Two People Who Share a Bed Think Alike

Acting Hand of the King Alester went to great lengths to prepare for this coronation ceremony; he really wanted to remove the word "acting".

Stannis knew that the coronation ceremony represented the face of the royal family, and even if he was short of money, now was definitely not the time to save money, especially when facing a wealthy family like Tyrell. So he allocated a large sum of money.

Therefore, the tablecloths at the banquet were all ordered from Myr, and the white tablecloths even had a stag pattern on them, making them look luxurious and beautiful.

Even some of the music and singers were selected from the Free Cities, thanks in large part to Salladhor Saan.

He contributed a dozen or so ships Stannis Stannis's fleet, but almost all of them were destroyed on the Blackwater. Stannis was unable to repay the debt, so he gave him half of Westeros's trade with the Free Cities.

This gave Salladhor Saan even more say, allowing him to quickly assemble another fleet and acquire these valuable items for Stannis.

Furthermore, whether it was to curry favor or for some other purpose, almost every dish on the table was decorated with blue, red, and white roses.

These roses even had water droplets on them; they were all picked and placed on the table just before they were served.

Stannis and Queen Selyse sat at the head of the table, with Jon sitting to Selyse ' left and Mace to Stannis ' left.

If we disregard the "Prince" title that Dorne specifically reserved for it, then the title of Duke is already the highest possible rank.

The next step is to see who has the larger territory, the more soldiers they can recruit, and the fuller their granaries and treasuries; whoever has the greater influence will have more say.

Currently, Jon is in dire need of these qualities; from a strength perspective, he is arguably the weakest duke in the entire country.

Jon watched as the House Tyrell members took their seats one by one. Mace sat next to Olenna, and behind him was Mace's wife, Alerie. Originally, Alerie should have been seated next to either Margaery or Garlan, but instead, it was Lia.

Next to Lia is Garlan, and then Margaery is behind her.

Mace directly used a space physics approach to prevent Jon from having an affair with her daughter, clearly intending to push Lia forward and deceive everyone.

Jon saw that Mace was either talking to Olenna or looking at the wine glass in front of him, and had no intention of speaking to him at all. He knew what Mace was up to: completely ignoring him and neither making a move nor responding to his attacks.

Stannis, noticing the unusual seating arrangement Mace had made for his family, spoke first, "Lord Mace, why isn't Ser Loras here?"

"Your Majesty, Loras was slightly ill and it was not appropriate for him to come to King's Landing, but fortunately, with the protection of the Seven, he has greatly recovered. If Your Majesty requires it, the tens of thousands of troops of Highgarden are at your command at any time," Mace said, looking into Stannis's deep blue eyes.

Jon's gaze shifted between Stannis and Mace, but through the Gods' Eye, he noticed that Olenna and Margaery were also secretly watching him.

He noticed that Sansa was flirting with Margaery, and the two seemed to hit it off immediately.

Jon doesn't think Sansa is a match for Margaery; at least Margaery knows how to play the role of a character, and in Westeros, besides himself and her, there's no one else who does.

Arya, on the other hand, seemed somewhat dazed. She genuinely disliked this kind of occasion and simply stared blankly at the flags erected on the wall.

Jon refocused his attention on Stannis and Mace's conversation; Mace's words could be interpreted as either a show of loyalty or a demonstration of defiance.

The tens of thousands of troops are the foundation of Highgarden's strength, and the three great houses of the South— Tyrell, Hightower, and Redwyne— have long been closely united through marriage alliances.

This is the real troublesome part. Especially since the House Redwyne's Redwyne Fleet is one of the three great fleets of Westeros.

After Stannis's Royal Fleet suffered heavy losses, only the Redwyne Fleet and the Iron Islands Fleet remain.

Meanwhile, King Balon of the Iron Islands has once again declared himself king.

Stannis's situation was truly dire; he faced Daenerys Daenerys and Young Griff. on the outside, rebellions raging within, and he himself had no son.

His only advantage is his age; he's under thirty-five and definitely still has children.

However, Jon noticed that Mace really spoiled his child. Loras disliked Stannis because of Renly, and could even be said to hold a grudge. He could even skip important events like the coronation ceremony.

Jon believes that Loras wouldn't have been so willful without Mace's protection.

After Stannis asked his question, it was Mace's turn. Olenna suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, has House Martell pledged allegiance to the Iron Throne? If necessary, House Tyrell and Martell have a history of friendship; perhaps they could persuade Sunspear to pledge allegiance to the True King."

Olenna's tone was very sincere, but Stannis interpreted it in a different way.

A few years ago, Mace's eldest son, Willas, fought Oberyn of House Martell, the guy known as "The Red Viper," who had a whole bunch of illegitimate daughters.

During the duel, Willas was injured, resulting in a disability in his right leg. However, Willas did not pursue the matter; instead, he forgave Martell and even became friends with Oberyn.

This is also the source of Olenna's "friendship".

Olenna's question was subtly pointed, essentially a veiled questioning of Stannis's abilities.

Stannis remained silent, but Selyse spoke first, "Lady Olenna, Martell has sworn allegiance to the Iron Throne, but Prince Doran is unwell, and Prince Oberyn is overseas and cannot return immediately. His Majesty has reserved a seat for Prince Oberyn at court."

Selyse explained with pursed lips, and Stannis continued, "Prince Doran's loyalty is beyond question, but it is also inseparable from the efforts of the Duke of Stark."

Stannis looked at Jon, Mace, Olenna, Alerie, and the others all focused their attention on Jon.

Margaery, who was chatting with Sansa, also turned around.

Even if Mace didn't want to look at Jon, she had no choice but to look over now.

"Duke Stark captured Amory, who had shamelessly murdered Rhaegar's daughter Rhaenys, at the Battle of the Green Fork, and then beheaded Gregor, who had killed Rhaegar's wife, at the Darry Castle. Not long ago, Gregor's head was sent to Dorne Amory."

Stannis meant that even though Willas forgave Oberyn, Jon also killed the murderer they had been longing to kill.

That Amory was originally killed by a bear, but now that he's in Martell's hands, he's probably going to suffer a lot.

Hearing Stannis's praise, Jon humbly replied, "Even the most merciful Sky Mother would despise those like Amory and the Mountain who draw their swords against the weak."

Whether the Tyrell are willing to admit it or not, Jon was indeed very lucky to have acquired those two men.

Even without following Stannis, carrying the Mountain's head to Dorne would still get you a decent position.

"Your Excellency the Duke is a true knight, hating evil as if it were his enemy," Olenna praised.

"Lady Olenna, you flatter me." Jon drank a full glass and accepted her compliment.

"What is the Duke's Name Day?" Margaery's mother, Alerie, suddenly asked.

Jon was somewhat surprised, thinking she was provoking him. To be honest, Jon didn't really remember Alerie and had no idea what kind of person she was.

Olenna had already sensed something was wrong, and her hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. Stannis also frowned, somewhat displeased.

Sansa, who was not far away, was also stunned for a moment, because bastards and Name Day should not be associated with each other.

Lia, sitting next to Alerie, smirked coldly. Did anyone care about the Name Day of a bastard child?

Alerie's question chilled the atmosphere, and the stack of roses decorating the dish suddenly fell out, making the situation even more awkward.

Jon didn't know what Alerie meant by asking that, but he calmly replied, "Well, I think if my mother were still alive, and if I were to find her someday, I might know my Name Day."

Jon scrutinized Alerie's silver-blonde hair and blue-green eyes, trying to figure out what this woman wanted to ask.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, realizing she had said the wrong thing.

"I'm so sorry, Your Grace," Alerie, a hint of panic in her eyes. "I've only heard that people born in different months have different personalities, and I was just curious about you. I didn't mean anything by it."

Hearing her say that, Jon smiled with relief. Sure enough, two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. No wonder you and Mace have been together for so many years.

It's worth mentioning that Margaery and her three siblings are all roughly two years apart in age, and the fact that they had children one after another shows that the couple had a very good relationship.

Alerie was probably around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, older than Stannis, but there wasn't a single fine line visible at the corner of her eyes.

Compared to Lia standing next to her, people would believe they were sisters.

"Lady Alerie, there's no need to blame yourself. I think none of us should dwell too much on the past. Looking to the future and building the future is the most important thing. Just like how Tyrell ultimately chose to stand with His Majesty Stannis, the future of the Seven Kingdoms will surely be brighter." Jon said with a smile, seemingly completely unconcerned about this little episode.

Stannis, unusually, smiled. "Lord Jon is right," he said, raising his glass. "For the future of the Seven Kingdoms."

Long live the Seven Kingdoms! Long live His Majesty Stannis!

Those seated further away, including members of the House Florent such as Alester and Axell, as well as Davos, Melisandre, Adrian, and others, also raised their glasses.

At this moment, Davos spoke up, "Your Majesty, Jon is your most capable minister, and Miss Margaery is the Lord Mace's favorite and only daughter. Why not let the young man open the ball?"