It had a hilt, a guard, and a ball that decorated the hilt.
The bald man grinned and said, "Male or female, you are a sword, that's enough."
Arya picked up the sword. She wiped the sweat from her palms on her pants and held the sword with Left Hand.
The bald man showed a satisfied look. "Left Hand is the best. If you reverse it left and right, your enemies will be very uncomfortable with it! But your stance is wrong. Don't face me directly. Move your body to the side... Yes, that's it! You are as thin as a spear, you know? This is also good, because the target has been reduced."
"Now let me see how you hold it..."
He leaned over, stared at her hand, spread her fingers, and readjusted. "Yes... that's it. Don't use too much force... Yes, but be flexible and graceful."
Arya asked, "If you hold it like this, what should you do if the sword falls?"
The bald man glanced sideways at Arya and said, "The sword must be integrated with your hand. Will your hand fall off? Of course not! Syrio·Forel is the chief swordsman who has worked under Sealord of Braavos for nine years. He knows these things. Listen to him, boy."
Arya showed a "ferocious" expression.
Syrio·Forel grinned again. "Now let's start dancing. Remember, kid, what we are learning is not Westeros's Dance of Steel, Dance of Knights, swinging around, no. This is Dance of Killers, Water Dancing, quick to move and unexpected. People are made of water, you know? When you stab the human body and the water leaks out, the person will die."
After speaking, he took a step back lightly, raised his wooden sword, and pointed it at Arya.
"Now try hitting me, kid."
Throne Room, Small Council.
Lord Eddard glanced at Grand Maester Pycelle, who was exactly the same as usual, and he even suspected that the person he saw last night was Pycelle pretending to be someone else.
Red Keep is indeed full of lies, cunning and hypocrisy.
The government affairs they discussed today were still Lord Eddard Tournament who was full of impatient Tournament.
"The kingdom prospered because of Tournament. For the nobles, this is a great opportunity to seek glory. As for the people, it can also temporarily forget their worries."
Petyr spread his hands and said, "Many people can make a lot of money from this. King's Landing's hotels are all full, and the women who receive guests can't close their feet when they receive guests. The coins in their pockets jingle when they walk."
Lord Renly laughed loudly and said, "Fortunately, Stannis is not here. Do you remember that time in Small Council he proposed to ban all the women's branches of King's Landing? As a result, King Robert asked him if he wanted to ban eating, defecating and breathing.
To be honest, sometimes I really wonder where Stannis's ugly daughter came from. I can't imagine what Stannis looks like in bed. Maybe he goes to bed just like he is on the battlefield, with solemn eyes and determination to fulfill his responsibilities."
Everyone laughed again and again.
Lord Eddard did not laugh along. He looked at Renly who was smiling and said, "I am also thinking about your brother Stannis. I wonder when he will leave Dragonstone and return to Small Council."
Petyr raised the corners of his lips and said, "Lord Hand, as long as we drive all the female branch girls into Blackwater Bay, I believe Stannis will appear here immediately."
After Petyr finished speaking, everyone laughed even louder.
Lord Eddard's eyes became sharp. "Dear ministers, I have heard enough about women's affairs today."
He stood up from the chair and said, "That's it."